Weekly Review Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week 2004/2005

[Regs]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

HOS,

Where do you stand on the Khalsa depth chart now? Talk about signings for positions not really needing fixing!

Or is Khalsa using the rest of the season to prep for the PCSL?

Q: Why does azzi always refer to Smiles as "fine keeper"?

 

[Hands of Stone]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

I am thinking that Azzi still wants Smiles to come back home to MetroFord country.

I guess that puts me third on the depth chart, I am sure that Indo is not happy with Didar coming over to Khalsa, but Temple may be very happy.

Not sure about the PCSL thing, have not heard, but there is supposed to be some Superlative Road Trip that Khalsa will be taking before the start of the PCSL Season, playing against a few A-League teams.

We should have signed a few forwards, I looked at our goals for and against over our 6 game streak, 4 for and 18 against, well perhaps keepers was the way to go.

hos

 

[Fiji]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

I think Azzi made a misprint by saying Didar played for Khalsa, as far as I know Didar is still playing with Indo-Akal

 

[Hands of Stone]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

Is he Tall and Brown?
Then that might have been him in the pipes.

hos

 

[sid]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

First Khalsa signs Jeff without telling me, and now Didar is starting in front of me. At least he took the lose on Friday night and not me.
Well it is Jeffs turn for a game this Friday vs. Fireman, good luck bigman.

hos

fcuk sakes jeff from clan .surrey utd...sfu ...sapperton...holy fcuk this guy has been on more teams than Larsson & lee sullivan put together & he is fcuking schocking

 

[Scottyshell]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

What...no predictions for this coming weekend yet???? Seems a member of the FF's says he's breaking out of his goal scoring slump this Fri night BECAUSE they are playing lowly Khalsa.....comments???

Cheers!

 

[Hands of Stone]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

WEEK #16 – 2005-01-31

A full slate of games was played this past weekend, for the first time since early December! Not surprisingly, a couple of upsets highlighted the weekend’s Premier Division activity as all of the teams are still searching for either first place, a spot in the Province Cup, or a way to avoid relegation. The weekend’s activities began on Friday evening at Mercer Stadium in New Westminster when Khalsa Sporting Club remained alive in the Group ‘A’ standings with a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Firefighters. Despite the score, this was not a classic performance by either team as both showed signs of rustiness. Khalsa opened the scoring early in the game when Matt Mori deflected a corner kick past goalkeeper Mike Frank. Shortly thereafter, Chris Jarvie restored parity for the Firemen, but Khalsa replied quickly with a goal by young Pammi Birring—his 8th of the season. Just before the halftime whistle, the Firefighters once again tied things up when Trevor Bourne was able to score from a goalmouth scramble. The second half was very scrambly with neither team showing any real desire to gain all 3 points. Eventually, Khalsa capitalized on a penalty kick as Matt Mori scored the winning goal. Despite the victory, Khalsa remains in last place in the Group ‘A’ standings, while the Firefighters are now in penultimate place in Group ‘B’ with a record of 4-5-4, five points ahead of Pegasus FC.

Perhaps the most important game was played on Saturday at Burnaby Lake West when the Sapperton Rovers hosted Surrey United. The Rovers have been trying desperately to catch ICSF Inter at the top of the Group ‘A’ table and needed all 3 points to remain in contention for the title. The same thing can be said of Surrey United as their lead at the top of the Group ‘B’ standings was precariously slim prior to the commencement of the match. As expected, the game proved to be a closely-contested, hard-fought affair, with few scoring chances as neither team seemed willing to gamble. After a scoreless first half, Sapperton began to apply a bit of pressure in the second half and finally broke the deadlock at the 75th minute mark when young Robert Sing and veteran Tel Ullrich combined to set up Paul Favaro—amazingly, one of the oldest players in the entire VMSL—for the lone goal of the match. The entire Sapperton backline, composed of Mike Araszewski, Sven Wagner, Brian Donald, and Kent Waechter, should be commended for their incredible performance in shutting out Surrey’s vaunted forward line. All in all, the final 1-0 score in favour of Sapperton appeared to be a fair result as the home side appeared to want the 3 points more than the visiting team. As a result of the victory, the Rovers remain 3 points behind ICSF in the Group ‘A’ standings, while Surrey United slips to second place in Group ‘B’, one point behind Columbus-Clan, albeit with a game in hand.

Also on Saturday, at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, the AFC Leopards remained in contention for the Group ‘B’ title with a 2-0 victory over the struggling Trollers FC. The final result, however, does not tell the whole story as the Trollers held their own in all aspects of the game and were rather unlucky not to score on several occasions. Unfortunately for them, the Trollers ran into a red-hot AFC goalkeeper—Tyler Silvestre—and some unyielding woodwork. In fact, on two occasions, Justin Thompson hit the goalpost with Silvestre beaten, while Sean Taylor was denied a clear-cut scoring chance by both Silvestre and the cross-bar. On another occasion, Taylor’s blast—through a maze of players—was cleared off the goal line by Leopards’ defender Mandla Sibiya. At the other end of the pitch, newly transferred BJ Rockson and Desmond Tachie capitalized on a couple of Trollers’ defensive errors to score the lone two goals of the match. The Leopards’ victory leaves their record at 6-1-5, only 3 points out of first place in the Group ‘B’ standings, while the luckless Trollers are at 4-3-7, tied for last place with Khalsa SC and Westside Rino in Group ‘A’.

The third Saturday game took place at the new turf field in Coquitlam, at Charles Best School between the host Metro-Ford Wolves and the visiting Burnaby Canadians. After a spirited and well-played 90 minutes, the teams had to settle for a 0-0 draw despite several excellent scoring chances. The Canadians had more than their share of the play but the Wolves had most of the scoring chances with Azad Palani coming close on several occasions with shots that barely missed the net. Matt Telford also had a glorious opportunity on a great cross by Andrew Veer but missed the net with the goalkeeper well beaten. Playing coach Steve Millar was a dominating factor in the middle of the park for the Canadians, while Veer and Palani were Metro-Ford’s best players on the day. The single point does little for either team as Burnaby remains in 3rd place in Group ‘A’, while the Wolves are languishing near the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table with a record of 4-3-6.

