MarcusDeltaMetroUnited
New Member
is deltra metro united not in this league
Welcome to the TTP community
Be apart of something great, join today!
Weekly Review Azzi's Week In Review - 2006/2007
- Thread starter gilly
- Start date
- Status
Captain Shamrock
Well-Known Member
MarcusDeltaMetroUnited said:
Yes, they are, Fanny Baws.
WEEK #6—2006-10-17
The 6th week of the VMSL’s 2006-07 schedule featured a couple of upsets and the postponement of a very important cross-over match. As a result, the standings changed somewhat, although the leaders—Columbus-Clan FC and Sporting Club—remained at the top of their respective groups. The major upset took place Saturday at Cloverdale Athletic Park when the struggling Indo-Akal FC defeated the aspiring Surrey United by a rather decisive 3-1 score. The all-important cross-over match between Group ‘A’ ICSF Inter and Group ‘B’ Sapperton Rovers—both challengers for the crown—was postponed due to the unplayability of the Adanac Park field. Oddly, it was the only match to be postponed during the entire weekend!
On Friday evening, at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby, Sporting Club continued its impressive unbeaten streak by decisively beating the last place Sikh Temple by a 5-2 score. Sporting Club got off to a slow start and uncharacteristically surrendered 2 first half goals—twice as many as Sporting has yielded all year long—and trailed 2-1 at the half. Abdul (Zico) Najm scored both Sikh Temple goals, while Ryan Dormer headed home a great cross by Stedman Espinoza to temporarily tie the game midway through the first half. The second half belonged entirely to Sporting Club as Ryan Dormer equalized the score after taking advantage of a blatant defensive error. Meysam Soltani added a couple of goals of his own and then proceeded to set up Stedman Espinoza for the 5th, and final, marker. The victory leaves Sporting Club solidly in first place in the Group ‘B’ table, 7 points ahead of the idle Sapperton Rovers. It should be noted that Sapperton has 2 games in hand and that the two teams will play each other this coming weekend—on Saturday at Queen’s Park Stadium in New Westminster. The loss leaves Sikh Temple mired in last place, with only 3 points.
Also on Friday evening, at Mundy Park in Coquitlam, a very large and noisy crowd witnessed a minor upset as Croatia SC edged the host Metro-Ford Wolves by a 1-0 margin. The first half featured a lot of offensive action as both teams threw caution to the wind in search of the all-important first goal. As luck would have it, however, the first—and only—goal came right at the stroke of halftime when young Marinko Maras made an excellent run down the left flank and sent an impeccable cross onto the path of Tom Babic who one-timed the dropping ball into the back of the net behind a bewildered Mat Bird. In the second half, the Croatians—plagued by numerous injuries—were forced to defend for the entire 45 minutes as the Wolves—led by midfielders Andrew Veer and Richard Price—came surging forward in search of the elusive equalizer. Some brilliant goalkeeping by Drew Smiley and superlative defending by Bryan Jacoboni, however, kept the vaunted Metro-Ford attack at bay. The result keeps Croatia SC in the running for the Group ‘A’ title, 2 points behind Columbus-Clan, while the Wolves are now sitting in the middle of the pack.
On Saturday, at Cloverdale Athletic Park, Surrey United dropped a 3-1 decision to the visiting Indo-Akal FC in a Group ‘B’ match. The defending VMSL Premier Division champions got off to a good start and deservedly took the lead at the 20th minute mark when young striker Rizal Ganief hammered a blistering shot from the edge of the penalty area into the top corner of the net past a stunned Didar Sandhu. However, Surrey United’s joy was short-lived as Indo-Akal equalized a couple of minutes later when a low shot by Kyle McDiarmid—on a set-up by Karm Lidder—somehow squeezed past goalkeeper Paul Shepherd. Shortly after the break, the Cloverdale-based team missed a golden opportunity to regain the lead when Ganief broke in all alone but was thwarted by a great save by Sandhu. At this point, Indo-Akal started taking control of the match and was rewarded when Chris Clarke eluded a couple of Surrey United defenders and found the corner of the net with a well-placed shot. Soon thereafter, Karm Lidder capped off an excellent individual performance by calmly slotting home the third Indo-Akal goal. The remainder of the match was rather uneventful as Indo-Akal, led by Raju Chohan and Harbinder Chohan, defended its lead very effectively,. The result leaves both teams in the middle of the pack in Group ‘B’.
Also on Saturday, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the AFC Leopards defeated the struggling Vancouver Firefighters by a rather comfortable 3-1 margin. The Leopards got off to a great start as they took advantage of 2 defensive blunders to take a 2-0 lead—on goals by Nico Marcina and Omari Aldridge--into the dressing room at the halftime break. The Firemen tried hard to bounce back in the second half, particularly after veteran AFC defender Kevan Cameron was expelled from the game for having received his second caution in the match. However, a third AFC goal, again by Nico Marcina, took the wind out the Firefighters’ sails and clinched the Leopards’ well-deserved victory. The Firemen did manage to score a consolation goal late in the game when Karl Sandberg got the final touch in a goal-mouth scramble. The victory evens the Leopards’ record at 2-2-2, while the Fireman remain near the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table with a mediocre 0-3-2 record.
On Sunday, at Kinsman Stadium in North Vancouver, the Norvan Eagles met West Van FC in a crucial battle between two struggling teams. The Eagles got off to a very good start and came close to scoring on a few occasions, mainly on efforts by Alex Wilson and Danny Muir. Midway through the first half, Norvan took the lead when Nick Seddon—aided and abetted by Greg Muir and Tony Seddon—scored what proved to be the winning goal on a cracking, dipping shot that hit the underside of the crossbar before bouncing into the net. At this point, West Van pushed forward in search of the tying goal, but some stout defending by James Docherty and Matt Brewster—as well as fine goalkeeping by Giancarlo Martino—kept the visitors off the scoresheet. After the interval, both teams locked horns and cancelled each other out with very few goalscoring opportunities being created. The Eagles’ speedy Sean Regan, however, created the insurance marker when he set up James Wilton who simply tapped the ball into the net to put the game out of West Van’s reach. As a result of the well-earned victory, the Eagles now find themselves in the middle of the Group ‘A’ pack, while West Van is only 3 points clear of last place in the same group.
Finally, on Sunday at Hastings Bowl in Vancouver, Group ‘A’ leading Columbus-Clan FC took on the last place Vancouver Olympics and walked away with a rather easy 4-1 victory. Joe Scigliano took advantage of a defensive mix-up to score the first goal for Columbus and added the second off a goalmouth scramble late in the first half. Early in the second half, the Olympics narrowed the margin when Tony Thandi unleashed a powerful free kick from the edge of the penalty box, a shot that found the back of the Columbus net. Columbus restored its 2-goal lead from a well-executed corner kick that saw Steve DeBlasio lay the ball off to Craig Richards who proceeded to fire a low, curling shot into the far post of the net. Joe Scigliano then completed his hat-trick when he received a perforct pass from John Chou, raced in all alone and fired a shot into the net from just outside the penalty area. The victory maintains Columbus’ stronghold on first place in Group ‘A’ while the Olympics are still pointless in the same group.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: INDO-AKAL FC for its excellent performance in defeating the heavily favoured Surrey United by a convincing 3-1 margin. As a result of the victory, Indo-Akal is now in the middle of the Group ‘B’ table and out of the dreaded relegation zone!
