{"id":1489,"date":"2024-05-14T13:12:31","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T13:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/?post_type=general&#038;p=1489"},"modified":"2024-05-14T13:12:31","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T13:12:31","slug":"what-is-a-game-of-two-halves-in-football","status":"publish","type":"general","link":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/general\/what-is-a-game-of-two-halves-in-football\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Game of Two Halves in Football?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It is clich\u00e9 that most clich\u00e9s are true, but then like most clich\u00e9s, that clich\u00e9 is untrue. If you think too hard about that quotation from Stephen Fry then your brain might implode, but it\u2019s true that football is a sport bedevilled by clich\u00e9 and lazy journalism.<\/p>\n<p>Mind you, one of the sport\u2019s cliches that has stuck is that of the fabled \u2018game of two halves\u2019, which \u2013 as we know \u2013 is both a descriptor and a truism given that football matches have, you guessed it, two halves. But there\u2019s a deeper meaning to this particular clich\u00e9, which we explore in this article.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Game of Two Halves\u2019 Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PWErN627Il8?si=Dr9Ec6akLv9Fd14I\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nA game of two halves is, essentially, a contest in which one team plays well in the first half, and then their opponents dominate in the second. So, imagine that Team A takes a 2-0 lead into the half-time break, before Team B roars out in the second half and either levels the match or even takes a 3-2 lead. This may be described by commentators and pundits as a game of two halves, because the nature of the second half is the complete opposite of the first.<\/p>\n<p>There have been countless examples of the clich\u00e9 come to life over the years \u2013 including some of the most famous comeback victories in football\u2019s premier competitions. If you hear the phrase uttered, although you can write it off as a clich\u00e9, you will at least have a general idea of how a particular game has played out.<\/p>\n<h2>The Miracle of Istanbul<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1491\" src=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/livepool-and-ac-milan.jpg\" alt=\"Liverpool FC vs AC Milan\" width=\"450\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/livepool-and-ac-milan.jpg 450w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/livepool-and-ac-milan-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/livepool-and-ac-milan-400x292.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/>One of the most memorable examples of a game of two halves \u2013 certainly for the respective fanbases of Liverpool and AC Milan \u2013 was the Champions League final of 2005; a match later dubbed the \u2018Miracle of Istanbul\u2019, given that the contest was hosted in the Turkish city.<\/p>\n<p>Milan were rampant in the first half, with club legend Paolo Maldini scoring the opener as early as the first minute of the game. Hernan Crespo then weighed in with a double late in the half to give the Rossoneri a 3-0 lead at the break. The Liverpool players, unsurprisingly, were scrambled as they sat down in their dressing room. \u201cWe were in shock,\u201d recalled goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek. \u201cSome of the players were very angry, some of the players were very sad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They had just 15 minutes to regroup, which was achieved thanks to some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uefa.com\/uefachampionsleague\/news\/025d-0f782b45c942-3e20b8c30dfa-1000--miracle-of-istanbul-2005-champions-league-final-in-the-w\/\">stirring words<\/a> from assistant coach, Alex Miller, and the team\u2019s captain, Steven Gerrard. \u201cDo you hear that?\u201d Gerrard asked his teammates, referring to the chants of the Liverpool fans. \u201cThey still believe in us. We have to give them something back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s exactly what they did. Gerrard himself reduced the deficit in the 54th minute, before further goals from Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso levelled the tie in extraordinary fashion. A game of two halves? Clich\u00e9 or not, this was the perfect way to describe such a rollercoaster of a contest.<\/p>\n<p>Famously, the game ended 3-3 after 90 minutes and the two teams could not be separated after extra time. Penalty kicks were needed &#8211; Milan missing three of theirs \u2013 thanks to the heroics of Dudek \u2013 and Liverpool scored three of theirs to confirm the most unlikely of victories. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football\/2005\/may\/25\/minutebyminute.championsleague\">Miracle of Istanbul<\/a> indeed.<\/p>\n<h2>The Battle of St James\u2019s Park<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1492\" src=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/newcastle-united-and-arsenal.jpg\" alt=\"Newcastle United vs Arsenal\" width=\"450\" height=\"243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/newcastle-united-and-arsenal.jpg 450w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/newcastle-united-and-arsenal-300x162.jpg 300w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/newcastle-united-and-arsenal-400x216.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/>If we judge a <em>Game of Two Halves<\/em> on how many goals the losing team has to overcome in the second half, the 2011 contest between Newcastle United and Arsenal in the Premier League takes some beating. The Gunners romped into a <a href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/sport1\/hi\/football\/eng_prem\/9384154.stm\">four-goal lead<\/a> in the first half, with Theo Walcott and Johan Djourou on the mark within the opening three minutes. A brace from Robin van Persie doubled Arsenal\u2019s lead to a surely unassailable 4-0 at the break.<\/p>\n<p>You can probably guess what happened next. But Newcastle still hadn\u2019t scored until well past the hour mark, before they exploded into life with an 18-minute barrage. Abou Diaby was sent off, before Joey Barton pulled one back from the penalty spot after Leon Best was brought down in the area.<\/p>\n<p>After 75 minutes, Best himself got on the scoresheet before Barton again netted from the spot \u2013 again, Laurent Koscielny the offender for Arsenal. By this point the Newcastle fans were cheering on their team in a frenzy, and they were duly rewarded in the 87th minute when Cheick Tiote slammed home a long-range equaliser to cap a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.premierleague.com\/match\/7334\">remarkable 4-4 draw<\/a>. It is, at the time of writing, the only time a team has come back from four goals behind in a Premier League game.<\/p>\n<h2>The Massacre of White Hart Lane<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1490\" src=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/tottenham-and-wigan.jpg\" alt=\"Wigan Athletic vs Tottenham Hotspurs\" width=\"450\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/tottenham-and-wigan.jpg 450w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/tottenham-and-wigan-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/tottenham-and-wigan-400x268.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/>Of course, the <em>Game of Two Halves<\/em> moniker can be given to a contest in which one of the halves is simply more action packed than the other \u2013 it doesn\u2019t have to be a stirring comeback from one of the sides. When Tottenham entertained Wigan Athletic in a Premier League game at White Hart Lane in 2009, the first-half of the contest played out just as most were expecting \u2013 Spurs taking a one-goal lead into the break courtesy of Peter Crouch.<\/p>\n<p>But then the second half, well, the second half was something extraordinary. A whopping nine goals were scored! But, look away now, Wigan fans &#8211; eight of them went to Tottenham! Jermain Defoe went on a rampage, scoring five goals himself \u2013 including four in an 18-minute burst. Aaron Lennon, Steed Malbranque and Dvid Bentley also found the net in what was, at half-time at least, the unlikeliest of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tottenhamhotspur.com\/news\/2020\/may\/stream-9-1-win-over-wigan-live-on-saturday-afternoon\/\">ten-goal hammerings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Wigan scored a consolation goal through Paul Scharner, although it\u2019s hard to imagine that the Latics\u2019 fans took much consolation from it on the long journey home. Ironically, that game took place almost two years to the day to another <a href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/sport1\/hi\/football\/eng_prem\/7157425.stm\">Game of Two Halves classic<\/a> involving Tottenham.<\/p>\n<p>In December 2007, they played Reading in a Premier League tie, with the game finely poised at 1-1 at half-time. And then, carnage ensued. Reading scored three in the second half, but Tottenham scored five \u2013 a 6-4 win for Spurs in one of the most extraordinary Game of Two Halves you\u2019ll ever hear about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1493,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/general\/1489"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/general"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/general"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}