On Sunday, at Newton Athletic Park in Surrey, Pegasus FC hosted Croatia SC in yet another cross-over match. Pegasus, in desperate need of points to avoid relegation to the first division, was once again snake-bitten as Croatia came away with a 3-1 victory after a very exciting and entertaining 90 minutes of play. Croatia took a 2-0 halftime lead on goals by young Adrian Kekec and former Whitecap Aaron Keay. On the first goal, Keay set up Kekec who later returned the favour by assisting Keay in almost identical fashion. Early in the second half, Pegasus narrowed the margin as veteran Rod Reed set up young Ryan Powell. The goal seemed to inspire the North Shore/Surrey boys as they pressed forward tenaciously in search of the equalizer. As luck would have it, however, it was Croatia that padded its lead very late in the game as the referee awarded a penalty kick when Whitecap Johnny Sulentic was tripped inside the box. Keay made no mistake from the spot as he scored his second goal of the match. The victory improves Croatia’s record to 5-4-4, good for 4th place in the Group ‘A’ standings, while Pegasus remains mired in last place in Group ‘B’ with an unenviable 2-3-9 record.

Also on Sunday, at Hastings Bowl in Vancouver, Columbus-Clan FC climbed to first place in the Group ‘A’ table by defeating the struggling Westside Rino by a 2-0 margin. The first half belonged almost entirely to Rino’s lads, but their inability to transform their ball possession into goals proved to be fatal as the fitter Columbus boys took charge in the second half and were rewarded with 2 fine goals. Several half-time substitutions made by Columbus seemed to be a determining factor in the outcome of the game as the home team totally dominated proceedings in the second half. Columbus opened the scoring midway through the second half when Craig Richards blasted a shot that the Westside goalkeeper—Srdjan Djekanovic—brilliantly saved. Unfortunately for Westside, the rebound fell onto the path of young Stefan Leslie who volleyed a bullet into the empty net. Shortly thereafter, a great individual effort by Robbie Cairns resulted in the Columbus’ second goal as veteran Romeo Cuter easily beat Djekanovic for the insurance marker. As mentioned earlier, Columbus is now in first place with a record of 7-1-5, one point ahead of Surrey United, while Westside is tied for last place in the Group ‘A’ standings with Trollers FC and Khalsa SC. However, it should be mentioned that Surrey United has a game in hand on Columbus and that Westside has played 2 fewer games than the Trollers and Khalsa.

Finally, in the last Premier Division match played this past weekend, ICSF Inter maintained its stronghold on first place in Group ‘A’ with a narrow and hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sporting Club. If truth be told, Sporting deserved a better fate and was very unlucky not to gather at least one point after a very impressive performance. As often happens, however, the better team on the day went home pointless despite having the vast majority of the territorial advantage and scoring opportunities. Sporting’s best scoring chance came very late in the game, with the score still at 0-0, when Paulo Almeida hit the cross bar with a vicious shot from inside the 18-yard box. Immediately thereafter, an unusual blunder by goalkeeper Brian Brum allowed Joseph Marrello to slot the ball home in a very opportunistic fashion for the game’s lone goal. The 3 points solidify Inter’s hold on first place in Group ‘A’, while Sporting remains in the middle of the pack in Group ‘B’.

In a very important Division 1 game played on Sunday at Hillcrest Park in Vancouver, Indo-Akal finally took over first place with an exciting 4-2 victory over Sikh Temple in front of numerous spectators. Indo-Akal took the early lead when Dale Gill scored from the edge of the penalty area. Former professional Rick Titus set up Lav Mangat for the equalizer a few minutes later, but Dale Gill tallied his second goal of the match late in the first half. Early in the second half, Whitecap Jason Jordan set up Naser Zico for what proved to be the winning goal for Indo-Akal. Sikh Temple did not give up, however, and drew within a goal on a penalty kick taken by Paul Bahia. The last goal of the game came at the 80th minute mark when Whitecap Oliver Heald converted a penalty kick for Indo-Akal. As a result of the victory Indo-Akal is now alone in first place in the Division 1B standings, 2 points ahead of Sikh Temple. Each team has 4 games remaining in its schedule.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: SAPPERTON ROVERS for their upset victory over Group ‘B’ leaders Surrey United. The Rovers fully deserved the 1-0 victory as they outplayed Surrey’s vaunted squad from beginning to end. As a result, Sapperton is now in second place in the Group ‘A’ standings, only 3 points behind ICSF Inter.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Goalkeeper TYLER SILVESTRE, of the AFC Leopards, for his amazing performance in his team’s 2-0 victory over Trollers FC. Time after time, Silvestre stymied the Trollers with sensational saves, keeping his team in the match. As a result of his excellent performance, SILVESTRE will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2005-02-17. The pizza must be consumed on the premises.

I see why Peg is having soo many problems, they have ROD Reed playing and are sitting ROB.
And who did Didar play for on the Weekend, did he play both Friday and Sunday?
Well onto to Week 19, what will happen?

hos

 