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Croatia SC’s BRYAN JACOBONI for his magnificent defensive performance in his team’s hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Metro-Ford Wolves. Time after time, Jacoboni thwarted the vaunted Metro-Ford attackers and assisted enormously to his team’s victory. Also, Columbus’ JOE SCIGLIANO for his brilliant 3-goal effort in his team’s 4-1 victory over Indo-Akal FC. For their outstanding performances, JACOBONI and SCIGLIANO will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2006-11-02.
The 6th week of the VMSL’s 2006-07 schedule featured a couple of upsets and the postponement of a very important cross-over match. As a result, the standings changed somewhat, although the leaders—Columbus-Clan FC and Sporting Club—remained at the top of their respective groups. The major upset took place Saturday at Cloverdale Athletic Park when the struggling Indo-Akal FC defeated the aspiring Surrey United by a rather decisive 3-1 score. The all-important cross-over match between Group ‘A’ ICSF Inter and Group ‘B’ Sapperton Rovers—both challengers for the crown—was postponed due to the unplayability of the Adanac Park field. Oddly, it was the only match to be postponed during the entire weekend!
On Friday evening, at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby, Sporting Club continued its impressive unbeaten streak by decisively beating the last place Sikh Temple by a 5-2 score. Sporting Club got off to a slow start and uncharacteristically surrendered 2 first half goals—twice as many as Sporting has yielded all year long—and trailed 2-1 at the half. Abdul (Zico) Najm scored both Sikh Temple goals, while Ryan Dormer headed home a great cross by Stedman Espinoza to temporarily tie the game midway through the first half. The second half belonged entirely to Sporting Club as Ryan Dormer equalized the score after taking advantage of a blatant defensive error. Meysam Soltani added a couple of goals of his own and then proceeded to set up Stedman Espinoza for the 5th, and final, marker. The victory leaves Sporting Club solidly in first place in the Group ‘B’ table, 7 points ahead of the idle Sapperton Rovers. It should be noted that Sapperton has 2 games in hand and that the two teams will play each other this coming weekend—on Saturday at Queen’s Park Stadium in New Westminster. The loss leaves Sikh Temple mired in last place, with only 3 points.
Also on Friday evening, at Mundy Park in Coquitlam, a very large and noisy crowd witnessed a minor upset as Croatia SC edged the host Metro-Ford Wolves by a 1-0 margin. The first half featured a lot of offensive action as both teams threw caution to the wind in search of the all-important first goal. As luck would have it, however, the first—and only—goal came right at the stroke of halftime when young Marinko Maras made an excellent run down the left flank and sent an impeccable cross onto the path of Tom Babic who one-timed the dropping ball into the back of the net behind a bewildered Mat Bird. In the second half, the Croatians—plagued by numerous injuries—were forced to defend for the entire 45 minutes as the Wolves—led by midfielders Andrew Veer and Richard Price—came surging forward in search of the elusive equalizer. Some brilliant goalkeeping by Drew Smiley and superlative defending by Bryan Jacoboni, however, kept the vaunted Metro-Ford attack at bay. The result keeps Croatia SC in the running for the Group ‘A’ title, 2 points behind Columbus-Clan, while the Wolves are now sitting in the middle of the pack.
On Saturday, at Cloverdale Athletic Park, Surrey United dropped a 3-1 decision to the visiting Indo-Akal FC in a Group ‘B’ match. The defending VMSL Premier Division champions got off to a good start and deservedly took the lead at the 20th minute mark when young striker Rizal Ganief hammered a blistering shot from the edge of the penalty area into the top corner of the net past a stunned Didar Sandhu. However, Surrey United’s joy was short-lived as Indo-Akal equalized a couple of minutes later when a low shot by Kyle McDiarmid—on a set-up by Karm Lidder—somehow squeezed past goalkeeper Paul Shepherd. Shortly after the break, the Cloverdale-based team missed a golden opportunity to regain the lead when Ganief broke in all alone but was thwarted by a great save by Sandhu. At this point, Indo-Akal started taking control of the match and was rewarded when Chris Clarke eluded a couple of Surrey United defenders and found the corner of the net with a well-placed shot. Soon thereafter, Karm Lidder capped off an excellent individual performance by calmly slotting home the third Indo-Akal goal. The remainder of the match was rather uneventful as Indo-Akal, led by Raju Chohan and Harbinder Chohan, defended its lead very effectively,. The result leaves both teams in the middle of the pack in Group ‘B’.
Also on Saturday, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the AFC Leopards defeated the struggling Vancouver Firefighters by a rather comfortable 3-1 margin. The Leopards got off to a great start as they took advantage of 2 defensive blunders to take a 2-0 lead—on goals by Nico Marcina and Omari Aldridge--into the dressing room at the halftime break. The Firemen tried hard to bounce back in the second half, particularly after veteran AFC defender Kevan Cameron was expelled from the game for having received his second caution in the match. However, a third AFC goal, again by Nico Marcina, took the wind out the Firefighters’ sails and clinched the Leopards’ well-deserved victory. The Firemen did manage to score a consolation goal late in the game when Karl Sandberg got the final touch in a goal-mouth scramble. The victory evens the Leopards’ record at 2-2-2, while the Fireman remain near the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table with a mediocre 0-3-2 record.
On Sunday, at Kinsman Stadium in North Vancouver, the Norvan Eagles met West Van FC in a crucial battle between two struggling teams. The Eagles got off to a very good start and came close to scoring on a few occasions, mainly on efforts by Alex Wilson and Danny Muir. Midway through the first half, Norvan took the lead when Nick Seddon—aided and abetted by Greg Muir and Tony Seddon—scored what proved to be the winning goal on a cracking, dipping shot that hit the underside of the crossbar before bouncing into the net. At this point, West Van pushed forward in search of the tying goal, but some stout defending by James Docherty and Matt Brewster—as well as fine goalkeeping by Giancarlo Martino—kept the visitors off the scoresheet. After the interval, both teams locked horns and cancelled each other out with very few goalscoring opportunities being created. The Eagles’ speedy Sean Regan, however, created the insurance marker when he set up James Wilton who simply tapped the ball into the net to put the game out of West Van’s reach. As a result of the well-earned victory, the Eagles now find themselves in the middle of the Group ‘A’ pack, while West Van is only 3 points clear of last place in the same group.
Finally, on Sunday at Hastings Bowl in Vancouver, Group ‘A’ leading Columbus-Clan FC took on the last place Vancouver Olympics and walked away with a rather easy 4-1 victory. Joe Scigliano took advantage of a defensive mix-up to score the first goal for Columbus and added the second off a goalmouth scramble late in the first half. Early in the second half, the Olympics narrowed the margin when Tony Thandi unleashed a powerful free kick from the edge of the penalty box, a shot that found the back of the Columbus net. Columbus restored its 2-goal lead from a well-executed corner kick that saw Steve DeBlasio lay the ball off to Craig Richards who proceeded to fire a low, curling shot into the far post of the net. Joe Scigliano then completed his hat-trick when he received a perforct pass from John Chou, raced in all alone and fired a shot into the net from just outside the penalty area. The victory maintains Columbus’ stronghold on first place in Group ‘A’ while the Olympics are still pointless in the same group.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: INDO-AKAL FC for its excellent performance in defeating the heavily favoured Surrey United by a convincing 3-1 margin. As a result of the victory, Indo-Akal is now in the middle of the Group ‘B’ table and out of the dreaded relegation zone!
