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Div 1 [VMSL Div 1] Predictions, Results & Banter 2018/2019

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Canucks4Ever

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After a break for some Imperial Cup play, which saw four Div. 1 sides advance to the next round, it is back to league play this week. That is, of course, assuming the weather holds off, as subzero temperatures and snow are threatening to close fields across the lower mainland. The schedule is all put certain to end up in the blender, but you never know, we might just get some of these games in!

Completely Baseless Predictions - Week 21

Binger's Army v Rino's Fury
Sadly, regardless of whatever weather phenomena may or may not intervene between now and the end of the season, Binger's will be leaving us come the end of the campaign. After something like two decades at the Division 1 level, the Army were officially relegated following their 6-0 loss at the hands of first place White Eagles. That loss set the stage for Inter to deliver the death blow when they defeated Lupi 3-1, moving the Army 13 points from safety with only three matches remaining. That being said, the writing has been on the wall for some time now for Binger's and, while the division will certainly have a hole to fill without them, there is simply no arguing with the results they have amassed over the year. They will get one last tussle in against old foes Rino's this week and the Fury are coming off a narrow 1-0 win against NorVan last time out before being idle last week during cup play. Perhaps the Binger's farewell tour will inspire some final memories with a solid performance over a rival, but they have been so mired in poor play of late that it is simply impossible to make them favourites.

Columbus v Burnaby Selects White Eagles
This marquee fixture is easily the MOTW and both sides will be hoping that next time they meet it is in Premier. White Eagles are in the drivers seat in that regard as they look to have found another gear as they charge towards the finish line. The former Serbians have won three straight and their only blemish so far in the new year was their inexplicable meltdown against Rino's that saw the league administratively take the points away from them after they caused and abandonment. Columbus, meanwhile, have found it much tougher sledding. A pair of narrow, hard fought wins in the league have been bracketed by two losses that have suddenly cast doubt upon their once comfortable promotion position. However, in a scheduling quirk, these sides were drawn together in the opening round of the Imperial Cup last weekend and played to a tense 1-1 draw before the Italians emerged victorious on penalties. Columbus also won the original league meeting between the teams 2-0. It seems likely to be a war of attrition in this one, however, the Burnaby boys have the advantage of being able to slip up an drop points without risk of being overtaken. Columbus do not have that luxury at all and, with Burnaby Metro breathing down their necks, a stumble here could leave them rather precariously poised. Of course, though, there is still another installment of the Burnaby derby to come between Metro and White Eagles, so the former Serbians will be weary that a loss here would put them on the hot seat in that match which could potentially wind up as a final day showdown. It really is all to play for here but, given Burnaby closed its fields without it even having snowed yet last Sunday, I am not putting much faith in this one going ahead unfortunately. If it does go though I am expecting a similar outing to last week and think this one will finish level.

Westside v Romania
It was a big win for Romania last weekend, though, unfortunately for them, it came in the cup rather than the league. It is officially must win time for the Europeans as they will have to win out and hope either Inter or NorVan lose out in order to stay up. The odds are long indeed, but a loss this week to Westside would make it official. The Vancouver outfit proved themselves a decently challenge in their cup outing against NorVan's Premier group, for them to extra time before a narrow loss. Really though it was just another draw for a side that notched its seventh of the campaign with a 3-3 against Greencaps the last time out in the league. Westside don't really have must to play for though, as they will be finishing mid-table no matter what, so potentially that might leave the door open for Romania. It really depends what sort of attitude the side approach this one with. If Westside turn in the same level of performance that brought them within a whisker of claiming a Premier scalp in the cup, or if Romania have already resigned themselves to their fate, then you would think the home side should be comfortable here. If it goes the other way, however, and Westside cannot be bother to get motivated while Romania are determined to fight relegation to their last breath, then maybe there some points to be had for the Europeans here. Tough to call. Westside edged their first meeting 1-0 so I will say there is likely to be a similar result on the cards this time around.

Club Inter EDC v NorVan Storm
Inter got a huge result against Lupi last time out in the league that has seen them move to the precipice of safety. NorVan posted a similar result against Lupi the previous week and sit immediately behind Inter in the table. The winner here will be mathematically safe while the loser will have to rely on Romania losing, or else sweat it out another week before having a chance to secure their spot for next year. NorVan had the week off with a bye in the cup and could well have another given the forecast and the fact this one is slated for Burnaby Lake. NorVan were one of the hottest sides until they were abruptly halted by Rino's, losing 1-0 in their last match. Chances are they should be able to get back into the swing of things, especially given that Inter have largely been poor this season and now that they have done the heavy lifting to make themselves all but safe, there is a decent chance for a let down.

