WEEK #15—2007-12-17
Once again, no major surprises occurred in the VMSL’s Premier Division as all 14 teams played their last games—all cross-over matches—before the Christmas break. As a result, the situations at the top and at the bottom of the standings remained virtually the same. Sporting Club, despite Croatia’s noble effort to narrow the gap at the top of the Group ‘B’ table, looks like a sure thing to win the group title, while West Van FC remains in first place in Group ‘A’ despite losing to the red-hot Croatians. At the bottom of each table, the same teams remain in desperate need of points to avoid relegation although the AFC Leopards are slowly climbing out of last place, having recorded 5 consecutive positive results.
On Friday evening, at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby, ICSF Inter solidified its hold on third place in the Group ‘A’ table by edging the visiting Westside FC by a 2-1 margin. Westside got off to a dream start by scoring the opening goal right from the kick-off as young Chris Mehuys finished off a prolonged passing play as the Inter defenders were caught napping. Midway through the first half, Westside came close to adding to its lead when Inter’s young goalkeeper—Erman Ozkan—made an incredible finger-tip save on a wicked long-range shot by Colin Jones. This proved to be the turning point of the match as Inter equalized moments later when ‘GOLDEN BOOT AWARD’ leader, Kevin Crouch, cleverly chipped into the net from the edge of the penalty area, thus scoring his 14th goal of the season. In the second half, substitutes Matt Mori and Cristiano Tropeano ignited Inter’s attack with some dangerous forays that nearly resulted in the go-ahead goal. They were finally rewarded at the 75th minute when Tropeano was fouled outside the penalty area and near the goal line. Joseph Marrello swung a precise free kick to the near post where a soaring Matt Mori powerfully headed the ball into the net for the winning goal. Westside came back with a vengeance and almost tied things up when Dayne Jackson’s shot hit the goalpost after he had been set up by Frank Glassen. Westside’s defender Liam McAllister and Inter’s midfielder Joseph Marrello turned in outstanding performances in their respective positions. The loss leaves Westside FC near the bottom of the standings in the Group ‘B’ table, while Inter is still in the running for the Group ‘A’ title, particularly since West Van FC dropped a 2-0 decision to Croatia SC.
On Saturday, at Minoru Park in Richmond, the AFC Leopards continued their impressive unbeaten streak by defeating Indo FC by a 4-2 margin. The match was very important as both teams were trying desperately to get out of the dreaded relegation zone. As a result, the game got off to a great start as both teams demonstrated right from the start their drastic need for points. Indo FC took the early lead when former Whitecap David Morris sent a well-executed free kick into the Leopards’ penalty area. Some defensive miscommunication allowed Karm Lidder to head the ball past goalkeeper Josh Wicks—yet another former Whitecap playing in the VMSL! Indo FC could have added to its lead late in the second half but missed two glorious goalscoring opportunities. First, Gary Sidhu’s header hit the goalpost and then Kyle McDiarmid failed to capitalize on a wide open net opportunity with Wicks out of position. Indo’s inability to score on those opportunities proved to be fatal as the second half told a totally different story. In fact, the Leopards—led by second half substitute BJ Rockson—dominated proceedings during the entire second half and scored 4 times in rapid succession to put the match out of Indo’s reach. The first AFC goal was scored by Freddy Malek as his free kick slipped through goalkeeper Drew Smiley’s hands and into the net. A few minutes later, Desmond Tachie’s superb cross found a wide-open BJ Rockson who easily tapped the ball into the net for the go-ahead goal. The winning goal was scored shortly thereafter and again involved Tachie and Rockson. This time, Tachie’s pass was controlled in the air by Rockson who, with his back to the goal, proceeded to juggle the ball a few times before scissor-kicking it into the net for what should be considered a candidate for goal-of-the-year! The fourth goal, and Rockson’s third of the match, was the exact opposite of the previous one as a clearance by an Indo defender bounced off the back of Rockson’s head and into the net. That goal should definitely be nominated for the ugliest-goal-of-the-year award! Late in the game, Karm Lidder converted a penalty kick—awarded for a hand ball infraction inside the penalty area—for Indo FC’s second goal, thus making the score somewhat respectable. Despite the victory, the Leopards remain in last place in the Group ‘A’ standings, albeit only 3 points behind the Sapperton Rovers. Indo FC, on the other hand, is only 2 points ahead of the Metro-Ford Wolves in the Group ‘B’ relegation zone.
