Weekly Review 2008/2009 Azzi's Weekly Report

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IMPERIAL CUP FINAL—2009-03-29

WEST VAN FC – COLUMBUS-CLAN FC 2-1 PK’s

The Imperial Cup final—between West Van FC and Columbus-Clan FC—took place on Sunday at Kinsman Stadium in North Vancouver in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd. It is estimated that about 750 spectators attended the match, an excellent turn-out on a beautiful sunny day!

After a hard-fought and intense 120 minutes of regular and overtime action, the result had to be settled by penalty kicks. Incredibly, it took 13 rounds of spot kicks to decide a winner! Both goalkeepers, Columbus’ Thomas Lindley and West Van’s Marco Durante were primarily responsible for the elongated procedure as they pulled off some amazing saves. In the end, however, it was young Drew Gelley who blasted home the winner for West Van FC, thus celebrating his 24th birthday in fine fashion.

West Van FC carried most of the play in the first half and came close to scoring on a few occasions, but goalkeeper Thomas Lindley came up with a couple of magnificent saves—both on shots by Desmond Tachie—to keep the game scoreless throughout the first 45 minutes of play. In the second half, neither team was able to penetrate into the opponents’ danger area, mostly due to some superlative marking on the part of both teams’ defensive units. In particular, Columbus’ Jonathan Poli, Tynan Diaz, and Steve Kindel man-marked Ryan Glanville, Milad Rahmati, and Desmond Tachie respectively and succeeded in limiting the vaunted West Van attackers to few, if any, goalscoring chances. At the other end of the pitch, veteran West Van defender Trevor Short was able to mark young superstar Rizal Ganief out of the game with some extraordinary defensive work.

With about 8 minutes remaining in regulation time, Columbus took the lead when ‘GOLDEN BOOT AWARD’ winner Tiernan King headed home a hard drive by Tynan Diaz for what appeared to be the game’s winning goal. At this point, West Van’s coach—Dave Fiorvento—threw caution to the wind as he inserted a couple of attackers—Corey Birza and Sean Taylor—into the mix, replacing defenders Leo Nash and Max Baessato. The tactic proved to be very successful and it paid enormous dividends as West Van pushed forward relentlessly in search of the equalizer. Well into injury time, the former Trollers were finally rewarded when veteran Paul Dailly smashed a hard, speculative drive into the Columbus’ box. The ball narrowly missed the head of Desmond Tachie and somehow found its way into the net, much to the dismay of the Columbus players. The overtime was rather uneventful as both teams appeared clearly fatigued and unwilling to take any unnecessary risks. The match, and the Imperial Cup winner, therefore had to be decided on penalty kicks. Both teams scored 5 times in the regular ‘shootout’ and added a goal apiece in the knock-out round. However, Thomas Lindley and Marco Durante came up with some miraculous saves in the next three rounds to keep the score tied. Finally, in the 13th round, Columbus’ Scott McEachrean agonizingly watched his shot miss the net by mere centimetres, with Durante well-beaten. Birthday boy Drew Gelley then proceeded to calmly step up to the plate and slot home the winner. Both teams should be congratulated for their wonderful performance—a true credit to the game of soccer in general and to the VMSL in particular!!

TEAM OF THE WEEK: WEST VAN FC for its gritty performance in defeating Columbus-Clan FC on penalty kicks after a 1-1 overtime tie. West Van FC is therefore the recipient of the coveted Imperial Cup, a trophy that has been in existence since 1913! This is the first time since 1989 that West Van has won the Imperial Cup. Congratulations to the entire West Van contingent for a job well done!

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: West Van FC’s veteran defender TREVOR SHORT for his magnificent performance in leading his team to an impressive Imperial Cup victory over the very talented Columbus-Clan FC. For the entire 120 minutes of play, Short was able to mark Columbus’ superstar—Rizal Ganief—out of the match with his determination and incredible defensive skills. For his excellent performance this past weekend, Trevor Short will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2009-04-16.

 

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PROVINCE CUP – PRELIMINARY ROUND

2009-04-06

Four Provincial Cup games were played this past weekend, 3 of them involving VMSL teams. At the end of the day, 2 of our teams came home victorious, while the third—ICSF Inter—suffered a heart-breaking penalty kick loss at the hands of FVSL’s Peace Arch United.