[Hands of Stone]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

WEEK #17 – 2005-02-07

Not too many issues were resolved this past weekend as the majority of games were played in the Premier Division of the VMSL. In fact the only issue that was resolved is that Surrey United and Columbus-Clan FC are the first two teams in the Premier Division that are officially out of the relegation battle! The only game that could not be played was the Sunday encounter between the two Group leaders, Surrey United and ICSF Inter. A bizarre snowfall in the Fraser Valley rendered Cloverdale Athletic Park unplayable and the match had to be postponed to a later date. Fortunately, Surrey United was able to play a make-up game on Thursday evening—also at Cloverdale Athletic Park against Croatia SC. Surrey was looking to bounce back from last week’s defeat at the hands of the Sapperton Rovers and accomplished exactly that with a well-earned 3-1 victory. Things did not look very good for the Group ‘B’ contenders as Croatia took an early lead when Whitecap Johnny Sulentic unleashed a powerful free-kick from well outside the box that was deflected past a surprised Drew Smiley in the United goal. The home team gradually rebounded from the shaky start and came close to levelling the score when former Whitecap Niall Thompson bent a free-kick around the defensive wall only to see it hit the post and rebound to safety. Before the half-time whistle Thompson was once again involved in a goal-scoring opportunity when he headed home a Todd Stauber cross only to have the referee disallow the goal because of an obvious off-side infraction. In the second half Surrey came out in determined fashion quickly tied things up when Dave Hleucka’s shot was brilliantly saved by Croatia’s goalkeeper Adel Massoud. Unfortunately for Croatia, Massoud could only parry the shot and the rebound fell onto the path of Ryan Hopp who had no trouble in converting it into his first goal of the season. Shortly thereafter Surrey notched the winner when Hleucka headed home another brilliant cross from Todd Stauber. Midway through the second half Gareth Wilkshire rounded out the scoring with a well-taken penalty kick. The spot shot was awarded when Hopp was brought down in the penalty box. Both teams could have added more goals but some outstanding goalkeeping by Croatia’s Adel Massoud and Surrey’s Drew Smiley prevented that from happening. As a result of the victory, Surrey United regains first place in the Group ‘B’ standings with a record of 7-3-3, two points ahead of Columbus-Clan FC.

Croatia SC bounced back from Thursday evening’s defeat to dispose of a very young and inexperienced Sporting Club by a 1-0 score in a game played on Sunday at Vancouver’s Adanac Park. Right from the start Croatia, led by the midfield foursome of Johnny Sulentic, Josip Maras, Rob Hall, and Darko Jelic, dominated play and basically controlled at least 75% of the action. The score could easily have been more emphatic had it not been for the tenacious defensive work of Sporting’s Michael Gomes and Denny Ferreira as well as the superlative goalkeeping of Brian Brum. Two amazing saves by Brum stood out, one on a header by Aaron Keay and the other on a booming shot by Johnny Sulentic. Croatia’s lone goal came halfway through the first half when Keay converted a brilliant pass from Petar Sulentic into the winning goal. As a result of the victory, Croatia SC improves its record to 6-4-5, only 4 points out of first place in the Group ‘A’ table, but also only 7 points ahead of last place Trollers FC and Westside Rino. Sporting Club, on the other hand, is now in penultimate place in the Group ‘B’ standings.

On Saturday, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the Firefighters hosted Trollers FC and came away with a hard-fought 3-2 victory. Twice the Trollers took the lead—on goals by Jesse Fetterley and Justin Thompson—but twice the Firemen responded with a pair of goals—by Bob Anderson and Chris Jarvie—of their own. Then, late in the game, Jeff Potratz notched the winner for the home team. The 3 points puts the Firefighters 8 points ahead of Pegasus FC in the Group ‘B’ battle to avoid relegation, while the Trollers remain in last place—tied with Westside Rino—in the Group ‘A’ table.

Also on Saturday, at Burnaby Lake Park, the Burnaby Canadians edged the luckless Pegasus FC 2-1 in a very well-played and entertaining game. The Canadians controlled most of the action in the first half and took a well-deserved 2-0 halftime lead on goals by Darren Villars and playing-coach Steve Millar. Late in the first half Burnaby’s Brian Fowler was ejected from the match on a rather controversial call. Pegasus took advantage of the situation and began to press forward in search of some badly-needed goals. The North Shore/Surrey team was finally rewarded when a couple of veterans, Rob Reed and Mike Dodd, combined to narrow the margin. Reed, usually a goal-scorer, and Dodd, normally a provider, reversed roles as Dodd converted a clever pass from Reed into his team’s lone goal. The Canadians now find themselves 3 points behind the idle ICSF Inter at the top of the Group ‘A’ table, while Pegasus FC is still in last place in the Group ‘B’ standings, 7 points behind Sporting Club.

On Sunday at Hastings Bowl Columbus-Clan FC hosted the Sapperton Rovers in what turned out to be a very intense and hard-fought battle—the type of game that suits the Rovers much better than the younger, and more skilled Columbus team. In the end, the 2-1 score in favour of the Rovers was probably a just result. Columbus took the early lead when Giovanni Valente sent Tiernan King into the penalty box with a perfectly-executed pass. King beat the last Rovers’ defender only to be blatantly brought down. Chris Brown made no mistake on the ensuing penalty kick to give his team the well-deserved lead. Sapperton regained parity late in the first half when veteran Paul Favaro headed home a brilliant free kick from Emilio Bottiglieri. Sapperton’ Rob Sing received his second caution of the match at about the 65th minute mark leaving his team with only 10 men. Despite this fact, the Rovers continued to press in search of the winning goal and were rewarded about 10 minutes later when Paul Favaro capped off a brilliant individual performance with his second goal of the match. The victory puts the Rovers in a 2-way tie at the top of the Group ‘A’ standings with the idle ICSF Inter, while Columbus slips back into second place in Group ‘B’, 2 points behind Surrey United.

Also on Sunday, at Kensington Park in Vancouver, the AFC Leopards—near the top of the table in Group ‘B’—hosted Khalsa Sporting Club, a team in desperate need of points in Group ‘A’. Both teams started off well and created numerous scoring chances in the first half. The Leopards were able to capitalize on a couple of their opportunities and took a 2-0 halftime lead with BJ Rockson and Andrew Riopel scoring the goals. Rockson’s goal came on a fine set-up by Riopel, while the second goal came as a result of a great pass by Chris Clarke that Riopel turned into the Leopards’ second goal. Khalsa came roaring back in the second half and tied the game due to a superlative team effort and two wonderful goals by Matt Mori. The victory give Khalsa a tiny bit of breathing room near the bottom of the Group ‘A’ standings, while AFC is now 4 points behind Group ‘B’ leaders Surrey United.

