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

[knvb]

WEEK #19—2007-02-15

All 7 scheduled Premier Division games were played this past week, some of them very important in the various late-season battles: relegation-avoidance, Province Cup qualification, Imperial Cup seeding, and—of course—Premier Division championship. Several upsets took place, making the above-mentioned battles somewhat less interesting as some of the issues now seem to be semi-resolved. The Vancouver Firefighters and the Sapperton Rovers climbed out of the danger zone in the Group ‘B’ standings by virtue of their upset victories over the Metro-Ford Wolves and Croatia SC respectively, while the Norvan Eagles drew closer to a Province Cup qualification by upsetting the aspiring, but under-achieving Columbus-Clan FC.

On Friday evening, at Charles Best School in Coquitlam, the Vancouver Firefighters edged the struggling Metro-Ford Wolves by a 2-1 margin thus climbing out of the Group ‘B’ basement and improving their chances of avoiding relegation to the first division. After a scoreless and very entertaining first half, the Firemen took the lead early in the second half when veteran Niall Thompson took advantage of a goal-mouth scramble to score his 9th goal of the season. The scramble was the result of a well-taken corner kick by Aaron Keay and some poor defending on the part of the Wolves. At this point, Metro-Ford picked up the tempo of the game and finally equalized when a great cross from Russel Huggon was brilliantly headed home by Shawn Blakeway. Late in the game, however, Chris Jarvie outraced the entire Metro-Ford backline on a long through ball by Jeff Skinner, raced in all alone and slotted the ball into the back of the net for the winning goal. Jarvie, Skinner, and Trevor Rosencrans played extremely well for the Firemen, while young Justin Mazzei—in his first start in the Premier Division—had a great game on the Wolves’ backline.

On Saturday, in a Group ‘B’ match played at Cloverdale Athletic Park, Surrey United kept its slim chances of catching Sporting Club alive by defeating Sikh Temple by a 3-1 margin. Both teams struggled to create consistent offensive threats but, in the end, Surrey United deserved the margin of victory due to its territorial advantage throughout the match. Surrey took the lead at the 20th minute mark when striker Dave Hleucka brilliantly headed home a Martin Schaefer cross. Early in the second half, United increased its lead as Hleucka was sent in all alone by a clever pass from Brian Fowler. Hleucka demonstrated his diverse range of skills by firing a low shot into the corner of the net from the edge of the penalty area. After the Cloverdale-based team had squandered a couple of glorious scoring chances, Sikh Temple came roaring back and narrowed the margin when Jag Gill unleashed an unstoppable drive from the top of the box. Late in the match, Surrey United scored the insurance marker as Robbie Wilson received an immaculate pass from Gurjit Sandhu before lofting the ball over the Sikh Temple goalkeeper. As a result of the victory, Surrey remains in second place in the Group ‘B’ table—with a 8-5-2 record. Sikh Temple, on the other hand, slips back into last place in the Group ‘B’ standings.

Also on Saturday, at Hillcrest Park in Vancouver, the Vancouver Olympics kept their slim chances of staying in the Premier Division alive by defeating the struggling Indo-Akal FC by a 2-0 margin. Indo-Akal got off to a great start and could have led by a couple of goals as Jas Singh and Raju Chohan saw their shots ring off the crossbar with goalkeeper Marco D’Andrea well beaten. As luck would have it, however, it was the Olympics that took the lead midway through the first half when Leo Paschalidis released a penetrating through ball to John Paschalidis who broke in all alone before curling a low shot past goalkeeper Didar Sandhu. Indo-Akal continued to apply pressure in the second half, but once again the woodwork denied the visitors a glorious scoring chance—this time on a shot by Harbinder Chohan. Soon thereafter, the Olympics missed a great scoring chance of their own as Frank Randazzo—after receiving a great pass from Milad Rahmati—send his shot just wide of the post. At the other end of the pitch, Steve Grewal and Chris Clarke missed a couple of great opportunities to tie the game as goalkeeper Marco D’Andrea came up with a couple of miraculous saves. Very late in the match, the Olympics put the match out of Indo-Akal’s reach as Marko Mirisklavos was sent in all alone on a wonderful pass by Taj Thandi. Mirisklavos fired a low shot into the net for the insurance marker, giving his team the hard-fought victory. Special mention should be made of the Olympics’ goalkeeper Marco D’Andrea, defender Simranjit Nijjar, and midfielder Avinash Chandra for their superlative performances throughout the contest. The loss leaves Indo-Akal near the bottom of the Group ‘B’ table and in a do-or-die battle with the Firefighters, the Sapperton Rovers, and Sikh Temple. The Olympics, on the other hand, need a major miracle to avoid relegation from Group ‘A’ since they are still 8 points behind West Van FC with only 3 games remaining.

