World Cup 2010 - Day 9

Japan 0 Netherlands 1 (Group E )

Dutch attack,
Japan defend,
Front to back,
End to end.
Ball out wider
To Van Persie
Back to Sneijder,
Show no mercy.
Sneijder strives,
Takes a shot,
Keeper dives
In a knot.
Orange din,
Gets a touch,
Bounces in,
One nil Dutch.
Dutch are through,
Not with ease
Hard luck to
Japanese.


Australia 1 Ghana 1 (Group D)

That was no red card, the Roos protested,
No matter what the Ghana players say.
Its clear it was intended to be chested,
He didn’t mean to nudge the ball away.
Suddenly the goalmouth was congested,
As Ghana’s strikers leapt into the fray.
A red card, they most urgently requested,
The Aussies just as strongly countered ‘Nay!’

Upon the referee the onus rested –
Was it black and white or was it grey?
His knowledge of the rulebook roundly tested,
The red card then was brandished Kewell’s way.
The television replays all suggested
No grounds for that award to be contested.

Cameroon 1 Denmark 2 (Group D)

At Loftus Versfeld, ‘neath the waning moon,
Two middleweights stepped up into the ring,
Each conscious that defeat would surely bring
An early journey home upon the wing,
For either Denmark or Cameroon.

For Cameroon, a win was paramount
And early on, they struck a powerful blow
When Webo squared a pass in to Eto’o,
Whose sucker punch laid Denmark’s keeper low –
The latter had to take a standing count.

But though the Danes at times were on the ropes,
They jabbed away to limit further flak
And, throwing a long right into attack,,
Bendtner powered in and pulled one back,
To resurrect the Danish corner’s hopes.

Toe to toe, these boxers slugged it out
As thousands on the sidelines bayed for blood,
Urging on their man as best they could.
But every frantic flurry was withstood
As fans acclaimed this unexpected bout.

And then, when many watching had a feeling,
That both these men might end up badly scarred,
The Cameroon for once let down their guard
And Rommedahl steamed in and struck them hard
To leave the lions indomitably reeling.

But Cameroon fought back – they were not soft
And furiously they tried to buck the trend
As weary bodies laboured to defend.
The ref then brought the contest to an end
And held the winning Danish arm aloft.