Finally, also on Sunday, Westside Rino and the Metro-Ford Wolves renewed their 20-year old rivalry in a very important match played at Hillcrest Park in Vancouver. Rinos’ boys got off to a flying start when Keith Moore scored his first goal of the season after a Westside cross had been cleared by Metro-Ford’s fine goalkeeper Mat Bird. Westside continued to press and had the Wolves on the ropes for much of the first half. Ironically, the Metro-Ford tied the game late in the first half on an own goal by central defender Gaby Bourbara who headed the ball past goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic. The second half, however, told a very different story as the Wolves came back strongly and scored two unanswered goals to eventually go home 3-1 victors. Azad Palani led the way for Metro-Ford with his speed and tenacity driving the older and slower Westside defenders to distraction. First, Palani was tripped inside the box, triggering a penalty kick that Andrew Veer had saved by Djekanovic. Then, Palani scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second half after having picked up a rebound. Young Justin Cordick scored his first VMSL goal in the dying moments of the match to put the game out of Westside’s reach. The victory improves the Wolves’ record to 5-3-6, while Westside remains tied with Trollers FC for last place in Group ‘A’, albeit with two games in hand over the West Vancouver team.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: SURREY UNITED for their impressive 3-1 victory over the always tough Croatia SC. Surrey totally dominated proceedings after falling behind 1-0 early in the match and fully deserved the all-important 3 points. As a result of the victory, Surrey United is now alone in first place in the Group ‘B’ standings, 2 points ahead of Columbus-Clan FC.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Midfielder PAUL FAVARO , of the Sapperton Rovers, for his brilliant performance in his team’s 2-1 victory over Columbus-Clan FC. Not only did Favaro, aided by brother Mike Favaro, control the midfield, but he also scored his team’s two goals. As a result of his excellent performance, FAVARO will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2005-02-24. The pizza must be consumed on the premises.

 

[Hands of Stone]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

Weak 18 for any that care.

WEEK #18 – 2005-02-14

Once again, a few unexpected results occurred in the Premier Division of the VMSL as all 7 games were played in cold, but sunny, weather conditions. The first upset took place on Saturday at Adanac Park when the Firefighters defeated the red-hot Sapperton Rovers 1-0. The Rovers could have climbed to first place in the Group ‘A’ standings but the Firemen fully deserved the victory with their tenacious and aggressive style of play. Surprisingly, Sapperton failed to match the Firefighters’ physical play and, as a result, eventually succumbed to a more determined and focused squad. The Firemen came out of the starting gate with fire in their bellies and dominated the entire first half. At the 20th minute mark, Chris Jarvie scored his 8th goal of the season—tying him for first place in the GOLDEN BOOT race—after some great work by fellow-striker Trevor Bourne. The second half told a somewhat different story as the Rovers finally woke up and applied a considerable amount of pressure of their own. However, some excellent defending by Graham Poole, Greg Pears, and especially Jeff Skinner kept Sapperton off the score sheet. Sixteen-year old Admir Salihovic made his senior debut for the Rovers and played extremely well in a losing cause. As a result of the victory, the Firefighters climb out of the relegation zone in Group ‘B’. The Rovers, on the other hand, are now 1 point behind ICSF Inter in the battle for first place in Group ‘A’.

Another ‘mini’ upset, also at Adanac Park, took place on Sunday when Croatia SC edged title contenders Columbus-Clan FC 1-0 after a very spirited and exciting 90 minutes of play. Both teams created numerous scoring chances and the scoreline would have been much higher had it not been for the brilliant goalkeeping of Columbus’ Luca Dalla Pace and Croatia’s Adel Massoud. Dalla Pace, in particular, was instrumental in keeping Croatia off the score sheet in the first half with amazing saves on shots by Darko Jelic and Petar Sulentic. The deciding goal of the match came midway through the second half when Whitecap Johnny Sulentic was brought down inside the penalty area after having beaten a couple of Columbus defenders. Aaron Keay took advantage of the penalty kick situation and slotted home his 8th goal of the season—tying him with Chris Jarvie, Joe Scigliano, Pammi Birring, and Tom Adamson for the GOLDEN BOOT AWARD. Columbus’ defeat leaves them in second place in the Group ‘B’ standings, 5 points behind Surrey United, while Croatia climbs into contention for the Group ‘A’ honours with a record of 7-4-5, two points behind group leaders ICSF Inter. It should be pointed out, however, that Inter has two games in hand over Croatia.

Surrey United, meanwhile, remained solidly in first place in the Group ‘B’ table with yet another 1-0 victory over the slumping Burnaby Canadians in a match played on Saturday at Cloverdale Park in Surrey. The victory was even more impressive when one considers the fact that Surrey was missing 6 of its regular starters and had to resort to using 5 youngsters from its Division 1 CAT team. The young lads responded magnificently and the margin of victory could have been much more emphatic had it not been for some poor finishing on the part of the United forwards. The woodwork also came to the Canadians’ assistance when a Sean Crocker free kick seemed destined for the back of the net only to have the goalpost intervene. In the second half Surrey finally took the lead when young Vince Stewart cleverly redirected a fierce drive by Gareth Wilkshire past Burnaby’s fine goalkeeper, Trevor Jones. Stewart, playing with increased confidence since his recent appearances with the Canadian National Under 20 team, proceeded to hit the cross bar with a cheeky chip shot that eluded Jones’ outstretched hands. As luck would have it, however, the Canadians came very close to tying the game in the dying moments of the match when Mike Gahan volleyed a powerful shot that seemed destined for the top corner of the net. However, Sean Crocker, playing in an unaccustomed defensive role, was able to head the ball off the goal line and preserve his team’s well-earned margin of victory. As a result of the 3 points, Surrey United is now comfortably in first place in the Group ‘B’ standings, with a 5 point advantage over Columbus-Clan. The Canadians, on the other hand, are now in the middle of the pack in the Group ‘A’ table with a record of 5-8-3.

