The cup of life
For any football fan to wish for a solitary moment they could take the game back to the days of the old National Soccer League and have football return to its previous incarnation would be nothing short of madness. On so many occasions having watched NSL fixtures throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s in front of paltry crowds at ramshackle suburban grounds up and down the eastern seaboard of Australia, football zealots like me dreamt of a national league or its equivalent nothing less than mainstream, professional and attractive to all Australian sport fans.
And we have one, our A-League.
Surely the best of both worlds would be to have a glittering competition representing the major population centres around Australia with successful clubs playing in front of packed terraces with a foundation, parallel competition, running alongside that offered old soccer a chance to rub shoulders with new football.
And we have one. The Football Federation Australia (FFA) Cup.
The time finally arrived last night. In the future, yet so happy to remember our past.
It was a night where the football was just one of the attractions. The football was by definition; quality. Brisbane Strikers began with a fast paced passing game that rarely saw the ball leave the finely manicured blades of grass at Wanderers, yet the underdog Broadmeadow cultivated several half-chances in an evenly balanced first forty-five minutes. A fierce shot from Kalen Fisher-Smith, overlapping runs from wing-back Chris Maher and midfield platform orchestrated by the imposing Daniel Partridge presented a signature of the 1997 National Champions, the club Frank Farina and Matt McKay once played for. Broadmeadow looked likely when Rhys Tippett was given any room in the final third, meanwhile at the other end; Chris Bowling in goal was hardly troubled as the teams went to the dressing rooms 0-0 at the interval.
As expected from the Queensland Premier League outfit boasting talent across the park, Brisbane stepped on the gas after the break with noticeable combinations between Maher, Partridge and the left sided Greg King. They were cutting diagonal sways through the home side’s core when largely against the run of play Scott Pettit used close control and a nifty one-two with Rhys Tippett to open the scoring from close range to give Broadmeadow a slender advantage. The Strikers barely gave Magic fans a chance to settle in their seats when Matthew Thurtell ripped a half volley past Bowling to restore parity at 1-1 all before the hour mark. Lead-up work by substitute and ex-young Socceroo, Jonti Richter was sublime, effortlessly passing defenders, a constant torment for the defenders wearing red for the remainder of the evening.
The night’s biggest talking point was A-League referee Peter Green looking like a suburban Sunday whistle blower, awarding a penalty to Brisbane for an infringement well outside the box and to double the blow a behind the play linesman missing an offside against Brisbane striker Bradley Savage. To punish Broadmeadow further, Josh Piddington was ruled to have hindered a potential goal scoring opportunity and was sent off. The warrior, Piddington, stormed down the tunnel and seemingly took the home team’s chances of appearing in the round of sixteen with him.
In a bizarre twist, the largest roar from the crowd came after Bowling pulled off a remarkable save from the ensuing Keenan Duimpies spot-kick. The one man disadvantage did not deter Broadmeadow and they took the honours, if not the tie as the match went to extra time. The additional 30 minutes were lively, if not dramatic and a single chance to Scott Coulson after 113 minutes sealed the result for the visitors. Brisbane were stronger the longer the game went and their experience at a higher level told. The home side fought valiantly even after Bowling was sent off for a second bookable offence and the match stalled as confusion reigned over who would replace the dispatched custodian. The final five minutes saw Brisbane cruise to full-time against nine men and a final result of Broadmeadow Magic 1 Brisbane Strikers 2.
One of the best memories from the game at Wanderers last evening was walking to the ground, seeing the lights shine from a great distance, seeing the familiar Macedonian red scarves protecting cold necks enroute to the match. On a cool cup-tie evening, all roads led toward the light and the birth of our cup, the cup of life for amateur football across Australia. That same feeling never hits when walking to an A-League fixture in Newcastle. Something is missing at the highest level and we live with this because the game is in a better place than ever before.
Last night represented a coming home for many of us, a chance to relive the days before the A-League with the comfort of knowing it is there, a giant that is growing with an aggressive disposition to take fans off other sports and strengthen ours as each year passes. For those football fans who are pre-2005 tragic or even one of Johnny Warrens’ true believers, this was a night for us.
The atmosphere engendered around the small ground last night was superb. Kids and junior players emblazoned in club colours, the smoke rising from the piping hot barbeque, the match program, the sheer joy of standing on a grassed hill with no security guard in sight to force you to sit down. A-League venues can be sterile but sterility has no place in grassroots football. The beating heart of Australian football is the legacy of a club like Broadmeadow Magic, built by a passionate migrant community with its bare hands.
Hamilton Red Star became Newcastle Macedonia and eventually it became an Australianised Broadmeadow Magic, however the Macedonian community and its 1523 guests last night at Wanderers Oval took us back for an evening to where it all began and where we all belong. For those that were there, what we saw was wonderful and after ten years of watching the A-league rise and rise, at last the second tier, those who were there before us have been offered a ticket to the cup of life.
Viva Broadmeadow Magic, viva Brisbane strikers and South Hobart and Adelaide City and Melbourne Croatia, Sydney Olympic and the rest. For us, this is football, it was always this way and we cherish it.
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