Students v. Staff Football Match

09/10/2006

Students Denied Last Minute Victory

Students 4 - 4 Staff

After last year’s 5-2 romping, the Staff team was eager to prove when the semesterly Student v. Staff football match kicked off at Old Deer Park on Saturday 7 October.

The addition of Drs. James Boys and Mike Keating brought fresh hope to the Staff team, who were also supported by friends and family of Richmond. The combination of experience and youth proved to be the right ticket as the Staff team dominated the first half. However, a minor kerfuffle at the Staff goal that saw keeper Radek Coufal down and injured, allowed Student Shannon Dority to waltz by and score the opening goal at 12 minutes.

The Staff recovered well, responding with a goal, and keeping pace with the Students. At the half, the score was 2-2.

The opening of the second half brought a flurry of goals. Student Alessandro di Battista displayed his usual flair for the beautiful game with a bicycle kick that brought the Students into the lead again and left substitute keeper Jasper Verdam shouting “don’t let him shoot!” Again the staff responded with goals from Dr. Keating and Nick Johnson. For the first time, the Staff were in the lead. And with 10 minutes left in the match, it looked like they would claim their first victory since this rivalry began, when the Students leveled it.

On the sidelines, Staff Manager Dwyer encouraged his team with “come on lads!” while Student Captain Choi bemoaned his side’s formation that went from 4-4-2 to a seeming 3-1-6. Having so many attackers up front could have sealed the deal for the Students though. In the dying seconds of the match, confusion erupted when a Student strike saw the back of the Staff net. But a very watchful linesman ruled the player offside, and the result stood at 4-4, leaving the students clamoring for a re-match this semester.