The third Saturday game, played at Point Grey School in Vancouver, featured two of the top teams in the VMSL: the aspiring AFC Leopards and the undefeated Sporting Club. The match lived up to its expectations as both teams took turns attacking in search of the all-important first goal. It wasn’t until midway through the second half, however, that Sporting Club finally took the lead as Mike Woolridge found himself wide open in the middle of the AFC box after a passing sequence that involved numerous teammates. Woolridge had no difficulty in scoring the go-ahead goal as he calmly side-footed the ball into the back of the net. Needless to say, the Leopards came roaring back and eventually knotted the score when defender Diaz Kambere unleashed a powerful, long-range shot into the top corner of the net. Jeff Yoon once again had a strong game for Sporting Club, this time in an unaccustomed defensive role, while Brian Gebbie controlled the midfield for the entire 90 minutes. Unfortunately for the Leopards, the tie leaves them in third place in the Group ‘B’ standings, 2 points behind Surrey United. Sporting Club, on the other hand, is pretty well assured of finishing the season in first place in the same group.

The only Sunday game was played at Adanac Park in Vancouver between ICSF Inter and the visiting West Van FC. Despite the fact that Inter was playing without two of its star players—the suspended Andrew Corazza and Brian VanSchagen—the home team came out of the match with an important 3-2 victory. After exchanging a few good scoring chances, ICSF took the lead at the 20th minute mark when speedy Laurent Scaligine capitalized on a nifty give-and-go with Sheldon Maistry–and a flat-footed West Van defence—to slot home the go-ahead goal. Appeals for an offside by the West Van bench resulted in the expulsion of coach David Fiorvento and manager Andy Bramley. Soon thereafter, West Van’s Drew Gelley was expelled from the game for serious foul play but his teammates responded to the challenge valiantly and took the game to ICSF in determined fashion. Near the end of the first half, a brilliantly-executed corner kick by Paul Dailly was headed home by defender Leo Nash for the tying goal. Soon thereafter, the other scoreline—the red card one—was also tied up as Inter’s Jesse Dhami was sent off—also for serious foul play. The second half was more or less a carbon copy of the first as both teams tried hard to get the very important 3 points. Midway through the second half, Laurent Scaligine once again proved to be thorn on the side of the West Van defenders as he took on several opponents on his way to the goal. Twice, in rapid succession, Scaligine seemed to have been fouled in the box with the referee calling a penalty kick on the second occasion. Joseph Marrello scored on the ensuing spot shot to claim the all-important victory for his team. The 3 points puts ICSF solidly in first place in the Group ‘A’ standings, well ahead of Columbus-Clan FC and Croatia SC. West Van, on the other hand, is still in penultimate place in the same group.

