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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

3 Most Epic Collapses in Sport


Monday night UK time was not a good one for Liverpool fans who saw their club's title race end in dramatic fashion - Luis Suarez's men were 3-0 up on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park before 10 minutes of magic from the home side saw the game finish 3-3 and effectively end Liverpool's Premier League hopes.

It is only the 2nd time that Liverpool have gone 3-0 up only to draw 3-3 in Premier League history and the collapse could not have come at a worst time. While the draw sees them lead the table temporarily, realistically it is Manchester City who have it all to lose now needing just one win from their 2 games to seal their 2nd title in 2 seasons.

You could say that Liverpool's collapse from Premier League champions-elect to just title contenders started over a week ago with that slip from Steven Gerrard against Chelsea at Anfield which resulted in a 2-0 home defeat to the Blues just when Liverpool only needed 2 wins to seal their first title in 24 years.

Here is a look back at some rather dramatic collapses in sport.

31 October 1999, 1999 RWC Semifinal, France 43 New Zealand 31


A day that will live in infamy for New Zealand rugby fans. The All Blacks of 1999 were nowhere close to the vintage sides they've produced in the past but even so, the draw at the 1999 Rugby World Cup meant that the ABs were favourites to at least make the Final. Indeed those odds were slashed as the ABs led France 24-10 early in the 2nd half.

No one told the French to surrender and they closed the gap to the ABs and then pulled away with the most astonishing comeback ever seen in world rugby. The great ABs side of Lomu, Cullen, Wilson, Kronfeld, Jones etc. collapsed in a heap and even a consolation try to Jeff Wilson couldn't avert the fact that this was possibly one hell of a collapse.

5 December 2006, Ashes Series, Australia beat England by 6 wickets


English cricket fans are a diehard bunch and have seen plenty of tepid performances from their team home and away but this is one they definitely will struggle to forget even if they really want to. A double ton for Paul Collingwood and a 150 for Kevin Pietersen meant England were in control from the start at the Adelaide Oval and even though Australia rallied on the back of former and future Aussie cricket captains, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke, England really should have at least come away unbeaten from this test in a series where they were 1-0 down.

No one told Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Stuart Clark and Brett Lee that as England collapsed to be all out for 129 on the final day, leaving the Michaels, Hussey and Clarke to score the 168 runs in 3 hours to seal a most unlikely of Aussie victories.

Australia would eventually pummel England to the ground 5-0 for the series and win back the Ashes.

20-25 September 2013, America's Cup, Oracle beat Team New Zealand 9-8



Was this a collapse or did the better team really win? The debate will rage on but the defeat certainly tastes bitter for New Zealand sports fans who saw Team New Zealand somehow lose the 2013 America's Cup despite being 8-0 up in the series and on match point for an entire week to lose 9-8.

Oracle call it the most remarkable comeback in history. For Team New Zealand, the seminal moment to that comeback must have been that race on 20 September which was called off due to the race heading over the time limit - the boat with the silver fern was well in front and on course to bring the Auld Mug back to Auckland at the time.

The winds came back and so did Oracle, and the rest they say is history.

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