On Sunday, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the Group ‘A’ leaders ICSF Inter held off the resurging AFC Leopards as both teams settled for a 2-2 tie. After a scoreless first half, a half that saw Inter squander several goal-scoring opportunities, the Leopards took the lead early in the second half on a goal by veteran Iain Sneddon. ICSF pressed hard for the equalizer and came close on efforts by Tino Cucca, Kevin Crouch, Andrew Corazza, and Brian Van Schagen. Van Schagen finally tied the score at the 78th minute mark on a well-taken free kick from well outside the penalty area. A few minutes later Inter took the lead on a goal by Andrew Corazza after some excellent work by Kevin Crouch. Van Schagen then received his second caution of the match and was ejected from the game. In the dying moments of the match, a well-executed free kick by newcomer Freddy Malek gained the Leopards the tie. Inter remains in first place in Group ‘A’, albeit only one point ahead of the Sapperton Rovers, while AFC is now in third place in the Group ‘B’ standings, 6 points out of first place.

Also on Sunday, at Hastings Bowl in Vancouver, Sporting Club climbed out of the dreaded relegation zone by defeating Khalsa Sporting Club by an emphatic 3-0 score. Khalsa kept the game close throughout the first half, allowing a lone Sporting goal by veteran Ryan Dormer. Early in the second half, however, Khalsa’s Aneel Bilin was ejected from the match for serious foul play. At this point Sporting Club took control of the match and scored twice more to seal the deal. Young Steve Frazao and Jesse Arnett tallied Sporting’s second half goals. Sporting Club is now officially out of the relegation zone with a record of 5-4-5 in the Group ‘B’ standings, while Khalsa SC is back to last place in Group ‘A’ with a record of 5-1-10.

On Saturday, at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, the home side Trollers FC defeated the Metro-Ford Wolves by a 2-0 score. After a scoreless first half, a half that saw the Wolves squander several glorious scoring chances, the Trollers came roaring back and scored two unanswered goals late in the second half. The first goal came at the 75th minute mark when a brilliant shot by James Possee was parried by goalkeeper Misho Dobrozdravich onto the path of Drew Lewis who had no difficulty in scoring what proved to be the winning goal. A late goal by veteran Simon Daniels put the game out of Metro-Ford’s reach. The Trollers can now breathe a sigh of relief as they are out of last place in the Group ‘A’ standings, while Metro-Ford is back in penultimate place in Group ‘B’.

Finally, on Sunday at Hillcrest Park in Vancouver, Westside Rino edged the Canadian National champions Pegasus FC by a 1-0 score in a rather lacklustre affair. Both teams are fighting desperately to avoid relegation in their respective groups. Obviously, the victory—and subsequent 3 points—helped Rino’s boys immensely, while the loss means that Pegasus now needs a major miracle to survive. The lone goal of the game came near the end of the first half when young Devin Matthews back-healed a cross from veteran Steve Dickinson past Pegasus’ goalkeeper Steve London. Pegasus came close to tying the game in the second half when a well-taken corner kick by Ryan Powell seemed to go directly into the net. The goal, however, was disallowed leaving Pegasus is dire straights in its efforts to escape relegation.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: CROATIA SC for its impressive 1-0 victory over the powerful contenders Columbus-Clan FC. Croatia SC took the game to the aspiring Columbus lads and fully deserved the all-important 3 points. As a result of the victory, Croatia is now only 2 points behind Group ‘A’ leaders, ICSF Inter.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Defender JEFF SKINNER, of the Firefighters FC, for his brilliant performance in his team’s 1-0 upset victory over the Sapperton Rovers. After his team took a 1-0 lead, Skinner led the way in thwarting the Rovers’ determined come-back attempts with a stellar defensive effort. As a result of his excellent performance, SKINNER will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2005-03-203 The pizza must be consumed on the premises.

 

[cerebral smallsy]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

WEEK #19 – 2005-02-21

The first round of the Imperial Cup playdowns took place this past weekend. As usual, a few upsets occurred as a couple of Division 1 teams were able to eliminate Premier Division squads. All in all, however, the results were rather predictable as the favourites prevailed in most cases.

The major upset took place on Sunday at Hastings Bowl in Vancouver where the lowly Portuguese Club—in 9th place in the Division 1A standings—edged the visiting Trollers FC by a 2-1 score. PCOV took an early lead on a goal by Gil Rodrigues, added another marker at the beginning of the second half when Gustavo Babychuk scored, and then survived some severe Trollers pressure to eventually emerge 2-1 victors. A late goal by Trollers’ Willie Cromack proved to be too little, too late for the Premier Division team. PCOV will now face another first division team, IFC Polonia, in the next Imperial Cup round, while the Trollers can concentrate entirely on league play. In fact, the Trollers are still in the dreaded relegation zone in Group ‘A’, but they also have a chance to gain a berth in the Province Cup playdowns.

The other upset occurred on Friday evening at Port Moody Town Centre where the Premier Division Metro-Ford Wolves lost 1-0 to the first division Sikh Temple. The underdogs scored the lone goal of the contest midway through the second half when Rick Titus headed home a brilliantly taken free kick by Jason Sarai. The Wolves fought back in search of the equalizer but squandered numerous chances and now find themselves in the same predicament as the Trollers! Sikh Temple, on the other hand, advance to the round of 16 where they will meet another Premier Division team, Columbus-Clan FC.

In a Premier Division battle, played on Saturday at Burnaby Lake West, the Burnaby Canadians finally prevailed over the never-say-die Vancouver Firefighters on penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play could not produce a winner. Regulation time ended in a scoreless tie, but the Canadians took a 2-0 lead in the first half of overtime as veterans Sal Cuccione and Frank Mollica scored. However, in typical Firemen fashion, the visitors fought back and got two quick goals in the second overtime period to force the game to penalty kicks. Former Whitecap Jeff Skinner and Bob Anderson scored the Firefighters’ goals, with the equalizer coming right at the stroke of full time. However, Burnaby managed to win the match in the penalty kick shootout with Ed Bradford, Frank Mollica, Peter Rosati, and Jeff Shea scoring from the 11-metre spot. Goalkeeper Trevor Jones was brilliant in goal, making two superb saves on the penalty kicks and thus making amends for a rather soft Fireman goal in the overtime. As a result of the victory, the Canadians advance to the round of 16 where they will meet Richmond United of the First Division.