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Croatia SC’s BRYAN JACOBONI for his magnificent defensive performance in his team’s hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Metro-Ford Wolves. Time after time, Jacoboni thwarted the vaunted Metro-Ford attackers and assisted enormously to his team’s victory. Also, Columbus’ JOE SCIGLIANO for his brilliant 3-goal effort in his team’s 4-1 victory over Indo-Akal FC. For their outstanding performances, JACOBONI and SCIGLIANO will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2006-11-02.
- Admin
- #26
The Superlative Apprentice!
How the hell does Indo get team of the week when they let co-player of the week Scigs score a hatty? Tell Azzi to lay off the hippy lettuce (or is that how TA got the nod - sharing is good)
How the hell does Indo get team of the week when they let co-player of the week Scigs score a hatty? Tell Azzi to lay off the hippy lettuce (or is that how TA got the nod - sharing is good)
It's funny how there are co-players of the week.
Jacoboni is well deserving of the pizza!! Solid game. But Scigs with a Hat-trick gets one too?? Yet the 2 weeks before Kekec's get a hat-trick with his team being one man short against west van and deosnt' get a mention?? I thought it was player of the week, not players!! Well done Jac!!!!
Jacoboni is well deserving of the pizza!! Solid game. But Scigs with a Hat-trick gets one too?? Yet the 2 weeks before Kekec's get a hat-trick with his team being one man short against west van and deosnt' get a mention?? I thought it was player of the week, not players!! Well done Jac!!!!
Captain Shamrock
Well-Known Member
bulljive, you should at least become an average player before you start calling other teams shite. BTW, who have you ever played for?
Dairy Queen United Bulljive
Dairy Queen United Bulljive
WEEK #7—2006-10-24
Two huge upsets, and a couple of minor ones, took place this past weekend proving once again that the disparity among VMSL Premier teams is not as pronounced as some people believe. The upsets did not have a major impact on the standings although ICSF Inter is now only one point behind Columbus-Clan FC in the Group ‘A’ table, with one game in hand. In Group ‘B’, Sporting Club remains 4 points clear of Surrey United, while Indo-Akal—as a result of another unexpected victory—has leapfrogged over the AFC Leopards and the Sapperton Rovers into 3rd place. At the bottom of the Group ‘A’ standings, the Vancouver Olympics crept closer to West Van FC as a result of a 2-2 tie with the Metro-Ford Wolves, while the winless Sikh Temple remains in last place in Group ‘B’.
On Friday evening, at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby, the VMSL defending champions—Surrey United—bounced back from 4 consecutive disappointing results to defeat Sikh Temple by a 2-0 margin. After missing the target on 3 glorious opportunities, the Cloverdale-based team finally took the lead at the 25th minute mark when a burst of speed from young striker Rizal Ganief took him past 2 defenders and the Sikh Temple goalkeeper. Ganief then proceeded to lay a perfect pass onto the path of an unmarked Harpreet Khakh who steered the ball into the unguarded net. United added a second goal 5 minutes later when Jordan Rosenlund cracked a vicious, swerving shot into the roof of the net from well outside the penalty area. In the second half, Surrey seemed content to defend and counter-attack as Sikh Temple surged forward in an attempt to get back into the game. Patrick Mohammed and Lav Mangat came close to narrowing the margin on a couple of occasions but goalkeeper Paul Shepherd fully earned his clean sheet with some good saves. At the other end of the pitch, Brian Fowler came close to scoring on 2 separate occasions—both on counter-attacks—only to have fill-in goalkeeper Kam Chahal come up with a couple of magnificent saves. The result narrows the gap between Surrey United and Group ‘B’ leaders—Sporting Club—to 4 points while Sikh Temple is now all alone in last place, with only 3 points.
On Saturday, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the upset of the year took place as the struggling Vancouver Firefighters defeated Group ‘A’ leaders Columbus-Clan FC by a 3-1 margin after a very exciting and entertaining 90 minutes of action. Columbus almost took the lead early in the match when Steve DeBlasio was sent in all alone by Fredrick Gumptel but failed to hit the net. Soon thereafter, newly-signed Niall Thompson got things going for the Firemen as he sent young Philip Lensky in all alone with a brilliant pass. Lensky proceeded to slip the ball past Columbus goalkeeper Trevor Jones for the opening goal. After surviving a lot of pressure from the vaunted Columbus attack, the Firefighters added a second goal near the end of the first half when newly-transferred Aaron Keay intercepted a poor clearance before laying the ball off to Niall Thompson who proceeded to round the goalkeeper before cleverly slipping the ball into the net for what proved to the winning goal. Early in the second half, Thompson caught the Columbus goalkeeper napping as he took a quick free kick from the edge of the penalty area for the Firemen’s third goal. To its credit, Columbus came roaring back and within a couple of minutes Jonathan Poli scored the consolation marker after having made a great individual run. Defensively, Jeff Skinner and Steve McAuley had outstanding games in leading the Firefighters to the all-important victory, a victory that puts them 3 points clear of Sikh Temple at the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table. Columbus, on the other hand, is now only one point ahead of arch-rivals ICSF Inter at the top of the Group ‘A’ standings, with Inter having a game in hand.
Also on Saturday, at North Surrey High School, Indo-Akal FC hosted the AFC Leopards in a Group ‘B’ match between two middle of the table teams. The first half was very evenly played with both teams playing rather cautiously. The best scoring opportunity came when Indo-Akal’s Raju Chohan rattled the crossbar with a powerful header. The Leopards took the lead early in the second half when Andrew Riopel raced in all alone on a breakaway after sneaking by the Indo-Akal’s backline. The goal seemed to inspire the home team as they started to carry the play in search of the equalizer. Their perseverance finally paid off midway through the second half when Vishal Chand slotted the ball home from a cross by Billy Shokar. Indo-Akal was able to pull ahead a few minutes later when Kyle McDiarmid fired home the game winner on an excellent shot from the edge of the box. Defensively, Surinder Jhanda and Jas Singh played extremely well for Indo-Akal as they were able to contain the speedy and creative AFC forwards. The victory lifts Indo-Akal into sole possession of third place in Group ‘B’, while the Leopards drop to 5th place in the same group.
The third Saturday game, played at Queen’s Park Stadium in New Westeminster, featured 2 of the top teams in the VMSL—Group ‘B’ leaders Sporting Club and the defending Province Cup champions, the Sapperton Rovers. Therefore, the 1-1 final score is not a surprising result! The Rovers dominated the first 20 minutes of play, moving the ball with precision and driving the Sporting defenders to distraction with dangerous and penetrating runs. In particular, Luke Hogan and Trevor Todd proved to be thorns on the side of the Sporting defensive core. Sapperton was rewarded for its supremacy when a Trevor Todd header was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Brian Brum but, unfortunately for Sporting, the rebound fell right on the path of Bryan Wevers who hammered the ball into the net for the game’s opening goal. Shortly thereafter, Wevers had the opportunity to score his second goal of the match—and his second in a long time!—but saw his shot brilliantly saved by Brum. Before the halftime whistle, Brum once again came up big when he thwarted Paul Favaro who had been sent in all alone by a great pass from Jeff Rogers. At this point Sporting seemed to gain some composure and started to control the flow of the game. The Portuguese team continued to impress in the second half and dominated most of the action for the entire half. Finally, at the 70th minute mark, Mike Gomes crossed an immaculate ball onto the head of Ryan Dormer who calmly slotted it into the net for the equalizer. It should also be mentioned that Sporting defender Mark Gomes was outstanding, particularly in the first half when the Rovers were dominant. The tie leaves Sporting Club in 1st place in the Group ‘B’ standings, while Sapperton is still 7 points behind—but with 2 games in hand.
