Weekly Review Azzi's Week In Review - 2006/2007

[gilly]

WEEK #1—2006-09-12

The 2006-2007 season got off to a flying start with 7 Premier Division games taking place. No major upsets were recorded although a couple of the heavy favourites struggled to gain all 3 points. As expected, both promoted teams—Vancouver Olympics and Sikh Temple—lost their first Premier Division matches while the potential match of the week—between ICSF Inter and Croatia SC—ended in a 2-2 tie.

The season got underway on Friday evening at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby where the highly favoured Sporting Club edged the newly-promoted Vancouver Olympics by a 1-0 margin. After a scoreless and uneventful first half, Sporting Club scored the lone goal of the contest midway through the second half when newly-signed Meysam Soltani converted a Ryan Dormer header. Mike Gomes was his usual hustling and bustling self in the Sporting midfield and was unlucky to score on a few occasions. In fact, the excellent goalkeeping of Olympics’ Marco D’Andrea was instrumental in maintaining a tight scoreline. Midfielder Gerardo Cruz Duran and defender Brinder King also played well in a losing cause for the Olympics.

On Saturday, at Cloverdale Athletic Park, the defending Premier Division champions, Surrey United took on the Province Cup winners, Sapperton Rovers, in a game that lived up to its high expectations as both teams battled with grit and intensity for the entire 90 minutes. As usual, Surrey relied on long, penetrating passes to try to dismantle the Sapperton defensive unit. As is often the case, Surrey’s plan succeeded as their forwards created a couple of golden goalscoring opportunities. Dave Hleuka was denied a goal by a great save by Sapperton goalkeeper Cory Breure, but eventually scored what proved to be the game-winner on a similar header that eluded the outstretched hands of Breure. In the second half, the Rovers came roaring back in search of the equalizer and came awfully close on several occasions. A nifty 3-way passing play, involving Jeff Rogers, Ted Ullrich, and Mike Favaro, set up a wide open Trevor Todd who inexplicably missed the net from very close range. Similarly, veteran Paul Favaro also missed a glorious opportunity to tie the game up from inside the goal area. At the other end of the pitch, Breure had to make a phenomenal save on yet another Hleuka header. All in all, a fine performance by both teams, particularly considering the fact that it was the season opener.

Also on Saturday, at Beaconsfield Park in Vancouver, Indo-Akal FC hosted the Vancouver Firefighters in a hard-fought and evenly-played match. Unfortunately, neither team was able to convert any of their goalscoring opportunities and the game ended in a 0-0 tie. Indo-Akal had most of the play early in the first half as Vishal Chand and Paul Bolina made some excellent runs down their respective flanks. The Firemen, however, replied in kind and dominated proceedings in the latter part of the first half and continued to press during the first 30 minutes of the second half. After goalkeeper Didar Sandhu had made a couple of great saves in the Indo-Akal net, the Firemen’s Lucas Barrett rattled a shot off the goalpost with Sandhu well beaten. Late in the game Indo-Akal’s Paul Bolina also hit the goalpost with a fine header. Defender Kyle McDiarmid and midfielder Dale Gill were outstanding for Indo-Akal, while centre-back Steve McAuley and goalkeeper Ratish Kumar played exceptionally well for the Firefighters.

The third, and final, Saturday game was played at South Memorial Park in Vancouver between the AFC Leopards and the newly-promoted Sikh Temple. The 5-2 final score in favour of the Leopards pretty much tells the tale of the game as AFC demonstrated superior skills and, above all, a superior finishing touch. Sikh Temple actually had most of the play in the early going but it was the Leopards that opened the scoring on a lethal counter-attack which resulted in Freddy Malek scoring his first of 3 goals. Shortly thereafter, newcomer Josh Piscitelli volleyed the ball in the back of the Sikh Temple net as he took advantage of a poor clearance. AFC could have added another goal when Andrew Zcalich’s header struck the cross bar. At this juncture, Sikh Temple fought back and scored twice in rapid succession to tie the game before the halftime whistle. Amar Takhar and Joey Brar, with a cracking shot, scored the Sikh Temple goals. The Leopards bounced back in the second half and, led by the goal-scoring prowess of Freddy Malek, added 3 more goals to win the game by a comfortable margin. Malek scored twice, while Piscitelli added his second marker late in the game. To their credit, Sikh Temple never quit and battled hard till the end.

Also on Sunday, at Kinsman Stadium in North Vancouver, the defending Group ‘A’ champions Metro-Ford Wolves edged the young and hard-working Norvan Eagles by a 2-1 margin. Norvan opened the scoring when Alex Wilson sent speedy Blake Burgon down the right flank. Burgon’s brilliant cross was slotted home by an unmarked Jamie Dunnett. Metro-Ford, after being outplayed and outworked throughout the first half, rallied back in the second half and took control of the match. Norvan’s defence, led by Nick Seddon and goalkeeper Kevin Guidi, kept the Wolves off the scoresheet until late in the game when substitute Richard Norman unleashed a powerful drive from well outside the penalty area for the tying goal. Norman was also instrumental in the winning goal as he set up Russel Huggon with a perfect pass. Huggon was tripped in the box and subsequently converted the penalty kick for the winning goal, well into injury time!

