Weekly Review Azzi's Superlative Week in Review 2011/2012

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2011-2012 Weekly Reports

2011-09-12

PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 1



The 2011-2012 season got off to a flying start as all six Premier Division matches were played on Saturday at the newly-constructed Trillium Park in Vancouver’s eastside. No major upsets took place as the favourites managed to defeat the underdogs, albeit by narrow margins. Only 1 match ended in a tie, as the Richmond Hibernians and the Metro-Ford Wolves battled to a hard-fought 1-1 draw.

SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS – NORVAN PACIFIC 2-1: The season kicked off at 12:00 noon on Saturday, September 10 with the newly-promoted Norvan Pacific taking on the defending champions, Surrey United. After a rather lacklustre 90 minutes, the Firefighters walked away with a narrow 2-1 victory. Surrey United took the lead at the 30th minute mark when Vince Stewart’s free kick was headed towards the Norvan goal by Kris Robazza. Ryan Reynolds then took advantage of some hesitation on the part of the Norvan defenders, pounced on the ball and sent it directly into the back of the net for the opening goal. Surrey United then missed several opportunities to add a second goal, especially on chances by Ryan Reynolds and Kris Robazza. In the second half, Norvan Pacific tried hard to get back into the match and finally succeeded at the 60th minute mark when Matt Hartwell converted a fine pass from Alex Wilson into the tying goal. However, the Firefighters bounced back and scored the winning goal at the 75th minute mark when Sean Einnarson deflected a shot by Matthew Rosenlund into the Norvan net for what proved to be the winning goal. Late in the game, it appeared that Surrey United had scored the insurance marker but playing-coach Niall Thompson was judged to be in an offside position and therefore his goal—on a brilliant header—was nullified. Defensively, Robbie Wilson, Steve Kindel, and Vince Stewart played remarkably well in a winning cause for the Firefighters, while Tony Paerio, Matt Brewster, and Brent Dodge also performed admirably on the Norvan backline. It should also be mentioned that newcomer Dave O’Connor made a very successful VMSL debut in the Norvan midfield as he demonstrated various admirable qualities.

ROVERS UNITED - DELTA UNITED HURRICANES 3-2: Two newly-renamed teams, the Rovers and the Hurricanes, also kicked off at 12:00 noon on the adjacent West field and also battled extremely hard in search of the 3 valuable points. At the end of the day, however, it was the Rovers—formerly the Sapperton Rovers—that walked away with all 3 points as a result of a 3-2 victory. The Rovers took the lead at about the 15th minute mark when Bobby Jhutty scored an amazing goal when he received a pass from Rizal Ganief, flicked the ball over a Delta defender and full-volleyed it into the back of the net from just inside the penalty area. Twenty minutes later, the Hurricanes tied things up when Gagan Josan and Steve Millar combined to set up Amar Bains who easily slotted the ball home from close range. Early in the second half, Delta United took the lead when Geoff Kosub converted a penalty kick—awarded when Gagan Josan was taken down inside the penalty box by Jason Pierotti. The Hurricanes almost added to their lead on a couple of occasions, but efforts by Paminder Birring and Gagan Josan just barely missed the net. The Rovers, however, fought back with tenacity and were rewarded with two late goals to lay claim on all 3 points. On the first goal—at about the 75th minute mark—Colin Phillips, Bobby Jhutty, and Jason Pierotti combined to set up Rizal Ganief whose first shot was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Drew Smiley. Ganief, however, picked up the rebound and easily slotted the ball into the back of the net. On the second—and winning—goal, Ganief was sent flying towards goal on a breakaway on a great pass from Bobby Jhutty. Needless the say, the newly-signed Ganief made no mistake in scoring the winning goal. Defensively, Jeff Rogers, Gary Chahal, and Kevin Brooker played superbly for the Rovers, while midfielders Colin Phillips and Bobby Jhutty controlled the middle of the park with composure and skill. For the Hurricanes, goalkeeper Drew Smiley pulled off a couple of semi-miraculous saves, while midfielders Gagan Josan and Manvir Brar worked tirelessly during the entire 90 minutes.

RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS - METRO-FORD WOLVES 1-1: At 2:00 p.m.—on the East field—the Hibernians and the Wolves battled relentlessly for the entire 90 minutes but had to settle for a 1-1 tie—a result that appeared to be disappointing for both teams. Richmond FC dominated proceedings during the entire first half as the very young and inexperienced Wolves seemed to be a little nervous. The Hibernians were rewarded for their dominance at about the 25th minute mark when Darren Prentice sent Alan Chivers flying down the left flank with an impeccable pass. Chivers—without a moment’s hesitation—fired the ball into the back of the Metro-Ford net for the game’s opening goal. Late in the first half, Richmond’s Tommy Brooke and Peter Chivers came close to doubling their team’s lead but missed golden opportunities from close range. The second half told a totally different story as the young Wolves bounced back with grit and determination. Led by the tireless effort of midfielder Sang Yoon Hwang—as well as the skillful performance of veteran Alfredo Valente—the Wolves slowly got back into the match and started creating some goalscoring opportunities of their own. Finally, at about the 75th minute mark, veteran Russel Huggon was able to equalize as he converted a great pass from young Domenic Delli Santi into the tying goal. Late in the match, Metro-Ford came very close to claiming all three points but young Alex Hoffer inexplicably floundered an excellent close-range goalscoring chance. All in all, however, the final 1-1 result appeared to be a fair one as both teams worked very hard throughout the contest.

ICST PEGASUS - ICSF INTER 3-1: Also at 2:00 p.m.—but on the adjacent West field—ICST Pegasus, the Provincial Cup champions—and hopefully soon to be crowned Canadian National champions—defeated ICSF Inter by a rather comfortable 3-1 margin. Despite the fact that both teams created many goalscoring opportunities, the match remained scoreless until the 70th minute mark when ICST Pegasus took the lead when Meysam Soltani finished off a brilliant 3-way passing play—also involving Reynold Stewart and Sahil Sandhu. However, ICSF Inter bounced back tenaciously and evened the score shortly thereafter when Pavi Dhillon took advantage of a counter-attack and slotted the ball home on a partial breakaway. The BC champions, however, fought back and regained the lead at the 80th minute mark when young Sahil Sandhu beat a couple of Inter defenders at the edge of the penalty area before blasting an unstoppable shot into the top corner of the net. Late in the match, Meysam Soltani put the ‘Italians’ out of their misery by scoring the insurance marker after having been set up by midfielder Niko Marcina. Despite the loss, Inter performed admirably and came close to scoring on several occasions. In particular, midfielders Joseph Marrello, Paul Dhudwal, and Brian VanSchagen turned in excellent performances, while forward Adam Wallace was a constant threat throughout the contest. For Pegasus, forward Sahil Sandhu was his usual speedy self and drove the Inter defenders to distraction with his penetrating runs. Also, Ryan Powell, Omari Aldridge, and Diaz Kambere were a thorn on the Inter defenders’ side as they created numerous excellent goalscoring chances.

COLUMBUS FC - CROATIA SC 3-1: At 4:00 p.m.—on the East field—the Adriatic Derby took place with Columbus FC managing to defeat Croatia SC by a 3-1 margin. After missing a golden opportunity at the 10th minute mark, Croatia’s Sandro Rajic made amends for his previous faux pas by giving his team the lead 5 minutes later. On this occasion, former professional Johnny Sulentic sent Michael Brkich flying down the right flank with a great through ball. Brkich then proceeded to cross the ball to an unmarked Sandro Rajic whose subsequent header was brilliantly saved by Columbus’ goalkeeper, Thomas Lindley. However, Rajic was able to pick up the rebound and deposit the ball into the back of the net from close range for the game’s opening goal. The ‘Italians’ bounced back tenaciously and were able to knot the score midway through the first half when Steve DeBlasio caught the Croatian defenders off guard with a great through ball that sent Kazupori Kikuchi flying in on goal. Kikuchi made no mistake and easily scored the equalizer. In the second half, Columbus FC controlled the tempo of the game and took the lead when Blair Robertson converted a well-taken free kick by Steve DeBlasio into what proved to be the winning goal. Late in the match, newcomer Donald Kambere rounded out the scoring for Columbus as he outraced the Croatian defenders before slotting the ball behind goalkeeper Didar Sandhu. Defender Stefano Pannu, midfielder Kozo Manome, and forward Steve DeBlasio played extremely well for the ‘Italians’, while defender Ivan Prpic, midfielder Sandro Rajic, and forward Johnny Sulentic turned in excellent performances for Croatia SC, albeit in a losing cause.

WEST VAN FC - WESTSIDE FC 2-0: The final match of the day also kicked off at 4:00 p.m. on the West field and coincidentally featured two ‘West’ teams: West Van FC and Westside FC. At the end of the day, the former Trollers walked away with a well-deserved 2-0 victory. The heavily-favoured West Van team had to wait till the 40th minute mark to score the go-ahead goal as young veteran Ryan Glanville beat a couple of Westside defenders before blasting a far-post shot into the corner of the net from an awkward angle. Westside FC responded positively and exerted some pressure in an attempt to score the equalizer. Led by Anthony Doran, David Andreyhuck, and Andre` Herath, the Westsiders caused numerous problems to the West Van backline, but were unable to knot the score. At the other end of the pitch, Ryan Glanville, Jesse Fetterley, Corey Birza, and Gary Anderson also had good scoring opportunities but the Westside FC defence—led by Chris Mehuys—thwarted all the goalscoring chances. Early in the second half, West Van’s Leo Nash was expelled from the match for having committed a serious foul play infraction, thus reducing his team to 10 players for the remainder of the contest. However, despite playing short-handed, West Van FC continued to show a lot of composure and managed to secure the victory late in the game when two Under 21 call-ups—Tristan Wallis-Mayer and Stefan Crameri—combined to score the insurance marker. It was a great through ball by Crameri that set up Wallis-Mayer who proceeded to beat a couple of Westside defenders before blasting the ball into the net from the edge of the penalty area.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: COLUMBUS FC for its clinical performance in defeating the very talented Croatia SC by a clear-cut 3-1 margin. Led by the fine play of defender Stefano Pannu, midfielder Kozo Manome, and forward Steve DeBlasio, Columbus FC got off to a great seasonal start and fully deserved the victory.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Rovers United’s forward RIZAL GANIEF for his amazing performance in his team’s 3-2 victory over the talented Delta United Hurricanes. Not only did Ganief work tirelessly throughout the entire match, but he also scored 2 of his team’s 3 goals. For his outstanding performances this past week, RIZAL GANIEF will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2011-09-29

 

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Re: Ruben / Azzi's Superlative Week in Review 2011/2012

2011-09-19



PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 2

Three of the top teams in the VMSL’s Premier Division—ICST Pegasus, Columbus FC, and West Van FC—remained tied at the top of the standings as they each remained undefeated by winning their second consecutive games. Two of the 3 victories were hard-fought as Columbus FC and West Van FC edged long-time rival ICSF Inter and Surrey United Firefighters respectively, while the Provincial Cup champions—ICST Pegasus waltzed to an easy 5-0 victory over the Delta United Hurricanes.

WEST VAN FC - SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS 4-3: On Friday evening, at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, two of the top teams in the Premier Division of the VMSL faced off in one of the most important games of the young season. After 90 minutes of non-stop action, the former Trollers defeated the defending Premier Division champions—Surrey United—by a narrow, and hard-fought, 4-3 margin. Veteran Paul Dailly opened the scoring for West Van FC at the 15th minute mark with one of his patented free kicks from outside the penalty area. A few minutes later, Ryan Glanville received an exquisite pass from Carl O’Connor, beat a couple of Surrey United defenders, and slotted the ball home from close range. The Firefighters, however, fought back in their own inimitable way and managed to even the score with two goals scored in rapid succession. On the first, at about the 35th minute mark, Andrew Proctor made a great individual run towards the West Van goal, beat a few defenders and proceeded to cut the ball back onto the path of Sean Einnarson who had no difficulty in finishing off the play from just outside the goal area. A few minutes later, former Whitecap Steve Kindel made a splendid cross into the box, a cross that Angus Burke converted into the tying goal by blasting the ball into the top part of the West Van net. The home team, however, bounced back in the second half and created several goalscoring opportunities before restoring its 2-goal lead. In particular, Kevin Crouch watched agonizingly as veteran Steve Kindel cleared his shot off the goal-line, a shot that appeared destined for the back of the net. But, at the 60th minute mark, Ryan Glanville became the provider as he beat two Surrey United defenders down the left flank before laying a perfect low cross onto the path of Gary Anderson who had no difficulty whatsoever in scoring the go-ahead goal from close range. Then, at the 70th minute mark, Ryan Glanville repeated his previous feat by once again beating a couple of defenders before setting up Kevin Crouch who easily finished off the play from well inside the penalty area. However, the Firemen refused to give up and narrowed the margin at the 80th minute mark when Sean Einnarson scored his second goal of the contest by converting an excellent cross by Mason Webb. Just before the final whistle, playing-coach Niall Thompson almost tied things up when his header seemed destined for the top corner of the West Van net, only to have goalkeeper Jamie Locke pull off a sensational save to preserve his team’s narrow lead. Both teams should be congratulated for their excellent performances!

CROATIA SC - METRO-FORD WOLVES 1-0: Also on Friday evening, at Coquitlam Town Centre, Croatia SC edged the hosting Metro-Ford Wolves by a 1-0 margin, thus capturing their first points of the season. The game was a scrambly affair between two struggling teams but, in the end, the more determined team won. The Croatians almost took the lead at the 25th minute mark when Andrew Sciampacone crossed a low ball to an unmarked Sandro Rajic whose subsequent shot rang off the goalpost and out of harm’s way. The remainder of the first half was quite evenly played with neither team having control of the match nor creating any really good goalscoring opportunities. The second half was more or less a repeat of the first with Croatia SC once again having the best chances to score. In fact, at the 70th minute mark, Sandro Rajic was sent in all alone on a breakaway by a brilliant through ball on the part of Matteo Agnoloni. Unfortunately for Rajic—and the rest of the Croatian crew—goalkeeper Matt Bird thwarted the opportunity with a quality save. A few minutes later, however, Croatia SC scored the winning goal with Matteo Agnoloni once again involved in the play. On this occasion, Agnoloni made a great run through the middle of the field, beat a few Metro-Ford defenders, and slipped a great pass to Joe Maras who proceeded to hammer the ball home. Needless to say, midfielders Sandro Rajic and Matteo Agnoloni played extremely well for the winning team as did forward Joe Maras. For the Wolves, veteran Alfredo Valente—yet another former Whitecap playing in the VMSL—and goalkeeper Matt Bird also performed admirably, albeit in a losing cause.

RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS - WESTSIDE FC 1-0: On Saturday afternoon, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the visiting Hibernians defeated the pointless Westside FC by a 1-0 score. The Westsiders got off to a bright start and had a huge advantage in the early possession. However, the positive start came to an abrupt end at the 33rd minute mark when the Westside defense had a mental lapse, allowing a hustling Justin Student to prevent the ball from crossing the goal-line before crossing it to an unmarked Darren Prentice who neatly finished off the play from the edge of the goal area. The remainder of the first half belonged almost entirely to the Hibernians as they created numerous chances to add to their lead. In particular, Westside’s goalkeeper—Zach Kalthoff—pulled off a phenomenal save on a fantastic volley from Justin Student after he had received a great pass from Peter Chivers. Westside FC pushed forward early in the second half in a determined attempt to knot the score. However, chances by Peter Bow, Anthony Doran, and Nick Graham all went awry. Richmond FC, on the other hand, relied mainly on counterattacks and came close to doubling its lead on efforts by Peter Chivers and Darren Prentice. Late in the match, the Hibernians came very close to scoring the insurance marker but a brilliant, long-range shot by Alan Chivers ricocheted off the inside of the goalpost, across the goal-line, and against the other goalpost before bouncing out of bounds. Richmond’s defenders Connor Radil, Stu Walters, and Mike Revell played extremely well in helping goalkeeper Matt Clayton secure his shutout, while forwards Darren Prentice and Justin Student also deserve special mention for their fine play. For the Westsiders, goalkeepers Zach Kalthoff and Matt Robinson made several excellent saves while midfielders Indy Khabra and Nick Graham also turned in excellent performances.

NORVAN PACIFIC - ROVERS UNITED 4-1: Also on Saturday, at Queen’s Park Stadium in New Westminster, the Rovers hosted the visiting Norvan Pacific . The newly-promoted North Vancouver team totally dominated proceedings from start to finish and walked away with a well-earned 4-1 victory. Blake Burgon emulated AC Milan’s Pato—in his recent goal against Barcelona—as he scored within 30 seconds of the opening kick-off. The play originated from a through ball by Dave O’Connor to Matt Harwell, who proceeded to cross the ball to a wide-open Burgon who calmly slotted it into the back of the net. Ten minutes later, Norvan added its second goal as Dave O’Connor cleverly lobbed the ball over the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Garth Legasse. Just before the halftime break, Burgon pretty well put the game out of the Rovers’ reach as he scored Norvan’s third goal—once again in clinical fashion. Midway through the second half, the Rovers got on the scoreboard on a fine individual effort by Kyle Phillips as he beat a couple of Pacific defenders before slamming the ball home from the edge of the penalty area. Norvan then kept pressing in search of the second goal, but efforts by Kyle Phillips were stymied by a couple of fine saves on the part of Giancarlo Martino. Late in the game, Blake Burgon completed his hat-trick with a splendid goal as he made a couple of excellent moves before blasting the ball into the net from close range. The entire Norvan team played extremely well but special mention must be made of outside midfielder Blake Burgon, centre midfielder Dave O’Connor, and forward Matt Hartwell for their brilliant performances. It should also be mentioned that Hartwell came very close to scoring on two occasions as his shots hit the goalpost in the first half and the crossbar in the second. Despite the loss, the Rovers’ Kyle Phillips and Sunny Bains played very well as they worked tirelessly throughout the contest.

COLUMBUS FC - ICSF INTER 3-2: The third—and last—Saturday game was played at Adanac Park in Vancouver and featured Columbus FC and ICSF Inter in what could be described as the ‘Italian Derby’. After a hard-fought and exciting 90 minutes of non-stop action, Columbus FC came away with all 3 points as a result of a narrow 3-2 victory. Columbus FC got off to a bright start and took control of the match from the outset and were unlucky not to take the early lead as Justin Carvery and Steve DeBlasio both missed glorious goalscoring chances. Carvery would make amends for his earlier miss a few minutes later when he converted a long throw-in from Jamie Olson into the opening goal with a well-executed full-volley. A few minutes later, both teams were reduced to 10 players as Inter’s Rey Ismail and Columbus’ Steve Frazao were sent off after getting into a physical altercation with each other. Just before the halftime whistle, Columbus FC doubled its lead when forward Kasunori Kikuchi made a fine run down the right flank and found a streaking Sheu Fortunato with a perfectly placed pass. Without a moment’s hesitation, Fortunato unleashed a wicked shot from the edge of the penalty area into the top corner of the net. The second half, however, told a totally different story as ICSF Inter got back into the game by showing a great deal of fortitude and perseverance. Very early in the second half, Inter’s Adam Wallace intercepted an uncharacteristic Blair Robertson give-away pass, made a great run down the middle of the park, beat 3 Columbus defenders and slotted the ball home past a bewildered Thomas Lindley thus narrowing the scoreline to 2-1. Inter continued to attack and was rewarded at the 68th minute mark when Dalvir Malhi scored the equalizer on a wonderful individual effort. As luck would have it, however, it was Columbus that scored the winning goal in the very late stages of the match when defender Stefano Pannu capped off a fine individual performance by making a splendid run down the left flank before finding Kozo Manome with an excellent cross. Manome proceeded to perfectly time his header into the back of the net for Columbus’ winning goal. Defensively, Columbus’ Nathan Quan and Stefano Pannu turned in excellent performances while midfielders Justin Carvery and Sheu Fortunato worked tirelessly all game long. For Inter, forward Adam Wallace and defender Arjen Grewal performed admirably in a losing cause.

ICST PEGASUS - DELTA UNITED HURRICANES 5-0: The lone Sunday match was played in the evening at Newton Athletic Park and featured two very talented teams: ICST Pegasus and Delta United. As the score indicates, however, the match was very one-sided as the Provincial Cup champions—ICST Pegasus—totally dominated proceedings, particularly in the second half. In fact, the score could have been even more elaborate had it not been for some missed opportunities by Azad Palani, Meysam Soltani, and Sahil Sandhu. ICST Pegasus took the lead at the 17th minute mark when Niko Marcina unleashed an unstoppable free kick from just outside the penalty area, a shot that gave goalkeeper Drew Smiley no chance whatsoever. The free kick originated when Azad Palani was fouled at the edge of the box on a partial breakaway. The Hurricanes bounced back and came close to knotting the score on a couple of occasions but Amar Bains was denied on two successive efforts—once by the goalpost and once by goalkeeper Andy Singh. The second half, as mentioned earlier, belonged entirely to the Pegasus lads as they scored 4 unanswered goals to secure the victory. At about the 48th minute mark, Omari Aldridge headed home a fine cross by Azad Palani for the first insurance marker. Then, at the 55th minute mark, Andrew Reed made a fine run down the right flank, crossed the ball onto the path of young Sahil Sandhu who made no mistake in finishing the play from close range. In the 70th minute, substitute forward Jag Gill struck a fantastic one-time shot into the top corner of the net for Pegasus’ 4th goal. Another second half substitute—Reynold Stewart—rounded out the scoring late in the game with what was probably the best goal of the game. Stewart calmly and skillfully took one touch to control a long ball from Diaz Kambere and then proceeded to rocket a volley into the back of the net, giving Smiley no chance whatsoever. Despite the rather embarrassing loss, Delta’s midfielder Gagan Josan played remarkably well while the entire Pegasus team turned in a superlative performance with forward Azad Palani leading the way with his indomitable work-rate. Defenders Deep Toor and Diaz Kambere were towers of strength on the backline and limited Delta’s goalscoring chances to a minimum. ICST Pegasus appears ready to represent British Columbia in the upcoming National Championships!!!

TEAM OF THE WEEK: NORVAN PACIFIC for its stunning 4-1 upset victory over the heavily-favoured Rovers United. Led by Blake Burgon’s 3-goal performance, the newly promoted North Vancouver team dominated the entire 90 minutes of play and fully deserved the victory.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Norvan Pacific’s BLAKE BURGON and West Van FC’s RYAN GLANVILLE for their superlative performances in their teams’ victories over Rovers United and Surrey United respectively. Burgon scored 3 excellent goals to lead Norvan to an upset 4-1 victory over the former Sapperton team, while Glanville was a driving force all game long as he scored a goal and assisted on 2 others in his team’s 3-2 victory over Surrey United. For their excellent performances this past week, BLAKE BURGON and RYAN GLANVILLE will each receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2011-10-06.