Also on Saturday, at William Griffin Park in North Vancouver, Columbus-Clan FC managed to defeat the Norvan Eagles by a 2-0 margin in a battle between two middle-of-the-pack teams. Columbus got off to a good start and took an early lead when a Tiernan King free kick deflected off a Norvan defender into the net. In the old days that would have been called an own goal! The rest of the game was fairly evenly played with neither team creating many goalscoring opportunities. Very late in the game, Tino Cucca was sent in on goal by a clever pass by Steve DeBlasio and added Columbus’ insurance marker. Columbus’ backline—composed of Leigh Sembaluk, Luca Bellisomo, Blair Robertson, and veteran Tony Gaita—played exceptionally well throughout the match and allowed the Eagles very few goalscoring chances. The victory lifts Columbus out of the relegation zone, while Norvan’s loss leaves the Eagles precariously close to the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table.
The third Saturday game took place at Burnaby Lake West Complex and featured the Vancouver Firefighters and the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Wolves. After a hard-fought, but not very well-played, 90 minutes, both teams had to settle for a 1-1 final result. Metro-Ford took the lead midway through the first half when Milan Francisty played a clever one-two with fellow midfielder Russ Huggon before slotting the ball past the Firemen’s newly signed goalkeeper, Geoff Ayi-Bonte. The Firefighters knotted the score before the halftime whistle when Lucas Barrett headed home a well-taken corner kick by Aaron Keay. In the second half, the Firemen surged forward in search of the winning goal and came close on several occasions. Most notable were 3 missed chances by Lucas Barrett who inexplicably missed the net on every opportunity. At the other end of the pitch, Reece Miles also came close to scoring as his long-range shot bounced off the crossbar with Ayi-Bonte well beaten. The tie does neither team any favours as the Firefighters remain in the middle of the Group ‘A’ pack and the Wolves are still at the bottom of the Group ‘B’ standings.
The fourth, and final, Saturday game was played at Charles Best School in Coquitlam and featured the Group ‘B’ leaders, Sporting Club, and the struggling Sapperton Rovers. The final result, 3-1 in favour of Sporting Club, leaves the Portuguese team firmly in first place while the Rovers are still mired in the relegation zone in Group ‘A’. After an evenly-played 25 minutes, the tempo of the game changed dramatically when Sapperton’s young midfielder, Robert Sing, was ejected from the game for a violent conduct infraction. Sporting Club fully took advantage of the situation and scored the game’s first goal shortly thereafter when Mike Gomes dispossessed Sapperton’s veteran Mike Favaro, raced in all alone and fired a shot past goalkeeper Cory Breure from the edge of the penalty area. Early in the second half, Sporting Club added to its lead when Mike Wooldridge headed home a fine cross by Devon Greenside. Immediately thereafter, Ryan Dormer put the game out of the Rovers’ reach as he drilled the ball past Breure after having received a great pass from Wooldridge. Sapperton narrowed the margin near the end of the match when veteran Ryan McNabb redirected an Alex Jappy free kick past Sporting’s goalkeeper, Brian Brum. Things turned ugly just before the final whistle when a number of players from both teams engaged in a wrestling match. As a result, 2 players from each team were ejected—Sporting Club’s Jeff Yoon and Steve Dormer, as well as Sapperton’s Ed Bradford and Cory Breure.