The third Sunday game took place at Hastings Bowl in Vancouver between Columbus-Clan FC and the visiting West Van FC. The final 5-2 score in favour of Columbus more than anything else reflects the sloppy defending exhibited by both teams! West Van got off to a reasonably good start and missed a couple of good scoring chances early in the match. Columbus, however, took the lead on a quick counter-attack which saw veteran Frank Mollica send Tiernan King flying into the West Van penalty area. King made no mistake as he tucked the ball into the near post. Moments later, Joe Scigliano received a clever throw-in from Craig Richards, beat a West Van defender and slipped the ball into the net. Columbus continued to dictate the pace of the game in the second half and was rewarded with the third goal when newly-signed Steve DeBlasio capitalized on a rebound to blast the ball into the back of the net with a thunderous shot. West Van rallied back and got a goal from Ken Kienzle but Columbus restored its 3-goal margin when a Tiernan King shot was deflected onto the path of Gino Gaita who cracked a great shot into the net. Once again West Van narrowed the margin as Sean Taylor beat goalkeeper Luca Dalla Pace but Columbus finished things off when Joe Scigliano converted a penalty kick awarded when he was brought down in the box. All in all, a well-deserved victory by Columbus!

Finally, also on Sunday at Adanac Park, ICSF Inter and Croatia SC battled to a 2-2 draw after an exciting 90 minutes of play. Under the guidance of new coach Metro Gerela, Croatia attacked from the start and dominated proceedings during the entire first half, taking a well-deserved 2-0 lead into the dressing room. The first goal came at the 10th minute mark when Mike Masi beat an Inter defender at the edge of the box before firing a low shot towards the net. The shot was deflected onto the path of Petar Sulentic who calmly slotted it home for the opening goal. Soon thereafter, some good work by young Rob Rogic set up veteran Tom Babic for a glorious goalscoring opportunity. Unfortunately for the Croatians, Babic lobbed his shot over the net. At this point, Inter had the chance to tie the game as Croatia newly-signed goalkeeper, Drew Smiley, awkwardly fouled an opponent resulting in a penalty kick. However, Brian VanSchagen’s penalty kick rattled off the crossbar and out of danger. Croatia then scored the second goal when Tom Babic made amends for his previous blunder by sending an impeccable cross onto the path of Mike Masi who neatly volleyed the ball past a diving Inter goalkeeper, Dennis Kindel. The second half belonged almost entirely to ICSF as the Italians came storming back with determination and grit. Brian VanSchagen narrowed the margin with one of his patented blasts from outside the area, while Kevin Crouch tied things up as he received a great ball from Mike Tempesta.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: COLUMBUS-CLAN FC for their excellent performance in defeating West Van FC by an emphatic 5-2 margin. Columbus, under the guidance of newly-appointed coach Carmine D’Onofrio, dominated proceedings from start to finish and fully deserved the 3 points.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: AFC Leopards’ FREDDY MALEK for his 3-goal performance in his team’s 5-2 victory over the newly-promoted Sikh Temple. For his outstanding performance, FREDDY MALEK will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2006-09-28.

 

[Hands of Stone]

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: AFC Leopards’ FREDDY MALEK for his 3-goal performance.

Isn't he the YBK, was a few years ago that I made that kid a star. I have done that for a few of the fast black kids in the VMSL.

Next week can herb jr. get a mention?

hos

 

[gilly]

Isn't he the YBK

Nope....that's Donald Kambere (the older brother of Diaz Kambere)

But I'm sure you've made Freddy look good as well HOS

Gilly

 

[sixfyv]

Next week can herb jr. get a mention?
hos

Go LBG!!!

 

[Sport Punjab]

Isn't he the YBK, was a few years ago that I made that kid a star. I have done that for a few of the fast black kids in the VMSL.

Next week can herb jr. get a mention?

hos

YBK plays for City FC Blaze of Div 1B. He wasn't that great against us., but still a YBK at the very least.

 

[Zaurrini]

The final 5-2 score in favour of Columbus more than anything else reflects the sloppy defending exhibited by both teams!

TEAM OF THE WEEK: COLUMBUS-CLAN FC for their excellent performance in defeating West Van FC by an emphatic 5-2 margin.

 

[sixfyv]

YBK plays for City FC Blaze of Div 1B. He wasn't that great against us., but still a YBK at the very least.

Are you telling me that the original YBK plays for us? I have no idea who the original YBK is... so confused

 

[gilly]

sixfyv,

If Donald Kambere plays on your team, then, yes indeed, he is the original YBK...created and brought to stardom by HOS.

Gilly

 

[Regs]

YBK: Click Here

 

[trece verde]

Wazzi needs to spend less time on his Most Excellent Week In Review and a bit more time getting some help with processing registrations. There were some folks at the office this morning who had to wait in line over an hour just to be told by The WA that since it was noon, everything was closing up...

 

[sixfyv]

sixfyv,

If Donald Kambere plays on your team, then, yes indeed, he is the original YBK...created and brought to stardom by HOS.

Gilly

If this is the case, then in our friendly against FT (Fire Town) TSK (tall skinny keeper) threw a ball over OZDs (over zealous defender's) head to a streaking YBK who ran past LBG and netted one past EAA (easily angered animal). It was my GOTG... and would have been the HON if it was on TSN.

TTFN

 

[BJB]

WEEK #2—2006-09-19

Week #2 of the VMSL’s 2006-2007 season did not provide any major upsets as the top-ranked teams managed to defeat their opponents, in some cases by very narrow margins. The highly-anticipated clash between the Metro-Ford Wolves and ICSF Inter ended in a 1-1 tie, leaving both teams behind the red-hot Columbus-Clan FC in the Group ‘A’ standings. In Group ‘B’, both leading teams (Surrey United and Sporting Club) kept their perfect record intact with narrow victories—over West Van FC and Firefighters respectively.