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[sixfyv]

Re: Ruben / Azzi's Superlative Week in Review 2011/2012

PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 3

Only 3 Premier Division matches were played this past week, due to the opening of the Pacific Cup playdowns. Two of the 3 games ended in ties, with Norvan Pacific holding ICST Pegasus to a 2-2 tie in what could be considered to be a semi-upset since the heavily-favoured Surrey team is preparing itself for the National championship, which will be start next week in Montreal.

ICSF INTER – METRO-FORD WOLVES 1-0: On Tuesday evening, at Charles Best School in Coquitlam, two struggling teams—ICSF Inter and the Metro-Ford Wolves—met in a desperate effort to gain all 3 points and thus elevate themselves out of the bottom of the table. After 90 minutes of non-stop action, the visiting ‘Italians’ came away with a well-earned 1-0 victory over the young and inexperienced Wolves. Both teams took turns attacking and defending and could easily have added more goals to the scoreline with some better finishing. The lone goal of the match was scored midway through the second half when a free kick by Bevan Footman was headed towards the Metro-Ford goal by Herman Sidhu from the edge of the penalty area. Inexplicably, goalkeeper Matt Bird was caught well outside his goal area and the ball sailed over him and into the net for the deciding goal of the game. It should be mentioned that just before the winning goal was scored, Bird had pulled off a remarkable save on a Sheldin Maistry header—off a Brian Van Schagen corner kick. The entire Inter backline—composed off Arjen Grewal, Bevan Footman, Herman Sidhu, and Jesse Dahmi—played extremely well throughout the contest as they held Metro-Ford’s talented Hwang Sang Yoon and Jules Chopin at bay. For the Wolves, veteran Andrew Veer and young Sam Coulter also turned in excellent defensive performances, albeit in a losing cause.

NORVAN PACIFIC - ICST PEGASUS 2-2: On Saturday afternoon, at Confederation Park in North Vancouver, the visiting ICST Pegasus—Provincial Cup champions, and heavy favourites in this match—were unable to defeat the very tenacious and hard-working Norvan squad and had to settle for a disappointing 2-2 result. Pegasus took the lead at the 15th minute mark when forward Meysam Soltani scored his 3rd goal of the season with an accurate, low shot from just outside the penalty area after having been set up by fellow forward, Azad Palani. The visitors added to their lead at the 30th minute mark when the ever-dangerous Azad Palani finished off a well-taken corner kick by Reynold Stewart as he half-volleyed the ball into the back of the net. Just before the halftime whistle, Norvan got back into the match as a result of a fine goal by Alex Wilson. Early in the second half, Pegasus almost regained its 2-goal lead, but a great header by Meysam Soltani—on a perfectly-placed free kick by Diaz Kambere—bounced off the post and out of danger. Shortly thereafter, Norvan was awarded a penalty kick when Pegasus’ Andrew Reed fouled Blake Burgon inside the penalty area. On the ensuing penalty kick, Kyle Guay made no mistake and knotted the score at 2-2. Both teams had excellent chances to gain all three points late in the game, but Pegasus’ Sahil Sandhu and Norvan’s Tony Paiero were unable to claim all 3 points. Pegasus’ forward Azad Palani was his usual dangerous self throughout the match as he set up several excellent goalscoring opportunities with his indomitable work-rate and excellent skills. For Norvan, defenders Gary Walsh and Tony Paiero also conducted themselves admirably while central midfielder Alex Wilson was a going concern for the entire 90 minutes.

CROATIA SC - WESTSIDE FC 2-2: On Sunday, at Adanac Park in Vancouver, Croatia SC and Westside FC battled to a 2-2 tie, a result which is probably unsatisfactory to both teams. The Westsiders got off to a bright start and applied a lot of pressure in the opening 15 minutes but failed to capitalize on their numerous opportunities. As luck would have it, it was the Croatians that took the lead at the 16th minute mark when a long drop-kick by goalkeeper Didar Sandhu sailed over the entire Westside backline onto the path of striker Joe Maras who proceeded to score the go-ahead goal in clinical fashion as he dribbled by goalkeeper Miguel Molina before slotting the ball into the net from a difficult angle. Shortly thereafter, Westside FC equalized when Anthony Doran received a clever pass from Majo Bratic, outraced the Croatian defenders and neatly chipped the ball over the onrushing Didar Sandhu. At about the 30th minute mark, Joe Maras went from hero to goat as he received a red card for a violent conduct infraction. The Westsiders took advantage of the situation and took the lead over the short-handed Croatians when Chris Mehuys’ long-range shot found the back of the net, aided and abetted by a deflection. Despite being reduced to 10 men, the Croatians battled back tenaciously in the second half and scored the equalizer at the 50th minute mark when a couple of veterans—Johnny Sulentic and Darko Jelic—combined to knot the score. In fact, a well-taken corner kick by Sulentic was brilliantly headed home by an unmarked Darko Jelic. Shortly thereafter, Westside’s Val Mas was sent off for having prevented an obvious goal-scoring opportunity as he fouled Matteo Agnoloni as he was heading towards goal on a breakaway. Forward Johnny Sulentic and midfielder Phil Kotter played extremely well for Croatia SC, while ageless veteran Mike Wicken was superlative in the Westside goal during the entire second half.



PACIFIC CUP – ROUND OF 16



RICHMOND HIBERNIANS - PEACE ARCH UNITED 3-1: RH: Darren Prentice, Brad Caldwell, Alan Chivers; PA: Taki Vohalis



POCO FC - COLUMBUS FC 2-1 (PK’s): PC: Rob Giezen; CFC: Kazupori Kikuchi; PoCo wins on penalty kicks after 1-1 tie.



ICST PEGASUS - WESTSIDE FC 4-0: ICST: Azad Palani, Meysam Soltani, David Samra, Reynold Stewart.



GORDON HEAD - WEST VAN FC 4-3 (PK’s): GH: Paddy Nelson (2), Cardin Davis; WV: Cathal O’Connor, Corey Birza, Sebastian Crema. Gordon Head wins on penalty kicks after 3-3 tie.



SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS - COWICHAN FC 5-0: SU: Andrew Proctor (2), Jeff Clarke, Kris Robazza, Mason Webb.



PORT MOODY GUNNERS - ICSF INTER 2-1 PK’s: PM: Nima Ranji; ICSF: Sheldon Maistry. Port Moody wins on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie.



DELTA UNITED HURRICANES - BAYS UNITED 2-1: DUH: Joti Thind, Danny Badesha



SURREY FC - METRO-FORD WOLVES 3-2: SFC: Venny Atwell, Chris Kyd, Scott McDonald; M-F: Russel Huggon, Joe Scigliano



TEAM OF THE WEEK: RICHMOND HIBERNIANS for their upset 3-1 victory over the FVSL’s Peace Arch in the opening match of the Pacific Cup. Led by the outstanding performances of defenders Mike Revell and Geoff Salt, as well as midfielders Rory Gattens and Alex Orasa, the Hibs dominated proceedings from start to finish. It should be mentioned that Darren Prentice, Brad Caldwell, and Alan Chivers scored the Richmond goals, all 3 in clinical fashion. The Hibernians thus advance to the quarter-finals of the Pacific Cup against PoCo FC, another Fraser Valley team!

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: ICST Pegasus’ AZAD PALANI for his 2 magnificent performances in a league game against Norvan Pacific and in the Pacific Cup opening match against Westside FC. On both occasions, Palani worked relentlessly, scored two excellent goals, and set up numerous other goalscoring opportunities. For his excellent performance this past week, AZAD PALANI will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2011-10-13.



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[sixfyv]

TEAM OF THE WEEK: RICHMOND HIBERNIANS for their upset 3-1 victory over the FVSL’s Peace Arch in the opening match of the Pacific Cup. Led by the outstanding performances of defenders Mike Revell and Geoff Salt, as well as midfielders Rory Gattens and Alex Orasa, the Hibs dominated proceedings from start to finish. It should be mentioned that Darren Prentice, Brad Caldwell, and Alan Chivers scored the Richmond goals, all 3 in clinical fashion. The Hibernians thus advance to the quarter-finals of the Pacific Cup against PoCo FC, another Fraser Valley team!

Upset? Really? And Team of the Week for beating a Valley team? My brain hurts.

 

[knvb]

Re: Ruben / Azzi's Superlative Week in Review 2011/2012

Not to mention you didn't at all "dominate", never mind from start to finish, even being a man up for 45+ mins...and Cadwells goal was a facking mince effort by our keeper.

 

[robj]

I thought you played Masters Bro!

 

[sixfyv]

I'm not sure if that comment is directed towards me or knvb... but we should BOTH be playing masters.

 

[knvb]

I am playing Masters, I coach Premier... and there is no room for that visually impairing top you wear in Masters, BTW.

Yours either 65

 

[sixfyv]

PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 4

All 6 Premier Division matches—plus a make-up game—were played this past week. West Van FC, as a result of its 4-3 victory over Rovers United, claimed sole possession of first place, while the Provincial Cup champions—ICST Pegasus—slipped to third place as a result of a 2-0 loss at the hands of the resurging Surrey United Firefighters. At the bottom of the table, the Delta Hurricanes bounced out of last place with a well-deserved 2-0 victory over the winless Metro-Ford Wolves, while Westside FC continued to struggle by dropping a 2-0 decision to ICSF Inter.

RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS - WEST VAN FC 2-2: On Tuesday evening, at Hugh Boyd School in Richmond, two undefeated teams—Richmond Hibernians and West Van FC—settled for a 2-2 draw and thus remained unbeaten and near the top of the table. The Hibernians almost took the lead at the 15th minute mark when forward Brad Caldwell chased down a long clearance, beat West Van goalkeeper Marco Durante to the ball, only to have his goalscoring effort cleared off the line by central defender Leo Nash. The visitors took the lead at the 28th minute mark when veteran Paul Dailly unleashed an unstoppable shot from well outside the penalty area, a shot that gave goalkeeper Matt Clayton no chance whatsoever. The Hibs almost tied thing up late in the first half, but an excellent effort by Tom Brook was brilliantly saved by Marco Durante. Early in the second half, however, Richmond FC knotted the score when Alan Chivers sent a fantastic shot from the edge of the penalty area into the bottom corner of the net. West Van FC bounced back and retook the lead at the 75th minute mark with Paul Dailly once again in the limelight. On this occasion, Dailly curled one of his classic free kicks into the top corner of the net from well outside the penalty area. Once again the Hibs bounced back and, after having an excellent volley by Peter Chivers saved by Marco Durante, finally tied things up very late in the match when Mike Revell finished off a well-taken free kick by Peter Chivers from close range. Richmond defender Mike Revell, as well as midfielders Alex Orasa and Rory Gattens, played extremely well throughout the contest, while West Van forwards Kevin Crouch and Ryan Glanville—as well as midfielder Paul Dailly—also turned in outstanding performances.

SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHERS - ICST PEGASUS 2-0: On Friday evening, at Newton Athletic Park in Surrey, Surrey United defeated the Provincial Cup champions—ICST Pegasus—by a clear-cut 2-0 margin. The Pegasus lads got off to a terrible start, probably with their minds and legs already in Montreal for the National Championships! The Firemen took advantage of the situation and took an early lead when Ryan Reynolds, after beating a couple of defenders down the right flank, crossed a low ball onto the path of Andrew Proctor, who made no mistake in slotting the ball home from close range. The Provincial champions bounced back and almost knotted the score on a close-range shot by Meysam Soltani, a shot that was miraculously saved by veteran Surrey goalkeeper Paul Shepherd. Pegasus continued to press for the equalizer in the second half but two long-range shots by Niko Marcina went wide of the mark. At the other end of the pitch, Angus Burke’s great volley was brilliantly saved by Pegasus’ goalkeeper, Amar Dhinsa. At about the 75th minute mark, goalkeeper Paul Shepherd once again came to Surrey United’s rescue as he stymied Sahil Sandhu as he raced in on goal on a clear-cut breakaway after having beaten a couple of Surrey United defenders. Shortly thereafter, Reynold Stewart also came close to tying the score, but his toe-poke shot from close range narrowly missed the target. As luck would have it, it was the Firefighters that scored what proved to be the insurance marker very late in the game when Angus Burke and Ryan Reynold bounced their successive shots off the goal-post only to have playing-coach Niall Thompson pick up the rebound and slot the ball home from the edge of the goal area. Despite the loss, Pegasus’ defender Deep Toor and midfielder Sahil Sandhu played extremely well, while Surrey United’ goalkeeper Paul Shepherd and defender Rob Wilson also turned in outstanding performances. As mentioned earlier, ICST Pegasus now travels to Montreal as the British Columbia representatives in the annual National Championships. The entire VMSL clan wishes ICST Pegasus the best of luck!! As Verdi would have said: Ritorna vincitor!

DELTA UNITED HURRICANES - COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES 2-0: Also on Friday evening, at Coquitlam Town Centre, two struggling teams—Delta United and the Metro-Ford Wolves—faced off in a desperate search of a victory. At the end of the day, the Hurricanes managed to score two late goals to lay claim to the all-important 3 points. Led by the excellent performances of veteran Alfredo Valente and young Jules Chopin, Metro-Ford had most of the play in the first half and came close to scoring on a few occasions. Lack of finishing, however, prevented the home team from taking the lead while the Hurricanes dominated proceedings during the second half and scored a couple of late markers to put the game out of the young Wolves’ reach. At the 60th minute mark, Joti Thind broke down the left flank, crossed the ball to a wide-open Gagan Josan, whose header just sailed wide of the net. Shortly thereafter, Harry Lakhan watched agonizingly as his excellent header was cleared off the line by young Metro-Ford defender Connor Ayre. Finally, at the 81st minute mark, newly-signed Hurricane—Hamzah Gurung—scored the opening goal when Rupi Birring headed the ball to Gurung, whose subsequent close-range shot gave goalkeeper Matt Bird no chance whatsoever. Near the end of the game, the Hurricanes added their second goal when Joti Thind beat a couple of Metro-Ford defenders and was rewarded for his hard work and persistence as Hamzah Gurung converted his pass into Delta’s second goal. Forwards Gagan Josan and Joti Thind, as well as midfielders Harry Lakhan, Harp Khakh, and Manivir Brar played extremely well, particularly in the second half. For the Wolves, veteran defender Andrew Veer turned in an excellent performance, as he anchored the young Metro-Ford backline. The victory elevates Delta United to 9th place, while the Wolves are now sharing last place with Westside FC.

WEST VAN FC - ROVERS UNITED 4-3: On Saturday, at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, two very talented teams—West Van FC and Rovers United—entertained the numerous spectators with some excellent skill and numerous goals. At the end of 90 minutes of non-stop action, the former Trollers came away with a hard-earned 4-3 victory over the former Sapperton Rovers! West Van FC took the early lead at the 10th minute mark when Corey Birza blasted a great volley from well inside the penalty area into the back of the net, after having been set up by a perfect cross from Jesse Fetterley. Eight minutes later, Sean Taylor scored directly from a corner kick—a very uncommon occurrence to say the least!—as he sailed his cross into the top corner of the far post. A couple of minutes later—at the 20th minute mark—the Rovers bounced back and narrowed the margin as Bobby Jhutty cleverly chipped the ball over the West Van goalkeeper—Marco Durante—from long range. Then, at the 30th minute mark, the Rovers knotted the score when newly-signed Desmond Tachie converted a nifty pass from Rizal Ganief from close range. It should be mentioned that Jason Pierotti started the play with a wicked shot that was brilliantly saved by Durante. However, Ganief picked up the rebound before laying the ball onto Tachie’s path. Just before the halftime whistle, however, defender Leo Nash re-established West Van’s lead as he volleyed home yet another corner kick by Sean Taylor. Early in the second half, West Van scored what proved to be the winning goal when Jesse Fetterley was fouled inside the penalty area by Rovers’ defender Jeff Rogers. Ryan Glanville proceeded to easily convert the ensuing penalty kick. Late in the game, the Rovers’ Andrew Celenza flew down the right flank, cut inside and blasted an unstoppable left-foot shot past Durante for the match’s last goal. The Rovers’ chances of tying things up, however, disappeared a couple of minutes later when Jason Pierotti, who had played very well during most of the match, was sent off for having received his second caution. Defender Leo Nash, midfielders Austin Lowrie and Brett Nordin, and forwards Ryan Glanville and Jesse Fetterley played extremely well for West Van FC throughout the match. Special mention, however, should be made of attacking-midfielder Sean Taylor who not only scored a brilliant corner-kick goal, but also set up another and caused problems to the Rovers all game long. For the Rovers, forward Desmond Tachie was a going concern throughout the match, while midfielder Rob Singh played extremely well during the first half. Also, defender Kevin Brooker performed admirably, albeit in a losing cause.

ICSF INTER - WESTSIDE FC 2-0: Also on Saturday, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, ICSF Inter defeated the hosting Westside FC by a 2-0 margin, a result which elevates Inter to a 4th place tie in the Premier Division standings. On the other hand, the loss places Westside FC in last place—tied with the also winless Metro-Ford Wolves. Inter got off to a great start and scored the opening goal at the 4th minute mark when Adam Wallace finished off a great 2-way passing play between Arjan Grewal and Joseph Marrello by beating 2 Westside defenders before blasting a scorcher of a shot into the top corner of the net, giving goalkeeper Rowan Anders no chance whatsoever. The ‘Italians’ continued to press and came close to adding to their lead but chances by Adam Wallace and Mike Tempesta went awry. In the second half, Westside FC got back into the match and came close to tying things up on a couple of occasions. Unfortunately for the Westsiders, shots by Wyatt Seddon-Johnstone and Nick Graham just barely missed the target. At the other end of the pitch, Adam Wallace and Mike Tempesta once again had great opportunities to add to Inter’s lead but were stymied by some fine goalkeeping on the part of Rowan Anders. At the 78th minute mark, Inter put the game out of Westside’s reach when Adam Wallace found a streaking Dalvir Malhi with a brilliant pass. Malhi proceeded to cross the ball onto the path of Pavi Dhillon who calmly tapped into the back of the Westside net for the insurance marker. To their credit, the Westsiders refused to give up and came close to narrowing the margin in the dying minutes of the game but Brian Reems was judged to be in an offside position when he converted a brilliant pass from Anthony Doran into what appeared to be Westside’s lone goal. Andre’ Herath turned in an excellent performance in Westside’s midfield, while goalkeeper Rowan Anders was solid throughout the contest, despite allowing two Inter goals. For the winning team, the backline of Arjan Grewal, Jesse Dhami, Bevan Footman, and Herman Sidhu played extremely well, making life reasonably easy for goalkeeper Denis Kindel as he registered his first shutout of the young season.

RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS - CROATIA SC 1-1: The third Saturday game was played at Minoru Park in Richmond and featured a couple of aspiring teams: the still undefeated Richmond Hibernians and Croatia SC. After 90 exciting minutes of action, the two teams had to settle for a 1-1 tie, probably a fair result at the end of the day. The Hibs came out of the starting gate with passion and determination and almost took the lead very early in the match when a defence-splitting pass by midfielder Alan Chivers sent striker Darren Prentice on a breakaway. Unfortunately for Prentice, and the entire Richmond clan, Croatia’s veteran goalkeeper—Didar Sandhu—made a phenomenal save. A few minutes later, Sandhu once again rose to the occasion, this time on an effort by Rory Gattens, whose header was brilliantly saved by the Croatian goalkeeper. Despite the fact that Richmond FC exerted most of the pressure, it was Croatia SC that took the lead at the 35th minute mark on a lethal counter-attack. Veteran—and former professional—Johnny Sulentic and young Kreso Ukalovic paired up to score the opening goal as they played a clever give-and-go that ended with Ukolovic finishing the play brilliantly, thus giving Croatia SC the lead. A few minutes later, however, Richmond FC evened the score when Darren Prentice took advantage of a faux-pas on the part of Ivan Prpic by intercepting Prpic’s free-kick and easily slotting the ball past a bewildered Didar Sandhu. The second half was not as exciting as the first as both teams seemed hesitant to take chances. The only clear-cut goalscoring opportunities in the second half resulted from 2 goal-mouth scrambles that Richmond’s Peter Chivers was unable to convert in what would have been the winning goal. Richmond’s defenders Stu Walters, Mike Revell, and Marcus Brougham—as well as forward Darren Prentice—played extremely well, while Croatia’s strikers Johnny Sulentic and Kreso Ukalovic were going concerns throughout the contest. The result maintains Richmond FC’s unbeaten record intact, while Croatia SC’s record remains even at 1-2-1.

COLUMBUS FC - NORVAN PACIFIC 1-0: The 4th, and final, Saturday match was played at Adanac Park in Vancouver between the red-hot Columbus FC and the newly-promoted Norvan Pacific. After a well-played and entertaining 90 minutes, the heavily-favoured Columbus FC walked away with a hard-earned 1-0 victory. Norvan got off to a really good start and took the game to the home team from the opening whistle. However, some excellent goalkeeping by Columbus’ Thomas Lindley and some poor finishing on the part of the Norvan forwards kept the score tied at 0-0 till late in the first half. At this point, Columbus FC was awarded a penalty kick for a foul committed on Nathan Quan by defender Alex Wilson. On the ensuing penalty kick, Steve DeBlasio made no mistake as he blasted the ball into the net, giving goalkeeper Giancarlo Martino no chance whatsoever. In the second half, both teams seemed reluctant to attack and, as a result, very few goalscoring chances were created by either team. Near the end of the match, Norvan’s Dave O’Connor was sent off for having accumulated his second caution, thus reducing his team to 10 men. Despite being a man down, Norvan had a great opportunity to tie the game but a header by young Anthony Paiero was cleared off the line by defender Jonathan Poli. Columbus’ goalkeeper Thomas Lindley played exceptionally well, fully earning his clean sheet, while young forward Gevin Hillis also turned in a brilliant performance. For Norvan, wide midfielder Blake Burgon worked very hard throughout the match. Columbus thus remains undeafeated, with a 3-0 record, while Norvan Pacific sits in 8th place, with a 1-1-2 record.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS for their 2-0 victory over the reigning Provincial Cup champions—ICST Pegasus. Led by the outstanding defensive performances of goalkeeper Paul Shepherd and central defender Rob Wilson, the Firefighters held the talented Pegasus forwards at bay during most of the contest. The victory improves Surrey United’s record to 2-0-1 and thus keeps last season’s Premier Division champions in the running for first place.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: West Van FC’s SEAN TAYLOR for his superb performance in his attacking midfield position in his team’s important 4-3 victory over Rovers United. Taylor scored a magnificent goal directly from a corner kick, set up another goal with another well-taken corner kick and caused problems to the Rovers’ defensive core during the entire game. For his brilliant performance this past week, SEAN TAYLOR will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2011-10-20.