COLUMBUS-CLAN FC – ABBY MARINERS 2-0: On Saturday afternoon, at Vancouver Technical School, Columbus hosted the visiting Abbotsford team and, after a rather scrappy 90 minutes of play, came away with a well-deserved 2-0 victory. Very early in the game, Columbus’ Ylya Malek was brought down inside the Abbotsford penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick. Malek himself stepped up to the plate and calmly converted the spot shot for what proved to be the winning goal. Columbus continued to dominate and came close to adding to its lead during the first half but strikers Rizal Ganief and Tiernan King were unable to find the back of the net on several glorious goalscoring opportunities. Some outstanding goalkeeping on the part of Abby’s Kris Johanson also played a large part in the score remaining 1-0 till the halftime break. In the second half, the Mariners—led by midfielder Robbie Fadden—got back into the match and nearly took advantage of some sloppy defending on the part of Columbus to create some excellent chances of their own. However, as luck would have it, it was Columbus that managed to score the insurance marker on a nifty ‘give-and-go’ between Tynan Diaz and Tiernan King with Diaz finally slotting the ball home. Once again, defender Jonathan Poli was rock solid on the Columbus backline, while goalkeeper Thomas Lindley recorded the well-earned clean sheet. The ‘Italians’ thus advance to the round of 16 where they will meet the unpredictable Surrey United Firefighters.

PEACE ARCH UNITED – ICSF INTER 1-0 PK’s: Also on Saturday afternoon, at South Surrey Athletic Park, one of the top teams in the VMSL—ICSF Inter—was unceremoniously eliminated from the Province Cup playdowns by a very determined and well-organized Peace Arch team. ICSF got off to a terrible start and could easily have been down by a couple of goals had it not being for some outstanding goalkeeping on the part of young Erman Ozkan. In fact, the home team dominated the entire first half, mostly due to the excellent play of midfielders Ben Hemphill and Gareth Wilkshire. In the second half, the clever insertion of veteran Kevin Crouch and young Michael Nonni almost paid dividends as Inter started taking control of the action and came close to scoring on several occasions. In particular, Kevin Crouch, Mike Tempesta, and Sheldon Maistry came very close to scoring but were unable to do so mostly due to poor finishing, bad luck, and some outstanding goalkeeping on the part of Peace Arch’s Gyrish Kaniah. After a scoreless 120 minutes of play, the result had to be settled by the dreaded penalty kicks. Inter’s Bevan Footman and Colin Streckman missed the first two shots, while Michael Winters, Joseph Marrello, and Andrew Corazza scored on theirs—albeit in vain. Thus ends a rather ‘up-and-down’ season for ICSF Inter!

NORVAN EAGLES – SOOKE CELTIC 2-1: On Sunday, at Kinsman Stadium in North Vancouver, the Norvan Eagles advanced to the next round of the Province Cup by defeating the visiting Sooke Celtic by a narrow 2-1 margin. The visiting Vancouver Island team took the early lead when Elton Clemens finished off a great set-up by Steve Scott. The goal seemed to give the Eagles a badly needed wake-up call as they proceeded to take over the reins of the match and could easily have tied things up when Ionnais Tsouhoulous hit the post at about the 10th minute mark. To add insult to injury, veteran Brian Fowler missed a penalty kick shortly thereafter, while Cory Janzen and Blake Burgon hit the woodwork to keep the score at 1-0 for the visitors at the halftime break. In the second half, at about the 60th minute mark, Cory Janzen equalized as he converted a well-placed Shawn Blakeway pass into the back of the Sooke net. Ten minutes later, Ionnais Tsouhoulous brilliantly blasted home the winning goal as he took advantage of a nifty layoff pass by Harpreet Khakh. The Norvan backline—composed of veterans Edward Bradford, Steve Millar, and Brian Fowler—was able to keep Sooke’s vaunted attackers at bay for most of the match and in particular during the last 20 minutes as the visitors came storming forward in search of the equalizer. The Eagles will now travel to the Fraser Valley to take on the very talented Athletic Club of BC in the next round of the Province Cup.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: NORVAN EAGLES for their excellent effort in beating the visiting Sooke Celtic by a narrow, but well-deserved 2-1 margin. Led by the magnificent performance of forward Ionnais Tsouhoulous and some excellent defending by veterans Edward Bradford, Steve Millar, and Brain Fowler, the Eagles dominated most of the match and could easily have won by a more decisive margin.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Norvan Eagles’ young forward IONNAIS TSOUHOULOUS for his magnificent performance in leading his team to an impressive 2-1 victory over the visiting Sooke Celtic. Tsouhoulous was a going concern throughout the match as he drove the Celtic defenders to distraction with his speed, skill, and tenacity. Not only did Ionnais score the winning goal—on a brilliant long-range shot—but he also hit the goalpost early in the match with yet another wicked drive. For his excellent performance this past weekend, Ionnais Tsouhoulous will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2009-04-23.