On Friday evening, at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby, the ‘Indian Derby’ took place as Sikh Temple hosted Indo-Akal FC. The match, attended by one of the largest crowds in VMSL history, did not live up to its expectations as neither team seemed very interested in gaining all 3 points. The final result, a 0-0 draw, pretty much reflects to flow of the game as very few goalscoring chances were created by either team. As a result, both teams remain near the bottom of the table in Group ‘B’.

The other Friday evening game, played at Mundy Park in Coquitlam, featured two of the top teams in Group ‘A’: ICSF Inter and the Metro-Ford Wolves. The match fully lived up to its expectations as both teams tried desperately to gain all 3 points. The final 1-1 score probably disappoints both teams but it is the fairest result since neither team deserved to lose a very well-played match. ICSF took the early lead when Kevin Crouch took advantage of some poor communication among Metro-Ford defenders to cleverly chip the ball over Mathew Bird in the Wolves’ net. Metro-Ford came roaring back and nearly tied things up when newcomer Shawn Blakeway rattled a vicious shot off the goalpost. All in all, Inter had most of the play in the first half, while the Wolves replied in kind in the second half and were finally rewarded when Emilio Bottiglieri—last season’s Most Valuable Player—cleverly converted a brilliant cross from Russel Huggon. The tie leaves the Wolves 2 points behind Group ‘A’ leaders Columbus-Clan, while ICSF is uncharacteristically in the middle of the table with 2 consecutive ties.

Oddly, all the other 5 games were played on Saturday! The defending Premier Division champions, Surrey United, travelled to Ambleside Park in West Vancouver to take on the talented, but struggling, West Van FC in a cross-over match. After a scoreless, and uneventful, first half, Surrey took the lead early in the second half as defender Thomas Elliot headed home a fine cross from Jordan Rosenlund for what proved to be the winning goal. Ten minutes later, David Hleucka put the game beyond West Van’s reach by finishing off a nifty maneuver by young Rizal Garrief. The final 2-0 score in favour of the Cloverdale team pretty much told the story of the match as West Van seldom threatened the United defence, making things relatively easy for goalkeeper Paul Shepherd to gain his second straight clean sheet. Surrey United thus remains at the top of the Group ‘B’ table, with a 2-0 record, while West Van is still pointless at the bottom of the Group ‘A’ standings.

Meanwhile, at Adanac Park in Vancouver, Columbus-Clan FC remained unbeaten, and at the top of the Group ‘A’ table, by defeating the very unlucky Croatia SC by a 2-0 margin. Croatia came flying out of the starting gate and created numerous goal-scoring chances in the first half, only to be stymied by some excellent goalkeeping on the part of Frank Mollica. Normally a defender, Mollica was filling in for the absent Luca Dalla Pace and fully deserves full credit for a well-earned shutout. Columbus’ first goal came midway through the first half on a clinical counter-attack as Gino Gaita sent Joe Scigliano down the left flank with a perfectly-executed through ball. Scigliano’s immaculate cross was then easily tapped in by defender Devin Matthews who had streaked down the right flank in anticipation of the cross. Shortly thereafter, Tiernan King converted a penalty kick awarded by the referee when King himself was pulled down by a Croatia defender inside the box. Columbus thus remains in first place in the Group ‘A’ table, with a perfect 2-0 record, while Croatia is struggling near the bottom with only 1 point.

In another Group ‘A’ match, the Norvan Eagles travelled to Hillcrest Park in Vancouver to take on the newly-promoted Vancouver Olympics. The final 3-0 score in favour of the Eagles does not reflect the flow of the match as the game was an evenly-played affair. In fact, it was the Olympics that had the best scoring chance early in the match as the ever-dangerous Frank Randazzo flew in on goal only to miss the net by inches. Just before the halftime whistle, however, Norvan took the lead when Alex Wilson’s clever shot from just outside the penalty area found the top corner of the net. After the interval, the Olympics pushed hard for the equalizer, putting the Norvan defence under some severe pressure but, as luck would have it, James Wilton scored twice in rapid succession to put the game out of the home team’s reach. Wilton’s first goal came on a pass from Jamie Dunnett, while his second was a result of the fine cross by Blake Burgon. Giancarlo Martino preserved his shutout with a phenomenal save very late in the match on a shot by Olympics’ John Paschalidis. The victory evens the Eagles’ record at 1-1, while the Olympics remain pointless with a 0-2 record.

In Group ‘B’ action, Sporting Club remained unbeaten, with a perfect 2-0 record, by virtue of a narrow and hard-fought 1-0 victory over the luckless Firefighters in a match played at South Memorial Park in Vancouver. Neither team created many scoring opportunities as most of the match featured a dour, midfield struggle. Late in the game, a brilliantly-taken free kick by Mark Gomes found an unmarked Matt Omerod whose header beat Firemen’s goalkeeper Ratish Kumar. Defensively, Mike Gomes was outstanding for Sporting Club, while goalkeeper Brian Brum rose to the occasion when he made a spectacular save early in the first half.

