2018 BC Mens Provincial A Cup - Draw, Predictions, Results & Banter

[Canucks4Ever]

How is Milad playing? Isn’t he suspended or am I mixing up the Milads?

Mixing up the Milads. That's Mehrabi in the video; Rahmati definitely no where to be found.

In other news, perhaps this would indicate no protests from the Inter camp? Presumable the window to file as passed and we would have heard news of a protest trickle out by now?

 

[Canucks4Ever]

Here's our highlights from the Metro Ford-Impero game. Actually got all the goals in this one!

Wrong thread...? Maybe @Regs can fix?

 

[GoF]

Ah crap. Sorry bout that. Too many bloody cup threads haha

 

[Regs]

@GoF @Canucks4Ever

Posted moved, thanks!

 

[Canucks4Ever]

Around the Grounds - Men's Provincial A Cup Quarter Finals

Friday; Burnaby Lake Sports Complex - Club Inter 1-3 Langley FC FT
As the calendar pages continue to turn the weather is becoming much more football friendly, though the 9pm kickoff for this one did still have a chill in the air so a jacket was required. However this did not stop a certain FVSL administrator from showing off his calves, as he was one of the few not on the pitch that opted for shorts as he walked his dog around the pitch. Indeed the spectators were in boisterous spirits, even if it was a somewhat smaller crowd than took in the Surrey Derby or Inter's Clash with Coastal the previous week. This was a semi final that certainly did not disappoint from a neutral perspective and the action was intense from both teams from the off. Langley were boasting a mammoth striker up front who towered over everyone else on the field and you could see right away that set pieces were going to be an issue for Inter to defend. The FVSL side looked very dangerous every time a ball was whipped into the box and even had an early penalty shout what Milad Mehrabi opted to clear a corner via an overhead bicycle kick that very nearly made contact with the head of one of Langley's attackers. Milad would get back up to the end of the pitch that he is better known for playing in and Inter were stringing together some nice ball movement, but not producing anything to trouble Fraser Valley Golden Glove winner Andrew Hicks in the Langley goal. In fact both teams were having several "almost" moments in attack through the first quarter of the game, but nothing to really get the heart racing. The first real attempt on goal was a long range effort from Langley that, in the Battle of the Andrews, Andrew Fink was able to to dive out and push wide of the Inter goal. This would lead to yet another set piece for the Valley side and Inter could only half clear. The ensuing shot was miss-hit and rolled slowly through the penalty area until it acted as a perfect pass to Brayden Gant who received it inside the six yard box, with his back right up against a defender. He manage to shield the ball, swivel and fire low into the net from close range to open the scoring at 1-0. The rub? Gant had actually been tardy in getting back onside and was actually still behind the last defender when the original shot/pass was hit. He managed to dart back in front of the defender and, because the ball was moving so slowly, it did seem like he had been there for awhile. With all the moving bodies the assistant referee must have just looked away from the line to check the play at the exact moment when Gant knicked back onside. You could tell the Langley man suspected his guilt when his celebrations were massively subdued and he kept starting across at the assistant waiting for a flag, but none was to come and the tally stood.

Going behind seemed to wake Inter up slightly and, naturally, they had a surge after conceding. A free kick called TSS Rovers man, Hicks, into action once more forcing him into a good, low, diving stop. Their pressure would continue and their next free kick would travel all the way through to the back post where Jordy Michael was on hand to bundle it in and level things up just past the half our mark. Langley looked to answer and yet another set piece saw a collision with Fink and the Langely attackers that had tempers flaring and each side showing how much this one meant to them with a few players coming nose to nose with chests puffed out. Having gotten back to all square, Inter then looked to be taking the lead only to see Hicks produce an absolutely top drawer save, as he flew through the air to his left to paw the ball away from the far top corner. The "Italians" had a look from the ensuing corner kick but put their header wide. Langley, meanwhile, continued to fancy their chances from distance and, after putting a couple of efforts off the target, they forced another save from Fink and again earned a corner kick. The ball was swung in to the back post and then headed back into the mixer where Braydon Gant was again on hand to rise highest and bag his second of the match, no question of offside on this one! The goal was well timed, practically on the stroke of half-time, so the FVSL side were able to take their lead into the break and regroup.