GN Sporting v Vancouver Greencaps
This weekend's edition of the "Who Cares?" mid-table clash features Greencaps and GN. Greencaps looked to be in good form and were well among the goals until they were beaten 3-1 by Romania of all teams in the Imperial Cup last week. Perhaps they have now finally checked out for the season. Meanwhile it looked like GN were maybe planning to coast to the finish line, but then they went away from home and beat Columbus 2-1 to put the promotion battle into flux. They were also hardly outclassed by Inter's Premier side in their cup match, only losing 2-0. A road trip to North Delta, even if it likely to get postponed, probably is not at the top of the list of things to do on the weekend for the Greencaps. I'll give GN the edge, again though, it hardly matters.

Burnaby Metro Athletic v Coquitlam Metro Ford Lupi
Well it has all been building to this for Burnaby Metro. Columbus dropped points in their loss to GN and now must play White Eagles. If Columbus drop further points, Metro can leapfrog them with a with a win. If Columbus manage a win, then Metro must keep pace as they will sit agonizingly one point behind both White Eagles and Columbus. However, they still have a match to come against White Eagles meaning, that as of now, Metro control their own fate. Win out and they will be up at the expense of one of White Eagles of Columbus. Metro were afforded a confidence booster in the Imperial Cup, beating beleaguered Premier side, Campo, 3-0. Metro will be hoping not to be play the striped sock clad outfit again next season as Campo's relegation has already been confirmed and Metro will be keen to happily accept their place in the top flight. There was also another goal for Farivar Torabi, whose goal scoring exploits have lifted him to the top of the Division 1 scoring charts and Metro back into this promotion battle. All of this great work though could well be for naught if Metro cannot continue to put wins on the board. Lupi have been dreadful for sometime now, having seemingly called time on their season somewhere around December, but did pop up with a win against lowly Binger's in the Imperial Cup last week. Perhaps this will knock them back into form as they look a far cry from the side that showed up bang in form to play Metro back in November. On that day Metro still managed the victory and it would appear that was the turning point in the season for both teams. We shall see if Lupi can return the favour and strike what could be a death blow to Burnaby's teetering promotion hopes or if Metro can continue this remarkable late season resurgence. This does seem like the kind of match that could be a trap for Metro, especially now that they have reached the point where they could wind up finishing the weekend in a promotion place. Ultimately, like the other Burnaby Lake fixtures, this one seems likely to be claimed by the weather, so Burnaby may well be forced to continue wait. If it does go ahead, while I am weary of Metro having a let down, their form and assault up the table means that they have to be favourites in this one.
 

Canucks4Ever

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Romania and Bingers, the two longest residents of div 1, officially gone down now

Romania have only been in Division 1 for five seasons, so arguably Rino's have been in the league longer in one form or another, though I guess the "Fury" entity may have only been officially up for four years. Also GN have been around in Div. 1 for some time, though perhaps they had a yoyo season to Div. 2 mixed in there somewhere. Certainly they are no where near the amount of seasons that Binger's have been in the league, but perhaps that goes to show the turnover in this Division over the past decade.

Regardless, you are correct, relegation was officially settled yesterday, but promotion was thrown wide open once more with BOTH Columbus and White Eagles dropping points in their 1-1 draw. Burnaby Metro can leapfrog Columbus with a win against Lupi but still have a game to play against White Eagles which means that Columbus are now in a good position to reel in whoever drops points in that clash. Certainly high drama as we come down to the wire!
 

Stuffey

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Romania have only been in Division 1 for five seasons, so arguably Rino's have been in the league longer in one form or another, though I guess the "Fury" entity may have only been officially up for four years. Also GN have been around in Div. 1 for some time, though perhaps they had a yoyo season to Div. 2 mixed in there somewhere. Certainly they are no where near the amount of seasons that Binger's have been in the league, but perhaps that goes to show the turnover in this Division over the past decade.

Regardless, you are correct, relegation was officially settled yesterday, but promotion was thrown wide open once more with BOTH Columbus and White Eagles dropping points in their 1-1 draw. Burnaby Metro can leapfrog Columbus with a win against Lupi but still have a game to play against White Eagles which means that Columbus are now in a good position to reel in whoever drops points in that clash. Certainly high drama as we come down to the wire!
That's a long winded way of agreeing with someone ;)
 

Liam O'Dowd

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Just got off the phone with the Vancouver Parks Board and they advised all pitches are closed for Feb 16th & 17th. Has anyone had any contact with the league in regards to this weekend's fixtures?
 

dezza

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Just got off the phone with the Vancouver Parks Board and they advised all pitches are closed for Feb 16th & 17th. Has anyone had any contact with the league in regards to this weekend's fixtures?

Who did you talk to? Seems VPB may need to co-ordinate their message better, because this is the info we got around 2pm:

Just a reminder that PB doesn't shut down the synthetic turf, they are user discretion. If the call is made by the organization to not play, then the permit holder would let you know (or you make the call if it's your own permit).