Finally, at Queen’s Park Stadium in New Westminster, the defending Province Cup champions Sapperton Rovers edged the very skillful AFC Leopards by a 2-1 margin after an exciting 90 minutes of play. Ted Ullrich opened the scoring for the Rovers on a great individual effort as he beat countless defenders before slotting the ball home. Before the halftime whistle, Paul Favaro added a goal of his own as the Leopards’ defence was caught napping. AFC came roaring back in the second half and dominated proceedings from start to finish. Some excellent defending by the Rovers’ Mike Araszewski and Ed Bradford, as well as a few brilliant saves by goalkeeper Cory Breure, kept the Leopards off the scoresheet until very late in the game when Nico Marcina’s well-taken free kick sailed into the Sapperton net. The result leaves both teams in the middle of the Group ‘B’ pack with identical 1-1 records.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: COLUMBUS-CLAN FC, for the second consecutive time, for their excellent performance in defeating the always tough Croatia SC by a 2-0 margin. Columbus, under the guidance of newly-appointed coach Carmine D’Onofrio, survived some constant pressure from the Croatians and responded with 2 goals by newcomer Devin Matthews and veteran Tiernan King.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sapperton Rovers’ TED ULLRICH for scoring one of the most amazing goals in the VMSL’s history, against the AFC Leopards. Ullrich gained possession of the ball at the halfway line, dribbled by numerous defenders en route to the Leopards’ penalty area before unleashing an unstoppable shot to the far post. For his outstanding performance, TED ULLRICH will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2006-10-05

 

[fuzzy]

For your reading pleasure,

WEEK #3—2006-09-26

The spread between the top and the bottom widened noticeably after last weekend’s activities as the top teams—Columbus-Clan FC and Sporting Club—once again managed to gain all 3 points while the bottom teams continued to struggle. As a result, Columbus and Sporting are now alone in first place in their respective groups with perfect 3-0 records.

On Friday evening, at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby, Sikh Temple hosted the Vancouver Firefighters in a Group ‘B’ match between the two last place teams. Neither team has been able to win a game this season and the 1-1 final score did not alter the situation. The Firemen got off to a great start by controlling the majority of the action in the first half. They were rewarded at the 27th minute mark when a cross by David Pighin was volleyed towards the net by former Whitecap Jeff Skinner. Sikh Temple goalkeeper, Amar Dinza, rose to the occasion by making a phenomenal save only to have Skinner hammer home the rebound. Sikh Temple came roaring back and forced Firemen goalkeeper Mike Frank to make a couple of great saves before the halftime whistle. Early in the second half Sikh Temple’s Dave Samra flicked the ball over Frank’s head for the tying goal. Midway through the second half, Sikh Temple defender Jag Gill received his second caution of the match and was therefore ejected. Despite playing a man short, Sikh Temple still took the match to the Firemen in search of the winning goal. However, some excellent defending by Steve McAuley and Jeff Skinner preserved the tie for the visitors. As a result, both teams are now languishing at the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table with 2 points each.

On Saturday, at North Surrey High School, Indo-Akal FC hosted the Sapperton Rovers in another Group ‘B’ match. Very early in the game, Sapperton defender Ed Bradford was ejected for violent conduct, leaving the Rovers short-handed for the rest of the match. The game opened up even more when, midway through the first half, Indo’s Chris Clarke and Sapperton’s Bryan Wevers were ejected for violent conduct. As a result, Indo-Akal had an edge in play for the remainder of the match, creating better, and more frequent, goal-scoring chances. However, some poor finishing and some outstanding goalkeeping by Sapperton’s Cory Breure kept the game scoreless till the very end. Breure’s finest save came late in the match when he brilliantly stopped a penalty kick by Ian Clarke. At the other end of the park, Didar Sandhu was called upon to make a couple of saves, the most notable coming early in the second half on a Trevor Todd shot. Indo’s Karm Lidder also had a couple of glorious goal-scoring opportunities but narrowly missed the net on one and hit the goalpost on the other. It should be noted, however, that the Rovers had a few great chances of their own as Mike Favaro and Ted Ullrich were unlucky not to score. The 0-0 tie leaves both teams in the middle of the Group ‘B’ pack, Sapperton with 4 points and Indo-Akal with 3. Oddly, Indo-Akal has yet to score a goal this season, having tied every game by a 0-0 scoreline!

Also on Saturday, at Cloverdale Athletic Park, Surrey United hosted Sporting Club in a battle between the two top teams in Group ‘B’. At the end, Sporting Club emerged victorious by a 1-0 margin and thus gained sole possession of first place. Surrey United got off to a blazing start, carving out 3 glorious goal-scoring chances in the first 15 minutes of play. First, Surrey striker Dave Hleuka rushed his shot and sliced it wide of the gaping target. Then, centre-back Tom Elliot found himself wide open on a free kick but flashed his header wide of the net. Finally, forward Dave McPhail inexplicably missed yet another great opportunity from a few metres out. Sporting Club took full advantage of the situation and got the only goal of the match as former Surrey player Ryan Dormer controlled the ball in the middle of the park, beat at least 3 defenders en route to the United penalty area, and proceeded to beat goalkeeper Paul Shepherd with a well-placed low shot for the game’s only tally. Once again, Sporting’s Gomes brothers—Mike and Mark—were outstanding in their defensive and midfield roles. As a result of the victory, Sporting Club is now 3 points clear of Surrey United in the battle for first place in Group ‘B’.

The third Saturday game took place at South Memorial Park in Vancouver between Croatia SC of Group ‘A’ and the AFC Leopards of Group ‘B’. The cross-over match between the two very skillful teams lived up to its expectations and, in the end, the final 2-1 score in favour of Croatia seemed a bit harsh for the very young Leopards. The Leopards took the game to Croatia right from the opening whistle and only a couple of great saves by Croatia’s newly-signed goalkeeper, Drew Smiley, kept the score deadlocked. On a lethal counter-attack Croatia scored the first goal midway through the first half when veteran Darko Jelic finished things off in impeccable fashion. AFC tied things up early in the second half when Andrew Riopel headed home a fine cross by Josh Pescitelli. Shortly thereafter, however, Croatia regained the lead when Mike Masi was tripped inside the AFC penalty area as he was once again demonstrating his immense skills. Aaron Keay blasted the subsequent penalty kick off the crossbar and into the net for the winning goal. Very late in the match, the Leopards were awarded a penalty kick of their own but newcomer Eja-tabe Huffman’s shot was saved by Drew Smiley in fine fashion. The victory improves Croatia’s record to 1-1-1, while AFC is now at 1-2.

