Cast of Characters:

Friday Night

The weekend began with a bus trip and get to know session for all of the players, and of course a few beers. It was not all smooth sailing however as Simmo was forced to take a tough stance on the beer policy and not allow any drinking for the first hour. This was soon forgotten however once the clock ticked over and the beer started flowing.

There was confusion however and one argument between Jase and the K man over whether we saw foxes or dogs out the window of the bus. At Dorrigo we were joined by a loaf of Bread, that was to become Beavis our mascot for the weekend, a bar towel and stories of chewy chiko rolls. The latter part of this trip was included some memorable singing, arguments about Music, English and Australian Sport and the merits of eating meat. Godders starred in his role as agent provocateur and although failing to convert anyone provided us all with food for thought. The real star of Friday night was Gustavo who well earned his nickname of the wolf man for his howls, as well as instilling confidence in his teammates through his promises of goals.

Saturday

Saturday morning began at the sensible hour of 11:30 am with a really tough match against a more experienced and very determined Sylvania Heights side. UNE was a little shell shocked and unfamiliar with each other in the first half but were quickly stung into action by Sylvania’s early attacking. UNE were down 1-0 at half time but could take heart from the good chances that they had during the first half, as well as the solid defending and smart passing that was beginning to develop. The second half was a different story however. UNE had the best of the possession and chances in the second half including a penalty won after Bradley was brutally hacked down in the area by a tackle not even punished by a booking. Unfortunately the penalty was saved and UNE were still behind on the scoreboard. This changed soon after however with Yawlo scoring after some excellent passing and ball movement in the lead up. After that both sides pushed for a winner but were unable to find one with the match ending in a credible 1-1 draw.

UNE’s second game was against the Port RSL Colts, who would have to be the oldest Colts team in football. Again this was a hard fought game with both sides scoring from errors and lapses in concentration from the other teams. Brains is claiming what most observers thought was an own goal after a well curled corner kick was assisted into the net by a Port player. Again UNE’s defence was solid with some strong defending by B 2, Shoish and Grub as well as some excellent midfield football from Brains, Bros and Tariq (on debut). The wolf man got some good touches up front although he seemed to be suffering from the signs of a hangover from Friday nights bus trip.

The final game on Saturday was against the aptly named Tigers (who need to ease up), and again was a very hard fought and competitive match with both sides needing wins to ensure qualification without relying on corner kicks to take them through. This match was extremely physical with Yawlo receiving a serious knock to the knee that ended his weekend of football. The UNE/Tigers clash was also the match where Piggsy was switched from midfield to sweeper, which according to Piggsy led to the first clean sheet of UNE’s season, although the goalkeeping may have had something to do with it. UNE however felt hard done by in this match with their appeals for a goal being denied when the ball had seemingly crossed the goal line before being cleared by one of the Tigers. However the match ended 0-0 and UNE failed to qualify for the top 8 on corners.

After Saturday’s football action was finished the team headed back to the Caravan Park where the attention was transferred to the Women’s team and the eagerly anticipated BBQ. The BBQ was highlighted by the witticisms of Brains, Grub’s onion cooking expertise, Piggsy’s sing-along, and everyone’s attempts at avoiding stints at the BBQ. The BBQ however was cooked, with the main chefs being Piggsy (who was constantly complaining about being English and having to cook), Simmo and Jase (who both would do anything to avoid responsibility) and B2 and Grub. The highlights of the BBQ however were the bonding and Howling that occurred, the beer that flowed, and the camaraderie that was developed. Apart from these events there was also the B2 led bloodless coup and the change of football system to a 4-3-3 before the clash with the dangerous Macksville side on Sunday morning. The rest of Saturday night is enshrined in our team history and will be fondly and patchily remembered by the squad for years to come.

An Epic Sunday

Sunday morning brought us back to the world of football and responsibility with the BBQ needing cleaning and packing needing to be done all before the Macksville clash and trial of the Peatfield management style. The system proposed by B2 was very successful against Macksville with UNE coming away with a 4-nil win. Goal scorers were Jase, the wolf man (2 out of the 8 promised to the team), and the K-man. This match will also be remembered for Ali’s spectacular diving headers, and the goal celebrations of Gustavo who brushed away the demons after his first goal and howled to the moon in chorus with the rest of the squad after his second. An inspired decision was made by our awesome coach, Stormin’ Norman, to rest B1, B2 and Jace, a decision that was to prove crucial in the following game.

The win against Macksville led to a rematch with our “good friends and neighbours”, the Tigers, who had kept our whole caravan park awake (apparently) on the Saturday night with their partying. This was one of the most exciting games of soccer that most of the players had ever taken part in and was finally won in the drop off when there was only 4 players for each team on the full size field. The remaining on field players; B1, B2, Simmo and Jace rejoiced and were swamped by their teammates when our striker finally finished the game when he beautifully, amazingly and belatedly chipped the keeper after muffing his previous chances. The match against the Tigers was a great example of the strength and spirit of the UNE side who despite being called into some desperate defending, double saves, and clearances off the line still managed to lift to victory, after numerous rounds of drop offs.

This win (inspired by the presence of Beavis) led to an all Armidale final against a comparatively well rested Ex-Services side who had easily accounted for South’s and West Pymble on their way to the consolation cup final. After some negotiation by Beavis (and Simmo) with the organizers, this match was delayed half an hour to give our players time to regain their breath. The all Armidale final was as one would expect a tough encounter with the $50 prize money inspiring all players to give their all. After going ahead early on through a magnificent Sena header from an equally skillful Brains cross UNE seemed to run out of luck and steam with the fresher ex-services side coming away with the title. UNE thought they had scored a second goal through some brilliant teamwork in the second half but were denied by the linesman’s offside flag after Tariq had netted what would have been his first goal for UNE.

All in all this weekend was successful for UNE who only lost one game, the Consolation Cup (Shit-kickers Cup) final to Ex-Services. The players then rounded off the weekend with a swim and a long bus trip back to Armidale that was still enjoyed despite the “dry” nature of the trip. Bros was the most put out by this and was feeling desperate for a beer by the time we stopped in Dorrigo. He was further frustrated by the fact that he couldn’t convince anyone to join him at the pub and ended up suffering all the way back beerless.

Every member of the squad for this carnival made a valuable contribution both to the soccer and social side of the weekend and should all feel proud of their contributions.