 

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PROVINCE CUP – ROUND OF 16

2009-04-21

Five VMSL teams—West Van FC, Coquitlam Metro-Ford, Croatia SC, Surrey United, and RCIU Legends—remained in contention for the coveted Province Cup after this past weekend’s results. Four of the teams are on the same side of the draw, guaranteeing the VMSL a spot in the Cup final—slated for Saturday, May 16 at Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam.

LANGLEY UNITED – CROATIA SC 0-1: On Saturday evening, at McLeod Athletic Park in Langley, Croatia SC advanced to the quarter-finals of the Province Cup by defeating the Fraser Valley League champions—Langley United—by a narrow, but well-deserved, 1-0 margin. Right from the opening whistle, the Croatians controlled the flow of the game and forced the home team to defend for most of the game. The lone goal of the match came at the 30th minute mark when Daniel Rogic set up Maarten Koorn with a perfect pass at the edge of the penalty area. Koorn proceeded to unleash a wicked drive that gave the Langley goalkeeper no chance whatsoever. Croatia SC continued to control the match despite the fact that the bigger Langley players resorted to some excessive physical play. Koorn could easily have added to Croatia’s lead near the end of the first half, but his shot was deflected by a defender on its way to the net. On the ensuing corner kick, veteran Darko Jelic headed Johnny Sulentic’s cross towards the net only to have a Langley defender clear the ball off the goal line. Just before the halftime whistle, Steve Dickinson was also denied a clear cut scoring opportunity as the Langley goalkeeper—Tim Wagner—came up with a marvellous save. The Croatians continued to dominate proceedings for most of the second half but were unable to add to the margin of victory due mostly to some poor finishing and some excellent goalkeeping. Late in the game, Langley threw caution to the wind and started to put some pressure on the Croatia defenders with some long-ball tactics and some very aggressive play. However, the VMSL team held on bravely, mostly due to the defensive performances of Mario Jelic, Robin Hart, Maarten Koorn, and Daniel Rogic. The Croatians will now host the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Wolves in the quarter-finals of the Province Cup.

COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES - PEACE ARCH UNITED 6-4 OT: Also on Saturday, at Charles Best School in Coquitlam, the Metro-Ford Wolves advanced to the quarter-finals of the Province Cup by eliminating the visiting Peace Arch team by an unprecedented 6-4 overtime margin. As the large crowd would attest, the match was highly entertaining and very exciting as both teams took turns taking the lead. As well, some of the goals were scored on world-class efforts, even though the Metro-Ford winning goal was the result of a terrible faux-pas on the part of Peace Arch goalkeeper Girysh Kinai. The Wolves controlled the first 30 minutes of play but, as luck would have it, it was Peace Arch that opened the scoring when former Metro-Ford player—Ryan Horvath—unleashed a wicked blast from 30 meters into the top corner of the net, giving goalkeeper Mat Bird no chance whatsoever. Late in the first half, Russel Huggon restored parity as he cleverly headed home a loose ball from close range. Midway through the second half, former Whitecap Alfredo Valente gave the Wolves the lead as he converted a well-placed header by teammate Joey Scigliano into the net. Shortly thereafter, however, yet another Metro-Ford product—Michael Evans—scored for Peace Arch on a close-range shot to once again knot the score. At the 89th minute mark, Russel Huggon scored what appeared to be Metro-Ford’s winning goal on a fine header. However, well into stoppage time, yet another Metro-Ford product playing for Peace Arch—Taki Vohalis—blasted home an unbelievable shot from well outside the penalty area into the Wolves’ net for the 3-3 equalizer. Early in the first overtime period, Emilio Bottiglieri gave Metro-Ford the lead on a deflected shot. Once again, however, Peace Arch responded by tying things up on yet another brilliant goal, this one scored by defender Jackson Reeve as he finished off a brilliant sequence of passes. In the second overtime period, two Metro-Ford substitutes—Trevor Rosencrans and Azad Palani—put an end to the excitement by scoring twice in rapid succession. As mentioned earlier, Rosencrans’ winning goal was the result of some poor goalkeeping as his rather innocuous shot was redirected into the net by the Peace Arch goalkeeper. It should be mentioned that midfielders Andrew Veer and Emilio Bottiglieri, as well as defender Richard Price, played extremely well for the Wolves, who will now face Croatia SC in the next round of the Province Cup playdowns.