The last Saturday game, a Group ‘A’ affair between two struggling teams, took place at West Vancouver’s Ambleside Park and featured West Van FC and the newly-promoted Vancouver Olympics. West Van took advantage of the Olympics’ inexperience and took over the reins of the match right from the opening whistle. Young Ken Kienzle opened the scoring midway through the first half when he converted a great pass by Sean Taylor. A few minutes later, veteran Mike Dodd slotted home the insurance marker on a fine solo effort. The Olympics’ goalkeeper, Marco D’Andrea, rose to the occasion several times to keep the score reasonably close as West Van continued to dominate for most of the game. The victory elevates West Van out of last place, while the Olympics remain mired at the bottom of the Group ‘A’ table with no points after 3 matches.

On Sunday, at Adanac Park in Vancouver, ICSF Inter continued to impress by defeating the very young and inexperienced Norvan Eagles by a 2-0 margin in a Group ‘A’ match. Andrew Corazza opened the scoring at the 27th minute mark, while Joseph Marrello got the insurance marker midway through the second half on a fine setup by Kevin Crouch. Inter’s Mike Tempesta continued to impress on the left flank with his amazing work rate and blinding speed. Thus, ICSF remains unbeaten in the Group ‘A’ table, with a record a 1-2-0, while Norvan slips to 1-0-2 in the same group.

Finally, on Sunday at Hastings Bowl, Columbus-Clan FC remained unbeaten and at the top of the Group ‘A’ standings as a result of a 2-0 victory over the Metro-Ford Wolves. New arrival Steve DeBlasio proved to be the difference in the very well-played and highly-competitive match as he scored twice in rapid succession near the end of the first half. DeBlasio’s first goal came when he took advantage of a Gino Gaita flicked ball to unleash a thunderous shot to the top corner of the Metro-Ford net, giving goalkeeper Misho Dobrozdravich no change whatsoever. Shortly thereafter, DeBlasio was sent down the right flank by Tiernan King, beat a couple of Metro-Ford defenders, and calmly deposited the ball into the net. Metro-Ford came battling back and were unfortunate not to score on a couple of occasions, particularly on a Richard Norman lob shot and an Azad Palani header. The late ejection of Palani did not deter the Wolves’ effort to get back into the game, but the Columbus defensive core, composed of Tony Gaita, Darren Nott, Devin Matthews, and Fredrick Gumpel, held on and protected Luca Dalla Pace’s shutout. As a result of the victory, Columbus is now all alone in first place in Group ‘A’, while Metro-Ford slips to third place with Croatia SC.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: SPORTING CLUB for their narrow, but well-deserved, 1-0 victory over the defending VMSL champions, Surrey United. Sporting, led by the excellent play of Mike Gomes and Mark Gomes, survived some early pressure from Surrey United, but bounced back in fine fashion with a great goal by Ryan Dormer.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Columbus-Clan’s STEVE DEBLASIO for his brilliant performance in his team’s 2-0 victory over the Metro-Ford Wolves. DeBlasio scored both goals in the evenly played contest, both on great shots from the edge of the penalty area. For his outstanding performance, STEVE DEBLAIO will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2006-10-12.

 

[knvb]

Rubbish

For the record it wasn't me who "rushed my shot and sliced it wide of the gaping target." I was the one inexplicably missing yet another great opportunity from a few metres out. These sladerous write-ups are ruining my reputation...

BTW, for all those looking to slow down the Gomes Brothers I found a way...


I call it the Atomic Gomesy.

 

[knvb]

Jergins

It's alright, I sorted him out after...

 

[Zaurrini]

I am surprised the Zidane look-a-like didnt reply with a

if you want my shirt, I'll give it to you after the match

 

[gomesy_jr]

Wow, that write up about our game seems a little biased. 3 glorious chances for Surrey in the first 15min???? If that's the case, than we had 3 or 4 glorious oppurtunities in the second half. In my opinion, both teams had 1 glorious chance to score and a bunch of half chances throughout the game. Both teams missed their glorious chance, and we scored on a great individual effort from Ryan Dormer after a give and go with Matt Omerod.

Those pictures are hilarious though!

Gomesy

 

[knvb]

Once again the rich got richer and the poor got poorer as the gap between the top and the bottom continued to widen. In Group ‘A’, in particular, Columbus-Clan FC remained in first place—with a perfect 4-0 record—with yet another decisive victory, this one at the expense of the Norvan Eagles. On the other hand, the Vancouver Olympics continued to struggle and thus remained pointless after a 6-0 shellacking at the hands of second place ICSF Inter. In Group ‘B’ things got a little tighter at the top as Sporting Club was held to a scoreless draw by the AFC Leopards, while the Sapperton Rovers drew closer by defeating the last place Sikh Temple 3-1. It should be noted that the Rovers, along with the Vancouver Firefighters, will represent BC in the Canadian National championships this week. The round-robin portion of the tournament will begin on Wednesday, October 4 at Newton Athletic Park while the final is slated for Monday, October 9, also at Newton Athletic Park. GOOD LUCK TO BOTH OUR TEAMS!!!

