Fri, 24 Feb 2023
On Sunday 19 February a charity fundraiser, the SA Flood Recovery Match, was held as the curtain-raiser at Coopers Stadium, Adelaide, in support of farmers affected by the natural disasters in SA, particularly those dealing with the fallout from the recent River Murray flood event.
The South Australian Produce Market joined with Adelaide United, Foodland, Rural Business Support and the State Government to host the match. Other major donors including Duxton Water, CMV Farms, AusVeg and Bank SA came on to support the match and each player made a donation of $1,000 for the honour of running onto the pitch.
With both teams fielding a mix of experienced and amateur players, it was SA Government who scored first in the first five minutes with a perfectly-timed strike from Shane Pearce. Adelaide United coaches; Travis Dodd, for Government, and Marcello Carrusca, Pick A Local, worked well to balance players throughout the game matching skills and experience, and while SA Government followed a few minutes later with a second goal scored by Peter Gonis, it wasn’t long before Pick a Local, Pick SA made their way onto the scoreboard with a goal from Nathan Russo. With the sun beating down, players were feeling the heat in more ways than one.
A spectacular header from Liam Golding cemented SA Government’s lead although Elisabeth Romeo, who had been strongly contesting throughout the match, put the second on the board for Pick a local, Pick SA!
Second goals from both Pearce and Golding sealed the deal for SA Government to take the game 5 – 2 and take home the Rural Business Support Cup. It was worth noting that young Alessandro dos Santos, at just 14-years-old, made some sensational saves as goalie for Pick a Local, Pick SA!, preventing what could have been a bigger defeat. While there may be some bragging rights for a few weeks, having industry and all sides of government unite for a for worthy cause was the greater win.
Final:
SA Government: 5
Pick a Local, Pick SA: 2
Goals:
Pick a local, Pick SA!: Russo, Romeo
SA Government: Pearce 2, Golding 2, Gonis.
Best on Ground:
Pick A Local, Pick SA!: Elisabeth Romeo
SA Government: Shane Pearce
Rural Business Support would like to thank the South Australian State Government for donating $100,000 to the fundraiser.
At the close of play, South Australians had contributed $155,000 to primary producers to assist them in their flood recovery. These donations will provide 90 struggling farming families immediate relief to assist them to meet their everyday needs.
Primary Industries and Regions have indicated that there are approximately 500 unique farming enterprises in SA who have been impacted by the flood event, and the RBS Relief Fund hopes donations will continue, assisting them to meet their target of $200,000 or more.
Donations to the Relief Fund can be made via www.ruralbusinesssupport.org.au or to chat with RBS about making a gift, please call Mon Saunders, Communications and Philanthropy Manager on 08 8249 7524.