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[sixfyv]

PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 5

Four Premier Division matches—plus a make-up game—were played this past week. One of the games—Rovers United vs ICST Pegasus—was postponed due to the fact that the Pegasus lads were travelling to Montreal for the National championships. Another match—Croatia SC vs West Van FC—was postponed due to the double-booking of the field at Vancouver Technical School.

ROVERS UNITED - SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS 6-3: On Wednesday evening, at Cloverdale Athletic Park in Surrey, the Rovers came out of their mini-slump by clobbering the defending VMSL Premier Division champions—Surrey United—by an elaborate 6-3 score in a Day 3 make-up game. The visitors took the lead at the 15th minute mark when newly-signed Gibson Bardsley looped a long-range shot into the Surrey United net past a bewildered Daniel Smyth—who was making his first start in the VMSL Premier Division. Ten minutes later, the Rovers doubled their lead when yet another new signee—Rob Sing—curled a lethal free kick from well outside the penalty area past the Firefighters’ wall and into the back of the net. Early in the second half, the Firemen bounced back and narrowed the margin on a fine individual effort by Angus Burke. However, the Rovers re-established their 2-goal lead at the 60th minute mark when Gibson Bardsley’s through ball found a wide-open Rizal Ganief who raced in on goal on a breakaway—a breakaway that he managed to finish off clinically. Once again, Surrey United bounced back, this time on a goal by Sean Einnarson. Shortly thereafter, veteran Surrey United defender—Steve McAuley—was sent off for a foul and abusive language infraction. The Rovers then scored two goals in rapid succession—at the 70th and 72nd minute marks—with Rizal Ganief finishing off yet another fine pass by Gibson Bardsley and Gary Chahal heading home a well-taken corner kick. Despite playing a man short, Surrey United narrowed the margin at the 75th minute mark when Sean Einnarson converted a penalty kick that was awarded when Kevin Booker fouled Angus Burke inside the Rovers’ penalty area. To add insult to injury, Booker was then sent off, also for using foul and abusive language. Late in the game, Rizal Ganief capped off a brilliant individual performance as he scored his third goal of the match, once again on a great set-up by Gibson Bardsley.

ICSF INTER - RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS 4-1: On Saturday, at Adanac Park in Vancouver, ICSF Inter defeated the visiting Richmond FC Hibernians by a rather emphatic 4-1 margin. In actual fact, the game was much closer than the score indicates as the Hibernians carried a majority of the play for most of the match. Inter took the early lead at the 5th minute mark when young veteran Joseph Marrello easily converted a rebound from close range and tapped the ball into the net for the opening goal. The rebound was the result of a wicked shot by Sheldon Maistry, a shot that hit the goalpost and bounced right at Marrello’s feet. Shortly thereafter, the Hibernians knotted the score as Brad Caldwell volleyed home a well-taken corner kick by Alan Chivers. A few minutes later, however, Inter regained the lead as Sheldon Maistry beat a couple of Richmond defenders before slotting the ball into the net with a near post shot. The Hibs bounced back, applied a lot of pressure in search of the equalizer, and almost succeeded on several occasions. However, efforts by Marcus Brougham and Mike Revell were brilliantly saved by Inter’s goalkeeper Dennis Kindel. Inter then proceeded to put the game out of Richmond’s reach with two late first half goals to seal the victory. On the first, at the 38th minute mark, Sheldon Maistry fired an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Luke O’Shea from the edge of the penalty area. The final goal was scored at the 43rd minute mark when Maistry completed his hat-trick by redirecting a long-range blast by Phil Lensky into the Richmond goal. To their credit, the Hibs never gave up and exerted a great deal of pressure on the Inter backline during the second half. Unfortunately for the Richmond lads, goalscoring opportunities by Peter Chivers, Brad Caldwell, and Tim Sowerby all went awry. Defensively, Jessie Dhami, Arjan Grewal, and Paul Dhudwal played extremely well in a winning cause while forward Sheldon Maistry not only scored 3 goals but was also a going concern throughout the contest. For the Hibernians, midfielders Alex Orasa and Rory Gattens—was well as forward Tim Sowerby—worked tirelessly throughout the entire 90 minutes.

COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES - NORVAN PACIFIC 1-0: Also on Saturday, at Sutherland School in North Vancouver, the Metro-Ford Wolves won their first game of the season by edging the hosting Norvan Pacific by a narrow, but well-earned, 1-0 margin. After an evenly-played first half, the Wolves took the lead at the 65th minute mark when Sang Yoon Hwang finished off a clever passing play involving young Jules Chopin and veteran Alfredo Valente. After the goal, the Metro-Ford backline—composed of Connor Ayre, Kyle Jones, Sam Coulter, and Kia Mirzahossein—kept the more experienced Norvan attackers at bay with some solid defending. On the few occasions when Norvan created goalscoring opportunities, the Wolves’ goalkeeper—Matthew Bird—pulled off some quality saves to fully earn his clean-sheet. Not only did Sang Yoon Hwang score the game’s lone goal, but he also turned in a remarkable performance in his attacking role as he created numerous problems for the Norvan backline throughout the match. Young midfielder Jules Chopin also played extremely well as he worked tirelessly during the entire 90 minutes.

COLUMBUS FC - SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS 3-2: The third, and last, Saturday game was played at Cloverdale Athletic Park in Surrey between the league-leading Columbus FC and the defending champions—Surrey United Firefighters. After a very well played, and heavily contested, 90 minutes of non-stop action, Columbus FC retained its unbeaten status at the top of the standings by walking away with a 3-2 decision. The Firefighters got off to a flying start and took the early lead when Angus Burke took advantage of some poor communication on the part of Columbus’ defenders and slotted the ball home for the game’s opening goal. Surrey continued to press and came close to adding to its lead but some tenacious defending on the part of Nathan Quan, Stefano Pannu, and Jonathan Poli—as well as some excellent goalkeeping by Thomas Lindley—kept the score at 1-0 till the halftime whistle. In the second half, Columbus FC appeared to be rejuvenated and much more focused. The ‘Italians’ were rewarded early in the second half when Kazunori Kikuchi finished off a clever 3-way passing play—also involving Steve DeBlasio and Jevin Hiller. The visitors continued to control the game and created numerous other goalscoring chances that were saved by Surrey goalkeeper Paul Shepherd. Midway through the second half, Columbus FC finally scored to go-ahead goal when Steve DeBlasio—after having received a wonderful pass from Kazunori Kikuchi—fired an unstoppable shot to the bottom corner of the Surrey United net, giving Shepherd no chance whatsoever. Shortly thereafter, Columbus scored what proved to be the winning goal on a lethal counter attack as the Firefighters were pushing forward in search of the equalizer. Young Jevin Hiller and Justin Carvery combined on the play to set up Kazunori Kikuchi, whose well-struck shot bounced off the far post and into the net. Shortly thereafter, Surrey United’s playing coach—Niall Thompson—was sent off for a serious foul play infraction, but reducing his team to 10 men. To their credit, the Firefighters didn’t quit and continued to press till the dying moments of the match and were finally rewarded just before the final whistle on a goal by Andrew Proctor as he converted a penalty kick. The spot shot was called when Columbus’ defender Jonathan Poli fouled Angus Burke inside the Columbus penalty area.

DELTA UNITED HURRICANES - WESTSIDE FC 4-1: On Sunday, at John Oliver Park in Delta, the Delta Hurricanes trounced the visiting Westsiders by a 4-1 margin. Very early in the match, Delta’s Manvir Brar—after having beaten a couple of defenders—watched agonizingly as his shot hit the goalpost and bounced out of danger. However, at the 16th minute mark, Delta United took the lead when young Gagan Josan—after having beaten a few Westside defenders—fired what appeared to be an unstoppable shot towards the Westside goal. However, goalkeeper Adrien Emery came up with a sensational save only to have Manvir Brar tap in the rebound from close range. Roughly 10 minutes later, the Westsiders knotted the score when Nick Graham converted an excellent through ball from Majo Bratic into the tying goal. In the 30th minute, Delta’s Harry Lakhan’s immaculate cross was headed towards the Westside goal by Pami Birring, only to have Adrien Emery pull off another brilliant save. The Hurricanes kept pressing, but Harp Khakh’s shot was once again saved by Emery, while Lakhan barely missed the net on a couple of occasions. Finally, at the 65th minute mark, Pami Birring sent Manvir Brar flying towards goal with an impeccable pass. Brar beat a couple of defenders before slotting the ball home, past Adrien Emery. Shortly thereafter, Gagan Josan clinically beat 3 Westside defenders and proceeded to score what proved to be the insurance marker. Late in the match, Brar and Josan combined to score the final goal as Brar’s cross was easily finished off by Josan. Despite the loss, Westside’s midfielder Nick Graham—as well as goalkeeper Adrien Emery—played extremely well. For Delta United, defenders Gary Badesha and Sarpreet Pahal made life very difficult for the Westside attackers with their gritty performances. Also, midfielders Harp Khakh, Manvir Brar, and Harry Lakhan were outstanding throughout the match, while forward Gagan Josan was a going concern for the entire 90 minutes.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: ROVERS UNITED for their remarkable 6-3 victory over the reigning VMSL Premier Division champions—Surrey United Firefighters. Led by the outstanding performances of strikers Rizal Ganief and Gibson Bardsley, the Rovers dominated the entire 90 minutes of the match against a very strong and determined Surrey United squad.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Rovers United’s forward RIZAL GANIEF for his outstanding 3-goal performance in his team’s 6-3 victory over defending champions Surrey United. All 3 goals were brilliantly executed as Ganief took advantage of some excellent passing on the part of Gibson Bardsley before clinically placing the ball into the back of the Surrey United net. For his brilliant performance this past week, RIZAL GANIEF will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2011-11-03.



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[sixfyv]

2011-10-17



PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 6

All 6 Premier Division matches were played this past weekend with 3 of them ending in ties. Only one upset took place as the defending champions—Surrey United Firefighters—dropped their third game in a row, this one at the expense of the struggling Metro-Ford Wolves. The reigning Provincial Cup champions—ICST Pegasus—returned home from the Canadian National championship in Montreal and held West Van FC to a 1-1 draw on Friday evening at Ambleside Park.

CROATIA SC - ICSF INTER 2-2: On Wednesday evening, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the Croatians and the Italians settled for a 2-2 in the Adriatic Derby. The match was very evenly played with a lot of intensity as both teams battled hard to gain all 3 points. Croatia SC had the best goalscoring opportunity in the first half when—at the 30th minute mark—Maarten Koorn battled hard to gain possession of the ball in the middle of the park, dribbled through a number of opponents, and unleashed a wicked, long-range shot that forced Inter’s goalkeeper—Srdjan Djekanovic—to make a remarkable save. Very early in the second half the Croatians took the lead when former professional Johnny Sulentic scored on a free-kick from the edge of the penalty area. His low shot evaded the Inter wall and gave Djekanovic no chance whatsoever. The ‘Italians’ bounced back and knotted the score at the 62nd minute mark when Adam Wallace received a great pass from Joseph Marrello and proceeded to chip the ball over Croatia’s goalkeeper—Didar Sandhu—for the equalizer. Shortly thereafter, Croatia SC regained the lead, once again on a Johnny Sulentic free kick. On this occasion, Sulentic’s hard-driven shot caused a scramble inside the penalty area, a scramble that ended with Cristian Tropeano placing the ball into the back of the net from close range. Once again, however, ICSF Inter bounced back and evened the score at the 75th mark when Brian Van Schagen’s long range free kick sailed into the top corner of the net. Inter continued to press for the all-important third goal, but a couple of chances by Sheldon Maistry went awry. At the other end of the pitch, Croatia SC also came close to claiming all 3 points, but Johnny Botica’s wicked shot from just inside the penalty area sailed just wide of the net with goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic well beaten. Needless to say, Croatia’s Johnny Sulentic was a going concern throughout the contest, while young Kreso Ukalovic also played very well on the forward line. For ICSF Inter, defenders Arjan Grewal, Paul Dhudwal, and Rey Ismail played extremely well, while forward Phil Lensky—as well as midfielders Joseph Marrello and Mike Tempesta—battled hard throughout the match.

WEST VAN FC - ICST PEGASUS 1-1: On Friday evening, at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, two of the top teams in the VMSL Premier Division—the hosting West Van FC and the visiting ICST Pegasus—faced off in a very important match since both teams are vying for first place in the standings. At the end of the day, however, both contenders had to settle for a 1-1 tie—a disappointing result for both squads. Despite the fact that the Pegasus lads had just returned from the Montreal-held Canadian National championships—where they had played 5 games in 6 days—they came out of the starting gates with fire and brimstone, forcing the former Trollers into a defensive mode for most of the first half. In particular, Sahil Sandhu and Azad Palani had glorious goalscoring opportunities during the first half but some excellent goalkeeping on the part of Marco Durante kept the game scoreless till the halftime whistle. After a scoreless first half, Pegasus took the lead at the 60th minute mark when young forward Sahil Sandhu dribbled by a couple of West Van defenders before unselfishly laying the ball onto the path of midfielder Reynold Stewart who proceeded to finish the play by placing the ball into the corner of the net. The Pegasus goal seemed to provide the home team with some badly needed spark and—at the 70th minute mark—West Van FC evened the score when Ryan Glanville rose above all the Pegasus defenders and headed home one of Paul Dailly’s patented corner kicks. It should be mentioned that the insertion of Under 21 call-ups Stefan Crameri and Tristan Wallis-Mayer into the West Van line-up made a huge difference as they created numerous problems for the jet-lagged Pegasus backline. West Van defenders Trevor Short, Leo Nash, Drew Gelley, and Tim Perry were rock-solid throughout the contest, as they prevented numerous—and dangerous—Pegasus attacks. Corey Birza, Ryan Glanville, and Paul Dailly also played very well in their attacking roles and created several goalscoring opportunities for the home team. For ICST Pegasus, midfielders Reynold Stewart and Adam Costley—as well as forward Sahil Sandhu—played extremely well throughout the game. West Van FC thus remains unbeaten—with a 3-2-0 record, while Pegasus’ record is now 2-2-1.

COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES - SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS 4-1: Also on Friday evening, at Town Centre Park in Coquitlam, the Metro-Ford Wolves won their second consecutive game by defeating the visiting Surrey United Firefighters by a 4-1 margin. The Wolves took the early lead when former Whitecap Gordon Chin sent young Jules Chopin flying down the right flank with a great through ball. Chopin proceeded to send a perfectly-placed cross to the far post where veteran Russel Huggon made no mistake as his diving header found the back of the net. The Firemen responded positively and created a few chances of their own but were unable to convert them. In particular, an excellent shot by former Whitecaps’ captain Jeff Clarke just barely missed the net, with goalkeeper Matthew Bird apparently beaten. Early in the second half, the Wolves doubled their lead when Russel Huggon scored his second goal of the contest by converting a penalty kick. The spot shot was awarded when Jules Chopin was tripped inside the Surrey United penalty area by Vince Stewart. Shortly thereafter—at the other end of the pitch—the Firefighters were also awarded a penalty kick, for a foul committed by Connor Ayre against Angus Burke. Burke himself stepped up to the plate and converted the penalty kick for his team’s lone goal. Midway through the second half, Metro-Ford re-established its 2-goal lead when veteran Andrew Veer won the ball in the middle of the park and proceeded to set up Alfredo Valente with an exquisite pass. Valente—yet another former Whitecap playing in the VMSL—proceeded to beat a couple of Surrey United defenders before slotting the ball home for the insurance marker. Very late in the game, Valente carbon-copied his earlier effort as he scored the Wolves’ fourth goal in very similar fashion. Defensively, the young Metro-Ford backline—composed of Connor Ayre, Kyle Jones, Sam Coulter, and Kia Mirzahossein—was rock-solid, allowing the vaunted Surrey United attackers very few goalscoring chances. Once again, midfielder Jules Chopin was a going concern throughout the match and created numerous headaches for his opponents. As a result, the Wolves climb out of the dreaded relegation zone—with a 2-1-3 record, while the defending Surrey United champions slip to 10th place—with an unenviable 2-0-4 record.

COLUMBUS FC - ROVERS UNITED 1-1: On Saturday afternoon, at Adanac Park in Vancouver, two very talented teams—the first place Columbus FC and the aspiring Rovers United—settled for a 1-1 tie after a rather disappointing 90 minutes of uninspiring soccer. The Rovers took the early lead at about the 5th minute mark when Rob Sing sent Gibson Bardsley flying towards the Columbus net on a breakaway with a brilliant through ball. Bardsley made no mistake and placed the ball behind goalkeeper Thomas Lindley from close range for the game’s opening goal. In the second half, Columbus FC had a definite advantage in ball possession, but were unable to create too many clear-cut scoring chances. However, at the 70th minute mark, the ‘Italians’ were able to knot the score when a speculative cross from the right flank by Sheu Fortunato sailed into the net past a Rovers bewildered goalkeeper. The Rovers responded positively and almost regained the lead on two separate occasions as Gibson Bardsley inexplicably missed a couple of glorious opportunities from close range—both on crosses from Desmond Tachie. At the other end of the field, Columbus also came close to claiming all 3 points but efforts by Jevin Hiller and Kaz Kikuchi also went awry. Defensively, Colin Phillips, Sam Gill, Jeff Rogers, and Gary Chahal played extremely well for the Rovers, while midfielder Rob Sing and forward Gibson Bardsley conducted themselves admirably throughout the game. For Columbus FC, forward Kazunori Kikuchi and defender Nathan Quan turned in exceptional performances. The result leaves Columbus FC undefeated—with a record of 4-1-0, while the Rovers record remains level—at 2-1-2.

DELTA UNITED HURRICANES - RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS 2-1: The second Saturday afternoon game was played at Minoru Park in Richmond and featured the hosting Richmond Hibernians and the visiting Delta Hurricanes. At the end of 90 minutes of non-stop action, the Hurricanes walked away with a well-earned 2-1 victory, a result that leaves them near the top of the table. The Hibs got off to a strong start and were rewarded at the 10th minute mark when Alan Chivers converted a great cross from Alex Orasa into the opening goal with an excellent header. Virtually seconds later, the Hurricanes knotted the score when Pami Birring slammed home a fine cross from Harry Lakhan after Lakhan had been set up by Gary Badesha. Richmond FC almost regained the lead early in the second half but Darren Prentice watched agonizingly as his volley skimmed the top of the crossbar. Five minutes later, a superb run by Marcus Brougham led to a dangerous, low cross which was subsequently flubbed by Alex Orasa and Darren Prentice. At the other end of the pitch, Delta United also came close to scoring early in the second half when a long Marcos Vega throw-in caused all kinds of havoc in the Richmond penalty area. However, goalkeeper Matt Clayton was able to stifle the situation as he pounced on the loose ball. Shortly thereafter, Joti Thind sent Harry Lakhan on a breakaway, but Clayton once again rose to the occasion by making a semi-miraculous save. Then, at the 65th minute mark, the Hurricanes scored what proved to be the winning goal on a beautifully-executed long-range free kick by Gary Badesha. At this point, the Hibs threw caution to the wind and attacked tenaciously in search of the equalizer thus leaving the door open for some dangerous Delta counterattacks. On one of these counterattacks, Gagan Josan raced down the left flank, beat a Richmond defender and crossed the ball to a wide-open Hamzah Gurung who inexplicably missed the wide open net from close range. Central defenders Marcus Brougham and Mike Revell—as well as midfielders Alan Chivers and Alex Orasa—played very well for the Hibernians, albeit in a losing cause. For the victorious Hurricanes, defender Gary Badesha, midfielder Harry Lakhan, and forwards Gagan Josan and Joti Thind also turned in commendable performances. The hard-fought victory elevates Delta United into 4th place in the standings, with a record of 3-0-2, while Richmond FC remains near the bottom of the table, with an unimpressive 1-3-2 record.

NORVAN PACIFIC - WESTSIDE FC 2-1: The third Saturday game was played at South Memorial Park in Vancouver and featured the hosting Westside FC and the visiting Norvan Pacific. After a very entertaining and well-played 90 minutes of action, the visitors came away with all 3 points as a result of a 2-1 victory over the struggling Westsiders. Norvan took the early lead at about the 8th minute mark when Matt Hartwell ran onto a clever header from Jamie Dunnett and cleverly finished the play by chipping the ball over the Westside goalkeeper—Rowan Anders—from just inside the penalty area. The Westsiders replied positively and almost tied things up when Peter Bow’s excellent shot was brilliantly saved by Norvan’s goalkeeper GianCarlo Martino. However, early in the second half, Norvan Pacific doubled their lead when Terry Davies converted a penalty kick, awarded when Alex Wilson was fouled inside the penalty area by goalkeeper Rowan Anders. Shortly thereafter, Westside’s Joshua Nzuzi-Luaka was fouled inside the Norvan penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick being awarded. Unfortunately for the Westsiders, Wyatt Seddon-Johnstone’s spot shot was brilliantly saved by Martino, thus keeping the score at 2-0 for the visitors. It should be mentioned that Norvan’s Terry Davies was expelled from the game for vociferously complaining about the penalty kick decision, thus reducing his team to 10 men. Shortly thereafter, Westside FC was awarded another penalty kick, this one when Jay Kent-Hume was fouled inside the penalty box. Kent-Hume himself stepped up to the plate and easily scored what proved to be Westside’s lone goal. Westside’s chances of tying things up diminished a few minutes later when Ben Elliott was sent off for having received his second caution. Despite the loss, midfielder Joshua Nzuzi-Luaka and defender Valerian Mas played extremely well for Westside FC. For Norvan Pacific, goalkeeper GianCarlo Martino turned in a superb performance, while Brent Dodge and Tony Paeiro were outstanding in their defensive roles. The loss keeps Westside FC winless, and in last place, with an unimpressive 0-1-5 record, while Norvan Pacific is now in 7th place with 7 points.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES for their upset 4-1 victory over the reigning VMSL Premier Division champions—Surrey United Firefighters. Led by the outstanding performances of midfielders Gordon Chin and Jules Chopin, rock-solid defending by Sam Coulter, Kyle Jones, and Connor Ayre, and the goalscoring prowess of Alfredo Valente and Russel Huggon, the Wolves fully deserved their hard-earned victory.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Norvan Pacific’s goalkeeper GIANCARLO MARTINO for his remarkable performance in his team’s 2-1 victory over Westside FC. Martino pulled off some miraculous saves during the match, including one on a penalty kick—taken by Wyatt Seddon-Johnstone. For his brilliant performance this past week, GIANCARLO MARTINO will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2011-11-10.