On Friday evening, at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby, Sporting Club hosted the AFC Leopards in a Group ‘B’ match between two of the pre-season leading contenders for the VMSL title. Sporting’s fine defensive core, led by brothers Mark and Mike Gomes, left the Leopards with very few scoring chances. The final 0-0 result was probably a fair one even though Sporting had the best goal-scoring opportunity late in the match when Stedman Espinosa fired a wicked shot just wide of the net. The tie leaves Sporting alone at the top of the standings, with a 3-1-0 record, 3 points ahead of the Sapperton Rovers. AFC, on the other hand, remains in the middle of the table with 4 points after 4 games.

Also on Friday evening, at Mundy Park #4 in Coquitlam, the Metro-Ford Wolves played Indo-Akal FC in the cross-over match. The Group ‘A’ Wolves emerged victorious by a narrow 1-0 margin despite the fact that Indo-Akal had its fair share of the play, particularly in the second half. Metro-Ford got off to a flying start, displaying concise passing, aggressive play, and blinding speed. The Wolves were rewarded at the 25sth minute mark when Richard Norman headed home a fine cross from Emilio Bottiglieri for what proved to be the game’s lone goal. In the second half, the teams reversed roles as Indo-Akal, led by the excellent play of Paul Bolina and Marcelo Giunto, took over the reins of the match and came close to tying the game on several occasions. However, the Metro-Ford defence—anchored by Brook Scott and Kingsley Jones—stood firm and preserved the shutout for goalkeeper Mat Bird. Special mention should also be made of Indo’s defender Jas Singh and Metro-Ford midfielder Andrew Veer for their fine performances. The victory improves the Wolves’ record to 2-1-1 in the Group ‘A’ standings, while Indo-Akal remains only point ahead of Sikh Temple at the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table.

On Saturday, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the Firefighters held the defending VMSL champions, Surrey United, to a 2-2 stalemate. The Firemen took a 2-0 lead late in the first half on goals by Karl Sandberg—who took advantage of some sloppy defending by the Cloverdale team—and Jeff Skinner—on a brilliantly-taken free kick. The Cloverdale-based team came roaring back and narrowed the margin just before the halftime whistle when young Harpreet Khakh capitalized on a poor Firemen clearance. The second half belonged entirely to the Surrey lads as they surged forward in search of the equalizer. At about the 65th minute, after a madhouse scramble inside the Firefighters’ box, Surrey’s Robbie Wilson was finally able to knock home the tying goal. It should be noted that Steve McAuley was rock-solid on the Firemen’s backline throughout the match but particularly in the second half when Surrey United came surging forward in search of the victory. The single point leaves the Firemen near the bottom of the table with only 3 points, while Surrey United is still 3 points shy of the lead in Group ‘B’ with a rather disappointing 2-1-1 record.

Also on Saturday, at Queen’s Park Stadium in New Westminster, the Sapperton Rovers met the newly promoted Sikh Temple and emerged 3-1 victors after a spirited and well played match. The Rovers rested a number of their starters for the upcoming National Championship and gave several youngsters a chance to prove themselves. The plan almost back-fired as the young Sikh Temple team withstood some Sapperton pressure in the first half and took the lead early in the second half on a fine goal by Chetan Jhooty as he took advantage of a miscue by Cam Taylor to score the go-ahead goal. The turning point of the match came at the 60th minute mark when Sapperton goalkeeper Cory Breure made an outstanding save as Chetan Jhooty capitalized on an uncharacteristic defensive error by Kent Waechter before shooting at the Sapperton net from point blank range. At this point the Rovers exerted a great deal of pressure in search of the tying goal but Sikh Temple, led by the phenomenal goalkeeping performance of 16-year old Harkaram Shergill, kept Sapperton off the scoreboard until the 75th minute mark when Cam Taylor made amends for his previous blunder by racing in on the right flank and unleashing a wicked shot that Shergill found impossible to hold. Alex Jappy simply tapped the ball home for the tying goal. Shortly thereafter, Trevor Todd was sent in all alone by a brilliant pass from Colin Phillips and calmly slotted the ball in the net from close range. Veteran Ryan McNabb rounded out the scoring very late in the match when he was tripped inside the penalty area by Shergill, took the penalty kick himself, and—after Shergill had made yet another fantastic save—picked up his own rebound and scored the insurance marker. The victory puts the Rovers in second place—tied with Surrey United—3 points behind Group ‘B’ leaders Sporting Club. Sikh Temple, on the other hand, remains in last place with only 2 points after 4 games.

The third Saturday match took place at Hillcrest Park in Vancouver between the newly-promoted Vancouver Olympics and the heavily-favoured ICSF Inter. Inter maintained its impressive unbeaten record by demolishing the Olympics by a lop-sided 6-0 margin. Inter was led by an extraordinary performance by striker Andrew Corazza who had a part in all 6 goals, scoring 4 and brilliantly assisting on the other 2. The first goal came at the 15th minute mark when defender Scott Spracklin headed home a well-taken corner kick by Corazza. Then, just before the halftime whistle, Corazza converted a great pass by Joseph Marrello for the second ICSF goal. Despite the 2-0 lead, Inter was somewhat fortunate since the Olympics had their share of goalscoring opportunities in the first half. The floodgates, however, opened in the second half as Inter totally dominated proceedings from beginning to end. Very early in the second half, Corazza unleashed a wicked left-footed rocket into the top corner of the Olympics’ net for Inter’s 3rd goal. Immediately thereafter, defender Matt Judd headed home yet another fine cross from Corazza. At the 62nd minute mark, Corazza took advantage of some disorganization in the Olympics’ wall to hammer home his third goal of the game from a direct free kick from just outside the box. Corazza’s fourth goal—and Inter’s 6th and final marker—came at the 75th minute mark as he danced around a beleaguered Olympics’ goalkeeper before slotting the ball home. The clear-cut victory leaves Inter in second place in the Group ‘A’ table with an unbeaten record of 2-2-0, while the Olympics are mired in last place with zero points after 4 games.

