It was a peculiar sight for anybody involved in the contest. Melissa Barbieri’s late introduction and subsequent 90th minute goal may have already been a slight deflection from the usual narrative at Wembley Park, but it was the team she was playing and scoring for that raised the most eyebrows.
To even name Melissa Barbieri as a Heidelberg United player is curious, but that’s the reality in 2016. It was ironic, and indeed fitting in a way, that her first game for a Victorian women’s side – she has previously turned out for Richmond’s men’s side as a dual-registration – other than Box Hill in over 15 years came against her old club, which formed one half of the most intense rivalry in the late-noughties of the WPL era.
After the transition from Ringwood City to Box Hill Inter in 2001, back when the league was still a first past the post system, Barbieri and her side won titles in 2001 and 2003. While there was no league silverware in 2002 – which was won by Cranbourne Comets, one of the powerhouses of the late 90s and early 00s – that year Barbieri made her Matildas debut in September 2002 in a 1–0 win against Canada.
In 2004 – an Olympic year for Barbieri – the league changed to a finals format, and Box Hill triumphed 1-0 in the grand final against Cranbourne Comets.
In another grand final against Cranbourne Comets in 2005, the contest finished 1-1 before a Box Hill win on penalties. The Comets contained the likes of FFV Hall of Famer Deb Nichols and the Kapusta sisters, who were most recently at Sandringham in the WPL last season. Ali scored in the 25th minute before Belinda Pacella equalised in the 43rd minute. Current Galaxy United defender Kat Smith and another long time Box Hill player Georgia Koutrouvelis and were then also at Box Hill.
2006 marked the first of five years in which both Heidelberg and Box Hill faced off in grand finals. It’s worth re-visiting John Punshon’s work for ozfootball.net to take a look at how those clashes transpired.
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2006 – Box Hill (1st) 1 defeated Heidelberg United (3rd) 0
The 2006 final saw Box Hill win 1-0 in dramatic circumstances when player-coach Daniela Digiammarco scored an 88th minute winner at Bob Jane Stadium, against a Heidelberg outfit containing the likes of Penny Bakapoulos – most recently at Box Hill last season – Rita Mankowska, Jamara Maza – now club assistant coach – and Belinda Panella.
2007 – Heidelberg United (1st) 3 defeated Box Hill (2nd) 2
2007 was a year in which Heidelberg won their solitary grand final, but it came with a catch. Barbieri did not feature – a year where she would have World Cup duties – and Box Hill lost after falling behind 3-0 to strikes by Sarah Groenewald, Megan Archer and Sonia Romano. A brace to Louisa Bisby – another player to make the eventual switch to Heidelberg via Bundoora – wasn’t enough to salvage a result. Katie Neville, now at Galaxy, played between the sticks at Heidelberg.
2008 – Box Hill (1st) 1 defeated Heidelberg United (4th) 0
Box Hill and Barbieri took back the WPL championship after triumphing 1-0, with Digimmarco again scoring a grand final winner. Fellow former Matilda and current FFV board member Tal Karp featured in the winning side. That season also saw the inception of the W-League, in which Barbieri played for Melbourne Victory alongside Tal Karp, and won the league’s best goalkeeper.
2009 – Box Hill 2 (1st) defeated Heidelberg United (2nd) 0
The 2009 season saw Box Hill win by a more comfortable margin than usual, with Anthea Vardakas and Aleksandra Sinclair seeing Jeff Hawkins’ side win 2-0 – again over Heidelberg. A few more familiar recent faces featured, as Heidelberg now had Julia Nicolaci, future captain Michelle Verzi and future Box Hill striker Melanie Camilleri, and future Calder and Melbourne City player Tyla-Jay Vlajnic. Katie Neville was back for Heidelberg after a season at Keilor Park.
2010 – Box Hill United (1st) 2 defeated Heidelberg United (2nd) 1
It’s beginning to sound like a broken record by 2010, with Box Hill again defeating Heidelberg 2-1 in the final. Goals by Deanna Niceski and Aimee Benton – now at Bayside – were enough to see off John Lioupas’ side, despite Camilleri’s 79th minute goal. Earlier that year in May, Barbieri became the Asian Cup champion and was also named captain of the Matildas.
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That, essentially, was the final year of the rivalry of both sides in grand finals, with the beginning of the changing of the guard in the top tier of Victorian football. It marked seven league titles for Barbieri and Box Hill in the decade between 2001-2010.
2011 was another World Cup year, in which Barbieri played sporadically for Box Hill. South Melbourne defeated Sandringham in the final that year.
In early 2012 Barbieri was nursing an ankle reconstruction. She did appear five times, and curiously was once listed as coach in a 8-1 thrashing of Preston. It was the season of the emergence of Cassandra Dimovski between the sticks at Wembley Park, with the custodian part of the squad which won a thrilling grand final on penalties against Bundoora.
After Barbieri returned to competitive duties in 2013 following the pregnancy and birth of daughter Holly, the Box Hill/Heidelberg rivalry looked like sparking up again. It could have been Heidelberg’s year – with both sides facing off in just the minor semi final, the Bergers triumphed that round, only to lose to Sandringham in the preliminary final, who went on to win the whole thing over Bill Mihaloudis’ – now coaching Barbieri at Heidelberg – South Melbourne.
South Melbourne, under Matt Maslak following the departures of both Mihaloudis and Alan Davidson, would go on to win to inflict another grand final defeat on Heidelberg, before backing it up again with a dramatic win over Boroondara Eagles. Those years marked a barren run for Box Hill, missing out on finals both times.
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And so now, Barbieri makes the move to a club considered one of their fiercest competition, one whose measure Box Hill had for the majority. The lure of playing as an outfielder was a contributing factor for her move to Olympic Village. However, both clubs will have their work cut out if they want to spark the grand final rivalry once more, currently in the bottom half of the table with one win each. Nonetheless, the move adds a fascinating sub-narrative to women’s football in Victoria.
Images: Amanda Williams/Backline Photography