On Sunday, at Adanac Park in Vancouver, Croatia SC defeated the Group ‘A’ leaders, West Van FC, by a convincing 2-0 margin. The Croatians dominated proceedings from start to finish and could easily have won by a wider margin had it not been for some bad luck and, mostly, poor finishing. Very early in the game, young Marinko Maras set up Rob Rogic whose shot missed the net by inches. A few minutes later, it was Oliver Heald’s turn to miss the net, this time on a set-up by another former professional, Johnny Sulentic. Early in the second half, Croatia finally took the lead on a controversial call as veteran Johnny Pashalidis was allegedly fouled inside the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick being awarded to Croatia SC. Oliver Heald, a former Whitecap, made no mistake from the penalty mark and scored what proved to be the winning goal. At this point, the former Trollers threw caution to the wind and, by doing so, gave Croatia even more scoring opportunities. In particular, Ian Clarke, Johnny Sulentic, and Oliver Heald had excellent chances to score on breakaways but were unable to put the finishing touch on the ball. Finally, very late in the match, Heald once again sailed in all alone and, this time, was able to slot the ball into the back of the net for the long awaited insurance marker. The victory keeps Croatia’s slim chances of catching Sporting Club alive, while West Van remains in first place in the Group ‘A’ standings, albeit by a slim margin.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: CROATIA SC for its excellent performance in defeating Group ‘A’ leaders, West Van FC by a convincing 2-0 margin. The Croatians, led by the fine play of former professionals Oliver Heald and Johnny Sulentic, controlled the play throughout the match and could easily have won by a larger margin. The victory keeps Croatia’s slim hopes of catching Sporting Club alive.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: AFC Leopards’ midfielder BERNARD (BJ) ROCKSON for his amazing performance in his team’s 4-2 victory over Indo FC. The Leopards survived a poorly played first half, a half which ended with Indo FC leading 1-0. Second half substitute BJ Rockson changed the entire tempo of the match as he scored 3 times in leading his team to a badly needed victory. One of the goals, the one that proved to be the winning goal, was a thing of beauty as Rockson controlled the ball at the edge of the penalty area and, with his back to the goal, proceeded to scissor-kick it into the back of the net. For his excellent performance, BERNARD ROCKSON will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2008-01-10.
Once again, no major surprises occurred in the VMSL’s Premier Division as all 14 teams played their last games—all cross-over matches—before the Christmas break. As a result, the situations at the top and at the bottom of the standings remained virtually the same. Sporting Club, despite Croatia’s noble effort to narrow the gap at the top of the Group ‘B’ table, looks like a sure thing to win the group title, while West Van FC remains in first place in Group ‘A’ despite losing to the red-hot Croatians. At the bottom of each table, the same teams remain in desperate need of points to avoid relegation although the AFC Leopards are slowly climbing out of last place, having recorded 5 consecutive positive results.
On Friday evening, at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby, ICSF Inter solidified its hold on third place in the Group ‘A’ table by edging the visiting Westside FC by a 2-1 margin. Westside got off to a dream start by scoring the opening goal right from the kick-off as young Chris Mehuys finished off a prolonged passing play as the Inter defenders were caught napping. Midway through the first half, Westside came close to adding to its lead when Inter’s young goalkeeper—Erman Ozkan—made an incredible finger-tip save on a wicked long-range shot by Colin Jones. This proved to be the turning point of the match as Inter equalized moments later when ‘GOLDEN BOOT AWARD’ leader, Kevin Crouch, cleverly chipped into the net from the edge of the penalty area, thus scoring his 14th goal of the season. In the second half, substitutes Matt Mori and Cristiano Tropeano ignited Inter’s attack with some dangerous forays that nearly resulted in the go-ahead goal. They were finally rewarded at the 75th minute when Tropeano was fouled outside the penalty area and near the goal line. Joseph Marrello swung a precise free kick to the near post where a soaring Matt Mori powerfully headed the ball into the net for the winning goal. Westside came back with a vengeance and almost tied things up when Dayne Jackson’s shot hit the goalpost after he had been set up by Frank Glassen. Westside’s defender Liam McAllister and Inter’s midfielder Joseph Marrello turned in outstanding performances in their respective positions. The loss leaves Westside FC near the bottom of the standings in the Group ‘B’ table, while Inter is still in the running for the Group ‘A’ title, particularly since West Van FC dropped a 2-0 decision to Croatia SC.