On Sunday, at Kinsman Stadium in North Vancouver, the Norvan Eagles took on the seemingly unbeatable Columbus-Clan FC in a Group ‘A’ match. The final result, a 3-0 victory for Columbus, does not tell the entire story of the game as the underdog Eagles had their fair share of goalscoring opportunities, particularly in the first half. Norvan defender James Docherty was outstanding as he organized his backline brilliantly during the first 45 minutes of play. The Eagles were unlucky not to take the halftime lead as speedy Blake Burgon unleashed a powerful shot that bounced off the crossbar with the Columbus goalkeeper well beaten. In the second half, the more experienced Columbus began to break down the youthful Eagles and nearly took the lead at the 60th minute when young veteran Tiernan King glanced a clever shot off the near post. The late insertion of player-coach Carmine D’Onofrio paid immense dividends as he set up Joe Scigliano for the opening goal. Scigliano beat a poorly-executed Norvan off-side trap before calmly depositing the ball in the net for the winning goal. Moments later, D’Onofrio once again played a part in a Columbus goal as he sent Steve DeBlasio streaking down the right flank with an immaculate pass. DeBlasio proceeded to set up late substitute Robbie Cairns for the insurance marker. The third, and final, Columbus goal was a thing of beauty as team captain Tony Gaita raced the length of the field, beat several defenders, rounded the Norvan goalkeeper before scoring into the empty net. Overall, Columbus deserved the victory, although the upstart Eagles made the favourites work for it. As a result, Columbus remains firmly in first place in Group ‘A’, while Norvan is near the bottom of the table in the same group.

Finally, on Sunday at Adanac Park in Vancouver, Croatia SC remained in contention for the Group ‘A’ title with a remarkable come-from-behind 4-2 victory over the visiting West Van FC. The first half was dominated by the former Trollers as they took the game to the younger Croatians with a dominant display of physical, attacking soccer. At the 20th minute mark, West Van took a well-deserved lead as Jesse Fetterley took advantage of some miscommunication among the Croatia defenders before chipping the ball over the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Drew Smiley. Late in the first half, a lethal counter-attack gave Croatia a breath of fresh air as Tom Babic was fouled inside the West Van penalty box resulting in young Adrian Kekec scoring the tying goal. Two significant things happened before the halftime whistle: first, Croatia’s Marinko Maras was issued his second caution of the match—resulting in his ejection from the game; and secondly, West Van took advantage of the situation by scoring the go-ahead goal just before the halftime whistle when defender Mike Kovac inadvertently misplayed a rather harmless Mike Dodd cross into his own net behind a bewildered Drew Smiley. Things did not look good for the Croatians at the break as they trailed by a goal and had to play the second half with only 10 men. However, an inspirational and motivational speech by coach Metro Gerela seemed to have the desired effect as Croatia took over the reins of the match during the entire second half and totally dominated proceedings. Croatia wasted no time in tying the game as Adrian Kekec was sprung loose by a great pass by Tony Dall’Antonio. Kekec raced in all alone and proceeded to tie the game with a well-placed shot at the near post. Kekec was involved in the winning goal midway through the second half as he set up an unmarked Vince Peragine who half-volleyed the ball into the top corner of the net. At this point, West Van seemed to wake up and tried desperately to get the equalizer, but some excellent goalkeeping on the part of Drew Smiley kept the visitors off the scoresheet. Late in the game, on another lethal counter-attack, Bryan Jacoboni’s long ball found a streaking Aaron Keay down the left flank. Keay beat a defender and set up Kekec for his third goal of the game. The well-deserved victory puts Croatia in third place in the Group ‘A’ table, while West Van is still near the bottom of the same group.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: CROATIA SC for its amazing come-from-behind 4-2 victory over the visiting West Van FC. Trailing 2-1 at halftime, and playing with only 10 men, the Croatians were inspired by coach Metro Gerela halftime speech and came back to beat West Van 4-2.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: ICSF Inter’s ANDREW CORAZZA for his amazing performance in his team’s 6-0 victory over the Vancouver Olympics. Corazza not only scored 4 goals—thus taking over the lead in the GOLDEN BOOT AWARD standings—but he also set up the other 2! For his outstanding performance, ANDREW CORAZZA will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2006-10-19.


Corazza gets the pie with his 4 goals... I think Kekec with his 3 while a man down probably deserved the nod.

 

[Regs]

I can't believe The Apprentice is in the Croats line-up!

 

[BJB]

WEEK #5—2006-10-10

Things got tighter at the top of the Group ‘A’ table as 4 teams—Columbus, ICSF, Croatia, and Metro-Ford—are now within 2 points of each other! In Group ‘B’, however, things remained the same as a result of a multitude of ties and the postponement of the Sapperton Rovers – Firefighters match—due to the fact that both teams were participating in the Canadian National championships. On that note, neither one of our teams did as well as expected with the Rovers finishing 5th overall and the Firefighters ending up in 8th place.

On Friday evening, at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby, the cross-over match between 2 struggling teams—Sikh Temple and Norvan—ended in a 2-2 tie, a result that helps neither team. Sikh Temple took the early lead when Chetan Jhooty took advantage of a Norvan defensive blunder before depositing the ball in the back of the net. Norvan fought back and finally got the equalizer late in the first half when a nifty passing play between James Docherty and Sean Regan led to 16-year old Devin Gunenc scoring his first VMSL goal on a brilliant header. The second half saw both teams attacking ferociously in search of the go-ahead goal. The Eagles were finally able to break the deadlock when Blake Burgon eluded the Sikh Temple off-side trap, raced in all alone and scored with a well-placed near post shot. Sikh Temple bounced back, however, and equalized very late in the game as Joey Brar finished off a remarkable individual effort with an unstoppable shot at the far post. The tie leaves both teams near the bottom of their respective groups.

