Fabian Barbiero’s equaliser against Melbourne Victory has given weight to the adage ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again’.
Fabian Barbiero-s equaliser against Melbourne Victory has given weight to the adage ‘if at first you don-t succeed, try and try again-.
A couple of times in the opening 80 minutes of a tension filled contest at Etihad Stadium, Barbiero had tried his luck firing shots on the Victory goal, only to fail directing them on target. While it could have been easy for him to drop his head and tell himself it was not his night, the hard working midfielder kept positive and reaped the reward for it.
Staring down the barrel of defeat with less than ten minutes remaining, things were becoming increasingly desperate for the Reds. Then in the 82nd minute, a fine build up saw Barbiero receive the ball from Sergio van Dijk at the top of the penalty area. Given space to size up a left footed shot, this time he made no mistake, accurately directing it past the outstretched Ante Covic and into the back of the net.
The Adelaide born midfielder says the commitment and determination his team mates showed, particularly in the second half, had helped him to believe they could still get something out of the game. Barbiero-s goal also reinforced that if you put yourself in scoring positions often enough, eventually one is going to go your way.
“If you don-t shoot you don-t score and I like to take chances,” Barbiero said after touching down back in Adelaide.
“I was getting tired but you keep persisting, and with Dario (Vidosic) coming in and Zenon (Caravella) working hard, it made us lift another level.”
Barbiero-s persistence on Saturday night could also easily correlate to how he has patiently waited to get his chance in the Reds- side this season. An ankle operation in the off-season and subsequent lengthy rehabilitation program meant the 27 year old had to wait until Week 7 before getting his first Hyundai A-League action of the season. He made two late cameos off the bench before playing every minute in the Reds- last two matches, and he admits it is pleasing to see his perseverance starting to pay off.
“It has been a while. Obviously coming back from injury it-s hard and I-ve been patient,” Barbiero said.
“Rini (Coolen) hasn-t rushed me back, he-s played me in the Youth Team a few times and now I-m feeling the best I-ve felt and hopefully I can bring more to the team.”
The Reds- performance against the Victory showed a marked improvement compared to the week before, and considering United had lost nine of its 11 games at Etihad Stadium leading into the clash, Barbiero can see good things to come out of the 1-1 result.
“We jigged a few things in the second half and I think they paid off, we kept the ball a lot more and I thought we were in control and the boys showed a lot of fight and character to come back after going 1-nil down to grind out a draw,” Barbiero said.
“I think at the end of the day it was a fair result. They had quite a number of chances and credit to Eugene, he saved us again, but we had our chances as well, so I think at the end of the day it was a fair result.”
“There are positives we can take out of the second half and build on for next week.”
The Reds- next opponents come in the shape of bottom placed Gold Coast United on Friday 16 December at Hindmarsh Stadium. Tickets are available through Ticketek.