On Saturday, at Minoru Park in Richmond, the AFC Leopards continued their impressive unbeaten streak by defeating Indo FC by a 4-2 margin. The match was very important as both teams were trying desperately to get out of the dreaded relegation zone. As a result, the game got off to a great start as both teams demonstrated right from the start their drastic need for points. Indo FC took the early lead when former Whitecap David Morris sent a well-executed free kick into the Leopards’ penalty area. Some defensive miscommunication allowed Karm Lidder to head the ball past goalkeeper Josh Wicks—yet another former Whitecap playing in the VMSL! Indo FC could have added to its lead late in the second half but missed two glorious goalscoring opportunities. First, Gary Sidhu’s header hit the goalpost and then Kyle McDiarmid failed to capitalize on a wide open net opportunity with Wicks out of position. Indo’s inability to score on those opportunities proved to be fatal as the second half told a totally different story. In fact, the Leopards—led by second half substitute BJ Rockson—dominated proceedings during the entire second half and scored 4 times in rapid succession to put the match out of Indo’s reach. The first AFC goal was scored by Freddy Malek as his free kick slipped through goalkeeper Drew Smiley’s hands and into the net. A few minutes later, Desmond Tachie’s superb cross found a wide-open BJ Rockson who easily tapped the ball into the net for the go-ahead goal. The winning goal was scored shortly thereafter and again involved Tachie and Rockson. This time, Tachie’s pass was controlled in the air by Rockson who, with his back to the goal, proceeded to juggle the ball a few times before scissor-kicking it into the net for what should be considered a candidate for goal-of-the-year! The fourth goal, and Rockson’s third of the match, was the exact opposite of the previous one as a clearance by an Indo defender bounced off the back of Rockson’s head and into the net. That goal should definitely be nominated for the ugliest-goal-of-the-year award! Late in the game, Karm Lidder converted a penalty kick—awarded for a hand ball infraction inside the penalty area—for Indo FC’s second goal, thus making the score somewhat respectable. Despite the victory, the Leopards remain in last place in the Group ‘A’ standings, albeit only 3 points behind the Sapperton Rovers. Indo FC, on the other hand, is only 2 points ahead of the Metro-Ford Wolves in the Group ‘B’ relegation zone.
Also on Saturday, at William Griffin Park in North Vancouver, Columbus-Clan FC managed to defeat the Norvan Eagles by a 2-0 margin in a battle between two middle-of-the-pack teams. Columbus got off to a good start and took an early lead when a Tiernan King free kick deflected off a Norvan defender into the net. In the old days that would have been called an own goal! The rest of the game was fairly evenly played with neither team creating many goalscoring opportunities. Very late in the game, Tino Cucca was sent in on goal by a clever pass by Steve DeBlasio and added Columbus’ insurance marker. Columbus’ backline—composed of Leigh Sembaluk, Luca Bellisomo, Blair Robertson, and veteran Tony Gaita—played exceptionally well throughout the match and allowed the Eagles very few goalscoring chances. The victory lifts Columbus out of the relegation zone, while Norvan’s loss leaves the Eagles precariously close to the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table.
The third Saturday game took place at Burnaby Lake West Complex and featured the Vancouver Firefighters and the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Wolves. After a hard-fought, but not very well-played, 90 minutes, both teams had to settle for a 1-1 final result. Metro-Ford took the lead midway through the first half when Milan Francisty played a clever one-two with fellow midfielder Russ Huggon before slotting the ball past the Firemen’s newly signed goalkeeper, Geoff Ayi-Bonte. The Firefighters knotted the score before the halftime whistle when Lucas Barrett headed home a well-taken corner kick by Aaron Keay. In the second half, the Firemen surged forward in search of the winning goal and came close on several occasions. Most notable were 3 missed chances by Lucas Barrett who inexplicably missed the net on every opportunity. At the other end of the pitch, Reece Miles also came close to scoring as his long-range shot bounced off the crossbar with Ayi-Bonte well beaten. The tie does neither team any favours as the Firefighters remain in the middle of the Group ‘A’ pack and the Wolves are still at the bottom of the Group ‘B’ standings.