The 4th Saturday game was played at Hillcrest Park in Vancouver between the pointless Vancouver Olympics and the defending Group ‘A’ champions, Metro-Ford Wolves. The final 2-2 scoreline is a tribute to the Olympics as they battled tenaciously throughout the match in search of their first point in 7 games. The Olympics took the lead early in the match when Frank Randazzo;s shot hit the crossbar and rebounded right onto the path of Tony Thandi who calmly slotted the ball home for the go-ahead goal. The Wolves bounced back when last season’s ‘GOLDEN BOOT AWARD’ co-winner, Shawn Blakeway scored his first goal of the season when he headed home a fine cross by Emilio Bottiglieri. The Olympics, however, bounced right back and regained the lead on another goal by Tony Thandi, this one on a well-struck free kick from the edge of the box. Before the halftime whistle, another great cross by Emilio Bottiglieri was converted into the tying goal by an unmarked Jay Gangnes. The second half belonged almost entirely to the Wolves as they surged forward in a desperate attempt to gain all 3 points. The Olympics, led mostly by the excellent play of Mario Hatzisava, held on with grit and determination and, in the end, deserved the tie. The single point leaves the Wolves in the middle of the pack in the Group ‘A’ standings, while the Olympics are still in last place in the same group.
The 5th, and last, Saturday game took place at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver and featured the host West Van FC and the visiting ICSF Inter. The hard-fought, but scoreless, first half belonged mostly to the former Trollers as they continuously attacked the Inter defensive core in search of the go-ahead goal. Some excellent goalkeeping on the part of Dennis Kindel, however, kept the home team off the scoresheet. The second half, on the other hand, belonged entirely to ICSF as they seemed rejuvenated, possibly due to the insertion of substitutes Tino Cucca, Jesse Dhami, and Scott Spracklin. At the 60th minute mark, Joseph Marrello slotted home Inter’s first goal while Andrew Corazza regained the lead in the ‘GOLDEN BOOT AWARD’ race by pouncing on a loose ball and driving it into the net for the insurance marker. Kevin Crouch sealed Inter’s victory with a goal late in the match. West Van’s veteran Nico Berg had an outstanding first half but, unfortunately for him and his team, he was forced out of the game at halftime due to a leg injury. The victory puts ICSF only 1 point behind Group ‘A’ leaders, Columbus-Clan. It should be noted that Inter has a game in hand—albeit against the very tough Sapperton Rovers. West Van, on the other hand, is still near the bottom of the table, only 2 points ahead of the Vancouver Olympics. Ironically, the two bottom dwellers are scheduled to play each other this coming weekend—on Saturday at Hillcrest Park.
The only Sunday game was a Group ‘A’ encounter between Croatia SC and the Norvan Eagles and it took place at Adanac Park in front of numerous and boisterous spectators. A victory for the Croatians would have put them in first place in their group, but the Eagles spoiled the party by coming away with a hard-fought 3-1 victory. Norvan got off to a great start and took the early lead when Jamie Dunnett and Alex Wilson combined to set up Blake Burgon for the opening goal. Croatia fought back and was rewarded soon thereafter when Vince Peragine sent Mike Masi in on goal with a brilliant through ball. Although Masi’s initial effort was saved by goalkeeper Giancarlo Martino, he managed to pick up the rebound and deposit the ball into the net for the equalizer. Before the halftime break, a quickly taken free kick by newly-signed Todd Vass took the Croatian defenders by surprise and allowed James Wilton to head the ball home for what proved to be the winning goal. Once again the Croatians fought back and were unlucky not to tie things up on a couple of occasions as Mike Masi rattled a shot off the goalpost and Marinko Maras saw his shot once again brilliantly saved by Giancarlo Martino. In the second half Norvan defended its slim lead tenaciously and allowed Croatia very few goalscoring opportunities. After Vince Peragine had been sent off, for having received his second caution in the match, Norvan managed to get the insurance marker when James Wilton broke past the Croatian defence and hit a screaming shot from the edge of the penalty area into the roof of the net. Late in the game, Croatia seemed to have narrowed the margin when Petar Sulentic, on a great set-up by young David Zaharija, put the ball past Martino into the Norvan net. Unfortunately for the Croatians, the goal was disallowed due to an offside infraction. The victory lifts Norvan into the middle of the pack in Group ‘A’, while Croatia remains in third place, 2 points behind Columbus-Clan.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: FIREFIGHTERS FC for their excellent performance in defeating the heavily favoured Columbus-Clan FC by a convincing 3-1 margin. As a result of the victory, the Firemen are now 3 points ahead of Sikh Temple—at the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Norvan Eagles’ GIANCARLO MARTINO for his magnificent goalkeeping performance in his team’s hard-fought 3-1 victory over Croatia SC. Time after time, Martino thwarted the vaunted Croatia attackers and assisted enormously to his team’s victory. Also, Firefighters’ NIALL THOMPSON for his brilliant 2-goal effort in his team’s 3-1 upset victory over Columbus-Clan FC. Thompson, in his first start of the season, also set up the Firemen’s third goal. For their outstanding performances, MARTINO and THOMPSON will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2006-11-09.
Two huge upsets, and a couple of minor ones, took place this past weekend proving once again that the disparity among VMSL Premier teams is not as pronounced as some people believe. The upsets did not have a major impact on the standings although ICSF Inter is now only one point behind Columbus-Clan FC in the Group ‘A’ table, with one game in hand. In Group ‘B’, Sporting Club remains 4 points clear of Surrey United, while Indo-Akal—as a result of another unexpected victory—has leapfrogged over the AFC Leopards and the Sapperton Rovers into 3rd place. At the bottom of the Group ‘A’ standings, the Vancouver Olympics crept closer to West Van FC as a result of a 2-2 tie with the Metro-Ford Wolves, while the winless Sikh Temple remains in last place in Group ‘B’.
On Friday evening, at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby, the VMSL defending champions—Surrey United—bounced back from 4 consecutive disappointing results to defeat Sikh Temple by a 2-0 margin. After missing the target on 3 glorious opportunities, the Cloverdale-based team finally took the lead at the 25th minute mark when a burst of speed from young striker Rizal Ganief took him past 2 defenders and the Sikh Temple goalkeeper. Ganief then proceeded to lay a perfect pass onto the path of an unmarked Harpreet Khakh who steered the ball into the unguarded net. United added a second goal 5 minutes later when Jordan Rosenlund cracked a vicious, swerving shot into the roof of the net from well outside the penalty area. In the second half, Surrey seemed content to defend and counter-attack as Sikh Temple surged forward in an attempt to get back into the game. Patrick Mohammed and Lav Mangat came close to narrowing the margin on a couple of occasions but goalkeeper Paul Shepherd fully earned his clean sheet with some good saves. At the other end of the pitch, Brian Fowler came close to scoring on 2 separate occasions—both on counter-attacks—only to have fill-in goalkeeper Kam Chahal come up with a couple of magnificent saves. The result narrows the gap between Surrey United and Group ‘B’ leaders—Sporting Club—to 4 points while Sikh Temple is now all alone in last place, with only 3 points.
