Lucas Barsby will have all the facts. Luke Gardiner will have all the snaps. Stay tuned to auscblacks.com for the all details of this Saturday’s thrilling Bill Barbari Cup.
The featured pre-season event which throws all four men’s arms of the AUSC against each other has changed format, to a single-day, high-intensity, cut-throat, lightning tournament.
Grads Red stole the show from the Uni Whites last year and the Grads Blue are ready to build on their 2013 results. The Blacks, of course, are vying for cup honours under new coach Davide Simoni.
The sausages will be sizzling, the beverages will be flowing. Join us for a great spectacle of football from 10am at the Graduates and North Pitches of the University Ovals.
Our BBC northern correspondent Lucas Barsby will have all the match reports here on the website next week and ‘man with the biggest lens ever seen at an amateur football game’ Luke Gardiner, will have some stunning action shots for those who missed the special moments.
Grads Red v Grads Blue, 2013 Bill Barbari Cup
A Grade Most Valuable Player winner – Barry Fitzharris
Reserves Cup report
By Lucas Barsby
The reserves Bill Barbari Cup was won by Uni White, who won all 3 of their games on the north pitch. The first and what would prove to be the decisive win came from the early 11:00am kick-off against eventual runners up, Uni Black C. This was a hard fought contest with the blacks having the run of play for most of the 30 minute match.
The Blacks had their best chances to score from crosses and corners, some goal line acrobatics from the Whites’ goalkeeper and some slightly misdirected finishing keeping the scores deadlock. The Whites’ gloveman made the highlight reel with a point blank save from a powerful header at the back post from Blacks striker Lucas Barsby, and also managed to parry over the bar a 40 yard effort from creative force, Mahesh Umapathysivam who had him scrambling back onto his line.
In the final few minutes the Whites broke through with a well worked move down the left wing finished off emphatically from the Whites captain who had made a run from deep lying midfield. A second was added soon after and the Whites dominant day had begun.
The second match was a mildly heated affair between Grads Red and Uni Black B. The game was a tight midfield tussle with some sharp play from both sides creating chances. The match’s only goal came early with a failed clearance bobbing up high into the area where it was pounced upon by red shirts and finished off midway through the first half.
Despite the short format of the match, 3 yellow cards were issued in a short period with tensions escalated by some competitive challenges and players pushing hard to find the elusive 2nd goal. The Blacks came closest when ever present goal threat, Shaun Kastelijn beat everything except the crossbar with a spectacular left footed effort from an acute angle after beating his defender. 1-0 it finished with the Reds and Whites sitting pretty after the first round of matches.
The Blacks C team were next to take on the Reds. Again the contest was tight with chances this time few and far between for both sides in the first half. The deciding moment of the match came in the final minute where a Blacks forwarded was impeded by 2 Reds defenders with a free kick awarded just outside the box. With seconds on the clock, Gary Templeton was able to get the ball around the 4 man wall of Reds players and curl it high into the net with a precision left foot strike from 21 yards to claim the 3 points for the Blacks.
The Blacks B then took on the Whites and they claimed another victory over a Blacks team in a tight contest. Both teams had their chances in this match with the best opportunity of the game in open play when the Whites keeper made a great save from a powerful Blacks strike, but was only able to parry the ball into the path of the Blacks advancing midfielders, one of whom somehow managed to put the follow up wide with the open goal at his mercy.
The Whites again snatched the points late in the Black v White grudge match, with a penalty awarded and duly converted late in the match. This was on the second attempt after the first was called back for an encroachment.
The final round of matches kicked off with the Whites taking on the Reds needing only a draw to seal their victory for the day. The game started off well for the whites with a goal scored early from close distance, but the Reds struck back to level the match heading into half time. Both goals were well taken chances from inside the penalty area.
The match and the round robin league was sealed by the whites in the second half however, with the winning goal being scored and taking the Whites’ total to 9 points and a 100% record for the day, leaving them free to enjoy the final match in good spirits from the hill.
The last match was a playoff between the two Blacks sides where the Blacks C ran out victorious against their clubmates. All players were worse for wear at this time of the day, and the game was open with both teams getting chances working the play from side to side in the new Italian style tactics the Blacks have adopted under manager Davide Simone.
It was a battle of veteran keepers with Dwayne Stacey in goal for the Bs making a reflex save in a crowded goal area off a corner, and Chris Muldoon in goal for the C’s making a rare triple save and denying multiple Blacks B’s strikers in the process.
The only goal of the match came when new recruit Jordan Bale, who has traded one Black and White team at Adelaide City for another at Uni Black fed Sean Sheehy who chipped home from the corner of the box and ensured the C team finished 2nd on the day and condemned his teammates to the bottom of the table.
