Peru 2 - Extremadura 2 (Friendly, December 27, 2008) Peru took the lead through Junior Ross only for the Spaniards to draw level through Rai. Back came Peru as Pedro Garcia restored the hosts’ adavnatge. But the game ended in hugely controversial circumstances as the referee awarded the visitors a late penalty only to be chased around the pitch by the Peruvian players, with Rai notching his brace from the spot.

Queensland Roar 3 - Wellington Phoenix 2 (A-League, December 28, 2008) Wellington took the lead in the 11th minute when Luke De Vere scored an own goal. Matt McKay brought the Roar level after Sergio van Dijk’s penalty was palmed onto the bar by Moss. After the break, a Troy Hearfield header put the Phoenix back in front but van Dijk levelled minutes later. But a last-gasp free-kick from 17-year-old Tommy Oar won the match for Queensland.

***

Catalunya 2 - Colombia 1 (Friendly, December 28, 2008) Team Catalunya took the lead with a brilliant counter-attacking move that saw Bojan speed away and score. Joan Verdu doubled the lead after the visitors cheaply lost possession in defence, but the Colombians did net a consolation through Aguilar.

Melbourne Victory 3 - Sydney FC 2 (A-League, December 27, 2008) Sydney’s Shannon Cole and Brendan Gan both scored in the opening four minutes of the game, but Archie Thompson pulled one back for the home side on 14 minutes in a frantic opening. With 20 minutes left sub Nick Ward score with a stunning strike from well outside the box with his first touch, before sub-Fabiano ensured the home side took all three points by tapping in at the back post after 80 minutes.

Newcastle Jets 1 - Central Coast Mariners 2 (A-League, December 26, 2008) The Jets took the lead through a Joel Griffiths penalty after nine minutes. But the Mariners turned the game around after the break, Sasho Petrovski headed home the leveller after 66 minutes and Matt Simon scored the winner in the 79th minute with a strong solo effort.

Perth Glory 0 - Adelaide United 1 (A-League, December 26, 2008) (Longer highlights here.)

Manchester United 1 - Liga de Quito 0 (Club World Cup final, December 21, 2008) (Longer highlights here.) Manchester United were fortunate not to fall behind to the Ecuadorians when Alejandro Manso fluffed an early chance from a low free-kick, missing the target from two yards out. But from then on the first half belonged to United, Rooney coming close on several occasions while Tevez had a header well saved. (First half highlights here.) After the break United were reduced to 10-men after Nemanja Vidic threw a loose elbow at Claudio Bieler. But United continued to dominate, and they were rewarded through Wayne Rooney’s deserved strike in the 73rd minute which he buried inside Cevallos’ far post.

Gamba Osaka 1 - Pachuca 0 (Club World Cup, December 21, 2008) Masata Yamazaki’s clinical strike on the half hour mark proved decisive, giving Gamba a deserved victory over the Mexicans to claim third spot in the tournament.

***

Sydney FC 1 - Perth Glory 4 (A-League, December 21, 2008) Goals to Adriano Pellegrino, Wayne Srhoj and own goals by Sydney defenders Antony Golec and Robbie Middleby helped Perth secure a comfortable victory. Stuart Musialik scored for the hosts, who were roundly booed by their own fans for their poor performance.

Newcastle Jets 4 - Melbourne Victory 2 (A-League, December 19, 2008) The Jets ran out comfortable winners after Matt Thompson’s hat-trick and a Jin-Hyung Song goal gave the hosts a 4-nil lead. Late goals from Danny Allsopp and Ney Fabiano were little more than a consolation for the Victory.

Wellington Phoenix 1 - Central Coast Mariners 0 (A-League, December 19, 2008) Shane Smeltz was the match-winner for the Phoenix scoring the only goal after just one minute 26 seconds.