On Saturday, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the upset of the year took place as the struggling Vancouver Firefighters defeated Group ‘A’ leaders Columbus-Clan FC by a 3-1 margin after a very exciting and entertaining 90 minutes of action. Columbus almost took the lead early in the match when Steve DeBlasio was sent in all alone by Fredrick Gumptel but failed to hit the net. Soon thereafter, newly-signed Niall Thompson got things going for the Firemen as he sent young Philip Lensky in all alone with a brilliant pass. Lensky proceeded to slip the ball past Columbus goalkeeper Trevor Jones for the opening goal. After surviving a lot of pressure from the vaunted Columbus attack, the Firefighters added a second goal near the end of the first half when newly-transferred Aaron Keay intercepted a poor clearance before laying the ball off to Niall Thompson who proceeded to round the goalkeeper before cleverly slipping the ball into the net for what proved to the winning goal. Early in the second half, Thompson caught the Columbus goalkeeper napping as he took a quick free kick from the edge of the penalty area for the Firemen’s third goal. To its credit, Columbus came roaring back and within a couple of minutes Jonathan Poli scored the consolation marker after having made a great individual run. Defensively, Jeff Skinner and Steve McAuley had outstanding games in leading the Firefighters to the all-important victory, a victory that puts them 3 points clear of Sikh Temple at the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table. Columbus, on the other hand, is now only one point ahead of arch-rivals ICSF Inter at the top of the Group ‘A’ standings, with Inter having a game in hand.
Also on Saturday, at North Surrey High School, Indo-Akal FC hosted the AFC Leopards in a Group ‘B’ match between two middle of the table teams. The first half was very evenly played with both teams playing rather cautiously. The best scoring opportunity came when Indo-Akal’s Raju Chohan rattled the crossbar with a powerful header. The Leopards took the lead early in the second half when Andrew Riopel raced in all alone on a breakaway after sneaking by the Indo-Akal’s backline. The goal seemed to inspire the home team as they started to carry the play in search of the equalizer. Their perseverance finally paid off midway through the second half when Vishal Chand slotted the ball home from a cross by Billy Shokar. Indo-Akal was able to pull ahead a few minutes later when Kyle McDiarmid fired home the game winner on an excellent shot from the edge of the box. Defensively, Surinder Jhanda and Jas Singh played extremely well for Indo-Akal as they were able to contain the speedy and creative AFC forwards. The victory lifts Indo-Akal into sole possession of third place in Group ‘B’, while the Leopards drop to 5th place in the same group.
The third Saturday game, played at Queen’s Park Stadium in New Westeminster, featured 2 of the top teams in the VMSL—Group ‘B’ leaders Sporting Club and the defending Province Cup champions, the Sapperton Rovers. Therefore, the 1-1 final score is not a surprising result! The Rovers dominated the first 20 minutes of play, moving the ball with precision and driving the Sporting defenders to distraction with dangerous and penetrating runs. In particular, Luke Hogan and Trevor Todd proved to be thorns on the side of the Sporting defensive core. Sapperton was rewarded for its supremacy when a Trevor Todd header was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Brian Brum but, unfortunately for Sporting, the rebound fell right on the path of Bryan Wevers who hammered the ball into the net for the game’s opening goal. Shortly thereafter, Wevers had the opportunity to score his second goal of the match—and his second in a long time!—but saw his shot brilliantly saved by Brum. Before the halftime whistle, Brum once again came up big when he thwarted Paul Favaro who had been sent in all alone by a great pass from Jeff Rogers. At this point Sporting seemed to gain some composure and started to control the flow of the game. The Portuguese team continued to impress in the second half and dominated most of the action for the entire half. Finally, at the 70th minute mark, Mike Gomes crossed an immaculate ball onto the head of Ryan Dormer who calmly slotted it into the net for the equalizer. It should also be mentioned that Sporting defender Mark Gomes was outstanding, particularly in the first half when the Rovers were dominant. The tie leaves Sporting Club in 1st place in the Group ‘B’ standings, while Sapperton is still 7 points behind—but with 2 games in hand.
The 4th Saturday game was played at Hillcrest Park in Vancouver between the pointless Vancouver Olympics and the defending Group ‘A’ champions, Metro-Ford Wolves. The final 2-2 scoreline is a tribute to the Olympics as they battled tenaciously throughout the match in search of their first point in 7 games. The Olympics took the lead early in the match when Frank Randazzo;s shot hit the crossbar and rebounded right onto the path of Tony Thandi who calmly slotted the ball home for the go-ahead goal. The Wolves bounced back when last season’s ‘GOLDEN BOOT AWARD’ co-winner, Shawn Blakeway scored his first goal of the season when he headed home a fine cross by Emilio Bottiglieri. The Olympics, however, bounced right back and regained the lead on another goal by Tony Thandi, this one on a well-struck free kick from the edge of the box. Before the halftime whistle, another great cross by Emilio Bottiglieri was converted into the tying goal by an unmarked Jay Gangnes. The second half belonged almost entirely to the Wolves as they surged forward in a desperate attempt to gain all 3 points. The Olympics, led mostly by the excellent play of Mario Hatzisava, held on with grit and determination and, in the end, deserved the tie. The single point leaves the Wolves in the middle of the pack in the Group ‘A’ standings, while the Olympics are still in last place in the same group.
The 5th, and last, Saturday game took place at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver and featured the host West Van FC and the visiting ICSF Inter. The hard-fought, but scoreless, first half belonged mostly to the former Trollers as they continuously attacked the Inter defensive core in search of the go-ahead goal. Some excellent goalkeeping on the part of Dennis Kindel, however, kept the home team off the scoresheet. The second half, on the other hand, belonged entirely to ICSF as they seemed rejuvenated, possibly due to the insertion of substitutes Tino Cucca, Jesse Dhami, and Scott Spracklin. At the 60th minute mark, Joseph Marrello slotted home Inter’s first goal while Andrew Corazza regained the lead in the ‘GOLDEN BOOT AWARD’ race by pouncing on a loose ball and driving it into the net for the insurance marker. Kevin Crouch sealed Inter’s victory with a goal late in the match. West Van’s veteran Nico Berg had an outstanding first half but, unfortunately for him and his team, he was forced out of the game at halftime due to a leg injury. The victory puts ICSF only 1 point behind Group ‘A’ leaders, Columbus-Clan. It should be noted that Inter has a game in hand—albeit against the very tough Sapperton Rovers. West Van, on the other hand, is still near the bottom of the table, only 2 points ahead of the Vancouver Olympics. Ironically, the two bottom dwellers are scheduled to play each other this coming weekend—on Saturday at Hillcrest Park.