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[sixfyv]

2011-10-24



PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 7

Once again, all 6 Premier Division matches were played this past weekend. The defending champions—Surrey United Firefighters—got back to their winning ways by clobbering the visiting Westside FC by an elaborate 3-0 margin, while the first place Columbus FC lost its first game of the season to the defending BC champions—ICST Pegasus. This coming weekend should provide the numerous VMSL fans with some interesting action as the two top teams in the standings—Columbus FC and West Van FC—will face off at Ambleside Park on Friday evening, with first place on the line.

ICST PEGASUS - COLUMBUS FC 3-0: On Friday evening, at Newton Athletic Park in Surrey, the BC champions—ICST Pegasus—defeated the first place Columbus FC by a clear-cut 3-0 margin, thus ending the Italians’ 5-game unbeaten streak. The game started at a fast pace, with Columbus controlling the tempo of the match for the first 30 minutes. As luck would have it, however, it was Pegasus that took the lead at the 15th minute mark when Azad Palani took advantage of some poor communication between goalkeeper Thomas Lindley and defender Jonathan Poli, pounced on a loose ball and fired it home for what proved to be the winning goal. To their credit, the Columbus lads continued to press and came close to knotting the score a few minutes later when Kaz Kikuchi’s shot was cleared off the line by defender Diaz Kambere with goalkeeper Amar Dhinsa well beaten. Shortly thereafter, Columbus once again came close to knotting the score but this time Amar Dhinsa came up with a sensational save on a well-taken free kick by Steve DeBlasio. In the second half, Pegasus made some tactical adjustments and took control of the match with forward Sahil Sandhu and midfielder Ryan Powell providing some badly needed spark. At the 70th minute mark, Pegasus scored the first insurance marker when second half substitute Ryan Powell did some great work on the touchline, eluded a couple of Columbus defenders, and calmly cut the ball back onto the path of Sahil Sandhu, whose wicked left-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area found the back of the Columbus net. Late in the game, Pegasus added insult to Columbus’ injury when Ryan Powell once again beat a Columbus defender before slotting the ball home from close range with his favourite left foot. The Pegasus boys could have added to their lead, but efforts by Azad Palani and Sahil Sandhu were either saved by goalkeeper Thomas Lindley or barely missed the net. Pegasus’ defenders Jag Sajan and Diaz Kambere were rock solid during the entire match, while forwards Sahil Sandhu and Azad Palani drove the Columbus defenders to distraction with their skill and pace. As mentioned earlier, midfielder Ryan Powell’s insertion in the second half proved to be the deciding factor in the game’s final outcome. For Columbus, forward Kaz Kikuchi and defender Stefano Pannu turned in excellent performance, albeit in a losing cause. Columbus’ record thus drops to 4-1-1, still good for first place, while ICST Pegasus climbs into third place with a 3-2-1 record.

NORVAN PACIFIC - RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS 1-1: On Saturday afternoon, at Confederation Park in North Vancouver, Norvan Pacific and the Richmond Hibernians battled to a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes of non-stop action. The Hibs got off to a great start and almost took the lead very early in the match when Geoff Salt pounced on a loose ball and hammered a wicked shot from well outside the Norvan penalty area. Unfortunately for Salt—and the rest of the Hibernians—the shot rose just above the crossbar. At the 20th minute mark, Richmond FC again came close to taking the lead but, on this occasion, an excellent shot by Matt Rota was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Giancarlo Martino. Just after the halftime break, Salt once again narrowly missed the target as his header sailed just wide of the mark. Shortly thereafter, at the 55th minute mark, Richmond FC finally took the well-deserved lead when Matt Rota’s far-post corner kick was headed back into the Norvan goal area by Mike Revell, driven towards the goal by Rory Gattens, and finally hammered home by Brad Caldwell. The Richmond goal seemed to be the wake-up call Norvan Pacific badly needed as they responded positively and vigorously. In fact, a few minutes later, Norvan tied things up when a well-taken shot by Matt Hartwell—from the edge of the penalty area—was brilliantly saved by Matt Clayton, only to have Sean Regan hammer home the rebound for the equalizer. At this point, both teams threw caution to the wind in search of the all-important 3 points. Several chances were created at both ends of the pitch with Norvan’s Sean Regan, Blake Burgon, Dave O’Connor, and Mike Carrol all coming close to scoring. However, some excellent goalkeeping on the part of Matt Clayton—as well as some poor finishing—kept Norvan off the scoreboard. At the other end of the pitch, more or less the same situation occurred as Brad Caldwell, Darren Prentice, Mike Revell, and Alex Orasa either missed glorious opportunities or were denied by Giancarlo Martino. At the end of the day, the 1-1 final score was probably a fair result as both teams worked very hard throughout the match.

ICSF INTER - WEST VAN FC 2-2: Also on Saturday afternoon, at Adanac Park in Vancouver, two of the top teams in the VMSL—ICSF Inter and West Van FC—faced off in a desperate search for all 3 points. As luck would have it, however, both teams had to settle for a single point after an entertaining—and well-played—90 minutes of action. The visiting former Trollers took the lead at the 20th minute mark when Corey Birza received a great through ball from Cathal O’Connor and easily placed it in the back of the Inter net behind former professional goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic. Just before the halftime whistle, the ‘Italians’ knotted the score when Adam Wallace received a clever pass from Danny Caraiman, beat a West Van defender and deposited the ball into the back of the net for the equalizer. Early in the second half, West Van FC regained the lead with Corey Birza and Cathal O’Connor once again involved in the play. On this occasion, however, O’Connor became the finisher as he picked up a rebound from a shot by Birza and calmly slotted the ball home for the go-ahead goal. With about 20 minutes to go, O’Connor went from hero to goat as he had his penalty kick saved by Srdjan Djekanovic. The penalty kick was awarded when Inter’s Arjan Grewal handled the ball inside his penalty area on a cross by Sean Taylor. At this point, Inter threw caution to the wind in a desperate attempt to knot the score. However, chances by Adam Wallace and Phil Lensky just went wide of the net. Also, a brilliant header by Joseph Marrello—off a great cross by Dalvir Malhi—was miraculously saved by West Van goalkeeper Marco Durante. Very late in the game, Inter was finally compensated for its immense pressure and scored the equalizer on a penalty kick taken by Brian VanSchagen. The spot shot was called when Adam Wallace was brought down in the penalty area by young Parker Atkins. West Van’s strikers Corey Birza and Ryan Glanville turned in impressive performances as they caused problems for the Inter backline during the entire game. Under 21 call-ups Tristan Wallis-Mayer and Parker Atkins also played very well at right wing and left back respectively. For Inter, Adam Wallace was absolutely brilliant throughout the match in his attacking midfield role. Despite the fact that the single point is a disappointing result for both teams, they both still remain near the top of the standings, and in the running for the league title.

SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS - WESTSIDE FC 3-0: The third Saturday game was played at Cloverdale Athletic Park and featured the defending champions—Surrey United Firefighters—and the last place Westside FC. The heavy favourites—Surrey United—bounced out of their recent slump by easily defeating the winless Westsiders and thus climb out of the dreaded relegation zone. After an evenly played first 30 minutes, the home team took the lead when a Vince Stewart free kick was saved by Westside’s goalkeeper—Rowan Anders—only to have veteran Jeff Clarke pick up the rebound and set up Andrew Proctor who made no mistake in slotting the ball home from close range. The Westsiders bounced back tenaciously and almost evened the score a few minutes later, but a great effort by Ben Highmore was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Paul Shepherd. Midway through the second half, Surrey United managed to score the insurance marker with Vince Stewart once again involved in the play. On this occasion, Stewart’s shot was deflected onto the path of Angus Burke who managed to deposit the ball into the back of the net from inside the penalty area. With the Westsiders pushing forward in a desperate attempt to get back into the game, the Firefighters were able to seal their victory with about 10 minutes to go in the match as newly-signed Adam Plantinga scored on a fine individual effort. Late in the match, Westside’s Ben Highmore came very close to scoring his team’s lone goal but his far-post effort just barely missed the target. Central defenders Jeff Clarke and Colin Streckmann were rock-solid on the Surrey United backline, while Vince Stewart was a going concern throughout the match in his midfield position. For Westside FC, midfielder Andre` Herath and forward Ben Highmore turned in impressive performance despite the loss.

COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES - ROVERS UNITED 2-0: The fourth, and final, Saturday match took place at Tom Binnie Park in Surrey and featured the resurging Metro-Ford Wolves and the hosting Rovers United. The young Wolves were able to withstand some early Rovers pressure and, at the end, prevailed by a 2-0 score. After a scoreless—and evenly-played—first half, the Rovers almost took the lead early in the second half when former professional Gibson Bardsley—after having received a great pass from Jason Pierotti—unleashed a wicked shot from close range, a shot that goalkeeper Matthew Bird miraculously saved. Shortly thereafter, Metro-Ford took the lead on a clever passing play involving 4 young players. Dom Delli Santi got things started when he won the ball in the middle of the park and quickly passed it to Fahim Karmali who then sent Kia Mirzahossein flying down the left flank with a perfect pass. Mirzahossein proceeded to cut the ball back onto the path of a wide open Sang Yoon Hwang who made no mistake in finishing off the play with a well-placed low shot. Late in the match, a corner kick from Alfredo Valente’s favourite left foot was headed into the back of the net by an unmarked Sang Yoon Hwang from close range. Once again, the very young Metro-Ford backline—composed of Connor Ayre, Kyle Jones, Sam Coulter, and Kia Mirzahossein—played extremely well against the very experienced and dangerous Rovers forwards. Also, veterans Alfredo Valente and Andrew Veer controlled the midfield with composure and poise, while front-runner Sang Yoon Hwang not only scored two goals but also drove the Rovers defenders to distraction with his penetrating runs. Young midfielders Fahim Karmali and Dom Delli Santi came on as substitutes early in the match—replacing injured Russel Huggon and Jules Chopin—and made an immediate, and positive, impact on the game. For the Rovers, defender Colin Phillips, midfielders Rob Sing and Sonny Bains, and forwards Jason Pierotti and Jag Gill played extremely well despite the loss. Metro-Ford’s record thus improves to and even 3-1-3, while the Rovers drop to 10th place with only 7 points.

CROATIA SC - DELTA UNITED HURRICANES 1-0: On Sunday, at John Oliver Park in Delta, Croatia SC edged the hosting Delta United Hurricanes by a 1-0 margin and thus climbed out of the dreaded relegation zone. The Hurricanes got off to a flying start and almost took the lead in the very early going when Pami Birring’s shot hit the crossbar and bounced out of danger. Shortly thereafter, at about the 10th minute mark, the Croatians scored the lone goal of the match when Johnny Botica beat a defender down the right flank and crossed a low ball onto the path of young Kreso Ukalovic who had no trouble whatsoever in finishing the play with a wicked, close-range shot. A couple of minutes later, Delta United came close to equalizing but Croatia’s goalkeeper—Didar Sandhu—came up with a spectacular save on a shot by Manvir Brar after Brar had received a great pass from Harp Khakh. The Croatians also had a clear-cut scoring chance—at the 25th minute mark—but Kreso Ukalovic watched agonizingly as his shot from the edge of the penalty box rang off the goalpost. Just before the halftime whistle, Khakh set up Pami Birring with yet another immaculate pass. Once again, however, Birring’s shot hit the crossbar. The second half was more or less a repeat of the first, with both teams creating numerous goalscoring opportunities but not being able to finish any of them. At the 65th minute mark, Croatia’s Johnny Sulentic made a great run through the middle of the park before playing a clever give-and-go with Cristian Tropeano. Unfortunately for Croatia SC, Sulentic’s subsequent shot sailed just over the net. Ten minutes later, Croatia SC once again came close to doubling its lead but a superlative volley by Phil Kotter was amazingly saved by Drew Smiley, Delta’s goalkeeper. In the 85th minute, Pami Birring missed yet another goalscoring opportunity as he sent his shot just wide of the net, with Didar Sandhu clearly beaten. Just before the final whistle, Delta United had one more opportunity to knot the score, but Sandhu once again came up with a remarkable save, this time on a shot by Rupi Birring. The narrow victory elevates Croatia SC into a 6th place tie with Delta United.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: ICST PEGASUS for its superlative performance in defeating the previously unbeaten Columbus FC by an emphatic 3-0 margin. After weathering the storm during the first 20 minutes of play, the reigning BC champions took control of the match and fully deserved the victory. As a result, ICST Pegasus is now in third place in the standing, only 2 points behind Columbus FC.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: ICSF Inter’s attacking midfielder ADAM WALLACE for his outstanding performance in his team’s 2-2 tie against the powerful West Van FC. Wallace was a going concern throughout the contest as he drove the West Van defenders to distraction with he skill and pace. Not only did Wallace score a goal and set up the other, but he also created numerous other goalscoring chances with some great passes. For his brilliant performance this past week, ADAM WALLACE will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2011-11-17.



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[sixfyv]

2011-10-31



PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 8

Only 5 Premier Division matches were played this past week, with one being postponed to mid-week due to the fact that the Pacific Cup quarter-finals were being played. No big upsets took place in regular league play but, on the other hand, one huge upset occurred in the Pacific Cup as the VMSL’s penultimate team—Richmond FC Hibernians—sent the FVSL league leaders—PoCo FC—packing by defeating them 2-1 after penalty kicks. In the VMSL’s Premier Division standings, West Van FC climbed into sole possession of first place by defeating Columbus FC 2-1 after an exciting 90 minutes of non-stop action.

SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS - RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS 1-0: On Tuesday, October 25 at Hugh Boyd School in Richmond, the defending champions—Surrey United Firefighters—won their second game in a row by defeating the struggling Richmond FC Hibernians by a 1-0 margin. The Firemen totally dominated proceeding during the entire first half but could only generate a few goalscoring opportunities, mostly due to some excellent defending on the part of Richmond’s Connor Radil, Stu Walters, Mike Revell, and Marcus Brougham. On the few clear-cut chances that Surrey United created, Richmond’s goalkeeper—Matt Clayton—came up with sensational saves. In particular, Clayton robbed Angus Burke and Jeff Clarke in the first half as their headers seemed destined for the back of the net. The second half was more evenly played as the Hibernians gradually got back into the game. In fact, midway through the second half, Richmond FC created a couple of glorious opportunities, but efforts by Alex Orasa and Alan Chivers narrowly missed the Surrey United net. As luck would have it however, at about the 75th minute mark, Surrey United’s Colin Streckmann made a great run down the left flank, sent an excellent pass to an overlapping Stefan Leslie, whose cross was brilliantly headed home by player-coach Niall Thompson. It should be mentioned that Thompson had entered the field as a substitute just a few minutes earlier and provided his team with some badly needed spark. Very late in the match, the Firefighters almost doubled their lead when veteran Steve Kindel’s picture-perfect cross found a wide-open Ryan Reynolds just inside the penalty area. Unfortunately for Reynolds—and the rest of the Surrey United contingent—his shot sailed just over the crossbar. The entire Surrey United team played extremely well, but special mention should be made of former Whitecap Jeff Clarke who controlled the midfield for the entire match with his skill, tenacity, and enormous experience. The victory elevates Surrey United to 4th place—back in contention for the league title! The Hibernians, on the other hand, are still near the bottom of the table, in the dreaded relegation zone.

ICSF INTER - DELTA UNITED HURRICANES 1-1: On Wednesday evening, at Vancouver Technical School, two middle of the pack teams—ICSF Inter and Delta United—faced off in what turned out to be a very interesting and action-filled match. The Hurricanes got off to a great start and took the early lead at about the 5th minute mark when Gary Badesha’s well-taken free kick was controlled by Harry Lakhan who subsequently set up a wide-open Rupi Birring who one-timed the ball into the Inter net from inside the penalty area. Late in the first half, Delta United almost scored again, but Harry Lakhan’s shot—after having received yet another pass from Gary Basesha—barely missed the net as it sailed over the crossbar. Very early in the second half, ICSF Inter knotted the score as Adam Wallace was fouled inside the penalty area by Gary Badesha. On the ensuing penalty kick, Brian VanSchagen drove the ball into the net, past the outstretched fingers of veteran goalkeeper Drew Smiley. As well, Badesha was expelled from the game for having prevented an obvious goalscoring opportunity, thus reducing Delta United to 10 men for the remainder of the match. Despite playing short-handed, the Hurricanes carried a lot of the play for the rest of the game, but it was ICSF Inter that came the closest to scoring what would have been the winning goal when Delta’s goalkeeper Drew Smiley pulled off a magnificent save on a shot by Pavi Dhillon. Forward Gagan Josan and midfielder Harp Khakh played very well for Delta United, while defender Mike Tempesta and forward Sheldon Maistry turned in excellent performances for Inter. As mentioned earlier, the result leaves both teams in the middle of the pack in the Premier Division standings.

WEST VAN FC - COLUMBUS FC 2-1: On Friday evening, at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, the two top teams in the Premier Division standings—Columbus FC and West Van FC—faced off in search of the valuable 3 points. After a very highly-contested 90 minutes, the unbeaten former Trollers walked away with a well-earned 2-1 decision and, as a result, sole possession of first place. The only clear-cut goalscoring opportunity in the first half occurred at the 20th minute mark when West Van’s Cathal O’Connor blasted a free kick from well outside the penalty area towards the Columbus net. Unfortunately for the home team, the ball bounced off the crossbar and out of danger. Things opened up significantly in the second half, particularly since West Van FC capitalized on two early chances and took a 2-0 lead. On the first, at about the 47th minute mark, Corey Birza flicked a long throw-in by Austin Lowrie onto the path of veteran Gary Anderson who, without a moment’s hesitation, hammered the ball into the net from just inside the penalty area. One minute or so later, Birza switched from provider to finisher as he finished off a clever pass from Cathal O’Connor into what proved to be the winning goal. O’Connor had originally intercepted a poor defensive clearance before sending Birza on the lethal breakaway. Columbus’ Donald Kambere had his team’s best opportunity to narrow the margin, but his shot was cleared off the line by a West Van’s defender. With about 5 minutes remaining in the match, West Van’s Ryan Glanville was stymied by goalkeeper Thomas Lindley as he raced in on a breakaway. Shortly thereafter, just before the full time whistle, Columbus FC narrowed the margin as Steve DeBlasio’s long-range shot found its way into the West Van net. The entire West Van team played very well but special mention should be made of midfielder Cathal O’Connor as he turned in a superlative performance with his impeccable ball movement and pin-point passing. Veteran forward Ryan Glanville also stood out as he drove the Columbus defenders to distraction with his indomitable work rate. For Columbus FC, defender Stefano Pannu worked relentlessly throughout the game. As a result, West Van FC takes over sole possession of first place, with an unbeaten 4-3-0 record, while Columbus’ second consecutive loss drops the ‘Italians’ to second place, 2 points behind the league-leaders.

WESTSIDE FC - ROVERS UNITED 3-1: On Saturday afternoon, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, Westside FC snapped out of its long slump by gaining its first victory of the season—a 3-1 triumph over the visiting Rovers United. The Rovers took the early lead at about the 15th minute mark when Rob Sing received a great through ball from Sunny Bains and quickly converted the pass into the opening goal with a well-struck shot from the edge of the penalty area. A few minutes later, the Westsiders responded in kind and knotted the score when Jay Kent-Hume slammed the ball into the Rovers’ net from short range after Val Mas had headed the ball onto his path. The Rovers bounced back tenaciously and came close to retaking the lead on a couple of occasions, but Bobby Jhutty and Sunny Bains both watched agonizingly as their shots barely missed the net. In the second half both teams pushed forward aggressively in search of the all-important go-ahead goal but some excellent goalkeeping on the part of Westside’s Rowan Anders and Rovers United’s Garth LaGasse kept the scoreline knotted till the 75th minute mark. At this point, Westside’s second half substitute—Wyatt Seddon-Johnstone—scored what proved to be the winning goal when he controlled a chipped ball with his chest, turned and hit a wonderful half-volley from outside the penalty area into the top corner of the Rovers’ net. A true individual piece of magic!!! The Westsiders then came close on a couple of occasions to scoring the insurance marker only to see efforts by Anthony Doran and Ben Highmore saved brilliantly by Garth LaGasse. At the other end of the pitch, the Rovers were also unlucky not to score when Andrew Celenza—after having received a great pass from Bobby Jhutty—had his close-range shot miraculously saved by Rowan Anders. Late in the match, Westside FC scored the insurance goal when Wyatt Seddon-Johnstone was sent on a breakaway on a clever pass by Ben Highmore, had his initial shot saved by LaGasse, but buried the rebound into the back of the net. The Westside backline—composed of Christoph Barrow, Ben Elliott, Eland Bronstein, and Val Mas—was rock-solid throughout the match, while Seddon-Johnstone came off the bench lead his team to a well-earned first victory with an inspirational performance. For the Rovers, midfielders Colin Phillips, Bobby Jhutty, Rob Sing, and Sunny Bains—as well as goalkeeper Garth LaGasse—also played extremely well, albeit in a losing cause. The result leaves both teams near the bottom of the table, in the dreaded relegation zone.

CROATIA SC - NORVAN PACIFIC 5-2: On Sunday, at Adanac Park in Vancouver, Croatia SC climbed near the top of the Premier Division standings by easily defeating the hot-and-cold Norvan Pacific by an elaborate 5-2 margin. The Croatians took the lead at about the 15th minute mark when veteran Darko Jelic—after having made a great run down the right flank—sent a low cross into the Norvan box, a cross that was partially cleared by goalkeeper Giancarlo Martino. However, young Kreso Ukalovic picked up the rebound and slotted the ball home for Croatia’s go-ahead goal. Soon thereafter, however, Norvan Pacific tied things up when Blake Burgon’s cross was chested down by Sean Regan inside the Croatia penalty area. Subsequently, Regan deposited the ball into the back of the net for the tying goal. At the 30th minute mark, Croatia SC regained the lead, this time on a brilliantly-executed free kick by former professional Johnny Sulentic as he curled the ball around the Norvan wall into the top corner of the net, giving Martino no chance whatsoever. To their credit, the visitors once again fought back and, once again, knotted the score on another goal by Sean Regan. On this occasion, Regan finished off a clever passing play, involving Nathan Harte and Blake Burgon. Just before the halftime whistle, the Croatians re-established their lead, once again on a play involving Johnny Sulentic. On this occasion, Sulentic chipped the ball over the head of Martino from well outside the penalty area. In the second half, Croatia SC put the visitors out of their misery by scoring two more goals, thus putting the game out of Norvan’s reach. The first goal was scored at about the 70th minute mark as Chris Craviero and Kreso Ukalovic combined to set up Johnny Sulentic with some nifty passing. The young veteran sailed in on goal all by himself and dribbled past Martino before slotting the ball home. Late in the game, the Croatians scored their last goal when Ivan Prpic headed home a bizarre ‘cross’ by Phil Kotter as he collided with Giancarlo Martino after having been sprung loose by yet another Kreso Ukalovic pass. Needless to say, Johnny Sulentic and Kreso Ukalovic turned in remarkable performances on the Croatia SC front line, while midfielder Phil Kotter also performed admirably throughout the 90 minutes of play. For the visiting Norvan team, forwards Blake Burgon and Jamie Dunnett worked very hard throughout the match, albeit in a losing cause.The victory elevates the Croatians into 3rd place in the standings, with a 3-3-1 record while Norvan Pacific slips to 9th place with a 2-2-4 record.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: WEST VAN FC for taking over sole possession of first place in the VMSL’s Premier division standings as a result of a 2-1 victory over Columbus FC. Led by the outstanding performances of defender Leo Nash, midfielder Cathal O’Connor, and forward Ryan Glanville, the former Trollers dominated most parts of the game and fully deserved the hard-earned, and very important, 3 points.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Croatia SC’s forward JOHNNY SULENTIC for his hat-trick performance in his teams’ 5-2 victory over Norvan Pacific. All 3 Sulentic goals were things of beauty as he once again demonstrated his amazing skills and finishing prowess. For his brilliant performance this past week, JOHNNY SULENTIC will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2011-11-24.