WEST VAN FC – WESTSIDE FC 7-0: The third, and final, Saturday game was played at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver between the hosting West Van FC and the visiting Westside FC. The heavily favoured home side had no difficulty whatsoever in destroying the visitors by an elaborate 7-0 margin—a result that would be considered embarrassing in most competitions. In fact, had it not been for some outstanding goalkeeping on the part of Westside’s Rowan Anders—as well as some excellent defending by James Possee—the score could easily have reached double figures! Having said that, it was Westside that nearly took the lead as Gavin Barrett—right from the opening kick-off—raced in all alone only to be stymied by West Van’s goalkeeper, Marco Durante. After that, the entire game was a one-way traffic affair as the newly-crowned VMSL champions—and Imperial Cup champions—dictated the pace of the match and scored almost at will. Veteran Paul Dailly opened the scoring as he took advantage of a give-away at about the 7th minute mark. Ten minutes later, young Robbie Giezen blasted a wicked drive behind Anders for West Van’s second goal. Midway through the first half, Desmond Tachie full-volleyed a fine cross from Milad Rahmati into the back of the net, while Paul Dailly added his second goal of the game on a brilliant drive from long range. Just before the halftime whistle, Milad Rahmati added insult to Westside’s injury by scoring his team’s 5th goal of the contest. The second half was more or less a repeat of the first as West Van continued to dominate every aspect of the match. Defender Drew Gelley scored his team’s sixth goal 10 minutes into the second half with yet another great long-range drive. Youngster Ricky Teixeira finished off the scoring midway through the second half when he brilliantly headed home a Sean Taylor corner kick. West Van FC will now face the Surrey United Firefighters in the quarter-finals of the Province Cup.

SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS – COLUMBUS-CLAN FC 3-2: On Sunday, at Cloverdale Athletic Park, Surrey United pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season by defeating Columbus by a narrow 3-2 margin. After a scoreless first half, all the scoring and all the bizarre action occurred in the second 45 minutes of play. At he 20th minute of the second half, Columbus suffered a major set-back when former Surrey United striker—Rizal Ganief—was ejected from the game for having received his second caution of the match. Despite playing with only 10 men, it was Columbus that took the lead when Tynan Diaz blasted a low shot into the net through a crowd of players from the edge of the penalty area. Surrey United responded positively and almost tied things up a few minutes later when former Whitecap Jeff Clarke chipped the ball towards the net only to have goalkeeper Thomas Lindley come up with a miraculous save. Shortly thereafter, however, Surrey United was able to knot the score as Jeff Clarke sent second-half substitute Cam Wilson flying down the right flank with one of his patented passes. Wilson’s dangerous, low cross was handled inside the penalty area by veteran defender Tony Gaita, resulting in a penalty kick being awarded to the home team. Another substitute—Peter Bergholtz—proceeded to convert the penalty kick into the tying goal with a powerful shot into the roof of the net. With 10 minutes remaining in the match, the short-handed Columbus squad managed to once again take the lead as young Tynan Diaz scored his second goal of the match by taking advantage of some poor marking on the part of the Surrey United defence. However, the plot started to get thicker at this point of the match as Columbus defender Steve Kindel was ejected from the match for having received his second caution—as a result of a reckless tackle on former Whitecap teammate Jeff Clarke—thus reducing his team to 9 players. From the resulting free kick, Jeff Clarke rose majestically to power home a header into the top corner of the net for the late equalizer. Then, just before the final whistle, another penalty kick was awarded when a Columbus defender once again handled the ball inside the penalty area. The Columbus protests resulted in yet another ejection as Scott McEachran was sent off for foul and abusive language. Surrey’s Josh Bennett calmly deposited the ball into the back of the net on the penalty kick for Surrey United’s winning goal. Two more players were ejected at this juncture as Columbus’ Jonathan Poli and Surrey United’s Peter Bergholtz engaged in a hockey-style confrontation. Well into stoppage time, the short-handed Columbus squad—down to 7 players—almost tied things up but Surrey’s goalkeeper, Paul Shepherd, pulled off a miraculous save. Surrey United thus moves on to the quarter-finals of the Province Cup where they will meet the red-hot, and treble-chasing, West Van FC.