On Monday evening, at Confederation Park in North Vancouver, the Norvan Eagles put a severe damper on Columbus-Clan’s chances of catching ICSF Inter at the top of the Group ‘A’ standings by defeating the visitors by a narrow 3-2 margin. Columbus got off to a fine start and nearly took the lead in the early going when Nathan Quan’s long range shot was brilliantly saved by Norvan’s goalkeeper, Giancarlo Martino. A few minutes later, Columbus was awarded a penalty kick for a hand ball infraction on the part of Matt Brewster. Joe Scigliano calmly converted the spot shot into the game’s first goal. At this point, Columbus seemed content with the 1-0 lead and sat back leisurely, allowing Norvan to come storming back in search of the equalizer. Not only did the Eagles tie the game before the halftime break, but they also took the lead with two goals scored in rapid succession. First, Sean Regan fired a spectacular 30-metre shot that eluded the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Luca Dalla Pace. Then, James Wilton headed home a Cam Taylor cross for the go-ahead goal. Columbus regained its composure in the second half and once again took control of the match with some excellent passing and ball control. However, the Norvan defence, anchored by John Reda, Matt Brewster, and Tony Seddon, stood tall and prevented the talented Columbus crew from scoring. Some good fortune also played a part as Scott McEachern and Luca Bellisomo both hit the woodwork with Martino well beaten. Columbus kept pressing for the equalizer even after Bellisomo was expelled from the match for having received his second caution. Norvan, on the other hand, relied exclusively on counter-attacks and was rewarded when young Corey Birza sent speedy Blake Burgon in all alone. Burgon’s chip shot sailed over Dalla Pace for what proved to be the winning goal. Very late in the game, Tiarnan King was fouled in the penalty box by Cam Taylor and scored on the ensuing penalty kick to narrow Norvan’s margin of victory. The result helps Norvan’s efforts to qualify for the Province Cup, while Columbus is now 6 points behind arch-rival ICSF Inter in the battle for first place in Group ‘A’.

Finally, on Wednesday evening at Point Grey School in Vancouver, a very important match took place between Croatia SC and the Sapperton Rovers. Prior to the game, Croatia SC was still in the running for first place in the Group ‘A’ table, while the Rovers were lingering near the bottom of the Group ‘B’ standings. In other words, both teams desperately needed a victory and the resulting 3 points. For some reason, the Croatians seemed to be somewhat complacent and very lethargic for most of the match as they allowed the hard-working Rovers to dictate the pace of the game and eventually walk away with a well-earned 1-0 victory. Only late in the game did Croatia seem to wake up but it proved to be a classic example of too little, too late! Sapperton had a few glorious scoring chances in the first half, particularly on a Paul Favaro header that hit the top of the crossbar and on another header by Ryan McNabb that was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Drew Smiley. Despite their first half dominance, the Rovers had to wait until midway through the second half to score the lone goal of the contest. A great through ball by defender Jassi Randhawa found an unmarked Trevor Todd who quickly set up a streaking Paul Favaro who proceeded to place the ball behind Smiley for the game winner. It should be mentioned that Paul Favaro—at age 41—is by far the oldest player in the Premier Division of the VMSL! At this point, the Croatians seemed to wake up from their lethargy and started attacking in search of the equalizer. This left the door open for some dangerous Sapperton counter-attacks as Trevor Todd and young Danny Caraiman both came very close to adding a goal to the margin of victory. Very late in the match, Sapperton goalkeeper Kent Waechter—filling in for an injured Cory Breure—made a couple of spectacular saves on close-range shots by Petar Sulentic and Adrian Kekec. It should also be noted that veteran Sapperton midfielder Mike Favaro was at his very best as he led his team to victory with his dominant play. The result puts the Rovers out of the danger zone in the Group ‘B’ standings, while Croatia’s chances of winning the Group ‘A’ title have diminished substantially.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: SAPPERTON ROVERS for their indomitable effort in defeating the heavily-favoured Croatia SC by a narrow, but well-earned 1-0 margin. Led by the excellent play of veterans Paul Favaro and Mike Favaro, the Rovers dominated the first three-quarters of the match by outworking the rather lethargic and complacent Croatians. The victory solidifies Sapperton’s chances of avoiding relegation to the first division.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Surrey United’s DAVE HLEUCKA for his remarkable 2-goal performance in his team’s 3-1 victory over Sikh Temple. Hleucka demonstrated an amazing diversity in his skill range by scoring the first goal on a majestic header and adding the second with his speed, ball control, and lethal finish! For his outstanding performance, HLEUCKA will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2007-03-05.