PACIFIC CUP – QUARTER-FINALS



RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS (VMSL) – POCO FC (FVSL): 2-1 PK’s

Goalscorers: Darren Prentice (Richmond FC); Milad Rahmati (PoCo FC)



ICST PEGASUS (VMSL) - GORDON HEAD (VISL): 6-0

Goalscorers: Omari Aldridge, Niko Marcina, Deep Toor, Meysam Soltani, Javid Khan, Sahil Sandhu (ICST Pegasus)



SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS (VMSL) - PORT MOODY GUNNERS (FVSL): 5-3

Goalscorers: Niall Thompson (3), Steve Kindel, Andrew Proctor (Surrey United); Dan Bordignon (2), Nima Ranji (Port Moody)



DELTA UNITED HURRICANES (VMSL) - SURREY ACBC (FVSL): 2-1

Goalscorers: Rupi Birring, Daniel Badesha (Delta United)

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[trece verde]

Rino sighting at the Norvan-Croatia game.

Sulentic's free kick was a nice one, but on the long chip, Norvan's keeper didn't even move. Don't know if he realized that he'd been burned, or if he just said "fcukit!"

 

[sixfyv]

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2011-11-07



PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 9

All 6 Premier Division matches—plus a couple of make-up games—were played this past week, with a couple of ‘semi-upsets’ taking place. Newly-promoted Norvan Pacific bounced out of its recent slump by demolishing the aspiring ICSF Inter by a 6-1 margin in a game played on Saturday at Confederation Park in North Vancouver. Another rather surprising result took place on Sunday at John Oliver Park in Delta when the undefeated league-leaders--West Van FC—were held to a 1-1 draw by the hot-and-cold Delta United Hurricanes.

COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES - ICST PEGASUS 0-0: On Tuesday, November 1, at Coquitlam Town Centre, the defending BC champions—ICST Pegasus—were held to a scoreless draw by the young and inexperienced Metro-Ford Wolves. Despite the final 0-0 result, the match was a very exciting affair for the numerous spectators in attendance. The young and eager Wolves came out of the starting gates with vim and vigour and nearly took the lead at the 10th minute mark when Connor Ayre’s fantastic volley was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Andy Singh. It should be mentioned that Ayre was set up by an excellent long ball from fellow defender Kyle Jones. As the game progressed, however, the more mature Pegasus team settled down and started taking control of the match, using their vast experience, fine skills, and quick pace. Late in the first half, Pegasus’ forward Azad Palani and midfielder Adam Costley came very close to opening the score, but Metro-Ford’s goalkeeper—Mathew Bird—came up with a couple of phenomenal saves to keep the game scoreless till the halftime whistle. The second half was virtually a one-way traffic affair as ICST Pegasus pressed hard in a desperate attempt to gather all 3 points. However, some excellent defending on the part of young Connor Ayre, Sam Coulter, and Kyle Jones kept the vaunted Pegasus attackers at bay. On the few goalscoring Pegasus chances, goalkeeper Mat Bird rose to the occasion and pulled off some semi-miraculous saves. In particular, shots by Sahil Sandhu, Chetan Jhooty, Meysam Soltani, and Reynald Stewart were brilliantly saved by Bird. Pegasus’ midfielders—Adam Costley, Omari Aldridge, and Chetan Jhooty—controlled the tempo of the match throughout the second half, while forward Reynold Stewart was a going concern throughout the match. As mentioned earlier, the entire Metro-Ford backline played remarkably well, while midfielder Andrew Veer battled hard during the entire game. The result does not help ICST Pegasus’ quest to capture first place in the standings, while the Wolves are probably more than satisfied with having captured a point in this very difficult match.

WEST VAN FC - CROATIA SC 3-0: On Wednesday evening, at Vancouver Technical School the visiting West Van FC remained undefeated—and in first place—by virtue of a hard-fought 3-0 decision over Croatia SC. The visiting former Trollers turned in an excellent performance and fully deserved the victory. West Van FC almost took the early lead when a patented Paul Dailly free kick was brilliantly saved by Croatia’s goalkeeper Didar Sandhu. West Van’s Leo Nash picked up the rebound and set up young Tristan Wallace-Mayer who inexplicably missed the net from the edge of the goal area. At about the 35th minute mark, West Van FC took the lead when Jesse Fetterley—after having been sent in on goal by a great pass from Cathal O’Connor—was fouled inside the Croatia penalty area by defender Robin Hart. On the ensuing penalty kick, Paul Dailly made no mistake from the penalty mark and scored what proved to be the winning goal. The Croatians bounced back tenaciously and almost knotted the score a few minutes later when Johnny Sulentic made a great run down the right flank and laid a perfect low cross onto the path of Cristian Tropeano. Unfortunately for Tropeano—and the entire Croatian crew—the ball barely missed the net. In the second half—at about the 60th minute mark—West Van FC doubled its margin when Brett Nordin played a clever one-two with Jesse Fetterley at the top of the box, beat a couple of defenders, and slotted the ball into the back of the net from close range. Then, at the 70th minute mark, Paul Dailly rounded out the scoring with another well-executed penalty kick. On this occasion, Jesse Fetterley was once again fouled inside the penalty area, this time by defender Tom Malenica. The visitors could easily have added to their lead in the late stages of the match, but efforts by Paul Dailly, Taku Bradshaw, and Jesse Fetterley were brilliantly saved by Croatia’s veteran goalkeeper Didar Sandhu. Needless to say, West Van’s forward Jesse Fetterley was a going concern throughout the match, while midfielder Brett Nordin also turned in a remarkable performance. For Croatia SC, former professionals—forward Johnny Sulentic and goalkeeper Didar Sandhu—played extremely well throughout the match, albeit in a losing cause. The important victory solidifies West Van’s hold on first place, while Croatia SC remains in the middle of the pack in the Premier Division standings.

ICST PEGASUS - WESTSIDE FC 6-2: On Friday evening, at Newton Athletic Park in Surrey, the defending BC Provincial Cup champions—ICST Pegasus—defeated the visiting Westside FC by a rather embarrassing 6-2 margin. Oddly, it was the Westsiders that took the early lead when Jay Kent-Hume converted a well-placed free-kick by Anthony Doran into the opening goal. Pegasus responded positively and knotted the score at the 15th minute mark when young forward Sahil Sandhu took advantage of a great through ball from midfielder Javid Khan and neatly deposited the ball into the back of the Westside net. Ten minutes later, Carlos Dhaliwal powerfully headed home a free-kick by Chetan Jhooty, giving Pegasus the 2-1 lead. At about the 30th minute mark, Westside FC tied things up, with Anthony Doran once again involved in the play. On this occasion, Doran’s cross was headed home by Ben Elliott. Pegasus, however, regained the lead a few minutes later as Sahil Sandhu pounced on a loose ball at the top of the penalty area and fired it into the back of the net for what proved to be the winning goal. Just before the halftime break, Pegasus’ goalkeeper—Amar Dhinsa—was called upon to make a couple of great saves. One in particular, off a vicious strike from Andre` Herath was absolutely incredible! Very early in the second half, Sahil Sandhu completed his hat-trick by scoring Pegasus’ fourth goal by converting an immaculate cross by Azad Palani from close range. Then, at the 60th minute mark, Azad Palani became the finisher as he raced in on goal on a breakaway, rounded the Westside goalkeeper and calmly slotted the ball into the open net. ICST Pegasus rounded out the scoring late in the match as Sahil Sandhu scored his fourth goal of the match after having intercepted and errant Westside pass. Needless to say, Sandhu and Palani were thorns on the side of the Westside backline all game long as they worked tirelessly for the entire 90 minutes. Midfielders Omari Aldridge and Chetan Jhooty also turned in strong performances for ICST Pegasus. The victory elevates the Surrey-based team to 3rd place, while the Westsiders remain mired in last place with a 1-1-7 record.

NORVAN PACIFIC - ICSF INTER 6-1: On Saturday afternoon, at Confederation Park in North Vancouver, Norvan Pacific upset the visiting—and heavily-favoured—ICSF Inter by a decisive 6-1 margin. The match got off to a slow start, with both teams playing very cautiously and hesitantly. However, at about the 20th minute mark, Inter took the lead when a cross by Phil Lensky was inadvertently headed into his own net by Norvan defender Mark Krys. Shortly thereafter, Inter’s Pavi Dhillon came close to doubling his team’s lead on a couple of occasions but missed the net from close range both times. That seemed to be the wake-up call the home team needed as things changed dramatically from that moment onward. Norvan Pacific tied things up at the 35th minute mark when Sean Regan headed home a well-taken free-kick from Tony Paireo. Norvan came close to taking the lead before the halftime whistle but Greg Muir and Blake Burgon were both denied their goalscoring opportunities by some brilliant goalkeeping on the part of Dennis Kindel. Early in the second half, Norvan scored what proved to be the winning goal when second-half substitute Matt Hartwell finished off a great cross from Blake Burgon, after Burgon had made an amazing run down the right flank. Shortly thereafter, Hartwell became the provider as he outjumped a couple of Inter defenders and headed the ball back to Sean Regan who acrobatically volleyed it into the back of the Inter net. Midway through the second half, Mike Carroll came on as a substitute and quickly added to Norvan’s lead by drilling a wicked drive towards the Inter goal with practically his first touch of the ball. The ball deflected off an Inter defender and into the net, giving Dennis Kindel no chance whatsoever. Late in the game, Norvan Pacific added a couple of more goals to their comfortable margin as Matt Hartwell added his second goal of the contest with a well-placed, long-range shot and Nick Hearne finished off a fine pass from Mike Carroll. The entire Norvan Pacific team played remarkably well against the aspiring ‘Italians’, but special mention should be made of attacking midfielder Sean Regan who not only scored two great goals but also used his pace, power, and energy to full advantage throughout the match. Also, midfielder Jamie Dunnett and defenders Brent Dodge and Gary Walsh were rock-solid in their respective positions. The victory elevates Norvan to 8th place in the standings, while ICSF Inter remains in 5th place, with an even 3-3-3 record.

COLUMBUS FC - COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES 1-0: On Saturday, at Adanac Park in Vancouver, Columbus FC remained in contention for first place as a result of a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the visiting Metro-Ford Wolves. The ‘Italians’ got off to a great start and created several goalscoring opportunities in the early going. However, the young Metro-Ford backline—led by centre-backs Kyle Jones and Sam Coulter—held on tenaciously for the entire first half. Goalkeeper Mathew Bird also had to come up with a couple of early saves to keep his team in the game. In particular, very early in the match, Bird pulled off a semi-miraculous save when Stefano Pannu was sent on a breakaway by Nathan Quan. Moments later, Columbus’ Kazanori Kikuchi’s close range shot sailed over the crossbar and out of danger. The second half was more evenly played as the Wolves—led by the excellent play of veteran midfielders Andrew Veer, Gordon Chin, and Alfredo Valente—started creating some goalscoring chances of their own. As luck would have it, however, it was Columbus FC that took the lead midway through the second half when Steve DeBlasio sent Kozo Manome flying down the left flank with an exquisite pass. Manome beat a Metro-Ford defender just inside the penalty area and found the back of the net with a well-placed strike into the top far corner of the net. The Wolves fought back tenaciously and came close to tying things up on a couple of occasions, but efforts by Chris Cerroni went wide of the net. Columbus’ defensive core—comprised of Stefano Pannu, Jonathan Poli, Graham Smith, and Blair Robertson—played extremely well and made life relatively easy for goalkeeper Thomas Lindley as he recorded his second shutout of the season. In the midfield, Nathan Quan, Kozo Manome, and Donald Kambere worked very hard for the entire 90 minutes. As a result of the narrow, but well-earned, victory, Columbus FC remains in second place in the Premier Division standings with a record of 5-1-2, while the Metro-Ford Wolves drop to 8th place.

SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS - CROATIA SC 2-0: Also on Saturday, at Hjorth Park in Surrey, the Surrey United Firefighters recorded their third shut-out victory in a row by defeating the visiting Croatia SC by a 2-0 margin. The game got off to a cautious start by both teams and, as a result, the first half was a fairly even affair with goalscoring opportunities at a premium as both defences were able to control their opponents’ forwards. Croatia’s best chance came at about the 25th minute mark when Johnny Sulentic—after having played a clever give-and-go with Chris Craveiro—was fouled just outside the penalty area by Surrey defender Nick Perugini. Unfortunately for the Croatians, Sulentic sailed his free-kick over the net. At the 35th minute mark, Surrey United also had a good chance to break to deadlock, but Vince Stewart’s superb cross was headed just over the crossbar by striker Ryan Reynolds, leaving the score tied at 0-0 till the halftime whistle. The second half saw a more determined effort by the Firefighters who managed to open the scoring at the 50th minute mark when Angus Burke collected a Colin Streckmann pass just outside the penalty area and proceeded to hammer a powerful shot into the bottom corner of the net, giving Croatia’s goalkeeper—Didar Sandhu—no chance whatsoever. A few minutes later, Burke could have increased the Firefighters’ lead but he was robbed by a sensational save on the part of Didar Sandhu. At the 65th minute mark, Surrey United increased its lead when 17-year old Sean Einarsson chipped the ball over Sandhu after the goalkeeper had cleared a dangerous cross/lob by Robbie Wilson. The Croatians bounced back and, at the 75th minute mark, came close to narrowing the margin when Danny Rogic played a quick one-two with Cristian Tropeano but his shot went wide of the net. Soon thereafter, the Croatians once again missed a golden opportunity when Phil Kotter outbattled a couple of Surrey United defenders before blasting a long-range shot towards the Surrey United net. Once again, however, the shot went just wide of the net, leaving the score at 2-0 till the final whistle. Surrey United’s Colin Streckmann had an outstanding game in the middle of the park, while goalkeeper Paul Shepherd recorded a rather easy shutout. For Croatia SC, goalkeeper Didar Sandhu was outstanding throughout the match, while Phil Kotter worked tirelessly in the midfield. The result keeps Surrey United in 4th place in the Premier Division standings—with a record of 5-0-4—while Croatia SC slips to a 5th place tie with ICSF Inter.

ROVERS UNITED - RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS 2-2: The fourth Saturday game was played at Queen’s Park Stadium in New Westminster between two struggling teams in desperate need of all 3 points: Rovers United and Richmond FC Hibernians. As luck would have it, however, both teams had to settle for a single point, a result that keeps them mired in the relegation zone. The Rovers got off to a good start and forced Richmond’s goalkeeper—Matt Clayton—to make an extraordinary save on a shot by Gibson Bardsley. The Hibernians responded in kind and, a few minutes later, also came close to opening the score when Rory Gattens’ cracking shot was brilliantly saved by Garth Lagasse. Shortly thereafter, Richmond’s Geoff Salt headed a perfect cross by Cam Stokes towards the Rovers’ net, only to watch agonizingly as the ball skimmed the top of the crossbar. At about the 30th minute mark, a poor Richmond defensive clearance landed at the feet of Gibson Bardsley, whose subsequent shot sailed over the net. At the other end of the pitch, Brad Caldwell—after having made a fabulous run—set up Alex Orasa whose shot just trickled wide of the far post. Early in the second half, Richmond FC took the lead when Alex Orasa made amends for his previous miscue as he finished off a low, hard cross by Tim Sowerby into the bottom corner of the Rovers’ net. Then, at the 65th minute mark, the Hibernians doubled their lead when Matt Rota’s cross was inexplicably handled by Rovers’ defender Sam Gill. On the ensuing penalty kick, Rota easily scored Richmond’s second goal. The Hibs almost put the game out of the Rovers’ reach a few minutes later but a fantastic shot by Cam Stokes was miraculously saved by Garth Lagasse. Shortly thereafter, at the other end of the pitch, Gibson Bardsley was fouled inside the Richmond penalty area by midfielder Geoff Salt, resulting on a penalty kick being awarded. Gibson Bardsley himself stepped up to the plate and had his initial shot saved by Matt Clayton. However, the referee had the penalty kick retaken since Clayton had moved forward before Barsdley had struck the ball. On the retake, Bardsley made no mistake, thus narrowing the score to 2-1. A few minutes later, the Rovers tied things up when Bobby Jhutty beat two Richmond defenders at the edge of the penalty area before setting up Andrew Celenza with a clever, far-post cross. Celenza had no difficulty whatsoever in heading the ball into the empty net for the equalizing goal. For the remainder of the game, the Hibs tried hard to score what would have been the winning goal, but efforts by Mike Revell, Geoff Salt, and Matt Rota all went awry. Richmond’s midfielders Cam Stokes, Alex Orasa, and Matt Rota played very well during the entire contest, while defender Tim Sowerby and forward Brad Caldwell also performed admirably. For the Rovers, defender Jeff Rogers was rock-solid, while midfielders Rob Sing, Bobby Jhutty, and Sonny Bains controlled good portions of the match with their poise and finesse. Needless to say, forward Gibson Bardsley was a going concern for the entire 90 minutes as he drove the Richmond defenders to distraction with his speed and skill. As mentioned earlier, the tie does not help either team as they both remain near the bottom of the table.

DELTA UNITED HURRICANES - WEST VAN FC 1-1: The lone Sunday game was played at John Oliver Park in Delta and featured two of the most talented teams in the VMSL: Delta United and West Van FC. At the end of a well-played 90 minutes of action, neither team was able to claim all 3 points as a result of a 1-1 tie. The visiting former Trollers took the lead at about the 30th minute mark when young Tristan Wallis-Mayer controlled a Paul Dailly corner kick well inside the penalty area, made a quick turn, and blasted the ball into the Delta United net from close range. Soon thereafter, West Van almost doubled its lead but Jesse Fetterley—after being sent in on goal by a great pass from none other than Paul Dailly—shot the ball just wide of the net. Early in the second half, Fetterley once again missed a golden goalscoring opportunity, this time on a clear breakaway. To West Van’s chagrin, the Hurricanes were able to knot the score at the 65th minute mark when a corner kick by Gagan Josan was one-timed into the West Van net by a wide-open Joey Brar from close range. Soon thereafter, West Van FC almost regained the lead, but a great close-range chance by Cathal O’Connor went awry. Late in the game, Delta United also almost took the lead when a cross by Josan Gagan found a wide open Hamzah Gurung at the edge of the penalty area. Gurung’s subsequent full volley, however, barely missed the net, thus keeping the match tied at 1-1 till the final whistle. Young Tristan Wallis-Mayer and veteran Jesse Fetterley were going concerns all game long on the West Van frontline, while veteran Paul Dailly was at his best in the middle of the park, distributing the ball with impeccable precision. For the home Delta team, young forward Gagan Josan turned in yet another superlative performance while veteran goalkeeper Drew Smiley came up with a couple of unbelievable saves, particularly one on a free kick by Paul Dailly. The result maintains West Van in first place and its unbeaten record alive, while Delta United remains in 7th place, with a 3-2-3 record.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: NORVAN PACIFIC for their brilliant performance in defeating the aspiring ICSF Inter by a humiliating 6-1 margin. Led by 2-goal performances on the part of Sean Regan and Matt Hartwell, the newly promoted Norvan team fully deserved the decisive margin of victory. It should also be mentioned that defenders Brent Dodge and Gary Walsh were rock-solid throughout the contest, limiting Inter’s goalscoring chances to a minimum.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: ICST Pegasus’ forward SAHIL SANDHU for his amazing 4-goal performance in his team’s emphatic 6-2 victory over Westside FC. Not only did Sandhu score 4 brilliant goals, but he was also a thorn on the side of the Westside defenders as he used his speed, skill, and tenacity to full advantage. For his brilliant performance this past week, SAHIL SANDHU will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2011-11-30.

 

[sixfyv]

2011-11-14



PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 10

Only 5 Premier Division matches were played this past week, with one ‘semi-upset’ taking place. In fact, the last place Westside FC held the powerful, and aspiring, Columbus FC to a 0-0 draw in a game that the ‘Italians’ desperately needed to win to stay in contention for the league title.

WEST VAN FC - COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES 4-1: On Thursday, November 10, at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, the undefeated league leaders—West Van FC—easily defeated the visiting Metro-Ford Wolves by a clear-cut 4-1 margin. The former Trollers got off to a flying start and came close on a couple of early occasions to taking the lead, but efforts by Cathal O’Connor went awry. O’Connor made up for his earlier gaffes at the 10th minute mark when he brilliantly converted a left wing cross by Max Baessato with a great diving header. Ten minutes later, West Van FC added to its lead when Drew Gelley set up Ryan Glanville with a clever pass. Glanville proceeded to beat a couple of Metro-Ford defenders before calmly placing the ball into the bottom corner of the net. A few minutes later—at about the 25th minute mark—West Van’s Jesse Fetterley was fouled inside the Metro-Ford penalty area by goalkeeper Mathew Bird, after having been sent on a breakaway by Leo Nash, resulting in a penalty kick being awarded. Needless to say, veteran Paul Dailly stepped up to the plate and easily converted the spot shot to give his team an insurmountable 3-0 lead. To their credit, the Wolves didn’t give up and narrowed the margin a couple of minutes later when newcomer Carson Gill crossed a very dangerous ball into the West Van penalty area, a ball that was eventually converted by veteran Russel Huggon into Metro-Ford’s lone goal after a goalmouth scramble. At the 35th minute mark, however, West Van FC re-established its 3-goal lead with Ryan Glanville once again in the picture. On this occasion, Glanville took advantage of an excellent through ball from Paul Dailly and easily slotted it home with a near-post shot. In the second half, the Wolves once again tried hard to get back into the game, but some excellent defending on the part of Tim Perry, Leo Nash, Max Baessato, and Drew Gelley minimized the visiting team’s scoring opportunities. At the other end of the pitch, Metro-Ford’s goalkeeper—Mathew Bird—had to make a few exceptional saves on shots by Jesse Fetterley, Ryan Glanville, and Bruno Teixiera. The result keeps West Van FC solidly in first place, with an unbeaten 5-4-0 record, while the Wolves remain in 9th place, with only 11 points.

