Xpression FM football match raises funds for charity

The squad, made up of pundits, presenters and producers of the Xpression FM Sports team challenged the infamous Barbarians side which featured staff members from across the University.

Around 100 students lined the Sports Park’s rubber crumb pitch to show their support and enjoy a closely fought match, the students confident after a 3-1 victory the previous year.

Xpression started well as Jake Topp capitalised on a defensive error 20 minutes in, to put the radio stars a goal up. A midfield struggle ensued and despite numerous opportunities the Barbarians struggled to break through Xpression’s strong defensive line and went into half-time behind.

The second half, however, saw a change of fortunes for the staff. An early Xpression handball in the box provided a penalty chance which former AU president Tom Murray seized, levelling the scores before fellow Barbarian Patrick Weir slotted away a loose ball in the six yard box to put the side ahead.

All seemed settled until an unnecessary foul just outside the box gave Xpression the opportunity to equalise. A poorly defended free-kick and stunning header from Joe Alexander levelled the scores, a mere two minutes before the full time whistle. The final score Xpression FM 2-2 Barbarians.

Barbarians captain Andrew Fry said “It’s been a close match, but very fairly contested and played in the right spirit. The whole side have really enjoyed the game and it’s great to help raise the profile of the Adam Stansfield Foundation. We hope that this becomes a regular feature in the Barbarians calendar.”

So far the event has raised £2000 for the Adam Stansfield Foundation, a charity which helps to develop football facilities for children in the South West.

Xpression FM Head of Sport Ben Warden was delighted with the figure. He said: "It was an absolute pleasure to raise money for the Adam Stansfield Foundation. They were so welcoming and helpful throughout our fundraising and we were all inspired by the work that they do.

The Charity match itself against a team of University Staff was a great success, with a raffle, auction, cake sale and spectator penalty shootout all contributing to a total that has more than doubled our original target! We're so pleased we could help and would like to thank all involved."