The only Sunday game was a Group ‘A’ encounter between Croatia SC and the Norvan Eagles and it took place at Adanac Park in front of numerous and boisterous spectators. A victory for the Croatians would have put them in first place in their group, but the Eagles spoiled the party by coming away with a hard-fought 3-1 victory. Norvan got off to a great start and took the early lead when Jamie Dunnett and Alex Wilson combined to set up Blake Burgon for the opening goal. Croatia fought back and was rewarded soon thereafter when Vince Peragine sent Mike Masi in on goal with a brilliant through ball. Although Masi’s initial effort was saved by goalkeeper Giancarlo Martino, he managed to pick up the rebound and deposit the ball into the net for the equalizer. Before the halftime break, a quickly taken free kick by newly-signed Todd Vass took the Croatian defenders by surprise and allowed James Wilton to head the ball home for what proved to be the winning goal. Once again the Croatians fought back and were unlucky not to tie things up on a couple of occasions as Mike Masi rattled a shot off the goalpost and Marinko Maras saw his shot once again brilliantly saved by Giancarlo Martino. In the second half Norvan defended its slim lead tenaciously and allowed Croatia very few goalscoring opportunities. After Vince Peragine had been sent off, for having received his second caution in the match, Norvan managed to get the insurance marker when James Wilton broke past the Croatian defence and hit a screaming shot from the edge of the penalty area into the roof of the net. Late in the game, Croatia seemed to have narrowed the margin when Petar Sulentic, on a great set-up by young David Zaharija, put the ball past Martino into the Norvan net. Unfortunately for the Croatians, the goal was disallowed due to an offside infraction. The victory lifts Norvan into the middle of the pack in Group ‘A’, while Croatia remains in third place, 2 points behind Columbus-Clan.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: FIREFIGHTERS FC for their excellent performance in defeating the heavily favoured Columbus-Clan FC by a convincing 3-1 margin. As a result of the victory, the Firemen are now 3 points ahead of Sikh Temple—at the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Norvan Eagles’ GIANCARLO MARTINO for his magnificent goalkeeping performance in his team’s hard-fought 3-1 victory over Croatia SC. Time after time, Martino thwarted the vaunted Croatia attackers and assisted enormously to his team’s victory. Also, Firefighters’ NIALL THOMPSON for his brilliant 2-goal effort in his team’s 3-1 upset victory over Columbus-Clan FC. Thompson, in his first start of the season, also set up the Firemen’s third goal. For their outstanding performances, MARTINO and THOMPSON will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2006-11-09.
WEEK #8—2006-10-31
The only substantial change in the Premier Division standings saw the red-hot ICSF Inter climb into undisputed possession of first place in the Group ‘A’ table as a result of a convincing 4-1 victory over the Norvan Eagles coupled with the upset defeat of arch-rivals Columbus-Clan FC at the hands of the unpredictable Metro-Ford Wolves. In Group ‘B’, Sporting Club solidified its hold on first place with a hotly-contested 2-0 victory over Croatia SC in the week’s crossover match. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Olympics and Sikh Temple remain winless, and mired in last place, in their respective groups.
On Friday evening, at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby, the AFC Leopards were held to a 2-2 tie by the last place Sikh Temple in a Group ‘B’ match. The highly-skilled, but under-achieving, Leopards took a 2-0 lead into the dressing room but allowed the hard-working Sikhs back in the game with 2 second half goals. Josh Pescitelli opened the scoring as the Leopards took advantage of a poorly-executed offside trap on the part of the Sikh Temple defenders. A few minutes later, AFC doubled its lead when veteran Kevan Cameron took advantage of some sloppy defending to head home the Leopards’ second goal. In the second half, Sikh Temple made a few changes in its lineup, changes that proved to spark the team into action. In particular, Lav Mangat’s insertion made an enormous difference as he was very influential in Sikh Temple’s gritty comeback. Finally, with only 15 minutes left in the match, Jag Sajjan converted a corner kick into his team’s first goal as he rose above the AFC defenders to head the ball home. At this point, Sikh Temple, led by the indomitable work rate of Dave Sumra, surged forward in search of the tying goal. In the dying moments of the match, again from a corner kick, Paul Bahia was able to control the ball before blasting it into the Leopards’ net for the equalizer. Even though the Leopards controlled most of the action with their impeccable skills, it should be noted that the Sikhs deserved the tie due mostly to their amazing work rate and determination. As stated earlier, Sikh Temple is still languishing at the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table, while AFC remains in the middle of the pack in the same group.
Also on Friday evening, at Charles Best School in Coquitlam, the Metro-Ford Wolves hosted Columbus-Clan FC in a match that fully lived up to its high expectations. Both teams desperately needed a victory to keep their hopes of a first place finish alive. As a result, they threw caution to the wind and attacked relentlessly throughout the contest. The final result, 3-0 in favour of Metro-Ford, does not tell the entire story of the match as Columbus was unfortunate not to score, on two separate occasions, early in the game. First, young veteran Tiernan King blasted a shot off the goalpost with Mathew Bird, the Metro-Ford goalkeeper, well beaten. Shortly thereafter, Steve DeBlasio brilliantly beat a couple of defenders but sailed his shot high and wide. The Wolves replied with a vengeance and were rewarded at the 30th minute mark when Shawn Blakeway headed home a corner kick by Emilio Bottiglieri, aided and abetted by a flick-on by Brook Scott. Soon thereafter, former Whitecap Davide Xausa converted a brilliant cross by Blakeway into Metro-Ford’s second goal. Midway through the second half, Emilio Bottiglieri finished off a neat passing play involving Andrew Veer and Shawn Blakeway for the Wolves’ third, and final, goal. Defensively, Metro-Ford’s Justin Hebner was a tower of strength, while midfielder Richard Price worked relentlessly for the entire 90 minutes. As well, goalkeeper Mathew Bird fully deserved his clean sheet with some key saves. The loss knocks Columbus out of first place in the Group ‘A’ table, while the Wolves’ victory permits them to climb into 3rd place in the same group.
On Saturday, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the Vancouver Firefighters hosted Indo-Akal FC in a Group ‘B’ match. After a rather dull and unexciting 90 minutes of play both teams settled for a 1-1 tie, a result that leaves Indo-Akal in the middle of the pack and the Firemen near the bottom of the table. Indo-Akal had the only goalscoring chance in the first half as Karm Lidder raced in all alone but was thwarted by Ratish Kumar’s great save. Near the end of the first half, newly-transferred Aaron Keay was expelled from the game for violent conduct, leaving the Firefighters with only 10 men for the entire second half. Despite the fact that Indo-Akal carried most of the play, it was the Firemen that took the lead at the 57th minute mark when Chris Jarvie clinically finished off a lethal counter-attack. The visitors came back shortly thereafter and got the equalizer when Billy Shokar redirected a cross from Vishal Chand into the Firefighters’ net. Jeff Skinner and Steve McAuley were once again outstanding in the Firefighters’ backline, particularly in the second half when their team was reduced to 10 players.
Also on Saturday, at Queen’s Park Stadium in New Westminster, Surrey United trounced the Province Cup champions, Sapperton Rovers, by a lop-sided 4-0 margin. After a scoreless, uneventful and rather dull first half, the visiting Cloverdale team broke the tie early in the second half when veteran midfielder Craig Dalrymple, after winning the ball on a well-timed tackle, sent young Harpreet Khakh in all alone. Khakh then proceeded to fire a shot into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the penalty box for the opening, and winning, goal. Shortly thereafter, Sapperton’s veteran attacker, Ted Ullrich, was expelled from the game for having received his second caution leaving his team with only 10 men for the remainder of the match. Surrey took full advantage of the situation and increased its lead a few minutes thereafter when Harpreet Khakh used his speed to his advantage as he sped by 2 flat-footed Sapperton defenders before squaring the ball to Rizal Ganief who had no difficulty in scoring United’s second goal. Khakh added to the margin at the 75th mark when he curled a free kick over the wall and into the net from well outside the penalty area. Finally, with 5 minutes left in the game, Khakh completed his first VMSL hat-trick after receiving a pass from Jimmy Severn. The victory leaves Surrey United in second place in the Group ‘B’ standings, 4 points behind Sporting Club, while the Rovers remain in the middle of the pack in the same group.