It took 9 years but the league has officially hit rock bottom...

 

[BlazeArmy]

Holy fcuking Crap.

Nostradamus hopefully was wrong

Beneath the smell of fiery orbs,
led by them to the belly of the treed city:
redhead in wonder, arms uprasied in joy
floods of many, end of days.

 

[BJB]

with his speed, ball control, and lethal finish!

All that time practicing by yourself finally paid off!!! Congrats!!!

 

[trece verde]

Hell just froze over.

'bout fcukin' time, Red.

Congrats.

 

[cerebral smallsy]

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Defender JASON SMALL, of Westside Rino, for his two brilliant goals in the Imperial Cup semi-final match against Sporting Club. Small will receive a prize of a pizza for two, courtesy of PAZZO TRATTORIA AND LOUNGE. The prize may be claimed anytime, except for Mondays, up to 2003-04-13.

big deal. not like the league hasn't hit rock bottom before.
well done mate.

 

[Captain Shamrock]

KNVB,

Is that why you didn't have the girls' team you coach out on Wednesday night or was it the fact it was Valentine's night and the whip came out earlier than usual? Well done......Surely now you can promote that Soccer Academy with credentials like that now.


Not a team in sight on Wednesday night.........all the guys were obviously whipped badly.........

 

[Regs]

Pizza night for the TTP War Room!



Congrats KNVB!

 

[Dapotayto]

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Surrey United’s DAVE HLEUCKA for his remarkable speed, ball control, and lethal finish!

His wife only wishes it were true.

 

[cerebral smallsy]

well don wicksy. ageless.

WEEK #23—2007-03-14—IMPERIAL CUP

The Imperial Cup playdowns got off to a flying start this past weekend as all 8 games were played—all of them on turf fields due to the incredibly bad weather conditions. Only one major upset took place, as Division 1A champions Westside FC edged the Premier Division Group ‘B’ winners—Sporting Club—by a 1-0 margin. All the other results were quite predictable even though the heavily-favoured Columbus-Clan FC struggled a great deal to eliminate the very determined West Van FC in overtime.

On Saturday, at Point Grey School in Vancouver, the newly-promoted Westside FC eliminated Sporting Club from further Imperial Cup play by edging the powerhouse Portuguese team by a 1-0 margin. The lone goal of the match came midway through the first half as Daniel May took advantage of a goalmouth scramble that started from a well-placed corner kick. In the second half, Sporting Club came out of the starting blocks with a vengeance in desperate search of the equalizer. However, ageless goalkeeper Mike Wicken—aided and abetted by the veteran defenders James Prescott, Gaby Bourbara, and Jason Small—kept the vaunted Sporting attackers off the scoresheet. Late in the game, Wicken was called upon to make yet another amazing save on a close-range shot by Ryan Dormer. Midfielders Keith Moore and Guillaume Courtial, as well as forward Chris Mehuys, also played well for Westside. Sporting Club, on the other hand, felt the absence of regular starters Mike Gomes, Matt Ormerod, Stedman Espinoza, and Devon Greenside. Westside FC will now progress to the next round of the Imperial Cup playdowns against the AFC Leopards.