ATHLETIC CLUB OF BC – NORVAN EAGLES 2-1 OT: Also on Sunday, at Burnaby Lake West Complex, the Norvan Eagles dropped a heart-breaking 2-1 overtime decision to the young and energetic Fraser Valley team. ACBC’s Abu Hussein gave his team the lead in regulation time but the Eagles tied things up late in the game when former Whitecap Diaz Kambere deflected a Norvan shot into his own net. In the second overtime period, Chris Kyd restored ACBC’s lead thus eliminating the Eagles from the Province Cup competition.

RCIU LEGENDS – GORDON HEAD 2-1: The final Sunday game was played at Minoru Oval in Richmond and featured the VMSL’s RCIU Legends and the visiting Vancouver Island team, Gordon Head. The Richmond lads came flying out of the starting gate and took the game to the visitors right from the opening whistle. The Legends could easily have taken the early lead had it not been for some superlative goalkeeping on the part of Gordon Head’s Nick Neascu. In particular, Neascu pulled off a couple of absolutely incredible saves on a close-range shots by Richmond’s Terry Bell and Darren Prentice. Despite the Legends’ territorial advantage and superior goalscoring opportunities, the first half ended in a scoreless draw. The second half started off more or less in the same manner with the Legends attacking relentlessly in search of the all-important first goal. As luck would have it, however, it was Gordon Head that took the lead at about the 60th minute mark when a poor clearance by Richmond’s Spencer Coppin was intercepted by Mandu Goebl who raced down the left flank before crossing the ball onto the path of teammate Cardin Davis who calmly chipped it over the head of goalkeeper Matt Clayton for the game’s opening goal. The Legends fought back with determination and grit and once again took over the reins of the match. The insertion of Jeff Potratz and former Whitecap Jason Jordan paid enormous dividends as the Legends began to apply even more pressure on a tiring Gordon Head backline. Finally, with only 5 minutes remaining in regulation time, Richmond was able to knot the score when defender Tim Sowerby took advantage of a great pass from teammate Jeff Potratz and calmly slotted the ball home for the equalizer. Very late in the match, Darren Prentice took advantage of an immaculately sublime pass from Jason Jordan and proceeded to score the winning goal in lethal fashion. The victory guarantees the Legends a spot in the Province Cup quarter-finals—against another Vancouver Island team, Gorge FC. It should be noted that Gorge FC are the defending Province Cup champions!

TEAM OF THE WEEK: CROATIA SC for its excellent performance in defeating the Fraser Valley champions—Langley United—for a narrow, but well-deserved 1-0 margin. Led by the excellent defensive work of Maarten Koorn, Mario Jelic, Daniel Rogic, and Robin Hart, the Croatians held the aggressive and tenacious Langley team at bay for the entire 90 minutes. Croatia SC will now take on the Metro-Ford Wolves in the quarter-finals of the Province Cup in what promises to be a very interesting game!

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Surrey United’s midfielder JEFF CLARKE for his magnificent performance in leading his team to an upset 3-2 victory over the visiting Columbus-Clan FC. The former Whitecaps captain was at his absolute best as he dictated the pace of the match with his superlative passing skills. Not only did Clarke score the late tying goal—on a brilliant header—but he also set up Surrey United’s first goal with one of his patented passes. For his excellent performance this past weekend, Jeff Clarke will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2009-04-30.

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PROVINCE CUP – QUARTER-FINALS

2009-04-27

Two VMSL teams—West Van FC and the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Wolves—advanced to the semi-finals of the Province Cup by virtue of their almost identical 2-0 victories over the Surrey United Firefighters and Croatia SC respectively. The two VMSL teams will face each other on May 9 at South Surrey Athletic Park, guaranteeing the VMSL a spot in the Cup final—slated for Saturday, May 16 at Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam.