On Saturday, at Adanac Park, another game involving two Premier Division teams took place as the Sapperton Rovers hosted Sporting Club. The Rovers survived some early pressure from Sporting Club and eventually came away 2-0 victors. Both goalkeepers, Cory Breure for Sapperton and Brian Brum for Sporting, had to make some excellent saves throughout the contest as both teams took turns attacking and creating goal-scoring opportunities. After a scoreless first half, the Rovers took control of the game in the second half, mostly due to the insertion of Trevor Todd, Chris Todd, and Adam Steffich. In fact, early in the second half, a 3-way passing play involving all 3 substitutes, resulted in the game’s first goal as young Robert Sing scored on a brilliant shot from the edge of the penalty area. Shortly thereafter, Trevor Todd, in his first game since a November injury, rounded out the scoring on a brilliant header from a Mike Favaro cross. It should be noted that Favaro was outstanding throughout the match as he led his team to a well-deserved victory. Defensively, the Rovers’ Mike Araszewski also played well, while Sporting midfielder Brian Gebby was outstanding in a losing cause. Sapperton will now take on City FC Blaze—1-0 winners over Deep Cove Royals—in the next round.

In the other game involving Premier Division teams Surrey United hosted the AFC Leopards at Cloverdale Park on Saturday. The match ended in a 1-0 victory for the home team but had to be settled in overtime after 90 minutes of regulation time could not produce a winner. Surrey had a couple of good scoring chances in the early going, particularly at the 15th minute mark when former Whitecap Niall Thompson was brought down inside the box. The usually reliable Gareth Wilkshire fired the penalty kick wide of the post. Early in the second half, Thompson was ejected from the game for violent conduct. The Leopards, instead of taking advantage of the situation, also found themselves down to 10 men when Chris Clarke, another former Whitecap, received a red card—also for violent conduct. In the first half of overtime, centre-forward Shawan Blakeway rose to head a Todd Stauber cross onto the path of young Justin Carvery who rifled the ball into the net for the game’s lone goal. United’s defence was dominant throughout the match, with centre-back Graeme Magowan leading the way. On the few occasions that the Leopards did break through, goalkeeper Drew Smiley was there to make some outstanding saves to preserve the shutout and the all-important victory. It should also be noted that AFC’s goalkeeper, Tyler Silvestre, also turned in a brilliant performance, particularly in the first half. Surrey United will now play Croatia SC in the next round, in a match that promises to be a closely-fought contest.

In yet another match that had to be settled in overtime, Croatia SC—of the Premier Division—defeated the first division Indo-Akal by the unlikely overtime score of 5-2. The numerous fans at Adanac Park were treated to one of the best games of the season as both teams demonstrated considerable skill and tenacity. Indo-Akal took the early lead when Naser Zico headed home a magnificent cross from former Whitecap Oliver Heald. With 5 minutes to go in the first half, Petar Sulentic converted a brilliant passing play involving Josip Maras and Niko Marcina into the tying goal. Just before the halftime whistle, young Adrian Kekec scored the go-ahead goal for Croatia on a brilliant shot from well outside the penalty area. Early in the second half, Indo-Akal restored parity when Steve Grewal scored, one again from a cross by Oliver Heald. Croatia bounced back and had several scoring chances before the final whistle, but Johnny Sulentic—without doubt the best player on the field—Josip Maras and Lucazs Cimeszco all missed glorious scoring chances in regulation time. It should be noted that Indo-Akal’s goalkeeper Didar Sandhu was outstanding in keeping his team in the game throughout regulation time. In the overtime, Johnny Sulentic finally capped off an amazing individual performance by scoring the winner at the 7th minute of play. Tommy Babic and Mirko Maras rounded out the scoring with late goals. Croatia SC will now play Surrey United in the second round of the Imperial Cup on Saturday at Cloverdale Athletic Park at 12 noon. It should be quite a game!

On Saturday, at Kensington Park in Vancouver, City FC Rangers hosted Pegasus FC in a match that proved to be rather one-sided. The final 3-0 result in favour of Pegasus tells the whole story as the Premier Division team totally outclassed the game first division squad. Veteran Paul Dailly scored twice for Pegasus, while Laurent Scaligine added a single marker.

On Sunday, at Hillcrest Park in Vancouver, Westside Rino tangled with Cliff Avenue United in yet another match involving teams from the Premier and First Divisions. The underdog Cliff Avenue team played remarkably well in the first half and fully deserved the scoreless tie after 45 minutes. The younger, and fitter, Westside boys came out with fire in their bellies in the second half and totally dominated proceedings. They were rewarded with goals by a couple of youngsters—Steve Deblasio and Devin Matthews—and fully deserved the final 2-0 victory. Matthews, Steve Dickinson, and Markus Felderer deserve special mention for their fine display in Westside’s clinical victory.

Also on Sunday, at Hastings Bowl, Columbus-Clan FC did not have such an easy time in disposing of the feisty first division Vancouver Olympics by a 3-2 score. Perhaps taking an early 2-0 lead—on goals by Craig Richards and Tiarnan King—had a counter-effect on Columbus as the Olympics came storming back to eventually draw even. Rick Marando, late in the first half, and Franco Randazzo, early in the second half scored for the Olympics. Columbus, however, was able to score the winner when veteran Carmine D’Onofrio set up young Keegan Ayre with a brilliant free kick that resulted in the winning goal. Columbus will now face Sikh Temple in the next round. The match is slated for Hastings Bowl on Sunday.