On Saturday, at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, the Metro-Ford Wolves defeated West Van FC 3-1 in a very physical, but not very well played, encounter. The Wolves took the lead midway through the first half on a diving header by Russel Huggon as he converted a great cross from Emilio Bottiglieri. The former Trollers had a couple of glorious goal-scoring opportunities in the first half but the goalpost got in the way of shots by Sean Taylor and Jesse Fetterley. Early in the second half, Bottiglieri converted a free kick from the edge of the penalty area for what proved to be the winning goal. Shortly thereafter, West Van’s best player on the day, Jesse Fetterley, narrowed the margin with a well-executed goal, only to have Richard Price restore the Metro-Ford margin of victory with a bizarre, bouncing shot that eluded a couple of defenders as well as West Van’s goalkeeper, Steve London. As a result of the victory, the Wolves remain in contention for the Group ‘A’ title, while West Van is still near the bottom of the table with only 3 points.

Also on Saturday, at North Surrey High School, Indo-Akal FC held the heavily-favoured Sporting Club to a 1-1 tie in a Group ‘B’ match. Indo goalkeeper Didar Sandhu was the main reason for the draw as he single-handedly kept the Sporting attackers at bay with several outstanding saves throughout the match. As luck would have it, it was Indo-Akal that took the early lead as Surinder Jhanda slotted a well-placed header into the Sporting net from a clever Bill Shokar flick. Just before the halftime whistle, however, Sporting tied things up when long throw-in by Matt Omerod sent Stedman Espinoza flying towards goal. Espinoza proceeded to beat a couple of defenders before depositing the ball behind Sandhu. As a result of the tie, Sporting Club remains in first place in the Group ‘B’ standings, 3 points ahead of Surrey United, while Indo-Akal is near the bottom, with only 4 points.

The last Saturday game was played at South Memorial Park in Vancouver and featured the AFC Leopards and Surrey United in another Group ‘B’ match. The final result, a 1-1 tie, did not help either team in their quest to catch Sporting Club at the top of the table. After a rather exciting, but scoreless, first half, the Leopards took the lead early in the second half on a goal by Andrew Riopel. Near the end of the match, however, Surrey’s Thomas Elliot equalized on one of his patented headers. Surrey United remains 3 points behind Sporting Club as a result of the tie, while AFC is still in the middle of the Group ‘B’ table.

On Sunday, at Adanac Park in Vancouver, Croatia SC hosted the pointless, and desperate, Vancouver Olympics. As usual, Croatia got off to a slow start and almost surrendered an early goal when a blistering shot by Marco Mirisklavos was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Drew Smiley. The Croatians, however, settled down midway through the first half and slowly began to take the momentum away from the Olympics. However, it wasn’t until the 40th minute that Croatia was able to break the deadlock. Young Adrian Kekec was able to fire an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box after having beaten a couple of Olympics’ defenders. The second half belonged entirely to Croatia as attested by the final 3-0 score. Kekec added his second goal of the match when he received a clever pass from Aaron Keay and then completed his hat-trick—also from a pass by Keay. It should be noted that this is Kekec’s second consecutive hat-trick! Special mention should be made of the remarkable play of defender Jasdeep Toor of the Vancouver Olympics. The victory keeps Croatia in the running for top spot in Group ‘A’, while the Olympics are still mired in last place in the same group.

Finally, on Sunday at Hastings Bowl in Vancouver, the ‘Italian Derby’ took place between the first-place, and unbeaten, Columbus-Clan FC and the aspiring ICSF Inter. In actual fact, we should have said previously unbeaten Columbus-Clan FC since Inter was able to defeat the home team by a narrow, and hard-earned, 2-1 margin. The game was very entertaining for the numerous spectators as both teams tried desperately to gain an edge that would provide them with all 3 points. After several goalscoring opportunities had gone awry at both ends of the pitch, ICSF took the lead midway through the first half when Laurent Scaligine sent a brilliant cross to the far post that Andrew Corazza headed past substitute goalkeeper Carlo Bertelli. It should be mentioned that Columbus’ regular netminder, Luca Dalla Pace, was injured, and forced to leave the field, after a collision with Inter’s Joseph Marrello. Minutes later, Columbus tied things up as a free kick by Craig Richards deflected off the defensive wall past a bewildered Dennis Kindel. The second half continued to produce some exciting end-to-end action as both teams seemed unsatisfied with the tie. At about the 65th minute mark, Corazza and Scaligine reversed roles when Kevin Crouch set up Corazza with a great pass. Corazza unselfishly laid the ball off to an unmarked Scaligine who quickly converted it into the winning goal. ICSF thus remains unbeaten, albeit still in second place in the Group ‘A’ standings—one point behind Columbus and one point ahead of Croatia SC and the Metro-Ford Wolves.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: ICSF INTER for its excellent performance in defeating arch-rivals Columbus-Clan FC by a narrow 2-1 margin. The victory leaves Inter only one point behind Columbus in the Group ‘A’ standings.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Croatia SC’s ADRIAN KEKEC for his second consecutive hat-trick performance in his team’s 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Olympics. As a result of having scored all 3 goals, Kekec is now tied with Andrew Corazza for the lead in the GOLDEN BOOT AWARD standings. For his outstanding performance, ADRIAN KEKEC will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2006-10-26.