WESTSIDE FC - COLUMBUS FC 0-0: On Saturday, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the last place Westside FC held the powerful Columbus FC to a scoreless draw. The Westsiders appeared content to defend and counter-attack for the entire 90 minutes, a tactic that worked well for them as the heavily-favoured ‘Italians’ were unable to score and thus claim all 3 points. After a rather uneventful first half, things opened up a little bit in the second half as Columbus began to create some dangerous goalscoring opportunities. However, some excellent goalkeeping on the part of Westside’s Rowan Anders kept the score level till the final whistle. Also, on a couple of occasions, Columbus came close to scoring with Anders beaten but efforts by Steve DeBlasio and Kazunori Kikuchi grazed the outside of the goalpost. At the other end of the pitch, Westside produced a few dangerous counter-attacks, but Ben Highmore, Peter Bow, and Nick Graham were unable to find the mark. Columbus’ forward Steve DeBlasio turned in a strong performance during the entire match, as he drove the Westside defenders to distraction with his skill and tenacity. Midfielders Justin Carvery, Nathan Quan, and Steve Frazao also turned in excellent performances for Columbus FC. For Westside FC, defenders Ben Elliott and Eland Bronstein, as well as midfielders Andre` Herath and Brian Reems, played extremely well throughout the contest, while goalkeeper Rowan Anders fully deserved his shutout. It should also be mentioned that Columbus’ goalkeeper—Thomas Lindley—also earned a clean-sheet, his second in a row. The result does not help either team as Columbus’ quest to win the league title diminished substantially, while Westside remains mired in last place, with a 1-2-7 record.

ICSF INTER - SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS 0-0: Also on Saturday afternoon, at Trillium Park in Vancouver, ICSF Inter bounced back from last week’s disastrous 6-1 loss to Norvan Pacific by holding the heavily-favoured Surrey United Firefighters to a 0-0 draw. As was expected, Surrey United carried most of the play, but the ‘Italians’ defended very tenaciously and limited the Firefighters goalscoring chances to a minimum. Early in the match, Surrey’s Liam Miller received a pass from Ryan Reynolds, beat an Inter defender at the edge of box, and unleashed an excellent shot that was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Dennis Kindel. ICSF Inter replied in kind and also came close to scoring when Sheldon Maistry, after having beaten a couple of Surrey United defenders, sent his shot wide of the net. Late in the first half, Surrey United once again came close to scoring when Liam Miller, after having received a great pass from Stefan Leslie, set up Angus Burke, who proceeded to slot the ball into the back of the net. Unfortunately for Burke, and the entire Firefighters clan, Burke was deemed to have been in an offside position and the goal was nullified. Early in the second half, newly-signed Josh Bennett almost gave Surrey United the lead, but sent his shot over the crossbar from just inside the penalty area. At the other end of the pitch, young veteran Mike Tempesta’s long range shot was brilliantly saved by Paul Shepherd as he tipped the ball over the crossbar. Late in the game, Surrey’s Andrew Proctor received a clever pass from Ryan Reynolds and quickly blasted the ball towards the Inter net, only to have Dennis Kindel pull off another remarkable save. Needless to say, both teams played very well defensively, with Surrey United’s Nick Pegugini, Colin Streckmann, and Steve Kindel turning in rock-solid performances. For ICSF Inter, Arjen Grewal, Rey Ismail, Luigi Pantusa, and Mike Tempesta also played very well defensively. Both goalkeepers—Surrey United’s Paul Shepherd and Inter’s Dennis Kindel—fully deserved their shutouts. It should be mentioned that this was Shepherd’s fourth clean sheet of the season! The result places the defending champions—Surrey United Firefighters—in third place in the standings, with a 5-1-4 record, while ICSF Inter drops to 7th place with 13 points.

DELTA UNITED HURRICANES - NORVAN PACIFIC 2-1: On Sunday, at John Oliver Park in Delta, the Hurricanes climbed to 6th place in the standings by virtue of a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the visiting Norvan Pacific. Delta United got off to a bright start and came close to taking the lead on a couple of occasions in the first half. However, at the 15th minute mark, Joti Thind’s one-time shot—after having received a great pass from Oscar Jimenez—just went wide of the net. Then, at the 35th minute mark, Jimenez beat a couple of Norvan defenders before unleashing what appeared to be an unstoppable shot. Much to Delta’s chagrin, however, Norvan’s Giancarlo Martino came up with an unbelievable save to keep the game scoreless till the halftime whistle. It should also be mentioned that, very late in the first half, Delta United once again came close to scoring but Harp Khakh’s excellent header bounced off the crossbar and out of danger. Early in the second half, the Hurricanes broke the deadlock when Daniel Badesha converted a penalty kick into the opening goal. The penalty kick was called when Delta’s Harpreet Khakh was fouled inside the Norvan penalty area by defender Gary Walsh. The visitors bounced back tenaciously as almost tied things up when Dave O’Connor’s wicked shot seemed destined for the back of the net. However, veteran goalkeeper Drew Smiley came up with a sensational save to keep his team in the lead. As luck would have it, however, it was the Hurricanes that doubled their lead, this time on a fine header by Hamzah Gurung, off an Oscar Jimenez corner kick. With about 15 minutes left in the match, Delta’s Joti Thind was sent off for having received his second caution of the match. Norvan Pacific took full advantage of the situation and quickly narrowed the margin when a clever pass by Nathan Harte found Blake Burgon at the edge of the penalty area. Burgon’s subsequent blistering shot gave Drew Smiley no chance whatsoever. Late in the match, Norvan came close to tying things up, but Dave O’Connor’s shot—after he had received a fine pass from Sean Regan—barely missed the net. Oscar Jimenez and Harp Khakh played extremely well in the Delta United midfield, while defender Joey Brar also turned in a admirable performance. Delta’s record thus improves to 4-2-3, while Norvan remains in 8th place, with 11 points.

CROATIA SC - ROVERS UNITED 1-0: On Sunday, at Vancouver Technical School, Croatia SC narrowly defeated the visiting Rovers United by a 1-0 margin after a very entertaining and exciting 90 minutes of non-stop action. Both teams took turns attacking and created several glorious goalscoring opportunities. However, some excellent goalkeeping on the part of Rovers’ Garth Lagasse and Croatia’s Didar Sandhu—as well as some missed clear-cut chances—kept the game scoreless until the late stages. Midway through the first half, Croatia’s veteran Darko Jelic had perhaps the best chance of all as he took advantage of a Rovers’ defensive blunder, raced in on goal all by himself, rounded the goalkeeper, but missed the wide open net from a sharp angle. Early in the second half, the Rovers’ Gibson Bardsley received an impeccable through ball from Bobby Jhutty, but missed the net from close range. Soon thereafter, at about the 65th minute mark, Croatia’s central defender Jure Krpan was fouled inside the Rovers’ penalty area by Sonny Bains off a well-taken corner kick by Johnny Sulentic. As a result, a penalty kick was awarded to the Croatians. Young veteran forward Cristian Tropeano stepped up to the plate and drove the ball against the goalpost and out of danger. Finally, at the 70th minute mark, Lucas Sweda played a great ball across the field to a streaking Johnny Sulentic who proceeded to strike a powerful, low shot to the far post, past the outstretched hands of Garth Lagasse for what proved to be Croatia’s winning goal. Shortly thereafter, Sulentic almost doubled the score as he raced down the middle of the park, beat a few Rovers’ defenders, raced in on goal on a breakaway only to be stymied by a great save on the part of Garth Lagasse. Near the end of the match, the Rovers almost knotted the score when defender Jeff Rogers headed the ball towards the net off a well-executed corner kick by Bobby Jhutty. Unfortunately for Rogers—and the rest of the Rovers—Croatia’s Tom Malenica cleared the ball off the line and out of danger. Central midfielders Johnny Sulentic and Phil Kotter played extremely well for Croatia SC throughout the contest, as they controlled the tempo of the match with poise, skill, and tenacity. For the Rovers, defenders Jeff Rogers, Sam Gill, and Colin Phillips were rock-solid, while goalkeeper Garth Lagasse had to come up with a few excellent saves throughout the match. The victory elevates Croatia SC to 5th place in the standings, with a record of 4-3-3, while the Rovers are still mired in penultimate place, with only 8 points.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: WEST VAN FC for its clinical performance in defeating the young and energetic Metro-Ford Wolves by a decisive 4-1 margin. Led by the inspirational performances of veteran midfielder Paul Dailly and forward Jesse Fetterley, the former Trollers controlled the tempo of the match for the entire 90 minutes and fully deserved the lop-sided victory. As a result, West Van FC remains undefeated and in first place in the Premier Division standings.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Croatia SC’s midfielder JOHNNY SULENTIC for his excellent performance in his team’s narrow 1-0 victory over Rovers United. Not only did Sulentic score the lone goal of the contest in brilliant fashion, but he also controlled the tempo of the game in his central midfield position as he used his enormous skills and play-making ability to full advantage. For his outstanding performance this past week, JOHNNY SULENTIC will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2011-12-14.

 

[sixfyv]

2011-11-21



PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 11

Once again, only five Premier Division matches were played this past week, and—once again—one minor upset took place when the struggling Rovers United narrowly defeated the aspiring ICSF Inter by a 1-0 margin. As a result, the Rovers climbed out of the dreaded relegation zone, while Inter dropped to an unimpressive 8th place in the standings.

ICST PEGASUS - RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS 2-1: On Tuesday, November 15, at Hugh Boyd School in Richmond, the high-flying ICST Pegasus edged the struggling Richmond Hibernians by a 2-1 margin. The visiting Pegasus lads controlled most of the play in the early going and were compensated with the opening goal at the 15th minute mark when midfielder Niko Marcina fired a wicked shot from the edge of the penalty area towards the Richmond net. However, goalkeeper Luke O’Shea came up with a phenomenal save, but the rebound was clinically headed into the net by Pegasus’ Azad Palani. The visitors continued to press and came close to adding to their margin on a couple of occasions, but efforts by Sahil Sandhu and Reynold Stewart were brilliantly saved by Luke O’Shea. The Hibernians fought back tenaciously and also came close to scoring in the late stages of the first half, but two successive efforts by Alex Oraza—and one by Mike Revell—barely missed the net. The second half told a totally different story as the home team pressed hard in search of the equalizer. Midway through the second half, a well-taken corner kick by Peter Chivers was headed towards the Pegasus net by defender Mike Revell, only to have goalkeeper Andy Singh come up with a a sensational save to keep Pegasus in the lead. Shortly thereafter, Revell once again came close to knotting the score but his rocket of a volley just skimmed off the top of the crossbar and out of play. To add insult to injury, Richmond’s Geoff Salt was sent off a few minutes later for having received his second caution of the match, thus reducing the home team to 10 men for the rest of the contest. Despite being a man short, however, the Hibs were able to tie things up at the 82nd minute mark when forward Darren Prentice headed home a perfectly delivered free-kick by Rory Gattens. However, just before the final whistle, Pegasus’ defender—Diaz Kambere—let loose a brilliant strike from well outside the penalty area—a shot that rocketed into the top corner of the Richmond net. Defensively, Mike Revell, Stu Walters, and Connor Ravil played very well for the Hibernians. For the winning Pegasus team, midfielder Niko Marcina, as well as defenders Diaz Kambere and Jag Sajan, played extremely well throughout the contest. The rather fortuitous victory keeps Pegasus in the hunt for first place, while the Hibernians’ tough loss keeps them mired in the dreaded relegation zone.

COLUMBUS FC - DELTA UNITED HURRICANES 1-0: On Wednesday, November 16, at Vancouver Technical School, Columbus FC remained in the running for the league title by edging the unpredictable Delta United Hurricanes by a hard-fought 1-0 margin. The ‘Italians’ dominated practically the entire match and were unlucky not to come away with a more elaborate scoreline. Very early in the match, Columbus FC almost took the lead when Steve DeBlasio was sent in on goal on a breakaway by an exquisite pass on the part of Sheu Fortunato. However, veteran Delta goalkeeper—Drew Smiley—rose to the occasion and pulled off a semi-miraculous save to keep the visitors in the match. The score remained tied for the remainder of the first half, despite Columbus’ persistent dominance. Early in the second half, Steve DeBlasio was finally able to give Columbus the lead when he was set up by Kazunori Kikuchi who had previously stripped the ball from a Delta defender. DeBlasio proceeded to unleash an unstoppable shot from just outside the penalty area, a shot that gave Smiley no chance whatsoever. Late in the match, Nathan Quan had a golden opportunity to add to Columbus’ lead as he raced in on goal after having received an excellent pass from none other than Steve DeBlasio. However, Drew Smiley once again pulled off a remarkable save, keeping the scoreline respectable till the final whistle. Needless to say, Steve DeBlasio was a going concern throughout the match in his forward position, while the Columbus backline—comprised of Blair Robertson, Graham Smith, Jonathan Poli, and Stefano Pannu—gave the Delta attackers very few chances and thus made life reasonably easy for goalkeeper Giordano DiPalma as he recorded yet another Columbus clean-sheet. The victory improves Columbus’ record to 6-2-2, 5 points behind league-leading West Van FC and with a game in hand. Delta United, on the other hand, slips to an even 4-2-4 record.

WEST VAN FC - NORVAN PACIFIC 3-1: On Saturday early afternoon, at Confederation Park in North Vancouver, the first place West Van FC retained their unbeaten record by defeating Norvan Pacific by a 3-1 margin in the highly-anticipated ‘North Shore Derby’. The former Trollers took the early lead at the 5th minute mark when Ryan Glanville sent newly-transferred Mike Winter down the right flank with an immaculate through ball. Winter then proceeded to slot the ball into the back of the net with a far-post shot from well inside the penalty area. The league-leaders continued to press and came close to adding to their margin on chances by Jesse Fetterley, Paul Dailly, Ryan Glanville, and Justin Wallace. However, some poor finishing—as well as the goalpost—kept the score at 1-0 till the halftime whistle. It should be mentioned that Norvan Pacific bounced back late in the first half and came close to equalizing on a couple of occasions. In particular, Blake Burgon watched agonizingly as his excellent shot just barely missed the West Van net. Early in the second half—at about the 55th minute mark—Mike Winter scored his second goal of the contest, thus increasing West Van’s lead to 2-0. On this occasion, Winter took advantage of a great cross from Leo Nash, controlled the ball skillfully, and then blasted it into the net from just inside the penalty area. Midway through the second half—at the 65th minute mark—West Van put the game out of Norvan’s reach when Ryan Glanville made yet another fine run down the left wing before cutting the ball across the top of the goal area to a wide-open Justin Wallace who had no difficulty whatsoever in slotting it home for the insurance marker. Very late in the match Norvan Pacific scored the consolation goal when Matt Hartwell cleverly lobbed the ball over the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Hide` Ozawa. Midfielder Mike Winter and right-winger Justin Wallace made very successful West Van FC debuts as they played extremely well during the entire contest. Defenders Drew Gelley, Leo Nash, Max Baesatto, and Taku Bradshaw limited Norvan chances to a bare minimum, while forward Jesse Fetterley once again caused all kinds of problems with his inimitable work ethic. Despite the loss, Norvan’s midfielders Dave O’Connor and Sean Reagan—as well as forward Jamie Dunnett—turned in excellent performances. The victory solidifies West Van’s hold on first place, with an unbeaten 7-4-0 record, while Norvan Pacific slips to 10th place, with 11 points.

COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES - WESTSIDE FC 1-0: Also on Saturday afternoon, at Coquitlam Town Centre, the Metro-Ford Wolves and the visiting Westside FC faced off in a desperate attempt to gain the all-important 3 points. After a hard-fought 90 minutes, the Wolves came away with a narrow 1-0 victory, thus leaving the Westsiders mired in last place, with only 5 points. The first half was evenly contested with both sides having difficulty establishing some territorial advantage. As a result, goalscoring opportunities during the first half were limited to long-range efforts. In the second half, however, things opened up considerably as both teams seemed to throw caution to the wind and started attacking in search of the all-important victory. Westside FC almost took the lead early in the second half when Anthony Doran found some open space well inside the 18-yard box, received an excellent square ball from Nick Graham, but blasted his subsequent shot well over the crossbar. The Wolves replied in kind and also came close to scoring shortly thereafter but former Whitecap Alfredo Valente was denied his close-range opportunity by a miraculous save on the part of Westside goalkeeper Rowan Anders. At about the 75th minute mark, Metro-Ford scored what proved to be the winning goal when young Jules Chopin and veteran Russel Huggon played a clever one-two before setting up a wide open Carlo Basso who has no difficulty in slotting the ball home from close range. Near the end of the contest, Westside’s Peter Bow made an excellent run past several Metro-Ford defenders only to see his left-footed effort sail wide of the goalpost. The Wolves backline—composed of Anthony DiNicolo, Matthew Besuschko, Carson Gill, and Connor Ayre—was rock-solid during the entire match, while midfielder Jules Chopin had a huge impact in the game when he entered the field in the second half. Forwards Russel Huggon, Sang Yoon Hwang, and Carlo Basso also performed very well, particularly in the second half. It should also be mentioned that goalkeeper Mathew Bird recorded the shutout, his fourth of the season. For Westside FC, midfielders Peter Bow, Anthony Doran, and Nick Graham deserve special mention for their fine performances, albeit in a losing cause. The victory elevates the Wolves to 7th place in the standings, with a record of 4-2-5, while Westside FC remains in last place, with a 1-2-8 record.

ROVERS UNITED - ICSF INTER 1-0: Later on Saturday, at Newton Athletic Park in Surrey, Rovers United snapped out of their winless slump by defeating ICSF Inter by yet another 1-0 margin. Inter got off to a bright start and nearly took the lead very early in the game when former professional Phil Lensky’s close-range shot—after having been set up by Adam Wallace—was brilliantly saved by the Rovers’ Garth Lagasse. At this point, however, the Newton-based Rovers seemed to take control of the match and dictated the pace of the game for the remainder of the first half. But, chances by Gibson Bardsley, Desmond Tachie, and Bobby Jhutty went awry. Then, at about the 20th minute mark, Gibson Bardsley was able to convert a clever pass by Bobby Jhutty into the game-winning goal with a close-range shot. Near the end of the first half, Bobby Jhutty almost doubled his team’s lead but his chip-shot hit the crossbar, after he had been sent on a breakaway by Colin Phillips. The Rovers continued to press early in the second half and missed a few more chances to score. In particular, Rizal Ganief missed the net on a clear breakaway on a shot from inside the penalty area. Midway through the second half, ICSF Inter seemed to wake up and started to attack in a desperate search of the equalizer. Despite the fact that the ‘Italians’ created numerous goalscoring chances during the last 20 minutes of the match, the score remained at 1-0 till the final whistle, mostly due to some brilliant goalkeeping on the part of Garth Lagasse. In particular, shots by Brian Van Schagen and Pavi Dhillon were miraculously saved by Lagasse. Midfielders Bobby Jhutty, Colin Phillips, and Rob Sing turned in strong performances for Rovers United, while defender Sam Gill was once again rock-solid. Needless to say, Garth Lagasse deserves special mention for his superlative performance in the Rovers’ net. The hard-earned victory elevates Rovers United to 9th place in the standings, with a record of 3-2-5, while ICSF Inter drops to 8th place, with 13 points.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: WEST VAN FC for yet another clinical performance in defeating the very talented Norvan Pacific a clear-cut 3-1 margin in the ‘North Shore Derby’. Led by the excellent performances of newly-signed Mike Winter and Justin Wallace, West Van FC controlled most of the game and fully deserved the 3 points. As a result, West Van FC remains undefeated and in first place in the Premier Division standings.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Rovers United’s goalkeeper GARTH LAGASSE for his amazing performance in his team’s narrow 1-0 victory over the heavily-favoured ICSF Inter. Time after time, Lagasse pulled off sensational saves to keep his team in the lead. For his outstanding performance this past week, GARTH LAGASSE will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2011-12-21.

 

[sixfyv]

2011-11-28



PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 12

Eight matches—including 2 make-up games played in mid-week—were played this past week. Only one upset took place as Croatia SC defeated Columbus FC by a 4-2 score in the ‘Adriatic Derby’, dropping the ‘Italians’ to third place in the standings. At the bottom of the table, Westside FC and Richmond FC Hibernians remained mired in the relegation abyss with 5 and 8 points respectively.

ICST PEGASUS - CROATIA SC 2-1: On Tuesday, November 22, at Newton Athletic Park in Surrey, the defending BC champions—ICST Pegasus—edged the visiting Croatia SC by a narrow 2-1 margin. The scoreline is not indicative of the flow of the match as the home team dominated practically the entire game. Azad Palani nearly gave Pegasus the early lead when he was set up by a very clever pass on the part of Sahil Sandhu. However, Palani’s subsequent shot was brilliantly saved by Croatia’s goalkeeper, Didar Sandhu. Shortly thereafter, Didar Sandhu once again rose to the occasion when he made yet another remarkable save, this time on a great shot by Reynold Stewart. Finally, at about the 30th minute mark, Reynold Stewart scored the opening Pegasus goal when his long-ranged shot was inadvertently deflected past Didar Sandhu by a Croatian defender. In the second half, ICST Pegasus applied even more pressure on the visitors and came close to adding to their lead on several occasions. In particular, Azad Palani flashed a close-range header just wide of the mark, with Didar Sandhu well beaten. At the 60th minute mark, Pegasus’ forward Jag Gill scored what proved to be the winning goal when he took advantage of a perfectly-placed through ball from Reynold Stewart and proceeded to blast a brilliant left-footed strike into the bottom corner of the net. The home team continued to press and created several more goalscoring chances, but efforts by Ryan Powell, Jag Gill, and Chetan Jhooty all well awry. As luck would have it, it was Croatia SC that scored the final goal when former professional Johnny Sulentic once again demonstrated his enormous skills when he curled an unstoppable free-kick into the top corner of the net from well outside the penalty area, a shot that gave Pegasus’ goalkeeper Andy Singh no chance whatsoever. The entire Pegasus team played extremely well, but special mention should be made of defender Diaz Kambere, midfielders Niko Marcina, Adam Costley, and Omari Aldridge, as well as forwards Reynold Stewart and Jag Gill for their superlative performances.