The fourth, and final, Saturday game was played at Charles Best School in Coquitlam and featured the Group ‘B’ leaders, Sporting Club, and the struggling Sapperton Rovers. The final result, 3-1 in favour of Sporting Club, leaves the Portuguese team firmly in first place while the Rovers are still mired in the relegation zone in Group ‘A’. After an evenly-played 25 minutes, the tempo of the game changed dramatically when Sapperton’s young midfielder, Robert Sing, was ejected from the game for a violent conduct infraction. Sporting Club fully took advantage of the situation and scored the game’s first goal shortly thereafter when Mike Gomes dispossessed Sapperton’s veteran Mike Favaro, raced in all alone and fired a shot past goalkeeper Cory Breure from the edge of the penalty area. Early in the second half, Sporting Club added to its lead when Mike Wooldridge headed home a fine cross by Devon Greenside. Immediately thereafter, Ryan Dormer put the game out of the Rovers’ reach as he drilled the ball past Breure after having received a great pass from Wooldridge. Sapperton narrowed the margin near the end of the match when veteran Ryan McNabb redirected an Alex Jappy free kick past Sporting’s goalkeeper, Brian Brum. Things turned ugly just before the final whistle when a number of players from both teams engaged in a wrestling match. As a result, 2 players from each team were ejected—Sporting Club’s Jeff Yoon and Steve Dormer, as well as Sapperton’s Ed Bradford and Cory Breure.
On Sunday, at Adanac Park in Vancouver, Croatia SC defeated the Group ‘A’ leaders, West Van FC, by a convincing 2-0 margin. The Croatians dominated proceedings from start to finish and could easily have won by a wider margin had it not been for some bad luck and, mostly, poor finishing. Very early in the game, young Marinko Maras set up Rob Rogic whose shot missed the net by inches. A few minutes later, it was Oliver Heald’s turn to miss the net, this time on a set-up by another former professional, Johnny Sulentic. Early in the second half, Croatia finally took the lead on a controversial call as veteran Johnny Pashalidis was allegedly fouled inside the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick being awarded to Croatia SC. Oliver Heald, a former Whitecap, made no mistake from the penalty mark and scored what proved to be the winning goal. At this point, the former Trollers threw caution to the wind and, by doing so, gave Croatia even more scoring opportunities. In particular, Ian Clarke, Johnny Sulentic, and Oliver Heald had excellent chances to score on breakaways but were unable to put the finishing touch on the ball. Finally, very late in the match, Heald once again sailed in all alone and, this time, was able to slot the ball into the back of the net for the long awaited insurance marker. The victory keeps Croatia’s slim chances of catching Sporting Club alive, while West Van remains in first place in the Group ‘A’ standings, albeit by a slim margin.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: CROATIA SC for its excellent performance in defeating Group ‘A’ leaders, West Van FC by a convincing 2-0 margin. The Croatians, led by the fine play of former professionals Oliver Heald and Johnny Sulentic, controlled the play throughout the match and could easily have won by a larger margin. The victory keeps Croatia’s slim hopes of catching Sporting Club alive.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: AFC Leopards’ midfielder BERNARD (BJ) ROCKSON for his amazing performance in his team’s 4-2 victory over Indo FC. The Leopards survived a poorly played first half, a half which ended with Indo FC leading 1-0. Second half substitute BJ Rockson changed the entire tempo of the match as he scored 3 times in leading his team to a badly needed victory. One of the goals, the one that proved to be the winning goal, was a thing of beauty as Rockson controlled the ball at the edge of the penalty area and, with his back to the goal, proceeded to scissor-kick it into the back of the net. For his excellent performance, BERNARD ROCKSON will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2008-01-10.
****ing laughable........intolerable to ONE person.........