The third Saturday game, played at Hillcrest Park in Vancouver, featured the two bottom feeders in Group ‘A’—Vancouver Olympics and West Van FC. Needless to say, the game was poorly played and the 2-0 final score in favour of West Van FC pretty well reflects the overall flow of the match. Sean Taylor scored twice—once of a free kick and once on a penalty kick—for the former Trollers thus solidifying their margin over the last place Olympics. The Olympics, who last week had held the Metro-Ford Wolves to a tie, were unable to create any scoring opportunities and seemed content to lose, albeit by a reasonably narrow margin. Defensively, veteran Nico Berg played very well for West Van, while midfielder Vik Chandra was the lone shining light for the Olympics.
On Sunday, at Kinsman Stadium in North Vancouver, ICSF Inter continued its impressive unbeaten streak with yet another clearcut victory, this latest one by a 4-1 margin over the Norvan Eagles. Inter took advantage of some horrible defending on the part of the Eagles to score all its 4 goals in the first part of the first half. Andrew Corazza scored twice in the first 10 minutes to solidify his lead at the top of the “GOLDEN BOOT AWARD” race. Oddly, the first goal came directly from a corner kick as goalkeeper Giancarlo Martino seemed stunned by Corazza’s curling shot. Corazza’s second goal came from a well-struck shot to the far post while the third was also a result of a corner kick, this one taken by Joseph Marrello and tapped in by a wide-open Laurent Scaligine. Well before the halftime whistle, Inter sealed Norvan’s fate when Tim Perry first-timed a wicked shot from the edge of the area, a shot which gave Martino no chance whatsoever. To make matters even worse for the Eagles, their veteran defender, James Docherty, was ejected early in the second half for having accumulated 2 cautions. Despite being down a man, Norvan fought back valiantly and narrowed the margin when Danny Muir scored on a goalmouth scramble. The Eagles came close to scoring again as James Wilton rang a shot of the crossbar late in the match. Inter, on the other hand, also came close to adding to its comfortable margin on several occasions as Tino Cucca, Brian VanSchagen, and Sheldon Maistry all missed glorious chances. Defensively, Scott Spracklin and Anthony Marrello played extremely well for ICSF, while Todd Vass, Blake Burgon, and particularly James Wilton worked tirelessly for the Eagles. The victory catapults ICSF over arch-rivals Columbus-Clan FC into first place in Group ‘A’, while the loss leaves Norvan in the middle of the pack in the same group.
Finally, on Sunday at Adanac Park, Sporting Club defeated Croatia SC by a 2-0 margin after a very exciting and entertaining 90 minutes of play, in front of numerous spectators. The Croatians got off to a great start and could easily have been ahead by 2 or 3 goals had it not been for the exceptional goalkeeping of Sporting’s Brian Brum who rose to the occasion when he stymied Mike Masi on a breakaway and then made a great save on a penalty kick by Kreso Vonic. Masi had been sent in all alone by Petar Sulentic, while the penalty kick was awarded when Mike Kovacs was fouled in the penalty area. In the second half, Sporting Club got back into the game and got on the scoreboard when Meysam Soltani converted a nifty passing play involving Jay Dunnett and Ryan Dormer into the winning goal. Soon thereafter, a quickly-taken free kick by Soltani caught the Croatia defence napping as Mike Gomes raced in all alone and slotted the ball behind a bewildered Drew Smiley. The victory maintains Sporting Club’s lead at the top of the Group ‘B’ standings, while Croatia slips to 4th place in Group ‘A’.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: METRO-FORD WOLVES for their excellent performance in defeating the heavily-favoured Columbus-Clan FC by a comfortable 3-0 margin. The Wolves survived some early pressure from Columbus and scored 3 great goals en route to the all-important victory.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Sporting Club’s BRIAN BRUM for his magnificent goalkeeping performance in his team’s hard-fought 2-0 victory over Croatia SC. Time after time, Brum thwarted the vaunted Croatia attackers and assisted enormously to his team’s victory. Also, Surrey United’s HARPREET KHAKH for his brilliant 3-goal effort in his team’s 4-0 victory over the Province Cup champions, Sapperton Rovers. This is the first VMSL hat-trick for the 18-year old Khakh. For their outstanding performances, BRUM and KHAKH will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2006-11-16
The only substantial change in the Premier Division standings saw the red-hot ICSF Inter climb into undisputed possession of first place in the Group ‘A’ table as a result of a convincing 4-1 victory over the Norvan Eagles coupled with the upset defeat of arch-rivals Columbus-Clan FC at the hands of the unpredictable Metro-Ford Wolves. In Group ‘B’, Sporting Club solidified its hold on first place with a hotly-contested 2-0 victory over Croatia SC in the week’s crossover match. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Olympics and Sikh Temple remain winless, and mired in last place, in their respective groups.
On Friday evening, at Byrne Creek School in Burnaby, the AFC Leopards were held to a 2-2 tie by the last place Sikh Temple in a Group ‘B’ match. The highly-skilled, but under-achieving, Leopards took a 2-0 lead into the dressing room but allowed the hard-working Sikhs back in the game with 2 second half goals. Josh Pescitelli opened the scoring as the Leopards took advantage of a poorly-executed offside trap on the part of the Sikh Temple defenders. A few minutes later, AFC doubled its lead when veteran Kevan Cameron took advantage of some sloppy defending to head home the Leopards’ second goal. In the second half, Sikh Temple made a few changes in its lineup, changes that proved to spark the team into action. In particular, Lav Mangat’s insertion made an enormous difference as he was very influential in Sikh Temple’s gritty comeback. Finally, with only 15 minutes left in the match, Jag Sajjan converted a corner kick into his team’s first goal as he rose above the AFC defenders to head the ball home. At this point, Sikh Temple, led by the indomitable work rate of Dave Sumra, surged forward in search of the tying goal. In the dying moments of the match, again from a corner kick, Paul Bahia was able to control the ball before blasting it into the Leopards’ net for the equalizer. Even though the Leopards controlled most of the action with their impeccable skills, it should be noted that the Sikhs deserved the tie due mostly to their amazing work rate and determination. As stated earlier, Sikh Temple is still languishing at the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table, while AFC remains in the middle of the pack in the same group.
Also on Friday evening, at Charles Best School in Coquitlam, the Metro-Ford Wolves hosted Columbus-Clan FC in a match that fully lived up to its high expectations. Both teams desperately needed a victory to keep their hopes of a first place finish alive. As a result, they threw caution to the wind and attacked relentlessly throughout the contest. The final result, 3-0 in favour of Metro-Ford, does not tell the entire story of the match as Columbus was unfortunate not to score, on two separate occasions, early in the game. First, young veteran Tiernan King blasted a shot off the goalpost with Mathew Bird, the Metro-Ford goalkeeper, well beaten. Shortly thereafter, Steve DeBlasio brilliantly beat a couple of defenders but sailed his shot high and wide. The Wolves replied with a vengeance and were rewarded at the 30th minute mark when Shawn Blakeway headed home a corner kick by Emilio Bottiglieri, aided and abetted by a flick-on by Brook Scott. Soon thereafter, former Whitecap Davide Xausa converted a brilliant cross by Blakeway into Metro-Ford’s second goal. Midway through the second half, Emilio Bottiglieri finished off a neat passing play involving Andrew Veer and Shawn Blakeway for the Wolves’ third, and final, goal. Defensively, Metro-Ford’s Justin Hebner was a tower of strength, while midfielder Richard Price worked relentlessly for the entire 90 minutes. As well, goalkeeper Mathew Bird fully deserved his clean sheet with some key saves. The loss knocks Columbus out of first place in the Group ‘A’ table, while the Wolves’ victory permits them to climb into 3rd place in the same group.