DELTA UNITED HURRICANES - SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS 1-0: On Wednesday, November 23, at Cloverdale Athletic Park in Surrey, the reigning VMSL champions—Surrey United—dropped a heart-breaking 1-0 decision to the visiting Delta United Hurricanes. The Firefighters controlled most of the action, but some outstanding goalkeeping on the part of Delta’s Drew Smiley kept the visitors in contention. Early in the match, Surrey’s Nick Perugini almost gave his team the lead, but his well-taken free kick from the edge of the penalty area barely missed the net. At the 30th minute mark, on a counter-attack, Surrey’s Angus Burke raced in on goal on a breakaway but was stymied by an outstanding save on the part of veteran Drew Smiley. Shortly thereafter, Delta United took the lead on a well-placed free kick by Gagan Josan, as he curled his shot into the top corner of the net, past the outstretched fingers of goalkeeper Paul Shepherd. Early in the second half, the Hurricanes came close to doubling their lead when Harp Khakh—after having received a fine cross from Ryan Dhillon—one-timed the ball towards the Surrey United net, only to watch agonizingly as his shot barely missed the target. At this point, the Firefighters threw caution to the wind and pressed hard for the equalizer. Their best opportunity to knot the score came at the 80th minute mark when they were awarded a penalty kick when Delta’s Gurjit Sandhu fouled veteran—and former Whitecaps’ captain—Jeff Clarke inside the 18-yard box. On the ensuing ‘spot shot’, Drew Smiley once again came up with a remarkable save as he denied Vince Stewart the golden goalscoring opportunity. Then, in rapid succession, Smiley pulled off a couple more miraculous stops as he denied Steve Kindel—yet another former Whitecap playing in the VMSL—and Colin Steckmann the chance to tie things up. Defensively, veterans Steve Millar and Woody Bradford turned in excellent performances for Delta United, while forward Ryan Dhillon was a going concern throughout the match. Needless to say, goalkeeper Drew Smiley was the major reason for the Hurricanes’ success as he made several brilliant saves throughout the match.

WEST VAN FC - WESTSIDE FC 2-0: On Friday evening, at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, the league-leading West Van FC defeated the last place Westside FC by a rather narrow 2-0 margin. After a rather uneventful first half, the former Trollers took charge of the situation in the second half, dominated proceedings for virtually the entire 45 minutes, and scored a couple of goals to seal the victory. In actual fact, the Westsiders had the better chances to score in the first half, but were unable to finish any of them. In particular, at about the 30th minute mark, Anthony Doran—after having made a great run down the right flank—was stripped of the ball by a great tackle on the part of Drew Gelley, just as he was getting ready to shoot from the edge of the penalty area. Shortly thereafter, Nick Graham raced in on goal on a breakaway, but was thwarted by a great save on the part of newly-signed West Van goalkeeper Hide` Ozawa. As mentioned earlier, West Van FC took control of the match in the second half and managed to take the lead at the 60th minute mark when Tristan Wallis-Mayer took advantage of a goal-mouth scramble and slotted the ball into the back of the net from close range. The play originated from a long cross by Leo Nash, a cross that created all kinds of havoc inside the Westside penalty area. Ten minutes later, West Van FC scored the insurance marker when Jesse Fetterley was fouled inside the 18-yard box by Anthony Doran, resulting in a penalty kick being awarded. Needless to say, veteran Paul Dailly stepped up to the plate and calmly deposited the ball into the Westside net. It should be mentioned that Fetterley had originally been set up by a clever give-and-go between Justin Wallace and Bruno Teixiera. West Van’s midfielders Justin Wallace and Paul Dailly had excellent games as they dictated the tempo of the match, particularly in the second half. Also, second half substitutes Bruno Teixiera and Tristan Wallis-Mayer played a very important part in their team’s victory as they created numerous problems for the Westside defense. Despite the loss, Westside’s midfielders Anthony Doran and Steve Johnson played remarkably well, while defender Eland Bronstein and forward Brian Reems also turned in exceptional performances. The victory solidifies West Van’s hold on first place, with an unbeaten 8-4-0 record, while Westside FC remains in last place, with only 5 points from 12 games.

COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES - RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS 2-0: Also on Friday evening, at Coquitlam Town Centre, the Metro-Ford Wolves and the visiting Richmond Hibernians faced off in a yet another desperate attempt to gain the all-important 3 points. At the end of the day, the Wolves came away with a hard-fought victory, a result that leaves the Hibernians in penultimate place in the Premier Division standings. The Wolves got off to a great start and almost took the lead at the 5th minute mark when newly-signed Brayden Gant raced in on goal on a partial breakaway, only to be stymied by Richmond goalkeeper Luke O’Shea. The Hibernians responded in kind and started applying some pressure on the young Metro-Ford defence, but the Wolves defended well and counter-attacked dangerously. At the 26th minute mark, Metro-Ford took the lead when a well-executed corner kick by former professional Gordon Chin was ‘head-flicked’ into the far corner of the Richmond net by Carson Gill, after he had made a great run into the box. The visitors bounced back tenaciously in search of the equalizer and nearly achieved their purpose when Peter Chivers’ pass found a wide-open Darren Prentice, whose subsequent shot was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Mathew Bird. Late in the first half, the Wolves almost doubled their lead on yet another counter-attack. On this occasion, Carlo Basso’s fine shot bounced off the post and out of danger, with Luke O’Shea well-beaten. Early in the second half, the Hibernians missed a glorious opportunity to knot the score when striker Alex Orasa misread the flight of the ball—on a fine cross from Alan Chivers—and innocuously ‘shouldered’ it to Mat Bird’s feet. Soon thereafter, Richmond’s midfielder, Rory Gattens, blasted a blistering shot towards the Metro-Ford net, only to have Bird pull off another excellent save. At the other end of the pitch, Metro-Ford once again almost doubled its lead by a ‘triple’ effort by Carlo Basso and Brayden Gant (twice) was thwarted by Luke O’Shea’s amazing saves. Once again, however, the Hibernians bounced back and came close to tying things up on a couple of occasions, but efforts by Mike Revell and Darren Prentice were cleared off the Metro-Ford line. At the 80th minute mark, the Wolves scored the insurance marker when 3 youngsters—Domenic Delli Santi, Carlo Basso, and Brayden Gant—combined to put the game out of the Hibs’ reach. After making a great run, Delli Santi laid off a clever pass to Basso who unleashed an excellent shot that forced O’Shea to make yet another fine save. However, Gant picked up the rebound and clinically slotted the ball home to put the game out of Richmond’s reach. Needless to say, both goalkeepers—Metro-Ford’s Mat Bird and Richmond’s Luke O’Shea—played extremely well, with Bird recording yet another clean-sheet. Richmond’s defenders Stu Walters and Mike Revell also performed admirably in a losing cause. For the Wolves, defenders Carson Gill, Kyle Jones, and Connor Ayre turned in excellent performances. The victory solidifies the Wolves’ hold on 7th place, with a 5-2-5 record, while the Hibs remain near the bottom of the table, with only 8 points from 11 games.

ICST PEGASUS - ICSF INTER 5-0: The last Friday evening game was played at Newton Athletic Park between ICST Pegasus and ICSF Inter and ended in a rather lop-sided 5-0 victory for the defending Provincial Cup champions. In actual fact, it was Inter that got off to a bright start by creating some excellent goalscoring opportunities in the early going. In particular, Mike Tempesta was sent in on goal by Paul Dhudwal’s excellent pass, only to have goalkeeper Andy Singh pull off a phenomenal save. Then, shortly thereafter, Sheldon Maistry and Luigi Pantusa were also stymied by Singh’s excellent goalkeeping. As luck would have it, however, it was ICST Pegasus that took the lead at about the 35th minute mark when Jag Gill headed home an immaculate cross by fullback Andrew Reed. The Pegasus lads continued to press and came very close to scoring two more goals, but efforts by Reynold Stewart went awry. A few minutes later, the floodgates opened as Pegasus’ Chetan Jhooty easily converted a penalty kick for the insurance marker. The penalty kick was called when an Inter defender—Arjan Grewal—was penalized for handling the ball inside his own penalty area. Early in the second half, ICST Pegasus added its third goal when forward Jag Gill managed to tuck home a nice cross from midfielder Sahil Sandhu. Then, at the 75th minute mark, forward Azad Palani received a clever pass from Jag Gill inside the Inter penalty area, turned swiftly, and fired the ball into the corner of the net. The 5th, and last, Pegasus goal was also scored by Azad Palani as he pounced on a loose ball inside the Inter 18-yard box and, without a moment’s hesitation, fired it into the net to round out the scoring. Pegasus could have added a few more goals in the late going but efforts by Sahil Sandhu, Reynold Stewart and Azad Palani were thwarted by some excellent goalkeeping on the part of Dennis Kindel. Defenders Andrew Reed and Jag Sajan, as well as midfielders Adam Costley and Javid Khan turned in excellent performances for ICST Pegasus and contributed enormously to the victory. As a result of its second victory during this past week, Pegasus climbs into second place in the standings, with an admirable 7-3-1 record, while ICSF Inter remains in 8th place with 13 points.

CROATIA SC - COLUMBUS FC 4-2: On Saturday afternoon, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the ‘Adriatic Derby’ took place, featuring Croatia SC and Columbus FC, ended in a 4-2 victory for the Croatians, in what might be described as a semi-upset. Croatia SC got off to a bright start and almost scored the opening goal very early in the match when Matteo Agnoloni’s fine header barely missed the net. Shortly thereafter, however, Cristian Tropeano took advantage of a Columbus defensive blunder and tucked the ball into the empty net to give Croatia the lead. A few minutes later, the Croatians almost doubled their lead when Kreso Ukalovic’s impeccable cross found Lucas Sweda who, after beating a Columbus defender, blasted a shot just wide of the net. The ‘Italians’ bounced back tenaciously and also came close to scoring but shots by Blair Robertson, Steve DeBlasio, and Donald Kambere were brilliantly saved by Didar Sandhu. Just before the halftime whistle, the Croatians doubled their lead after Sandhu had made yet another fine save. On this occasion, the veteran goalkeeper—after having made the save—threw the ball to Johnny Sulentic who found a streaking Kreso Ukalovic on a lethal counter-attack. Without a moment’s hesitation, Ukalovic fired the ball into the Columbus net with an unstoppable shot from the edge of the penalty area. Very early in the second half, Matteo Agnoloni scored what proved to be Croatia’s winning goal when he outjumped all the Columbus defenders and headed home a well-taken Johnny Sulentic corner kick. Despite being down 3-0, Columbus fought back and narrowed the margin at about the 70th minute mark when Leigh Sembuluk received an excellent pass from second half substitute Nisbert Sonson, flicked the ball past a Croatia defender, and proceeded to volley it into the net, giving Didar Sandhu no chance whatsoever. Late in the game, at the 88th minute mark, Croatia SC restored its 3-goal lead when—on yet another counter-attack—Johnny Sulentic sent Lucas Sweda flying towards the Columbus goal with yet another excellent pass. After beating a couple of Columbus defenders, Sweda slotted the ball home for his team’s insurance marker. Just before the final whistle, Columbus once again narrowed the margin when newly-signed Nisbert Sonson dribbled by a couple of Croatian defenders before depositing the ball into the net from close range. Despite the loss, Columbus’ midfielder Leigh Sembuluk and forward Nisbert Sonson turned in excellent performances. Needless to say, former professional Johnny Sulentic was his usual self in the Croatian midfield as he controlled the tempo of the match with his skill and composure. Defensively, Ryan Zaharija, Maarten Koorn, Robin Hart, and Matteo Agnoloni also played extremely well. The negative result drops Columbus FC into 3rd place in the Premier Division standings, with a record 6-2-3, while Croatia SC remains in 5th place with 18 points.

SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS - NORVAN PACIFIC 4-2: Also on Saturday, at Cloverdale Athletic Park in Surrey, the Surrey United Firefighters hosted the struggling Norvan Pacific. As it turned out, the match was very entertaining and exciting as the underdog Norvan team held a 2-1 lead till the dying moments. In the first half, Surrey United created numerous scoring chances, but were able to convert only one when—at the 30th minute mark—Angus Burke was sent on a partial breakaway by Andrew Proctor and made no mistake on his subsequent shot. Earlier, Burke had hit the crossbar as he tried to chip the ball over the Norvan goalkeeper, Giancarlo Martino. Also, before the initial goal was scored, Andrew Proctor had been fouled inside the box by Norvan’s Brent Dodge, resulting in a penalty kick being awarded. Unfortunately for Surrey United, Angus Burke’s spot shot went wide of the mark. Midway through the second half, Norvan Pacific knotted the score when a brilliant cross by Blake Burgon was converted into the tying goal by Nathan Hart. Soon thereafter, at the 80th minute mark, newly-transferred Sebastian Crema was fouled inside the Surrey United penalty area by Surrey’s Jeff Clarke. Dave O’Connor made no mistake from the penalty mark, thus giving Norvan a 2-1 lead with only 10 minutes remaining in the match. At this point, the Firefighters threw caution to the wind and started pressing hard for the equalizer. At the 86th minute mark, Surrey United evened the score when former Whitecap Steve Kindel sent a perfect cross into the Norvan penalty area, a cross that Angus Burke clinically headed home. A couple of minutes later, the Firefighters took the lead when Colin Streckmann emulated Kindel’s previous perfect cross. On this occasion, playing-coach Niall Thompson headed the ball into the far corner of the net for Surrey United’s winning goal. Just before the final whistle, Thompson added insult to Norvan’s injury by scoring his team’s insurance marker as he capitalized on a fine, long pass from Vinnie Stewart, dribbled past the Norvan goalkeeper Giancarlo Martino, and calmly deposited the ball into the back of the net. Veteran—and former Whitecaps’ captain—Jeff Clarke was dominant on the Surrey United backline throughout the match, as he provided an enormous amount of leadership. Another veteran—playing-coach Niall Thompson—also performed admirably as he scored two late goals and created havoc to the Norvan backline. Norvan’s midfielders Greg Muir and Dave O’Connor also played very well during the entire match, albeit in a losing cause. The victory solidifies Surrey United’s hold on 4th place, with a 6-1-5 record, while Norvan Pacific remains in 10th place, with only 11 points out of 12 games.

DELTA UNITED HURRICANES - ROVERS UNITED 0-0: The lone Sunday game was played at John Oliver Park in Delta and featured two talented—but unpredictable—teams: Delta United Hurricanes and Rovers United. The home team came close to opening the scoring very early in the match, but Oscar Jimenez—after having received a nifty pass from Harp Khakh—sent his one-time shot just wide of the net. The rest of the first half was a very lacklustre affair as both teams seemed more interested in defending than attacking. The one exception came very late in the first half when Rovers United’s Desmond Tachie unleashed a wicked shot from just inside the right corner of the penalty area, a shot that forced goalkeeper Drew Smiley to pull off a remarkable save. Things improved substantially in the second half as both teams took more risks and thus created more scoring chances. At the 60th minute mark, Delta United almost took the lead when Gagan Josan’s well-placed corner kick made its way to Woody Bradford, whose one-timer barely missed the Rovers’ net. Shortly thereafter, it was the Rovers’ turn to almost score when Bobby Jhutty chipped the ball over the outstretched hands of Drew Smiley only to have defender Gary Badesha clear the ball off the goal-line and out of danger. Late in the match, Delta’s Gagan Josan came close to scoring on 3 separate occasions but he as stymied twice by goalkeeper Garth Lagasse and sailed his third shot wide of the net. Defensively, Rovers United’s Sam Gill turned in a solid, error-free performance, while midfielders Rob Sing, Sunny Bains, and Brayden Volkenant worked tirelessly throughout the match. For the Hurricanes, goalkeeper Drew Smiley, forward Gagan Josan, and defenders Woody Bradford, Joey Brar, and Daniel Badesha deserve special mention for their outstanding performances.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: CROATIA SC for its remarkable 4-2 upset victory over the aspiring Columbus FC. Led by the excellent play of defender Matteo Agnoloni, the Croatians fully deserved the margin of victory. Agnoloni’s overlapping runs, his brilliant defensive performance, and his great header that resulted in the winning goal contributed immensely to his team’s well-deserved victory.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Delta United Hurricanes’ goalkeeper DREW SMILEY for his superlative performance in his team’s narrow 1-0 victory over the defending Premier Division champions, Surrey United Firefighters. Time after time, Smiley came up with fantastic saves to maintain his team’s narrow margin of victory. For his outstanding performance this past week, DREW SMILEY will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2011-12-28.

 

[sixfyv]

2011-12-05



PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 13

Only 5 league matches were played this past week, with 2 games being postponed due to the fact that the Pacific Cup final also took place. One big upset took place on Wednesday evening when the Richmond FC Hibernians defeated the heavily-favoured Columbus FC by a lop-sided 4-1 margin. Then, on Saturday, the Hibernians almost repeated their feat in the Pacific Cup final but dropped a heart-breaking 2-1 overtime decision to the Surrey United Firefighters.

RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS - COLUMBUS FC 4-1: On Wednesday, November 30, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the visiting Richmond FC Hibernians pulled off a huge upset by defeating the aspiring Columbus FC by an elaborate 4-1 margin. The Hibs almost took the lead at the 10th minute mark when striker Darren Prentice’s excellent shot skimmed the outside of the far post. Columbus bounced back and also came close to scoring on a couple of occasions, but efforts by Steve Frazao went awry. However, the visitors kept pressing and finally took the well-deserved lead at the 20th minute mark when Darren Prentice made amends for his previously missed goalscoring chance as he calmly finished off a perfectly-placed flick by Brad Caldwell. The Hibernians kept pressing and, soon thereafter, added to their lead when the Chivers twins—Peter and Alan—combined to score what proved to be the winning goal. On this occasion, Alan Chivers’ fantastic cross-field ball found a wide-open Peter Chivers at the edge of the Columbus penalty area. Peter Chivers then proceeded to control the ball, flick it over the head of an onrushing goalkeeper—Giordano DiPalma—before heading it home for what could easily be described as the ‘Goal of the Week’. To their credit the ‘Italians’ didn’t give up and bounced back tenaciously in search of their first goal. However, Richmond’s goalkeeper—Luke O’Shea—rose to the occasion and pulled off some remarkable saves on shots by Steve DeBlasio, Stefano Pannu, and Steve Frazao. However, Columbus FC did get on the scoreboard late in the first half when Steve DeBlasio’s brilliantly taken free kick curled around the Richmond wall and into the bottom corner of the net. Early in the second half, Columbus almost knotted the score but Nisbert Sonson’s goal was nullified because of an offside infraction. Shortly thereafter—at about the 55th minute mark—Richmond’s midfielder Matt Rota added the insurance marker as he converted a brilliant, far-post cross by Brad Caldwell by tapping the ball into the Columbus net from close range. Richmond’s third goal seemed to take the wind out of Columbus’s sails and the Hibernians proceeded to control the rest of the match. At about the 65th minute mark, Richmond FC scored its fourth—and final—goal when Brad Caldwell finished off a goal-mouth scramble by heading the ball into the Columbus net from close range. As mentioned earlier, young Richmond goalkeeper—Luke O’Shea—played extremely well as he denied Columbus’ vaunted forwards numerous scoring opportunities. Midfielders Alan Chivers and Peter Chivers, as well as forward Brad Caldwell, also contributed immensely to the Hibernians’ victory. For Columbus FC, forward Steve Frazao and midfielder Leigh Sembaluk played admirably in a losing cause. The very important victory elevates Richmond FC into 10th place, with a 2-5-5 record, while Columbus FC remains in 3rd place.

ROVERS UNITED - NORVAN PACIFIC 3-2: On Saturday afternoon, at Confederation Park in North Vancouver, the visiting Rovers edged the hosting Norvan Pacific by a narrow 3-2 margin. The Rovers took the early lead—at about the 12th minute mark—when Desmond Tachie beat a couple of Norvan defenders down the right flank and sent an impeccable cross onto the path of Colin Phillips who had no problem whatsoever in slotting the ball into the back of the Norvan net. Norvan bounced back and came close to tying things up a few minutes later, but Matt Hartwell’s excellent shot was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Garth Lagasse. Soon thereafter, however, Matt Hartwell raced in on a breakaway and was able to place the ball behind Lagasse and into the net for the tying goal. The Rovers restored their 1-goal lead midway through the first half when Gibson Bardsley took advantage of a Norvan defensive blunder, raced in on goal from the halfway line and placed the ball into the net, past goalkeeper Giancarlo Martino. The flow of the game remained more or less the same during the second half as both teams took turns attacking and defending. At about the 60th minute mark, the Rovers’ Gibson Bardsley switched roles and became the provider as he set up Joel Malouf with a great pass that Malouf converted into what proved to be the winning goal with an unstoppable shot from well inside the penalty area. Soon thereafter, Norvan Pacific narrowed the margin when Terry Davies—after having received a great cut-back pass from Sean Regan—slotted the ball home from the edge of the 18-yard box. The home team pressed hard in an effort to get back in the match, but some excellent defending on the part of newly-signed Derrick Bassi and Sam Gill—as well as some outstanding goalkeeping by Garth Lagasse—kept the scoreline at 3-2 till the final whistle. Rovers United’s midfielders Braydon Volkarent and Rob Sing—as well as forwards Desmond Tachie and Gibson Bardsley—played exceptionally well in a winning cause. For Norvan Pacific, forward Matt Hartwell and goalkeeper Giancarlo Martino were standouts during the entire match. The victory advances to Rovers to 8th place in the Premier Division standings, with a 4-3-5 record while Norvan Pacific is now mired in penultimate place with only 11 points from 13 matches.

