"Six-pointer" is a sporting

cliché A cliché ( or ; ) is a saying, idea, or element of an artistic work that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, novelty, or literal and figurative language, figurative or artistic power, even to the point of now being b ...

, particularly used in

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, used to describe a game between two teams with similar league positions, in leagues that employ a "

three points for a win Three points for a win is a standard used in many sports leagues and group tournaments, especially in association football, in which 3 points are awarded to the team winning a match, with no points awarded to the losing team. If the game is draw ...

" system. In a "two points for a win" league, the corresponding term is "four-pointer". In a six-pointer game, the result is particularly crucial since the winning team denies three points to the close rival in addition to securing three points for itself. The term is normally reserved for the latter part of the season, when the league standings approach the ranking they will have at the end of the season. Therefore, the result of the game is likely to have a significant bearing on which of the two teams will eventually finish in the higher position. The term may be applied to a match either between two teams both chasing the championship or

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

, or else between two teams both near the bottom of the table — a "

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

six pointer". The term may also be applied for teams chasing a

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

tournament position, as seen with teams in North America's

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. For example, suppose the standings before a match between Team A and Team B are as follows: If Team A wins the match, they will be five points ahead: If Team A loses the match, they will be one point behind: Thus, for Team A, the difference between winning and losing represents a six-point differential with respect to their rivals, Team B (five ahead versus one behind); even though it only represents a three-point differential with respect to all other teams in the league (43 points versus 40 points). A similar analysis to this match applies for Team B. In Australia the term six pointer can also be used in association football to describe a poor shot at goal, where the ball goes between the posts but very high over the bar. It alludes to

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

, where a goal (worth 6 points) is scored at any height between goalposts which have no crossbar.

References

{{reflist Association football terminology

See also

References