Thanks,

Jenny Healey | Outdoor Sports Facility Bookings
My pronoun is: she | her
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
 

Liam O'Dowd

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I didn't get her name but I asked twice about the synthetic turf and she said the status on her screen said closed for Feb 16th & 17th but I believe what Jenny's saying as well. Has anyone spoke to Geoff?
 

Canucks4Ever

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Greencaps v Club Inter EDC
Three matches in Division 1 this week, two of which are irrelevant. The first of those being this one between Greencaps and Inter. The Green men look like they may have checked out on the season, having not played since the start of February when they were trounced from the cup by relegated Romania. That being said, Inter have looked fairly checked out all season and after finding a way to get the points they need to stay uo, have gone right back to bleeding goals. Likely they will be happy for the season to simply end and allow the club to re-evaluate just what exactly they are doing with this team for next season. As always in these matches, it is really about with team fields a decent side. Inter cannot keep the ball out of their net though, so if Greencaps have a half decent turnout at home they should be able to score enough goals to add another win to their record.

Burnaby Selects White Eagles v Westside
This one is the game that matters with White Eagles now locked in this three-way death match for promotion. White Eagles have a three point edge on Columbus and five points on Burnaby Metro, but Metro have an extra game to play. After this match though, the former Serbians only remaining fixture is against Metro is what is sure to be an epic encounter. If they win this match they are guaranteed, at worst, a playoff with Columbus to go up, while all they would need against Metro would be a draw to confirm promotion. Drop points here though, and the Metro game all of a sudden becomes magnified. This is where the schedule also comes into play and it is a tricky scenario. White Eagles are on the schedule to play Rino's next weekend, but, if Rino's beat Richmond in the cup, then Rino's will continue with cup play and White Eagles will have their showdown against Metro. If that game goes ahead, then White Eagle will be done and either promoted (as they will know they have enough points) or will have to sit agonizingly on the sidelines while Metro and Columbus finish their schedules the next week. However, if Rino's lose, then that game will go ahead while White Eagles against Metro will be pushed all the way out to March 24 and it will be Columbus who are the odd team out waiting for their fate to be determined. Thus, getting these points this week against Westside is very much crucial for White Eagles. They handled the Vancouver boys rather routinely the first time through the schedule, beating them 4-0, but that is very much an outlier in Westside's schedule. The former Premier side have made a habit of playing close matches this season so we shall see how the fair in their second attempt at the league's best. We have already seen mid-table GN, with nothing to play for, stun relegation hopefuls Columbus, so Burnaby would do well to be sharp for this one. Assuming they are hungry to go up they should be well motivated here as it is very much their game to lose.

Binger's Army v Rino's Fury
One last battle for these old rivals before the Army depart for Division 2. If there is one last game on the schedule that Binger's will really want to put in a top performance for, it would be this one. Rino's obviously should be favourite given the way the league has played out this season, but they have nothing left to play for at the minute. Their line ups are inconsistent at the best of times and an extra Wednesday night game at the end of the season might not be the biggest draw. This will be especially true if they are at their best this weekend and advance in the Imperial Cup as they will have another cup match to play the following week. Having a meaningless league game sandwiched in between that will likely be an afterthought. At full strength, the Fury probably cruise to an easy win just as in the reverse fixture. However, with a less than full crew and a motivated Army, there is likely something to play for here. Call it a draw.
 

Canucks4Ever

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Barring a Romanian miracle whereby they take points off of Columbus next weekend, the promotion race was settled tonight.

A 4-2 win for White Eagles over Metro Athletic means that White Eagles will go up to Premier next season as Division 1 Champions after finishing the season with 50 points. Columbus can join them with a win next week over already relegated Romania, while a draw would guarantee them at least a playoff. Metro will have to hope that somehow Romania bounce back from losing 11-2 in the Imperial Cup this weekend and take points off of Columbus and then the Burnaby boys could have a chance at promotion if they win their final two matches.
 

GoF

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If you haven't seen it yet, here's our video (five of the goals) from White Eagles championship clinching 4-2 win against Burnaby Metro on Sunday. Picked the wrong half to stand in for the second 45! They played some nice football in the second half.



Also it seems that Romania have forfeited their match against Columbus on Saturday so the Italians are promoted. That's a really shitty way for the promotion battle to end.
 

Canucks4Ever

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Also it seems that Romania have forfeited their match against Columbus on Saturday so the Italians are promoted. That's a really shitty way for the promotion battle to end.

Indeed. Especially after Romania made a point of playing their Imperial Cup match against Tigers. Certainly Columbus won't be complaining one iota but there is something just slightly unsatisfying when you don't get to win that last game.
 
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