DELTA UNITED HURRICANES - ICST PEGASUS 0-0: Also on Saturday, at John Oliver Park in Delta, the reigning Provincial Cup champions—ICST Pegasus—were held to a scoreless tie by the unpredictable Delta Hurricanes. The match turned out to be a very intense affair, with only a handful of scoring chances for both teams throughout the contest. Very early in the game, Pegasus’ Azad Palani almost took advantage of a rare miscue on the part of Delta’s goalkeeper Andy Singh, but had his shot blocked by a Delta defender. At the other end of the pitch, newly-signed Cam Hundal raced past a few Pegasus defenders before sending an immaculate cross to a wide-open Harp Khakh whose subsequent volley sailed just wide of the Pegasus net. Shortly thereafter, the same two Delta strikers—Hundal and Khakh—combined once again but, once again, Khakh’s shot missed the net. Pegasus replied in kind when young Sahil Sandhu raced in on goal and fired a wicked shot off the goalpost. In the second half, Sandhu duplicated his previous effort as he beat a couple of Delta defenders before unleashing what appeared to be an unstoppable shot that, once again, glanced off the post. Then, at the 70th minute mark, it was Delta’s turn to come close to scoring when Gagan Josan’s well-placed corner kick was volleyed just wide of the net by Oscar Jimenez. A few minutes later, Cam Hundal—after having been set up by Gagan Josan—was robbed by an outstanding save on the part of Pegasus’ Andy Singh. Late in the game, Pegasus’ Diaz Kambere had the final goalscoring chance but his long-range powerful shot went inches wide of the Delta net. Pegasus’ midfielders Adam Costley and Jag Gill turned in excellent performances, while defenders Paul Bahia and Carlos Dhaliwal were rock-solid during the entire 90 minutes, making life relatively easy for goalkeeper Andy Singh as he recorded yet another shutout. For Delta United, forward Cam Hundal was a going concern all match long, while midfielders Ryan Dhillon and Harp Khakh also played very well. Newly-signed Delta goalkeeper—Auden Schilder—was forced to make a few excellent saves and thus fully earned his clean-sheet. The result keeps ICST Pegasus in 2nd place in the standings—with an admirable 7-4-1 record—while the Hurricanes are still in 6th place, with 19 points.

COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES - CROATIA SC 1-0: The third, and last, Saturday game was played at Adanac Park in Vancouver and featured two very young and talented, middle of the table teams: the hosting Croatia SC and the visiting Metro-Ford Wolves. After a very entertaining 90 minutes of non-stop action, the Wolves walked away with a hard-earned 1-0 victory. The Croatians got off to a bright start and almost took the lead at about the 15th minute mark but a fine header by Matteo Agnoloni—from a Johnny Sulentic corner kick—sailed just over the crossbar. Soon thereafter, at about the 20th minute mark—the Wolves took the lead when Brayden Gant and Carlo Basso combined on a very well-executed give-and-go, resulting in Basso scoring what proved to be the winning goal with a great close-range shot to the far post. The Croatians fought back tenaciously and nearly tied things up at the 26th minute mark when Phil Kotter won a great tackle in the middle of the park, muscled his way towards the Metro-Ford goal but proceeded to fire his shot just wide of the net. The second half was more or less a repeat of the first, with both teams taking turns attacking and creating numerous excellent goalscoring chances. However, some outstanding goalkeeping on the part of Metro-Ford’s Mathew Bird and Croatia’s Didar Sandhu, kept both teams off the scoresheet. In particular, late in the game, Sandhu pulled off of miraculous world-class save on a shot by young Fahim Karmali after he had been set up by Devin Phelan. At the other end of the pitch, Metro-Ford defender Connor Ayre cleared a shot by Kreso Ukalovic off the goal line, with Mat Bird well beaten. Needless to say, Didar Sandhu was outstanding in the Croatia goal, while midfielder Phil Kotter worked tirelessly throughout the contest, albeit in a losing cause. For the victors, defenders Anthony DiNicolo, Kyle Jones, Connor Ayre, and Kia Mirzahossein—who had substituted an injured Carson Gill early in the game—played extremely well as they aided and abetted Mat Bird as he registered his third straight clean sheet. Midfielders Brayden Gant and Devin Phelan also played remarkably well during the entire match. The victory elevates the Metro-Ford Wolves to 4th place in the standings, with a 6-2-5 record, while Croata SC slips to 7th place with 18 points.

COLUMBUS FC - ICSF INTER 5-1: The lone Sunday game was played at Burnaby Lake West Complex between the two ‘Italian’ teams in the Premier Division: ICSF Inter and Columbus FC. For the second week in a row, ICSF Inter lost by an elaborate scoreline, this time by a 5-1 margin as Columbus FC snapped out of its 2-game losing streak, culminated by the ‘Richmond’ midweek crisis. The first half was very evenly played with ICSF Inter controlling the tempo of the match in the early stages and Columbus FC in the latter part. Inter was rewarded for its early pressure at the 15th minute mark when young Luigi Pantusa unleashed a wicked free kick from well outside the penalty area, a shot that gave newly-signed Columbus goalkeeper—JD Blakley—no chance whatsoever. The Inter goal seemed to be the wake-up call the Columbus players needed as they started getting back into the game and, eventually, took total control of the situation. Late in the first half, Columbus FC knotted the score when midfielder Justin Carvery’s long-range shot found its way to the bottom left corner of the Inter net. The second half was more or less a one-team show as Columbus dominated proceedings from start to finish. Ten minutes into the second half, Columbus took the lead on a well-taken penalty kick by Steve DeBlasio after he had been fouled inside the penalty area by Inter’s Arjan Grewal. Grewal almost made up for his faux-pas a few minutes later when he had his wicked free kick brilliantly saved by JD Blakley. Shortly thereafter, Columbus added its insurance marker when defender Graham Smith deflected a well-taken free kick by Steve DeBlasio into the corner of the net. The 4th Columbus goal was scored midway through the second half when Steve Frazao—after having received a great pass from Blair Robertson—cleverly chipped the ball over the onrushing Inter goalkeeper, Marco Mincieli. To add insult to Inter’s injury, defender Rey Ismail was sent off at about the 70th minute for having committed a serious foul playing infraction against Columbus’ Nathan Quan, thus reducing his team to 10 men for the remaining 20 minutes. Columbus took full advantage of the situation and shortly thereafter scored its fifth, goal when Donald Kambere’s fine cross was headed towards the Inter goal by Steve DeBlasio. Unfortunately for DeBlasio, the ball bounced off the crossbar but teammate Steve Frazao was ‘Johnny on the spot’ and slotted home the rebound to score his team’s last goal. Columbus’ forwards Steve Frazao and Steve DeBlasio played brilliantly throughout the match, causing the Inter defenders all kinds of problems. Midfielders Jamie Olson and Nathan Quan—as well as defender Graham Smith—also comported themselves admirably in a winning cause. For ICSF Inter, young defender Luigi Pantusa and midfielder Marco Visintin played extremely well. As a result of the victory, Columbus remains in 3rd place in the Premier Division standings, with a 7-2-4 record, while ICSF Inter slips to 9th place with only 13 points out of 13 games.



PACIFIC CUP FINAL

SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS - RICHMOND FC HIBERNIANS 2-1 (OT): On Saturday late afternoon, at Trillium Park in Vancouver, the Pacific Cup final took place between two VMSL teams: Surrey United and Richmond FC. The game provided the numerous spectators with a vast amount of action and had to be settled in overtime, after a 1-1 tie after 90 minutes of regulation time. Led by the outstanding performances of veterans Jeff Clarke, Steve Kindel, and playing-coach Niall Thompson, the Firefighters were able to claim the victory and the coveted cup. Surrey United carried most of the play in the first half but, as luck would have it, it was Richmond FC that took the lead at the 20th minute mark when a fine cross by midfielder Alan Chivers was brilliantly volleyed into the back of the net by Matt Rota. Immediately thereafter, Surrey United almost tied things up but Angus Burke—the Premier Division leading goalscorer—missed a golden opportunity after having been set up by Andrew Proctor. The Hibernians responded in kind and almost doubled their lead at the 30th minute mark but, once again, the golden opportunity went awry as Darren Prentice—after having been set up by Brad Caldwell—barely missed the net with a close-range header. Five minutes later, Richmond FC once again came close to scoring but Darren Prentice’s excellent volley was brilliantly saved by Surrey’s goalkeeper Paul Shepherd. Late in the first half, former Whitecaps captain Jeff Clarke almost knotted the score for Surrey United, but his wicked shot from just outside the penalty area was tipped over the bar by young goalkeeper Luke O’Shea. Just before the halftime whistle, it was Richmond’s turn to come close to scoring as Alan Chivers curled an excellent free kick around the Surrey United wall, only to have Paul Shepherd pull off yet another remarkable save. The second half was more or less a repeat of the first as both teams took turns attacking and defending. At about the 60th minute mark, Surrey United was able to knot the score when veteran Jeff Clarke—after receiving a pass from Vinnie Stewart—beat a couple of Richmond defenders before slotting the ball into the corner of the net from inside the penalty area. The Hibernians responded immediately and almost retook the lead in the 70th minute but Darren Prentice’s volley narrowly missed the target with Paul Shepherd well-beaten. Five minutes later, Prentice became the provider as his excellent pass found Peter Chivers, whose header skimmed off the post and out of danger. Late in regulation time, Richmond FC came close to scoring the winning goal once again but Matt Rota’s shot sailed just over the crossbar. The first half of overtime saw the Firefighters dominate play. In fact, on two separate occasions, Surrey United appeared to have scored what might have been the winning goal, but efforts by Niall Thompson and Angus Burke were called offside by the assistant referee. Early in the second overtime period Surrey United’s Colin Streckmann was sent off for having received his second caution. Despite playing with only 10 men, the Firefighters kept pressing and were compensated very late in the match when playing-coach Niall Thompson—after having received a great pass from Angus Burke—scored the winning goal with a thunderous shot into the corner of the net. Both teams should be congratulated for playing extremely well during the entire 110 minutes of non-stop action. Special mention should be made of Richmond’s goalkeeper Luke O’Shea, defenders Stu Walters and Mike Revell, midfielder Matt Rota, and forwards Darren Prentice and Brad Caldwell for their wonderful performances. As mentioned earlier, Surrey United’s veteran trio—defender Steve Kindel, midfielder Jeff Clarke, and forward Niall Thompson—were instrumental in their team’s hard-earned victory.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS for their magnificent performance in defeating the Richmond FC Hibernians by a 2-1 overtime margin in the Pacific Cup final. Led by the excellent play of veterans Niall Thompson, Steve Kindel, and Jeff Clarke (all former professionals) the Firefighters worked extremely hard and eventually were able to lay claim to the victory and the coveted trophy.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Surrey United Firefighters’ forward NIALL THOMPSON for his amazing performance in his team’s narrow 2-1 overtime victory over the Richmond FC Hibernians in the Pacific Cup final. Thompson capped off a brilliant individual performance by scoring the winning goal late in the second overtime period with a blazing shot. For his outstanding performance this past week, NIALL THOMPSON will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2012-01-04.

 

[sixfyv]

2011-12-12



PREMIER DIVISION – WEEK 14

Only 5 league matches were played this past week, with 1 game—West Van FC vs Richmond FC Hibernians—being postponed due to the icy conditions at Ambleside Park on Friday evening. Nothing much changed in the standings as the rich appeared to be getting richer, while the poor kept getting poorer! The one exception was Westside FC’s 3-2 upset victory over Croatia SC, Westside’s second victory of the season. Things should be getting more interesting this coming week as several key matches will take place. At the top of the list are Surrey United vs West Van FC—on Wednesday evening at Cloverdale Athletic Park—and Surrey United vs ICST Pegasus—on Saturday, also at Cloverdale Athletic Park.

ICST PEGASUS - NORVAN PACIFIC 2-0: On Friday evening, at Newton Athletic Park in Surrey, the high-flying, and defending Provincial Cup champions, ICST Pegasus defeated the visiting Norvan Pacific by a 2-0 margin. The first half was fairly evenly played with both team having a few good goalscoring chances. ICST Pegasus had a couple of opportunities, but squandered them as Sahil Sandhu—after having raced in on goal on a breakaway—fired his shot wide of the net and—a few minutes later—Ryan Powell sailed his free-kick shot from the edge of the penalty area over the Norvan net. Norvan also came close to scoring on a couple of occasions in the first half but Sean Regan’s thunderous volley bounced off the crossbar and out of danger and Dave O’Connor was stymied by a fine save on the part of Andy Singh. In the second half, ICST Pegasus took control of the match, perhaps sparked by the excellent performances of substitutes Reynold Stewart and Azad Palani. At about the 60th minute mark—after having missed an earlier opportunity, Reynold Stewart collected an immaculate pass from Azad Palani and fired home a beautifully-placed, left-foot strike. Ten minutes later, Pegasus doubled its margin when midfielder Diaz Kambere did some marvellous work at the top of Norvan penalty area, beat 2 defenders, and proceeded to place a perfect cross onto the path of Azad Palani, who made no mistake in finishing off the play with a well-placed header. Shortly thereafter, Palani missed a golden chance to double his output, but misfired his close-range shot wide of the net. Late in the game, Jag Gill also missed a wonderful opportunity to increase Pegasus’ lead, but was unable to find the net with a powerful header. Pegasus’ midfielders Diaz Kambere and Omari Aldridge played remarkably well throughout the contest, while forwards Jag Gill and Sahil Sandhu caused the Norvan defence all kinds of headaches with their speed and skill. Goalkeeper Andy Singh recorded the shutout with a very solid and consistent performance. As mentioned earlier, second-half substitutes Azad Palani and Reynold Stewart provided the leadership Pegasus needed to lay claim to all 3 points. For Norvan Pacific, central defenders Nathan Harte and Matthew Brewster comported themselves quite well, despite the loss. The victory elevates ICST Pegasus to a first place tie with the idle West Van FC, with the former Trollers having a game in hand. Norvan Pacific, on the other hand, is still mired in penultimate place, with a disappointing 3-2-8 record.

COQUITLAM METRO-FORD WOLVES - ICSF INTER 3-2: On Saturday afternoon, at Adanac Park in Vancouver, the young Metro-Ford Wolves edged the more experienced ICSF Inter by a 3-2 margin after a very entertaining 90 minutes of non-stop action. Twice the home team took the lead, but twice the Wolves fought back and re-established parity, and finally scored the winning goal late in the match. ICSF Inter took the lead at about the 25th minute mark when midfielder Philip Lensky unleashed a wicked drive from well outside the penalty area, a shot that gave goalkeeper Mat Bird no chance whatsoever. Late in the first half, Metro-Ford tied things up when defender Kyle Jones sent a long through ball to Carlo Basso who, after beating a couple of Inter defenders, clinically finished the play with a clever close-range shot. The home team applied a lot of pressure on the young Metro-Ford defence in the early stages of the second half and almost re-took the lead on a couple of occasions. On the first, newly-signed Chris Bargholz made a brilliant end-to-end run but his chip shot barely missed the net. Soon thereafter, Luigi Pantusa blasted a long-range shot that also missed the net by inches. Finally, at the 70th minute mark, ICSF Inter re-established its lead when a brilliant cross by Chris Bargholz—after he had made yet another dangerous run down the right flank—was calmly converted into Inter’s second goal by young veteran Joseph Marrello. At this point, former professional Gordon Chin entered the field of play, a substitution that appeared to give the Metro-Ford team a much needed spark. In fact, it was Chin that set up the tying goal with a perfectly placed free-kick from the touchline, a free-kick that Carlo Basso cleverly headed home with a great flick. The Wolves kept pressing in search of the winning goal and were rewarded late in the match when Carlo Basso became the provider as he received a great pass from Devin Phelan, raced by several Inter defenders down the left flank, and cut the ball back onto the path of Brayden Gant, who brilliantly finished the play with a marvellous shot into the top corner of the Inter net. Young midfielders Devin Phelan and Brayden Gant—as well as former Whitecap Gordon Chin—were outstanding in the Metro-Ford midfield, while forward Carlo Basso drove his ‘Italian compatriots’ to distraction with his skill, speed, and tenacity. For ICSF Inter, midfielders Chris Bargholz, Joseph Marrello, and Phil Lensky—as well as defender Sheldon Maistry—also played remarkably well, albeit in a losing cause. Their fourth consecutive victory improves the Metro-Ford Wolves’ record to a respectable 7-2-5, while ICSF Inter remains in 9th place, with only 13 points out of 14 games.

WESTSIDE FC - CROATIA SC 3-2: Also on Saturday, at Memorial Park in Vancouver, the last place Westside FC upset the somewhat struggling Croatia SC by a narrow 3-2 score. The Westsiders got off to a bright start and scored an early goal—at about the 2nd minute mark—when Gavin Barrett’s cross was inexplicably—and uncharacteristically—mishandled by goalkeeper Didar Sandhu and tapped into the net by an alert Nick Graham. Westside FC continued to press, but efforts by Andre` Herath and Mike Buree sailed just over the bar. At about the 35th minute mark, the Croatians were able to knot the score when Jure Krpan headed home a well-taken free kick by none other than Johnny Sulentic. Late in the first half, Croatia SC almost took the lead, but Maarten Koorn’s wicked long-range shot was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Rowan Anders. The second half was more or less a repeat of the first as both teams kept pressing hard in search of the all-important go-ahead goal. Westside FC took the lead at the 70th minute mark when young Mike Buree streaked down the right flank and proceeded to calmly slot the ball into the back of the net, past Didar Sandhu. At this point, Westside FC made a strategic substitution as ‘super-sub’ Wyatt Seddon-Johnstone entered the field and immediately made a positive impact on the match. In fact, at the 80th minute mark, Seddon-Johnstone scored what proved to be the winning goal as he emulated Buree’s previous effort by making a fine run before slamming the ball into the Croatian goal. The Westsiders came close to extending their lead on a couple of more occasions, but efforts by Gavin Barrett and Peter Bow went awry as they couldn’t find the target from close-range opportunities. Very late in the match, Croatia SC narrowed the margin when midfielder Phil Kotter slipped a wonderful through ball to Johnny Botica who proceeded to beat a couple of defenders and the goalkeeper before slotting the ball into the empty Westside net. Defender Steve Johnson, midfielder Michael Buree, and forward Gavin Barrett played extremely well in the Westside line-up, while Croatia’s midfielder Phil Kotter was a going concern throughout the match. Despite the hard-earned victory, Westside FC remains in last place in the Premier Division standings, with a 2-2-9 record, while Croatia SC remains in 7th place with 18 points out of 14 games.

SURREY UNITED FIREFIGHTERS - ROVERS UNITED 6-1: The third, and last, Saturday game was played at Newton Athletic Park in Surrey and featured two middle of the table teams: the hosting Rovers United and the visiting Surrey United Firefighters. As the 6-1 scoreline indicates, the match was a one-sided affair with the defending VMSL champions—Surrey United—walking away with a rather easy victory. After clinching the Pacific Cup last week, the Firefighters returned to league action and avenged an earlier season loss at the hands of the former Sapperton Rovers. Surrey United took the early lead in the 8th minute of play when veteran Jeff Clarke crossed a perfectly-placed ball from the right flank onto the path of Colin Streckmann who proceeded to head it into the near post for the go-ahead goal. The Firefighters then increased their lead five minutes later when another right wing cross—this one from Vince Stewart—was nodded back across the goal area by Angus Burke and headed home by a wide-open Andrew Proctor. At the 30th minute mark, Surrey United added a third goal when Vince Stewart hammered home a powerful free-kick from well outside the penalty area. Six minutes later, the Firefighters added their fourth goal when Andrew Proctor sent Angus Burke racing in on goal with a well-placed through ball. Without a moment’s hesitation, Burke calmly slotted the ball into the back of the Rovers’ net for his league-leading 10th goal of the season. To their credit, the Rovers bounced back and scored their lone goal of the game late in the first half on a fine individual effort by former professional Gibson Bardsley as he beat a few Surrey United defenders inside the 18-yard box before blasting the ball into the net. The Rovers—led by Colin Phillips’ tireless work rate and by Bobby Jhutty’s skillful performance—got off to a great start in the second half and appeared to score their second goal at the 60th minute mark, but Desmond Tachie’s apparent marker was called back because of an offside infraction. However, any chance of a Rovers’ comeback was thwarted at the 65th minute mark when former Whitecaps’ captain—Jeff Clarke—hammered a superb long-range blast into the top left corner of the Rovers’ net. The Firefighters rounded out the scoring in the 70th minute when player-coach Niall Thompson converted a penalty kick that was awarded when Angus Burke was fouled inside the Rovers’ penalty area. The victory elevates Surrey United to within 6 points of league-leading West Van FC, while the Rovers remain in 8th place with 15 points.

COLUMBUS FC - DELTA UNITED HURRICANES 2-1: The final game was played late on Sunday evening at John Oliver Park in Delta between two teams near the top of the Premier Division table: the hosting Delta United Hurricanes and the visiting Columbus FC. At the end of the 90 minutes of play, the ‘Italians’ went home with a hard-fought 2-1 victory at the expense of the rather unfortunate Hurricanes. Delta United got off to a great start and took the early lead in the 5th minute when Woody Bradford, Harp Khakh, and Gagan Josan combined to send Cam Hundal on a breakaway. After beating a couple of Columbus defenders, Hundal rounded goalkeeper Giordano DiPalma and slotted the ball home for the opening goal. The Hurricanes continued to press and almost doubled their lead at the 25th minute mark when Joti Thind’s cross was one-timed just wide of the net by Ryan Dhillon. Columbus replied in kind and came close to knotting the score on a couple of occasions, but two separate efforts by attacking-defender Blair Robertson failed to hit the target. Late in the first half, the Delta United Hurricanes once again came close to adding their second goal but Ryan Dhillon—after having been sent in on goal on a breakaway by Cam Hundal—once again barely missed the net. The second half was evenly played with neither team establishing any clear-cut dominance. Midway through the second half, Columbus FC finally got the equalizer when Steve DeBlasio’s thunderous shot from the edge of the penalty area was saved by young goalkeeper Auden Schilder but tapped into the net by Jevin Hillis. Delta United, however, continued to press hard and came close to regaining the lead on a few occasions but efforts by Gagan Josan, Harp Khakh, and Woody Bradford all went awry. As luck would have it, it was Columbus FC that scored the winning goal very late in the contest when Steve DeBlasio’s shot from well outside the penalty area was inadvertently deflected into the back of the Delta net by midfielder Harp Khakh. Columbus’ defenders Graham Smith, Jonathan Poli, and Blair Robertson played extremely well during the entire game, while midfielder Justin Carvery and forward Steve DeBlasio also turned in solid performances. Despite the heart-breaking loss, Delta United’s forward Cam Hundal, and midfielders Harp Khakh and Gagan Josan played extremely well and deserve special mention for their efforts. The victory solidifies Columbus’ hold on third place, with a 8-2-4 record, while Delta United remains in 6th place with 19 points.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: WESTSIDE FC for it gutsy performance in defeating the heavily-favoured Croatia SC by a 3-2 margin. The Westsiders have been struggling throughout the season and had registered only one victory prior to the Croatia match. However, led by the excellent performances of Nick Graham, Michael Buree, Wyatt Seddon-Johnstone, Steve Johnson, and Gavin Barrett, Westside FC was able to capture the all-important 3 points.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Coquitlam Metro-Ford Wolves’ forward CARLO BASSO for his brilliant performance in his team’s narrow 3-2 victory over ICSF Inter. Not only did Basso score two remarkable goals, but he also set up teammate Brayden Gant for what proved to be the winner. For his outstanding performance this past week, CARLO BASSO will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2012-01-11.



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