WEST VAN FC – SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS 2-0: On Saturday evening, the newly-crowned VMSL Premier Division champions—and Imperial Cup champions—took on the visiting Surrey United Firemen at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver. After a hard-fought 90 minutes of non-stop action the treble-seeking West Van FC came away with a well-earned 2-0 victory. The home team got off to a great start and almost took the lead on two separate occasions very early in the match. However, a couple of brilliant saves on the part of Surrey United goalkeeper—Paul Shepherd—kept the former Trollers off the scoreboard. On the first attempt, West Van’s Ryan Glanville raced in all alone on a breakaway, only to have Shepherd pull off a fantastic save. Shortly thereafter, Desmond Tachie’s close-range shot was once again saved by Shepherd in phenomenal fashion. Near the end of the first half, Shepherd once again rose to the occasion as he miraculously prevented Milad Rahmati from scoring what appeared to be a sure goal. As a result, the first half ended scoreless, mostly due to the superlative efforts of goalkeeper Paul Shepherd. Early in the second half, Surrey United was awarded a penalty kick when defender West Van’s defender Trevor Short was caught pulling Niall Thompson’s jersey inside the penalty area. On the ensuing penalty kick, goalkeeper Marco Durante pulled off a great save as he thwarted Josh Bennett’s attempt to give his team the lead. The game remained scoreless until the late stages when Milad Rahmati curled a brilliant long-range shot past the outstretched fingers of Paul Shepherd into the top corner of the net for what proved to be the winning goal. Shortly thereafter, West Van added insult to Surrey United’s injury as young Robbie Giezen finished off a clever give-and-go with Milad Rahmati by blasting a rocket of a shot into the net to solidify the well-deserved victory. The entire West Van FC backline—composed of Leo Nash, Trevor Short, Paul Dailly, and Drew Gelley—played extremely well throughout the match, while veteran Nico Berg was his usual energetic and vigorous self in his central midfield position. The VMSL champions will now take on the Metro-Ford Wolves in the semi-finals of the Province Cup in what promises to be a cracker of a game!

GORGE FC – RCIU LEGENDS 2-0: Also on Saturday, at Hampton Park in Victoria, the Legends dropped a heart-breaking 2-0 decision to the defending Province Cup champions. Despite playing quite well for the entire match, the Richmond lads surrendered two late goals and were thus eliminated from the Province Cup competition. The Legends nearly took the lead early in the game when a great shot by Justin Student bounced off the inside of the post with the Victoria goalkeeper well-beaten. Brad Caldwell and Darren Prentice also had excellent chances to give their team the lead but were also stymied by the Gorge FC goalkeeper. The early part of the second half was more or less a repeat of the first, as the Legends—led by the fine play of midfielders Craig McMillan and Geoff Salt—continued to dominate proceedings. As luck would have it, however, it was Gorge FC that took the lead midway through the second half as Paul van den Booman headed home what proved to be the winning goal. Near the end of the match, with the Legends desperately pushing forward in search of the equalizer, Jordie Hughes added the insurance marker on a counter-attack breakaway. Despite the loss, the Legends should be congratulated for the fine effort! Gorge FC will now take on Bays United in the semi-finals of the Province Cup.