On Saturday, at South Memorial Park in Vancouver, the Vancouver Firefighters hosted Indo-Akal FC in a Group ‘B’ match. After a rather dull and unexciting 90 minutes of play both teams settled for a 1-1 tie, a result that leaves Indo-Akal in the middle of the pack and the Firemen near the bottom of the table. Indo-Akal had the only goalscoring chance in the first half as Karm Lidder raced in all alone but was thwarted by Ratish Kumar’s great save. Near the end of the first half, newly-transferred Aaron Keay was expelled from the game for violent conduct, leaving the Firefighters with only 10 men for the entire second half. Despite the fact that Indo-Akal carried most of the play, it was the Firemen that took the lead at the 57th minute mark when Chris Jarvie clinically finished off a lethal counter-attack. The visitors came back shortly thereafter and got the equalizer when Billy Shokar redirected a cross from Vishal Chand into the Firefighters’ net. Jeff Skinner and Steve McAuley were once again outstanding in the Firefighters’ backline, particularly in the second half when their team was reduced to 10 players.
Also on Saturday, at Queen’s Park Stadium in New Westminster, Surrey United trounced the Province Cup champions, Sapperton Rovers, by a lop-sided 4-0 margin. After a scoreless, uneventful and rather dull first half, the visiting Cloverdale team broke the tie early in the second half when veteran midfielder Craig Dalrymple, after winning the ball on a well-timed tackle, sent young Harpreet Khakh in all alone. Khakh then proceeded to fire a shot into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the penalty box for the opening, and winning, goal. Shortly thereafter, Sapperton’s veteran attacker, Ted Ullrich, was expelled from the game for having received his second caution leaving his team with only 10 men for the remainder of the match. Surrey took full advantage of the situation and increased its lead a few minutes thereafter when Harpreet Khakh used his speed to his advantage as he sped by 2 flat-footed Sapperton defenders before squaring the ball to Rizal Ganief who had no difficulty in scoring United’s second goal. Khakh added to the margin at the 75th mark when he curled a free kick over the wall and into the net from well outside the penalty area. Finally, with 5 minutes left in the game, Khakh completed his first VMSL hat-trick after receiving a pass from Jimmy Severn. The victory leaves Surrey United in second place in the Group ‘B’ standings, 4 points behind Sporting Club, while the Rovers remain in the middle of the pack in the same group.
The third Saturday game, played at Hillcrest Park in Vancouver, featured the two bottom feeders in Group ‘A’—Vancouver Olympics and West Van FC. Needless to say, the game was poorly played and the 2-0 final score in favour of West Van FC pretty well reflects the overall flow of the match. Sean Taylor scored twice—once of a free kick and once on a penalty kick—for the former Trollers thus solidifying their margin over the last place Olympics. The Olympics, who last week had held the Metro-Ford Wolves to a tie, were unable to create any scoring opportunities and seemed content to lose, albeit by a reasonably narrow margin. Defensively, veteran Nico Berg played very well for West Van, while midfielder Vik Chandra was the lone shining light for the Olympics.
On Sunday, at Kinsman Stadium in North Vancouver, ICSF Inter continued its impressive unbeaten streak with yet another clearcut victory, this latest one by a 4-1 margin over the Norvan Eagles. Inter took advantage of some horrible defending on the part of the Eagles to score all its 4 goals in the first part of the first half. Andrew Corazza scored twice in the first 10 minutes to solidify his lead at the top of the “GOLDEN BOOT AWARD” race. Oddly, the first goal came directly from a corner kick as goalkeeper Giancarlo Martino seemed stunned by Corazza’s curling shot. Corazza’s second goal came from a well-struck shot to the far post while the third was also a result of a corner kick, this one taken by Joseph Marrello and tapped in by a wide-open Laurent Scaligine. Well before the halftime whistle, Inter sealed Norvan’s fate when Tim Perry first-timed a wicked shot from the edge of the area, a shot which gave Martino no chance whatsoever. To make matters even worse for the Eagles, their veteran defender, James Docherty, was ejected early in the second half for having accumulated 2 cautions. Despite being down a man, Norvan fought back valiantly and narrowed the margin when Danny Muir scored on a goalmouth scramble. The Eagles came close to scoring again as James Wilton rang a shot of the crossbar late in the match. Inter, on the other hand, also came close to adding to its comfortable margin on several occasions as Tino Cucca, Brian VanSchagen, and Sheldon Maistry all missed glorious chances. Defensively, Scott Spracklin and Anthony Marrello played extremely well for ICSF, while Todd Vass, Blake Burgon, and particularly James Wilton worked tirelessly for the Eagles. The victory catapults ICSF over arch-rivals Columbus-Clan FC into first place in Group ‘A’, while the loss leaves Norvan in the middle of the pack in the same group.
Finally, on Sunday at Adanac Park, Sporting Club defeated Croatia SC by a 2-0 margin after a very exciting and entertaining 90 minutes of play, in front of numerous spectators. The Croatians got off to a great start and could easily have been ahead by 2 or 3 goals had it not been for the exceptional goalkeeping of Sporting’s Brian Brum who rose to the occasion when he stymied Mike Masi on a breakaway and then made a great save on a penalty kick by Kreso Vonic. Masi had been sent in all alone by Petar Sulentic, while the penalty kick was awarded when Mike Kovacs was fouled in the penalty area. In the second half, Sporting Club got back into the game and got on the scoreboard when Meysam Soltani converted a nifty passing play involving Jay Dunnett and Ryan Dormer into the winning goal. Soon thereafter, a quickly-taken free kick by Soltani caught the Croatia defence napping as Mike Gomes raced in all alone and slotted the ball behind a bewildered Drew Smiley. The victory maintains Sporting Club’s lead at the top of the Group ‘B’ standings, while Croatia slips to 4th place in Group ‘A’.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: METRO-FORD WOLVES for their excellent performance in defeating the heavily-favoured Columbus-Clan FC by a comfortable 3-0 margin. The Wolves survived some early pressure from Columbus and scored 3 great goals en route to the all-important victory.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Sporting Club’s BRIAN BRUM for his magnificent goalkeeping performance in his team’s hard-fought 2-0 victory over Croatia SC. Time after time, Brum thwarted the vaunted Croatia attackers and assisted enormously to his team’s victory. Also, Surrey United’s HARPREET KHAKH for his brilliant 3-goal effort in his team’s 4-0 victory over the Province Cup champions, Sapperton Rovers. This is the first VMSL hat-trick for the 18-year old Khakh. For their outstanding performances, BRUM and KHAKH will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2006-11-16
trece verde
Well-Known Member
"Bewildered"
Regs:
Can you edit the "Confused" icon to represent more of a "Bewildered Hleucka?" Maybe a tinge more orange?
Was Azzi actually at the game, or just one of his "spies?"
Regs:
Can you edit the "Confused" icon to represent more of a "Bewildered Hleucka?" Maybe a tinge more orange?
Was Azzi actually at the game, or just one of his "spies?"
is there any photo evidence of knvb 'tween the pipes? i'm sure it was very Van Der Sar-esque performance. i could tell you were taking notes from me in our match last week... thats where you picked up that "bewildered" bit...
- Status
Members online
No members online now.
