Div 2 [VMSL Division 2] Predictions, Results & Banter, Feb-Mar, 2007

[BlazeArmy]

Rangers A 2 UBC 1

Wow. COnsidering the lineup we put out there i was really hoping to just keep it close, not get a result so we went with the less than standard 4-5-1 formation. We had only 5 players of our A side and everyone else was off our mucker B side.They went up 1-0 on a mishit cross that left me with no chance as it just dropped under the far post/crossbar and went in. We tied it up before half on a box scramble where we were able to move it wide for our lone forward and he slotted it home. Halftime it was time for me to come off as i my knee at that point was hating me and we made a couple other subs and away we went. Our second came of a dummy by their centre forward who let it go through his legs where our centre back collected it nicely. 5 touches and 4 passes later it was 2-1 as half our guys were still taking the mickey out o the guy who dummied the ball at midfield. After that is was a pretty mucky affair and they hit the bar on a 40 yard free kick that our keeper watched fly ever so gracefully over his head. he caught the ball as it came down and Miro blew the whistle to end it. UBC were quite friendly today and it was nice the final game didn't get ugly in anyway. Other than the muck show that is strathcona.

Now onto the 4 or 5 week break until the promotion playoffs begin. Wish there wasn't going to be a big break but it will give us a chance to actually get completely healthy and hopefully tuned up for the most important games of the season. Nice to finish the league 15-2-1 but ti would be completely moot if we can't get promoted.

 

[steve a.]

Westside Knights 1 C-men 0

Ugly , Ugly game , ugly reffing , ugly playing , ugly field and ugly result but they all count. Both teams played a full 90 minute muck fest as we didn't get as many chances as we had hoped but in the end we capitalized and kept the dream alive. one down two more to go , on to next week !

cheers , the Rattler

 

[evergreen]

My husband plays for Dexterity. There were 8 guys at that game, and only 7 the week after. I agree it was kind of unsportsman-like of the other team.

unsportsmanship goes both ways; it's also very depressing to show up to play a good game of 11 vs 11 cuz that's what soccer is and then have to play against 7. perhaps an indoor league is better suited if the committment (to both teams) is not happening

 

[bonefish]

Norvan 4 - 1 NK Hrvat: After the deluge today, I was quite surprised to find Confed Turf in great shape and almost devoid of the youth teams that always seam to practice until 2min after our official kickoff. Game started with both sides a bit tenative and not risking much. As things settled in Norvan began to get some pressure in the NK half and this led to one great opportunity that was squandered inside the 12yd mark. We did pull ahead on a free kick from afar that was headed towards goal and then hit once again to find the back of the net. NK made a sub to bring in their Special K midfielder who began to create some space in the middle and cause problems but it was Norvan who netted the two goal lead before half on another free kick from afar that was dropped into the box and headed home on a brilliant run by our center mid.(Could have used him last week in Squamish!!) Halftime sees NK sort themselves out and they come out determined at the whistle. They pin Norvan in their half for good stretches but can't seem to pull the trigger at the right time. Eventually on some gritty work, a NK mid is dropped at the top of the 18. On the ensuing free kick, the shot is curled well to the top corner over our outstreched keeper. NK continue to put on the pressure and get a series of set plays deep the Norvan half. On one of them the ball is sent goalward where it is headed off the line off my legs and behind me to a waiting NK defender. I closed just in time and stretched the leg to get a toe on the ensuing shot and deflected what would have been a sure goal, over the bar. After that close call we pick up our socks and begin working the ball a bit better but are given a hotly contested corner by the referee. McDirty was livid at the call and when we scored on the play he lost and it and was nearly carded for his diatribe. The third goal was the proverbial nail in the coffin but NK kept working hard with Watcher coming in and doing well to control the ball and feed the forwards and mid-field but it was not enough. With NK pushing near the end they were caught a couple of times and conceded a 4th goal late in the game.

Final whistle brought a lot of satisfaction to a Norvan side that fought through a tough season to end at .500. There were 11 games were we played with less than full team for parts of the game including some where we had 8 players on the field. It was definitely a rebuilding year with the exodus of 9 players most of whom were starters. Next year will be interesting with the movement of teams down from betwen Div 1, Div 2 and Div 3. Thanks all for the good season.

 

[too young to retire yet...]