Also on Saturday, and also at Point Grey School, the AFC Leopards defeated the recently-relegated Vancouver Olympics by a 4-0 score. After a scoreless first half, the Olympics actually took the game to the Leopards and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions. However, it was AFC that took the lead as former professional Kevan Cameron headed home a perfectly-placed corner kick by Sheu Fortunato. Soon thereafter, the ‘Justin Cordick show’ began as the youngster fired home 3 goals to seal the margin of victory for the Leopards. On the first goal, Cordick beat the Olympics’ offside trap, raced in all alone and calmly deposited the ball into the net. Cordick’s second goal was a thing of beauty as he converted yet another corner kick by Sheu Fortunato with a spectacular volley. His third goal was very similar to his first as he broke in all alone before sliding the ball into the net. The Leopards will now take on the underdog Westside FC in the quarter-finals of the Imperial Cup.

The third Saturday game, at Burnaby Lake West, saw the Sapperton Rovers eliminate the aspiring City FC Blaze by a 4-2 scoreline after a very entertaining 90 minutes of play. Young Stefano Pannu opened the scoring for the Rovers at about the 30th minute mark as he converted a nifty 3-way passing play—involving Mike Favaro and Trevor Todd—into the game’s opening goal. Early in the second half, Mike Favaro—on a goalmouth scramble—added Sapperton’s second goal. Shortly thereafter, another Sapperton veteran—Paul Favaro—was tripped in the box, resulting in a penalty kick. Yet another Sapperton veteran—Kent Waechter—converted the spot shot into his team’s winning goal. The newly-promoted Blaze, however, did not appear to be deterred by the scoreline and came roaring back, scoring twice in rapid succession, first on a long-range free kick by Shane Waterhouse and later on a well-taken shot by Rob Commons. In fact, the Blaze came close to tying things up but another shot by Commons was miraculously saved by Sapperton’s veteran goalkeeper, Cory Breure. Late in the match, Ryan McNabb scored the insurance marker for the Rovers as he picked up a rebound from a free kick by Kent Waechter. Defensively, Jeff Rogers turned in a superlative performance for Sapperton while veteran brothers, Mike Favaro and Paul Favaro, were once again in top form in the middle of the park. The Rovers will now face the heavily-favoured Columbus-Clan FC in the quarter-finals of the Imperial Cup.

On Saturday evening, at the newly-turfed Coquitlam Town Centre Stadium, the Vancouver Firefighters edged the struggling Metro-Ford Wolves by a 2-1 margin after a rather dull 90 minutes of play. In both teams’ defence, the game was played on a water-logged pitch as the heavy rain played havoc with the field conditions. After a scoreless—and rather uneventful—first half, the Wolves took the lead midway through the second half when Justin Hebner sent a rather speculative cross into the Firemen’s box. The Firefighers’ defender Greg Pears—in a desperate attempt to clear the ball while under severe pressure from Shawn Blakeway—proceeded to inadvertently head the ball into his own net for the game’s first goal. With about 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Firefighters tied things up as Chris Jarvie was on the receiving end of a fine through pass by Chris Craveiro and calmly slotted the ball home. Just as everyone thought that the regulation time would end in a tie, Bob Anderson sent a very dangerous cross into the Metro-Ford box and Lucas Barrett managed to get a piece of the ball to put an end to any possibility of extra time. For the Firemen, veteran defender Jeff Skinner once again played remarkably well, while midfielder Chris Craveiro dictated the pace of the match with his excellent work rate and high skill level. The Firemen will now face Surrey United in the quarter-finals of the Imperial Cup.

The last Saturday game was played at Cloverdale Athletic Park and featured the heavily-favoured Surrey United and the struggling Indo-Akal FC. The final result, 3-0 in favour of Surrey United, was of no surprise to anyone since Indo-Akal has been in the relegation zone for quite some time. Two youngsters, Angus Burke and Harpreet Khakh, took care of the scoring for the veteran-laden Surrey squad. Burke—who recently had his spleen removed—returned to action after a brief absence with a bang by scoring twice, while Khakh added a goal of his own to the margin of victory. The Cloverdale-based team will now take on the Firefighters in the next round—a much tougher task, one would venture to guess!