Friday evening, at Mercer Stadium, Khalsa SC—of the Premier Division—struggled throughout the first half against a very determined IFC Sarajevo but eventually won the game by a lop-sided 3-0 score. A red card to a Sarajevo’s player early in the second half proved to be the turning point of the match as Khalsa fully took advantage of the situation to score 3 unanswered goals. Young Sammi Birring scored twice, while veteran Matt Mori added a singleton in Khalsa’s emphatic victory. Khalsa’s next opponents will be the first division Norvan SC. The game will be played on Friday evening at Mercer Stadium.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: BURNABY CANADIANS for their thrilling penalty kick victory over the ever-dangerous Firefighters FC. After a scoreless regulation time, and a 2-2 overtime, the match had to be settled by penalty kicks. The Canadians, who had been ahead 2-0 in the overtime, were able to survive the psychological disadvantage of relinquishing the lead to eventually win the match in the penalty kick shootout.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Croatia’s JOHNNY SULENTIC, for his amazing performance in his team’s 5-2 overtime victory over Indo-Akal. After Indo-Akal had taken the early lead, Sulentic almost single-handedly took over the reins of the match and led his team to a well-deserved victory with his amazing skills and goal-scoring ability. As a result of his excellent performance, SULENTIC will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2005-03-10. The pizza must be consumed on the premises.


young and fitter....i like that. nice of azzi to slip in a comment about bellies too.

 

[Mr. Rempa]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

Hey Smallsy

As you see everybody can see your belly. All the way across Vancouver....and in Coquitlam too.





GH

 

[knowone]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

seriously though smalls, fire in their bellies??? If we're talking
about your belly... "this fire's out of control, were gonna burn
this city..burn this city"-franz ferdinand

 

[Jinky]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

Don't you listen to them Smalley.

That new diet and exercise regimen I sent you a couple of months ago takes a wee while to get results. At this stage you are merely retaining water. A couple dozen gallons of water.

By the way, did I send you the step involving purging?

 

[cerebral smallsy]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

never underestimate the power of the belly.
two weeks in london/amsterdam is a recipe for disaster for the diet challenged. i think the digs i took from renee over the weekend were incentive enough to cut a pound or twenty.
jinks, i'm going to assume that a day of vomiting after a nite on the piss doesn't count as purging...does it?

 

[Conductor]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

Not sure how PCOV didn't get team of the week.Here you have a 1st div team probably gonna be playing a relagation game just to stay in first knocking off a team in Premier??As for BBY and FF,I admit an entertaining game but also between two pretty even teams in premier.Or is it that a 1st div team can't get this recognition,as it is only premier teams that fill out game reports!!!

 

[Jinky]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

jinks, i'm going to assume that a day of vomiting after a nite on the piss doesn't count as purging...does it?

It sure does. On a ratio of 125% vomitting to 100% intake you'll be back in shape in no time.

Good luck with that.

 

[Bronco]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

Ah hem,


TEAM OF THE WEEK: CROATIA SC for its excellent performance in defeating Surrey United by a narrow 1-0 margin. As a result, the Group ‘B’ leaders are eliminated from the Imperial Cup. Croatia SC, on the other hand, is now in the quarter-finals with an excellent chance of going all the way to the final.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Croatia’s NIKO MARCINA, for his brilliant performance in his team’s 1-0 upset victory over powerhouse Surrey United. The 21-year old Marcina dictated the pace of the game from his midfield position, controlling the ball with exquisite skill and setting up his forwards with marvellous passes. Not only that, but Marcina also scored the only goal of the game on a brilliant individual effort! As a result of his excellent performance, MARCINA will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2005-03-17. The pizza must be consumed on the premises.

 

[cerebral smallsy]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

WEEK #21 – 2005-03-07

Two Imperial Cup matches, and 6 Premier Division make-up games, were played this past weekend as the battle to gain berths in the Province Cup intensified. In fact, virtually all 14 Premier Division teams still have a chance to participate in the prestigious provincial championship.

The Sapperton Rovers became the first team to gain entry in the Province Cup by qualifying for the Imperial Cup semi-finals as a result of a hard-fought penalty-kick victory over the Division 1 Norvan SC. The game, played on Saturday at Adanac Park in Vancouver, saw the underdog North Shore team get off to a flying start by creating several goal-scoring opportunities and deservedly taking the lead on Greg Muir’s early goal. Very early in the second half veteran Ted Ullrich—on a brilliant set-up by Paul Favaro—unleashed a blistering 20-metre volley into the bottom corner of the Norvan net to even the score. At this point, the Rovers took control of the match and limited the young Norvan squad to a few break-away opportunities. Despite their territorial advantage, the Rovers were unable to score the winner in regulation time nor in overtime and the result had to be settled on penalty kicks. Worthy of note is the fact that Sapperton missed a golden opportunity late in the second overtime period as veteran Paul Favaro had his penalty kick saved by Norvan’s goalkeeper Giancarlo Martino. The penalty kick shootout saw Norvan take an early 2-1 lead only to have the more experienced and less nervous Rovers convert their last two shots to take home the victory. Goalkeeper Cory Breure made one penalty-kick save in the Sapperton goal, while forward Trevor Todd, midfielder Jeff Rogers, and defender Brian Donald also had excellent games for the winning team. As a result of the victory, the Rovers gain a berth in the Imperial Cup semi-finals and in the Province Cup round of 16.

Also on Saturday, at Burnaby Lake West, the Burnaby Canadians had little difficulty in disposing of the first division Richmond United by a 2-0 margin. Veteran Sal Cuccione converted a fine through pass from Darren Villars into the opening goal early in the contest. Gino Gaita added the insurance marker shortly after the start of the second half when he headed home Burnaby’s second goal. Tom Carson, in the Canadians’ midfield, turned in yet another brilliant performance, displaying excellent skills and work ethic. The Canadians now advance to the quarter-finals were they will meet arch-rivals ICSF Inter in what promises to be an exciting affair since a slot in the Province Cup will be on the line.

In league play, ICSF Inter failed to solidify its hold on first place in the Group ‘A’ standings as a result of a 2-2 tie against Pegasus FC in a game played on Sunday at Adanac Park. The recently-relegated Pegasus got off to a great start when a Paul Dailly shot took a bizarre bounce and eluded the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Dennis Kindel. Inter fought back and was rewarded late in the first half when Joseph Marrello sent a streaking Tino Cucca down the right flank with a splendid, pin-point, pass. Cucca then proceeded to cross the ball to a wide open Andrew Corazza, who had no difficulty in scoring the tying goal. The second half belonged almost entirely to ICSF but, as luck would have it, it was Pegasus that restored its lead on an own goal by central defender Matt Judd who headed the ball past his goalkeeper on a corner kick. Inter pressed hard for the second equalizer and was rewarded when Mike Tempesta and Kevin Harmse combined to set up Corazza for his second goal of the match—and the sixth of the season. Inter then proceeded to squander several golden opportunities to gain all 3 points as Harmse, Cucca, and Brian VanSchagen all took turns in missing the net. As a result of the tie, Inter is now tied for first place in the Group ‘A’ table with Croatia SC. It should be noted that ICSF has 2 games in hand.

