Adelaide University Soccer Club
27/05/2012
Adelaide
University (0) vs (1) Adelaide Villa
It was a mixed bag for Uni today.
Things got off to a great start as the Cs put St. Peters to the sword with a
comprehensive 5-1 demolition. International ring in Joe managed to bag his
first hat trick of the season with Gary also chipping in with a goal and a neat
cross which forced an own goal. The Bs game was a tight and somewhat scrappy
affair which ended 1 goal a piece – Luke having found the back of the net with
a long range effort in the first half, only to be cancelled out by a second
half penalty from Villa. The As game was frustrating for the Blacks as they
went down to a resolute Adelaide Villa side which ended the game with 9 men.
Starting Line up Bench
Andy Cameron
Olly Terry
Tim Bastien
Mike
Barry
Rob
Paul
Nick
Chris
Russ
Sam
The As match opens with a testy first 5 minutes as the game settles into a rhythm.
Olly Gissing is beginning to find some space down the right hand side when his
momentum is brought to a halt, quite literally, when he is caught by an elbow
from a Villa player. The referee immediately shows the Villa defender red after
just 6′ minutes, obviously having judged it to be deliberately violent
conduct. It immediately adds an interesting dynamic to the game as Adelaide
Villa now face the prospect of running out almost the full 90 minutes with 10
men. The game settles quickly with minimal dispute from the Villa players. The
card is met with bewilderment rather than protest from most of the Villa squad.
The resulting free kick is hoofed long and finds Chris Hewitson in the
attacking third who snatches at a shot which sprays across goal. Robbie has
another effort moments later but shoots over from a wide angle. Blacks have the
momentum after the card and are enjoying good passages of play. Nick builds
play from the back, passing to Olly who takes a couple good touches into space
in the middle of the park and unleashes a long range effort on goal. The power
is there but the ball is tipped over the bar for a corner. On the 18′ minute
mark the Blacks switch the ball from far right to find Hewey on the edge of the
area, who chests the ball down and hits a half volley. The keeper is caught
unawares and it looks to be goal bound as it sails over the Villa goalies head,
but strikes the bar and ricochets away. Barry also gets a shot on goal after a
run through mid-field, but it’s straight at the keeper and is gathered
comfortably. The rain begins to move in on the half-hour mark and the tempo of
the game is beginning to slow down. Uni aren’t able to capitalise on their
chances in front of goal. The chances dry up for both sides moving into
half-time as crosses coming into the Villa penalty area are ineffective for
Uni. Uni and 10 man Villa leave the pitch for half time with the score still
locked at nil all.
Half-time
Adelaide Uni (0) – (0) Adelaide Villa
It’s a length half-time break and the second half
doesn’t begin until 4.00pm. There’s plenty of football left to play here and
Uni will have to be careful not to throw away their chance at 3 points against
a 10 man Villa. The Blacks look relatively sharp after the break and are
stringing a few passes together. Before 10 minutes are up Russ Ahmady shoots
over and Olly gets a shot on target but neither seriously threaten the Villa
goal. 60 minutes gone and the first Uni sub sees Rob Lane make way for
Cameron in the middle of the park. Moments after the break, Olly manages to
find his way round his marker wide and deep on the right hand side and cuts a
ball back along the ground from just inside the Villa box. Mike gets on the end
of it and shoots home into the bottom left of the net. The celebrations are cut
short when the linesmen judges the ball to have passed out of play before Olly
squared it to Mike. Protests are waved away by the referee and the goal kick is
awarded. The moments of promise for Uni early in the second half starts to fall
away with 70 minutes having elapsed with neither team are really holding
onto the ball or playing expansive football. Uni are caught on the counter when
a well weighted through ball finds the Villa striker at the back post, with
pressure from behind the side footed attempt to shoot into the far corner of
the net. Andy Norman, the Blacks keeper, manages to get behind the shot and
prevent Villa going in front. Only a minute after the break away from Villa,
they are awarded a penalty as Tim Argent mistimes a sliding tackle and brings
down a Villa attacker. It’s a very well taken spot kick and Andy doesn’t have a
chance in goals. Villa go ahead 1-0. Villa immediately retreat far into their
own half and park the proverbial bus. No-one can blame them and it’s a gutsy
effort to get ahead with a one man disadvantage. Terry is making some lung
busting runs down the left side after coming off the bench but Uni can’t find
an opening. With 10 minutes to go, the game begins to flair up and a few
players from either side definitely are starting to lose their cool. The
reckless tackles begin to tot up and a few players go into the book, when
finally Villa’s second half substitute attempts to stomp Michael Decelis, after
a sliding tackle leaves their legs tangled with Mike seated on the ground. It’s
a straight red for violent conduct, which only heats things up further. Minutes
later, Tim Argent picks up his second yellow and makes the walk to the bench
with only minutes remaining. It’s 9 against 10 as Uni throw numbers forward in
the final moments, but to no avail. The whistle sounds and Villa are
understandably thrilled with their victory.
Red cards often change the dynamics of a game in
unexpected ways and it almost seems as if the man advantage threw Uni off their
stride a bit today. Nevertheless, they certainly had the better of the game in
it’s totality and will be bitterly disappointed at dropping the points this
afternoon. As always, it’s a shame when tempers flair and football loses out
but the majority of players for both sides managed to keep their cool. No
doubt, Uni will keep their heads up and march on to next week. Final props to
Nick at centre-back who picked up best on ground for Uni today as he put in a
solid shift in the heart of the Uni defense.
Full-time
Adelaide Uni As (0) – (1) Adelaide Villa
Adelaide Uni Bs (1) – (1) Adelaide Villa
Adelaide Uni Cs (5) – (1) St. Peters
T. Gissing