On Sunday, at Point Grey School in Vancouver, Columbus-Clan FC and West Van FC fought through 90 minutes of scoreless action before resorting to overtime to settle their differences. Columbus—the defending Imperial Champions—put an end to West Van’s season by eliminating the former Trollers from any further Imperial Cup or Province Cup action by virtue of a rather fortuitous 1-0 victory. The lone goal of the game was scored 10 minutes into the first overtime half when Scott McEachern deflected his own rebound past a bewildered West Van goalkeeper. To say the goal was scored in a bizarre manner would not be an exaggeration! West Van was very unlucky not to tie things up late in the second overtime period when Paul Dailly saw his blistering free kick brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Luca Dalla Pace. Defensively, Luca Bellisomo, Scott McEachern, Frank Mollica, and especially Jonathan Poli had excellent games, keeping the eager and determined West Van forwards off the scoresheet. Columbus will now take on the Sapperton Rovers in the quarter-finals of the Imperial Cup.

Also on Sunday, at Burnaby Lake West, ICSF Inter easily defeated the aspiring Norvan Eagles by a 3-0 margin. Inter totally dominated the entire match with solid defending, gritty midfield work, and dangerous attacking. ICSF took the lead at the 25th minute mark as Andrew Corazza tapped in an easy set-up by Kevin Crouch. Just before the halftime whistle, Corazza missed the opportunity to give his team a 2-0 lead when he failed to convert a similar tap-in. However, Corazza made amends for his miscue by scoring the insurance marker at the beginning of the second half, on a great set-up by Sheldon Maistry. Midway through the second half, Mike Tempesta put an end to Norvan’s slim hopes by converting a fine cross by Laurent Scaligine. The Italians will have a much tougher task this coming weekend as they take on a revitalized Croatia SC in the quarter-finals.

Finally, on Sunday evening at Charles Best School in Coquitlam, Croatia SC sent Sikh Temple packing by virtue of a decisive 3-0 victory. The score does not reflect the flow of the entire game as the visiting Sikhs had their fair share of scoring chances—particularly in the early going. However, some outstanding goalkeeping on the part of Drew Smiley kept Croatia in the game. The Croatians finally woke up at the 30th minute mark when a corner kick by Mike Masi was headed home by Maarten Koorn. In the second half, Sikh Temple continued to press and once again was thwarted by a miraculous save on the part of Drew Smiley, this time on a close-range shot by Lav Mangat. At this point the Croatians took over the reins of the match and came close to adding to their lead on several occasions, particularly on efforts by Mike Masi and Adrian Kekec. They were finally rewarded at the 75th minute mark when veteran Darko Jelic fed a brilliant through ball to young David Zaharija who—after beating the Sikh Temple offside trap—raced in all alone and easily scored the insurance marker. Late in the game, Croatia scored its third goal of the match on a similar play as Ivo Steko sent Adrian Kekec flying in on goal, once again avoiding the offside trap. Kekec used his speed and his enormous skill to finally put the game out of Sikh Temple’s reach. As mentioned earlier, Croatia will now face a much tougher task in the quarter-finals of the Imperial Cup—the very strong ICSF Inter.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: WESTSIDE FC for its amazing 1-0 victory over Group ‘B’ champions—Sporting Club. Westside, a Division 1 team, was given practically no chance of defeating the heavily-favoured Portuguese team but rose to the occasion and, led by the outstanding goalkeeping of veteran Mike Wicken, eventually managed to maintain the narrow margin of victory.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: AFC Leopards’ young JUSTIN CORDICK for his brilliant 3-goal effort in his team’s 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Olympics. All 3 of Cordick’s goals were superbly executed. Also, Westside FC’s veteran goalkeeper MIKE WICKEN for his remarkable effort in his team’s upset victory over Sporting Club. Time after time, Wicken rose to the occasion to thwart the vaunted Sporting Club attackers and preserve his team’s narrow margin of victory. For their outstanding performances JUSTIN CORDICK and MIKE WICKEN will each receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2007-04-02.

