Ghana and Australia's Disappointing Draw

The Harp Inn, Costa Mesa

Ghana played Australia June 19 in Rustenburg while fans watched on at the Harp Inn located in Costa Mesa. The popularity of this match was virtually nonexistant, as there were only a few people viewing it at 7 a.m. However, there were about 40 to 50 individuals at this dive bar a few hours before for the earlier game: Netherlands vs. Japan. The crowd's size depends on which countries are playing, as was revealed today. Australia's big loss against Germany could have contributed to this outcome, while there might be more die-hard Holland fans in Orange County.

Inside the Harp Inn

The Socceroos made the first goal in the 10th minute as the ball rebounded off the goalie. This was the first time Australia scored the first goal in a FIFA World Cup match. Their player was red-carded in the 23rd minute and sent off the field, therefore, Ghana was awarded a penalty kick. The Socceroos were now down to 10 men for the rest of the game and to their dismay, Ghana's Gyan stuck the ball in the goal in the 24th minute. Ghana was yellow-carded in the 83rd minute. One of their players was hurt after 90 minutes had passed. His teammate had accidentally backward-headbutted him, causing a bloody nose and a stretcher to escort him off the playing field. Both teams managed a 1-1 tie at the final second.

Chris Buyvid, from Orange County, was rooting for Australia to beat Ghana and the USA to win the World Cup overall. She has been viewing the majority of the matches at 5 a.m. at the Harp Inn. She believed that the referee's call was "too harsh of a foul" when the ball ended up touching an Australian player's upper arm instead of his chest. "It probably was worth a penalty kick, but it wasn't worth him being sent off."

Chris Buyvid, Doug Ryan and Matt Carr support Australia

Doug Ryan, from Sydney, Australia, was supporting the Socceroos, but thinks Brazil or Argentina will win the whole tournament. Being a past rugby player, he shared some intersting information on New Zealand's "Hukka." Matt Carr, from Orange, California, was present to support his friend, but is rooting for the USA. He thought the Australian team "held up well." These fans normally come to the Harp Inn to watch live rubgy matches, as well.

The following game was Cameroon vs. Denmark. With the Danish team's possession of two points, Cameroon's one point was not good enough to continue to the second round.