In the meantime, at Beaconsfield Park, Croatia SC climbed to a first place tie with ICSF Inter as a result of a 2-1 victory over the AFC Leopards. The game got off to a flying start as the Leopards took the game to Croatia in search of a victory that would help them immeasurably in their search for a Province Cup slot. A great individual effort by BJ Rockson gave AFC a well-deserved 1-0 halftime lead, a lead that evaporated in the second half as Croatia played with much more determination and skill. At about the 15th minute mark of the second half, a well-placed free kick by Johnny Sulentic bounced off the AFC goalpost onto the path of Darko Jelic who calmly slotted the ball home for the equalizer. Croatia kept pressing and got the winner when Lukasz Cimoszko set up Johnny Sulentic for his 5th goal of the season. Immediately thereafter, Sulentic was robbed by Patrick Obaze’s phenomenal save. In fact, Obaze was sensational throughout the second half in keeping the Croatian forwards at bay. Midfielder Desmond Tachie also had a fine game for the Leopards, albeit in a losing cause. Despite the loss, AFC still has a chance of qualifying for the Province Cup round of 16.

On Saturday, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, Westside Rino came out of its mini-slump with a vengeance in defeating the struggling Firefighters FC by a resounding 4-0 score. Rino’s boys got off to a great start and continued to play well throughout the match. Steve Dickinson gave Westside an early lead when he was set up by a marvellous pass from young Matt Karmal. Shortly thereafter, Alex Kosanin took advantage of some sloppy defending on the part of the Firefighters to score Westside’s second goal. Before the halftime whistle, Dickinson scored his second goal of the match, this one on a fine pass from Steve Deblasio. In the second half, Deblasio sealed the victory with a brillianly-executed free kick. All in all, it was an outstanding performance for the entire Westside squad, though special mention must be made of Under 21 call-ups Jorge Devicente, Ben Hunt, Vitali Dmitrenko, and Matt Karmal. Steve Dickinson not only scored twice but he worked tirelessly throughout the match and fully deserves man-of-the-match honours.

On Sunday, at Hastings Bowl in Vancouver, Columbus-Clan FC hosted the struggling Trollers FC in a match that was extremely important to both teams. In fact, Columbus is still vying for first place honours in the Group ‘B’ standings, while the Trollers are trying desperately to avoid relegation in Group ‘A’. The underdog Trollers took an early lead when Sean Taylor hammered home a shot from well outside the penalty area. The West Vancouver team held its own for most of the first half and seemed destined to upset the much younger and less experienced Columbus boys. However, some key changes in the Columbus line-up appeared to make an enormous difference as the young trio of Alex Elliott, Tyler Rosenlund, and Keegan Ayre turned the tables to Columbus’ advantage. The whole second half belonged to the home team as the final 6-1 score would attest. Robbie Cairns equalized with a cracking shot early in the second half and, shortly thereafter, the flood gates opened as Alex Elliott and Keegan Ayre each scored twice. Masumi Turnbull added his name to the score sheet as he was sent in all alone by Tyler Rosenlund. Luca Bellisomo was once again solid in the Columbus back line, but player-of-the-match honours must go to Tyler Rosenlund for his incredible performance in the middle of the park. The victory puts Columbus within 3 points of Group ‘B’ leaders Surrey United, while the Trollers are now only one point ahead of Khalsa SC in the battle to avoid relegation.

The other two Premier Division matches ended in ties, as the Metro-Ford Wolves and Khalsa SC drew 1-1 on Friday evening at Heritage Woods School in Port Moody. Matt Mori gave Khalsa the early lead on a well-executed free kick, while Jay Gangnes levelled the score late in the first half on a great shot from well outside the penalty area. On Sunday, at Hastings Bowl, Surrey United could not solidify its hold on first place in the Group ‘A’ standings and had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Sporting Club. If truth be told, Sporting Club had most of the play and deserved all 3 points. A victory for Sporting would have made the Group ‘B’ race for first place very interesting. However, the defensively-minded Surrey team held on for the scoreless tie and now looks like a good bet to repeat as Group ‘B’ champions.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: COLUMBUS-CLAN FC for its brilliant performance in demolishing Trollers FC by a lop-sided 6-1 margin. Led by the young trio of Keegan Ayre (16-years old), Alex Elliott (17-years old), and Tyler Rosenlund (18-years old) Columbus-Clan came back from a 1-0 half-time deficit to totally dominate the second half. As a result of the victory, Columbus-Clan seemed assured of a slot in the Province Cup playdowns.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Westside’s STEVE DICKINSON for his amazing performance in leading his team to an emphatic 4-0 victory over Firefighters FC. Not only did Dickinson score two great goals, but he also drove the Firemen defenders to distraction with his speed and incredible work rate. As a result of his excellent performance, DICKINSON will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2005-03-24. The pizza must be consumed on the premises.

 

[Hands of Stone]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

TEAM OF THE WEEK: COLUMBUS-CLAN FC ... Led by the young trio of Keegan Ayre (16-years old), Alex Elliott (17-years old), and Tyler Rosenlund (18-years old)

Whats with Azzi Jackson and the young boys, I heard that all the young guys get free pizza after the match .

Are all these kids on the Canada U-20 team that is going to the Championships this summer?

hos

 

[zenga]

Re: Azzi's Superlative Team & Player of the Week

Tyler Roselund was on the U-20 side. Keegan is with the U-17. Alex has been battling injuries all season. I think he is between the two ages too old for the U-17 and too young for the U-20.

Good to see Alex get two. He might take the goal scoring title after all!