 

[fuzzy]

WEEK #25—2007-03-28

IMPERIAL CUP and MAKE-UP GAMES

The Imperial Cup semi-finals were played this past weekend with both games ending with rather predictable results. In fact, Columbus-Clan FC and ICSF Inter repeated their last season’s achievements by reaching the final with narrow victories over the upstart Westside FC and Firefighters FC respectively. In league play, Indo-Akal FC climbed out of last place in the Group ‘B’ standings by beating the rather lethargic Sapperton Rovers 2-0, while Croatia SC drew nearer a Province Cup berth by virtue of a 2-1 victory over the hard-working Norvan Eagles. The relegation dilemma—as well as the Province Cup qualification issue—should be resolved this coming weekend as some very important league matches will take place. Also on the line is the championship battle in Group ‘A’ between Columbus-Clan FC and ICSF Inter. The two Italian teams will have to play each other twice in rapid succession. Their first match should determine the Group ‘A’ winner, while the second game will be the Imperial Cup final which is slated for Kinsman Stadium in North Vancouver on April 22.

On Sunday, at Point Grey School in Vancouver, Columbus-Clan FC predictably defeated the first division underdogs—Westside FC—by a 2-0 margin in an Imperial Cup semi-final match. The first half was rather uneventful as neither team produced many goalscoring chances. Columbus’ best opportunity came from a Tiernan King cross that was headed towards the net by Gino Gaita only to have veteran goalkeeper Mike Wicken make a remarkable save. Near the end of the first half, Columbus goalkeeper Luca Dalla Pace was also forced to make a great save on a shot by Westside’s Daniel May, a shot that seemed destined for the back of the net. In the second half, the visiting Italian team took over the reins of the match and finally got on the scoresheet when Jonathan Poli pounced on a loose ball inside the goal area and proceeded to deposit it in the net for what proved to be the winning goal. Moments later, Dalla Pace once again rose to the occasion as he thwarted a goalscoring attempt by Dale Robertson, who had raced in all alone on a breakaway. Late in the match, Columbus put the game out of Westside’s reach when defender Scott McEachern set up Joe Scigliano with a brilliant cross. Scigliano’s flick-header eluded Wicken for the insurance marker. Westside’s veteran defender James Prescott turned in yet another excellent performance, albeit in a losing cause. Thus ends Westside’s quest for the Imperial Cup. To its credit, however, the veteran first division team has qualified for the Province Cup playdowns. Needless to say, it is an uncommon occurrence for a first division team to reach this level of competition.

Also on Sunday, at Charles Best School in Coquitlam, ICSF Inter and the Vancouver Firefighters engaged in a rather dull and uneventful affair, with both teams seemingly content to avoid any risks and concentrated mostly on a few counter-attacks. The final result, 1-0 in favour of ICSF, pretty well describes the match as neither team created any real goalscoring opportunities. The Firemen had most of the possession during the entire match but some excellent defending on the part of Inter’s Scott Spraklin and Jesse Dhami made life very easy for goalkeeper Dennis Kindel who was practically untested throughout the match. At the other end of the pitch, veterans Jeff Skinner and Travis Turner were at their best as they kept the vaunted Inter attack—consisting of Andrew Corazza, Kevin Crouch, Laurent Scaligine, and Brian VanSchagen—at bay. The lone goal of the match was scored at the 65th minute mark and, not surprisingly, came on a counter-attack as the Firemen were stripped of the ball in the middle of the park by Laurent Scaligine who quickly sent Kevin Crouch flying down the right flank with an impeccable through ball. Crouch’s cross was a thing of beauty but Adam Wallace’s diving header was even better as he fearlessly beat the outstretched fists of goalkeeper Marco Durante. Inter will now take on arch-rival Columbus-Clan FC in a rematch of last year’s final that saw Columbus take home the Imperial Cup trophy in a somewhat controversial fashion. As mentioned earlier, the Imperial Cup final has been scheduled for Sunday, April 22 at Kinsman Stadium in North Vancouver.