Inter started the second half with some changes and looked to have much more attacking purpose. Langley, understandably, were sitting just a little bit deeper and looking to kill things off on the counter. That being said, it took Inter more than 15 minutes to produce an effort of any quality, with Hicks on hand again to show his pedigree, making himself big and saving from close range. The ensuing corner saw Milad get free and rise well for the header but his attempt went agonizingly the wrong side of the post. Langley looked to have the dagger in the 68 minute, but this time the flag was raised and Inter were give a reprieve. They just simply could not capitalize, however, as a combination of good defending my Langley and poor decisions in attack from the Vancouver boys saw the defending Provincial Cup Champions settling for corners when they got any shot away at all. Inter's last, best chance would come off the second phase of one of those corners when they had a big shout for handball. Referee Voja Sremcevic was well positioned however and not interested in the "Italians" appeals. Perhaps Inter's efforts were best summed up when the sprung a partial breakaway down the right flank; two attackers were in pursuit, the winger, who was offside, and the overlapping fullback, who was onside and away to the races. Despite being right in front of the Inter bench and being shouted at to leave it, the winger played the ball and was flagged for offside; it just simply was not to be their day. Langley delivered the final nail to the coffin with 10 minutes to play when Gant would complete his hat trick; Fink got a hand to his shot but could only force it onto the post and it clipped the woodwork before settling into the back of the net. The celebrations were on in full force this time! In case anyone was worried that Inter were going to sportingly accept defeat, the ensured that they would be having the last word as far as their reputation goes. After Langley played the ball out so their player could receive treatment in injury time, Inter threw the ball into their attacker who cut in from the right on a breakaway. Certainly an unsavory, some might say classless, move on the part of the VMSLers but they went for it and, with the goal at his mercy, the Inter man fired wide. If you are going to do that you had really better score. Langley, of course, confronted the perpetrators, but, with a Provincial Cup final looming, cooler heads prevailed. The FVSL side got past the hurdle at which they fell last year, ousting the Provincial Cup Champions who had ended their season at this stage last season. It is the second consecutive year that a Fraser Valley Soccer League team will compete in the final and this year they will play the best that their arch nemesis the VMSL has to offer in league champions Rovers Tigers, who did the business on Sunday against Cowichan FC.

 

[Dude]

Very good report. Gotta say was pretty stoked getting the updates from Mini Utah on Friday night! Sounds like it will be a cracking final.

 

[Canucks4Ever]

Well this is it, my final prediction of the season. I have had a good year in the A Cup, only missing on my ambitious shout that the defending champs, Inter, would be shocked by Gorge in their opener. True, it is impossible to say how I would have faired had Rino's remained in the competition to face Langley as that changes the permutations. In the end, though, I will gladly claim my 92% success rate and try to improve that going into the final. On a side note, I hope you have enjoyed my predictions and coverage this season. I don't remotely pretend to be a professional reporter, but I think these leagues and these players deserve more coverage than the are getting and if I can be a small part of helping to grow the interest in local soccer then I am happy to help. If you don't care for my input, then why are you reading? Sorry mate, that's on you!

