Uni Whites versus Rostrevor. Hindmarsh Stadium. Could the Whites take all before them and crush their arch nemeses? Jon Aspin explains what happened.

Last Friday night (5/10/01) Hindmarsh Stadium saw one of the most exciting and hotly contested Collegiate Cup Finals in recent memory. Players and supporters from both teams gave their all during a game that see-sawed for the entire ninety minutes. Rostrevor eventually came out on top by an entertaining four goals to three, capitalising on some unusual errors by the Whites, and preventing a repeat of the fairytale league and cup double winning season of 1998.

Having been the best team in the competition all year, and fighting off some strong opposition in the previous two weeks, the Whites had reason to be confident. In the semi-final the previous Sunday against a Mercedes team who had rated their own chances, the Whites had shown grit and determination to stave off repeated challenges, winning in the last minute by three goals to two. Prior to that, they had stoutly defended a 1-0 lead with nine men for most of the second half against a determined Unley. Players were coming into good form at the right time of the season after an embarrassing loss to Norwood in atrocious conditions and a scrappy 1-0 against the Comets to finally clinch the title in recent weeks.

Going in, Rostrevor were somewhat of an unknown quantity to the Whites, having had their previous meeting abandoned because of rain. The only other time they had played during the year, the Whites had hung on in the second half to win by two goals to one at home. By all accounts, Rostrevor did enjoy a good run in, easily accounting for some decent sides in the final few weeks. Under injury clouds also were important players Anthony Neilsen and Richard Coburn, the speedy winger who had narrowly avoided a leg amputation in the semi, and attacking midfielder Dave Lane with a suspect hamstring that had been a problem for most of the season. Both did enough to impress coach John Whitehouse at training on the Tuesday, with Coburn quoted in various media outlets as saying 'I don't care if I have to go out there on crutches, I'm just getting out there!'. Dave Lane was later to succumb to his injury in the first half of action. Subsequently many of the females in the crowd were said to be demanding their money back, complaining that they did not get their $8 dollars worth.

It was clear that Rostrevor had not read the pre-match script provided by White's mentor Bill Hill when they came out and scored after two minutes. Sloppy marking from a dead ball situation allowed a free header at the back post. After the usual post- mortem and internal investigation by captain and defensive legend Rob Alberton, the Whites got on with the game. They didn't settle into the game all that well however, and were experiencing some untimely nerves during the biggest game of their lives. Players were having to adjust to the quality of the pitch, and in that first half, did not adapt as quickly to the ball coming on fast and true off a magnificent Hindmarsh surface. Rostrevor were doing nothing however and the Whites had created enough forward pressure to say that they deserved a goal when Stuart 'Stroppy' Hopgood equalised after taking on the bamboozled Rostrevor sweeper and slotting home truly. The crowd lifted immediately and there was a sense that the next goal would be crucial.

Steve Thornett was running his bottom off up front as usual and Rostrevor could not get past a resolute defensive unit of Simon Ward, Campbell Hopgood and Damien Bushby. Jon Aspin superstar probably should have done better with a couple of chances he had but was linking up well with Richie and providing something for Stroppy and Steve to chase. Aspin was also having a hell of a time tracking back to make sure Rostrevor's tall # 7 wasn't getting any free headers in the box. With patience, the Whites looked good enough to score again. So it was deflating when keeper Danny made a blunder and dropped one in the net after a fairly harmless shot on goal. After an excellent season and some fine shot-stopping all year, Danny knows he would normally have saved such a ball. While John fumed on the bench, the Whites-friendly crowd got behind us even more and they nearly turned this into a second equaliser before half-time. After some good work by Dave Lane and persistent running to cross by Thornett, only Strop knows how he managed not to convert when the goal beckoned, maybe it was just not the Whites day. Down 1-2 at half-time.

The message at half-time was that we were playing well, and that we only had to be a little bit harder at it to make sure we created enough chances to win it. We had come from behind to win on many previous occasions and we all believed we were good enough. What happened next was a repeat of the first half, with Rostrevor scoring a volleyed third goal after 3 minutes. At 1-3, players knew it was all up-hill from here, but the Whites continued to have more possession than their opponents and battled on, just failing to find the back of the net. At this stage Rostrevor were tiring, and their forwards were not threatening our goal. The fresh legs of Daniel Bushe and Paul K. were making a difference in midfield and skipper Rob Alberton was cleaning up anything that came his way. The signs were there again that we could score, and The Whites did just that through Aspin after a cross from Richie and a goal mouth scramble from Steve. The ball fell fortunately for the Whites midfielder who slammed the ball convincingly into the roof of the net, off the crossbar. At 2-3 the game was well and truly alive and the Whites had all the momentum.

Then, just as had happened in the first half, a defensive lapse let Rostrevor score when they should not have. A low shot was not blocked and managed to find its way through what seemed like a wall of players, eventually flying into the back of the net off the scurrying Simon Wards' foot, 2-4 with 15 minutes to play. Heads did not go down however and with the crowd behind them again, the Whites had the majority of the play for the next five minutes. Romanian substitute striker and hero of the semi-final, Mike was brought into the game for Strop who had run himself into the ground. His amazing skills looked ominous and provided a couple of good chances for the Whites that just went astray. Again the Whites scored after another good build-up with Mike managing to get a foot on a ball that was bouncing around the box, 3-4. The crowd surged, officials at Hindmarsh had not seen such an exciting match since Sergio Melta was a boy, and certainly not from the ranks of the collegiate league.

With just minutes remaining a free kick in a dangerous area was taken by Aspin. Going for glory, his kick failed to achieve the dip that he was looking for and sailed over the cross bar when he should have floated the ball in to the box for a header. Both teams were tired now and were literally running on empty, the wide open spaces of Hindmarsh had taken their toll, and with no substitutes left, it would take something special for the Whites to get up. Unfortunately for them, the referee blew his whistle right on ninety minutes and the game was over.

Never once did the Whites give up during the entire game. With a little bit more luck, it could easily have been their day and we would be celebrating the league and cup double. Congratulations go to Rostrevor for playing the game in good spirits and for making the most of their opportunities. A special mention must go to the Uni Whites cheer squad who really got behind the team and reverberated around the ground all night. After the game players shook hands and took time to enjoy the fact that they had played an exciting game worthy of one of the best soccer grounds in Australia. A sombre atmosphere overtook post-game celebrations at The Gov and then at Worldsend, with players vowing to turn up again next season to make up for what might have been.

The team on the night was:

Rob Alberton (captain)
Daniel Aiken (gk)
Campbell Hopgood
Damien Bushby
Simon Ward
Jon Aspin
Dave Lane
Richard Coburn
Anthony Neilsen
Stuart Hopgood
Steve Thornett
Daniel Bushe
Mihai Vacariu
Paul Krzystoszek
Jan Pfitzner
Hayden Smith

Coach - John Whitehouse
Asst. Coach - Graeme Jackson

Jon Aspin

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