In a regular league game, played on Saturday at Mercer Stadium in New Westminster, Indo-Akal FC got a very important 3 points in defeating the rather uninterested Sapperton Rovers by a 2-0 margin. The struggling Indo-Akal got on the scoreboard in the first half as a result of a well-executed goal by Marcelo Giunto who calmy slotted the ball past goalkeeper Cory Breure after a fine individual effort. Dale Gill almost added another Indo-Akal goal just before the halftime break as he found himself all alone in front of the net only to have the ball elude his reach. Sapperton’s Kent Waechter had a similar opportunity early in the second half but was also unable to finish it off. Late in the match, Indo-Akal was awarded a penalty kick as Cory Breure denied Paul Bolina an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Breure was ejected for his infraction and, on the ensuing penalty kick, Jas Singh put the game out of the Rovers’ reach with a well-placed shot. The victory puts Indo-Akal 3 points ahead of Sikh Temple, whose last game is against the aspiring Columbus-Clan FC. In other words, Sikh Temple needs to defeat Columbus—an unlikely possibility—to force a ‘relegation play-off’ game against Indo-Akal FC.

The other regular league game, between the Norvan Eagles and Croatia SC, was played at William Griffin Park in North Vancouver on Monday evening in front of numerous enthusiastic spectators. The final result, 1-0 in favour of the Croatians, officially eliminated the Eagles from the provincial cup competition. Croatia SC, on the other hand, now stands a very good chance of gaining the last available slot in the Province Cup playdowns. The visitors came flying out of the starting blocks and nearly took the lead at the 10th minute mark when a Mike Masi header hit the goalpost before being cleared out of danger. Despite the Croatian dominance, it was Norvan that took the lead on a lethal counter-attack involving James Wilton, Blake Burgon, and Corey Birza. After a nifty one-two between Wilton and Burgon, the latter crossed a brilliant ball onto the path of Birza who make no mistake from close range. In the second half, Croatia continued to press for the equalizer and came close at the 60th minute mark when midfielder Maarten Koorn unleashed a laser of a shot that had Norvan’s goalkeeper Giancarlo Martino beaten. Unfortunately for Koorn, the ball bounced off the goalpost and out of danger. Shortly thereafter, Mirko Maras hit a similar shot from the edge of the penalty box but, once again, the woodwork got in the way and prevented Croatia from scoring the tying goal. Finally, young Adrian Kekec was able to knot the score when he brilliantly converted an excellent cross from Mike Masi into his team’s first goal. The Eagles weathered the storm and came close to regaining the lead on shots from Nick Seddon and Sean Regan but, near the end of the match, Adrian Kekec and Mike Masi reversed roles as Kekec became the provider and Masi the finisher. Kekec’s cross was headed towards the goal by Masi but once again bounced off the goalpost. The time, however, Masi picked up the rebound and brilliantly back-heeled the ball into the net. Some controversy ensued as the Eagles felt that Masi had handled the ball in his initial attempt to head home the winning goal. Neverless, the goal stood and Croatia walked away with the well-deserved victory.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: CROATIA SC for its excellent performance in defeating the young and very fit Norvan Eagles by a 2-1 margin in a very important league match. The Croatians dominated most of the play and, led by the excellent performances of Mike Masi and Adrian Kekec, went home with all-important 3 points. Croatia SC is now pretty well assured of a spot in the Province Cup playdowns.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Croatia SC’s forward MIKE MASI for his amazing performance in his team’s 2-1 victory over the Norvan Eagles. Masi set up his team’s tying goal with an excellent cross to teammate Adrian Kekec, then he scored the winner on a cheeky back-heel. Finally, Masi came close to adding to the margin of victory as he hit the woodwork with a fine header. For his outstanding performance MIKE MASI will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2007-04-18.