Completely Baseless Predictions
Men’s “A” Provincial Cup
Semi-Finals: 2/2
Overall: 12/13

FINAL:

Langley United (FVSL) v BCT Rovers Tigers United (VMSL)
For the second season in a row the Fraser Valley Soccer League is knocking on the door. The noisy neighbours are getting noisier and nosier as the once rather significant gap among the top teams in the Lower Mainland's top two leagues has narrowed, at least among their elite teams. This year, in the VMSL, there was none more elite than Rovers Tigers. The Surrey boys officially debuted their new brand in the 2016/17 season, after spending various seasons as different incarnations of the club such as CCBRTU; Langley Hurricanes and Delta Hurricanes. Ultimately, all the various mergers and reconfigurations spawned a team wearing orange and playing out of Newton Athletic Park. Once upon a time the franchise began its life as Sapperton Rovers, playing across the river in New Westminster and Sapperton Rovers were VMSL Champions back in 1997 as well as Provincial Cup winners in 2006. Sapperton has local footballing roots tracing all the way back as far as the record books go, as Sapperton FC are noted as the champions of the 1926 Imperial Cup. Their inaugural season as Rovers Tigers likely fell short of their expectations as they were well off the pace of runaway league winners Coquitlam Metro Ford, ultimately finishing in third place when the final points tallies were added up. They seemingly learned from this however, as they returned this season more focused and it was their turn to be runaway leaders as they began the season by winning their first nine games in a row. True they were briefly reeled in by their Newton cousins, Pegasus, but they were never surpassed as they led from wire to wire. An already stacked roster that includes former Toronto FC frontman Nick Soolsma as well as Pavi and Ryan Dhillon and Cam Hundal added longtime Pegasus stalwart Chetan "CJ" Jhooty and former Whitecap Jacob Lemsky this season. This team has been assembled to do more than just win a Provincial Title, they are looking to win BC's first National Championship since Pegasus won in 2004. In order to get to that stage though, they must win the Provincial Cup and their first attempt at that last season also left them feeling underwhelmed when they lost 1-0 to none other than Langley United.

The Fraser Valley Soccer League runners up for the second season in a row, Langley Utd., seem to operate just off the radar. They stunned Vancouver Island Champions Cowichan last season when they showed up in Duncan and bagged a 1-0 win before shocking Rovers in the next round, as mentioned. They would lose to eventual champions Inter in the semi final last season, but they got over that hurdle this year and are now looking to bring the Men's Provincial A Cup to the FVSL for the first time ever. Langley won the Pakenham Cup in 2016 and the Premier League Cup in 2017, before failing to defend that title this season, losing the final to Coastal FC who also pipped them to the league title. The Valley side are hardly flashy or brash, but they are here to get the job done, quietly and confidently. Absent the star power of some of the other teams in the competition, Langley is lead from the back by their all-star goalkeeper, and TSS Rovers number one, Andrew Hicks. Langley United have been a mainstay in the Fraser Valley for as long as the league has been around. In the same season that Sapperton FC was winning the Imperial Cup, 1926, Langley were winning their first Pakenham Cup. Obviously leagues, clubs and teams have all changed significantly since those days, but Langley, in some iteration, has always been a part of the set up in the Valley in one form or another. How fitting, then, it would be for one of the pillars of the FVSL to bring home their first ever Provincial Title. Unfortunately for Langley, should they manage to achieve that, due to circumstances beyond their control, this tournament will likely be remembered for controversy rather than the eventual champion, whoever that ends up being.