CROATIA SC - METRO-FORD WOLVES 0-2: On Sunday, at Burnaby Lake West Complex, the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Wolves defeated Croatia SC by a 2-0 margin, in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd. The Croatians came out of the starting blocks with a vengeance and exerted a lot of pressure on the Wolves for the first 15 minutes of action. However, some excellent defending by Coquitlam’s Matthew Besuschko, Kingsley Jones, and in particular Brook Scott, kept the vaunted Croatia attack at bay. About half way through the first half, the Wolves started gaining their composure, scored two excellent goals, and took over the reins of the match. On the first goal, former Whitecap Alfredo Valente tapped in an excellent cross by Omari Aldridge from close range after his own shot had been brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Didar Sandhu. Shortly thereafter, Kingsley Jones scored Metro-Ford’s second goal of the contest on a brilliant header off an excellent free kick by Valente after Aldridge had been fouled just outside the corner of the penalty area. Early in the second half, the Wolves came very close to adding to their lead, but some outstanding goalkeeping on the part of former Whitecap Didar Sandhu—twice on shots by Valente and once on a breakaway attempt by young Reece Miles—kept the score respectable. With about 20 minutes to go in the match, Metro-Ford’s captain—Andrew Veer—was ejected from the match for a serious foul play infraction and the Croatians tried valiantly to get back into the match by attacking in droves. Once again, however, the Coquitlam defence—as well as goalkeeper Mathew Bird—stood tall and held the home team off the score sheet. In particular, Bird made a sensational save on a powerful drive by Johnny Sulentic—yet another former Whitecap playing in the VMSL. Mario Jelic and Gary Anderson also came close to scoring for the Croatians but watched agonizingly as their shots sailed wide of the mark. It should be noted that Coquitlam Metro-Ford’s midfielders Richard Price, Andrew Veer, and Emilio Bottiglieri worked tirelessly throughout the match and were instrumental in their team’s well-deserved victory. The Wolves will now face the red-hot West Van FC in the semi-finals of the Province Cup. The match will be played on Saturday, May 9 at South Surrey Athletic Park.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: WEST VAN FC for its patented performance in defeating the always tough Surrey United Firefighters by a well-deserved 2-0 margin. Led by the excellent defensive work of Leo Nash, Trevor Short, Drew Gelley, and Paul Dailly, the former Trollers held the aggressive and tenacious Surrey team at bay for the entire 90 minutes. As well, the excellent performances of midfielder Nico Berg and forward Milad Rahmati played an enormous part in West Van’s successful outing.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Coquitlam Metro-Ford’s defender BROOK SCOTT for his virtually flawless effort in leading his team to a clear-cut 2-0 victory over Croatia SC. Facing a very talented and dangerous Croatian forward line—led by former Whitecap Johnny Sulentic—Brook Scott was able to lead his backline in thwarting the numerous and dangerous Croatian attacks. Not only did Scott demonstrate excellent defensive skills but he also displayed remarkable leadership qualities. For his excellent performance this past weekend, Brook Scott will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2009-05-07.

 

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PROVINCE CUP – SEMI-FINALS

2009-05-11



WEST VAN FC – COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES 2-0: On Saturday, at South Surrey Athletic Park, West Van FC advanced to the Province Cup final by defeating the Metro-Ford Wolves by a well-earned 2-0 margin. The game—between the two top teams in the VMSL—did not quite measure up to its billing as both teams were clearly not at their best. The Wolves controlled most of the action in the first half but were unable to create any really clear-cut goalscoring opportunities. In fact, against the run of play, it was West Van that took the early lead when veteran Paul Dailly was brought down inside the penalty area by Joe Scigliano, resulting in a penalty kick. Yet another veteran, Mike Dodd, banged home the ensuing spot shot for what proved to be the winning goal. The second half told an entirely different story as the former Trollers dominated every aspect of the match and could easily have scored on several occasions had it not been for some outstanding goalkeeping on the part of Mathew Bird. At the other end of the pitch, West Van defenders Trevor Short and Drew Gelley were able to keep former Whitecap Alfredo Valente at bay with some excellent marking and tenaciouis defending. Late in the match, West Van was finally able to score the insurance marker as Corey Birza slipped an immaculate through ball to Milad Rahmati who proceeded to streak in all alone before slotting the ball into the net for the clincher. West Van FC will now take on Victoria Gorge FC—the defending Province Cup champions—in the final. The match will be played on Saturday, May 16 at Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam with kick-off slated for 2:00 p.m. It should also be mentioned that the Masters’ Division final—between Columbus FC and Westside FC—will be played on the same day and on the same field, but at 11:30 a.m.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: WEST VAN FC for its clinical performance in defeating the Metro-Ford Wolves by a well-deserved 2-0 margin. Led by the excellent defensive work of veteran Trevor Short and young Drew Gelley, the former Trollers limited the Metro-Ford scoring chances to a minimum. West Van dominated the entire second half and could easily have won by a much more emphatic margin had it not been for some excellent goalkeeping on the part of Coquitlam’s Mat Bird. West Van FC will now challenge the reigning Province Cup champions—Victoria Gorge FC—for the 2009 title. Good luck West Van!!!!

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: West Van FC’s defenders TREVOR SHORT and DREW GELLEY for their superlative performances in leading their team to a clear-cut 2-0 victory over the Metro-Ford Wolves. Facing a very talented and dangerous Metro-Ford forward line—led by former Whitecap Alfredo Valente—Short and Gelley were able to mark their opponents out of the match and thus contributed enormously to their team’s success. For their excellent performances this past weekend, Trevor Short and Drew Gelley will each receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2009-05-28.