This season was the year that many in the amateur soccer community learned the phrase International Transfer Certificate (or ITC) and just what it meant. After last season's finalists from the FVSL, Aldergrove, were well beaten by Rino's Tigers 6-0 in the opening round, the league filed a protest regarding Rino's not having obtained an ITC for one of their players. This kicked off a whole hurricane of activity across the amateur soccer landscape and, when the dust finally settled, both Rino's and Aldergrove were expelled from the tournament for having ITC violations with their respective rosters. This robbed Langley of the opportunity to earn their way into the semi finals and instead they were handed a bye after coming from 2-0 down to defeat their FVSL rivals Surrey Utd. on penalties in their opening fixture. Nevertheless Langley soldiered on and faced the team that had eliminated them last season, defending Provincial Champions, Club Inter. The FVSL side would vanquish their demons and emerge 3-1 winners thanks to some top goaltending from Hicks and a Brayden Gant hat trick. Rovers Tigers were not handed any byes, however their path to the final was not void of ITC controversy either. After coming from behind to defeat a resolute Vic West side 2-1 in extra time in their opener, they were once again behind 1-0 to their local rivals Pegasus before a second half penalty and a late winner saw them come out on top 2-1. However, Pegasus filed a protest alleging that one of the Tigers players required an ITC but did not have one. Supposedly BC Soccer found that while the player did not have an ITC on file, he did not require one because he never had an ITC on file when he played abroad. Therefore he was always eligible to play in Canada and technically ineligible to play if and when he suited up on foreign soil. This ruling did not satisfy Pegasus, however the decision was final and Rovers headed over to Duncan to play the Vancouver Island Soccer League Champions, Cowichan FC. After both Nick Soolsma and Pavi Dhillion were on target in Rovers first two matches of the competition, the semi final was the Soolsma show as he put up a hat trick and showed the VISL why he has finished in the top two in VMSL scoring the past two seasons.

So it all comes down to this, one final game to settle things among the FVSL and VMSL again this season. Langley are strong and look perhaps more capable of breaking the Provincial Cup hoodoo than Aldergrove did a season ago. However, Rovers have been building up to this point for years and it is tough to see them fumbling it now that they have a chance to seize their moment. The beauty, and arguably the tragedy, of a final is that it is one game where anything can happen. One rash decision or one moment of sheer brilliance can decide the match, regardless of who the "best" team might be. Give Rovers a league campaign that includes Langley and it is likely that over the course of that competition Rovers will be a cut above. This is just one game though, and Langley don't even need to be better than Rovers for the whole 90 minutes, they just need to be better than them when the clock reaches the ninetieth minute. Still, I have to pick Rovers as favourites here. It would seem like the key to beating them would simply be to control Soolsma but, first off, that is easier said than done, and second, there are still the Dhillons to contend with as well as Hundal and CJ pulling the strings in midfield. Yes, Langley have done it before when they beat Tigers last year, but I just cannot see lightning striking twice. This is a different animal this time around as Rovers have a few different pieces, but a much more focused mind set. This is not an end point for the Surrey side, it is just another step on a journey that they see ending with them raising the Challenge Trophy in October as National Champions. Langley might be built to win a Provincial title, but Rovers are built to win a National one and I think that mentality will make the difference at Swanguard on Sunday. Let's hope it is a cracking final, regardless of the outcome; BCT Rovers Tigers United to be 2018 Men's A Provincial Champions.

 

[Regs]

North Shore Pegasus

 

[Sir M]

How are Rovers able to attract so many top players like that?

 

[Regs]

Clearly @whataboutbob is still pulling the strings behind the curtain

 

[robj]

The only two additions in 5 years have been CJ and Lensky which neither are playing nor have played a game since end of feb.

It’s more like a brotherhood @SirM these boys have grown up playing together have we drawn talent I wouldn’t say that at all. It’s one of the reasons that I agreed to come back and manage last year after a year off these boys are old school and family. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.

 

[ON WOUNDED KNEE]

1-0 langley. Gindo with the clean finish short side making the keeper look silly and fall to his knees.

 

[Soccer Coach]

1-1

 

[4STGMP]

How much time left?

 

[machel]

How much time left?

1-1 65th

Stream...

https://sportscanada.tv/watch-live-43

 

[machel]

2-1 Langley in the 77th. Langley's big man has been a threat! Good goal.

 

[ON WOUNDED KNEE]

2-1 langley. Gindo again from close range 77’

 

[machel]

Unreal...penalty in the 93rd minute and Soolsma ties up the game!

 

[cside17]

I have to go out. Can you archive these podcast to watch later. Just going on to OT???

 

[Regs]

I saw briefly 3-2 Sapp in OT, did that hold up?