DPR 3 Kosova 1

Took awhile for us to get some intensity into this game after several weeks of dramatic Cup play. Kosova has certainly improved and if they can ever figure out to play as a team (that means making a pass to an open player) they might get out of the bottom half of the standings. Anyway, they scored on their only shot/chance of the game about 25 minutes in. We slept until about the 55 minute mark and then decided to wake up and play some soccer. It never felt like we would lose, but a win was in doubt until 2 nicely set up goals and a PK late to seal the victory.
On to Bombastic, but when, that is anyone's guess?
We all wish the league would give us some idea of when the match might be played as the long weekend is coming and many lads of out of town or family plans. Guess it is the same for every team, but sure would be nice to fight it out with a full squad against a Bombastic side without a blemish dating back to 2006-2007.

 

[too young to retire yet...]

i take that back on the 'unblemished' Bombastic record. Well done to Cleo's. Bombastic will certainly be thinking about their next matches now instead of knowing that it is all sewn up...

 

[steve a.]

Westside Knights 1 GN Sporting 1

Well this one ended the way I think it should with both teams having chances they wish they had taken better. Game could have easily been 3-3 with both goalies and posts playing well to keep it at 1-1. First half was all them , second half was half us half them. Some good play both ways as the ref made some weird calls and some weirder non-calls. GN was missing a few lads and their keeper and it would have been nice to have gotten the win however it was not in the cards. A good hard fought game both ways nothing to crazy to report , hopefully GN has a hiccup along the way for our sake. Barring that we have one game left against los diablos de verde and a win would bring an end to a pretty successful year for team geriatric. GN good luck in the next few games it was a good couple of games , we'll see ya soon !

cheers , the Rattler

 

[BlazeArmy]

Promotion Games will eventually happen i am told. THe C division is putting a cramp on any scheduling especially considering they may need a one game playoff to decide the group winner and could even have a 3 way tie for top spot. League has said the schedule will be a vs b midweek, a vs c weekend, b vs c midweek so the games are done in a short period of time. Good luck to those still alive in the cup and those still to finish their seasons. Good luck to bombastic and the 3 teams trying to win the C group as well.

 

[too young to retire yet...]

DPR 2, West Van 0

West Van did not have a shot on net, yet it was scoreless until the 70 minute mark. Our striker (welcome back after 4 months out with a back injury) ripped a shot that seemed square on the wooden post, but was struck so hard that it somehow spun off the post and went top far corner. 10 minutes later we sealed the game with an excellent cross from our other stiker to our centre mid who put in a beauty header (atoning for an ugly sky ball from the slot 15 minutes earlier). Waiting anxiously to see if somehow Squamish upset Bombastic to leave the fate of winner of 2 B in our hands (yes, I believe we would be 6 pts back with a game left against both teams). Surely we won't have to play Bombastic up to 3 more times? (cup semis, league game, and if they lost today, and we win our last two, there would be a playoff to get into the promotion round robin?). Obviously dreaming, but you never know...

 

[Teelay]

Cleos 3 - PGR 2

Cleos beat us today on what I would call probably the worst field I've ever played on. David Lam should have been closed 2 months ago - I was speaking to the ref after the game and he was saying the same thing as me. ANyways, Cleos came to play today and we most certainly did not. They were up 2-0 early on a corner headed in by a wide open striker and their 2nd is definitely one of the fluke goals of the season. But they outworked us badly in the 1st half.

2nd half we came to play and probably carried 75% of the play, but couldn't get the job done. We have nothing really to play for, but should still show up and play 90 minutes. 1 more game vs Squamish to finish out the season, and I think it will be a good one.

On a side note, we showed up at David Lam to see the posts chained together and we have no key. After a few minutes of searching for a key in nearby buildings, I hopped in my truck, went home and grabbed some bolt cutters. At 2:15, we snapped the chain and game on. No damage to the lock and the chain only lost 1 link. Next time I'll bring the cutters in my truck to avoid Main Street traffic at 2PM on a Saturday

 

[BlazeArmy]

I see Green devils and the Knights were goalless last night. GN needs a win tommorrow to sew up the Group C title. A draw and their will be a playoff match between Green Devils and GN.

 

[Chazling]

Yeah, pretty poor game to be honest. Westside Knights seemed to pay for a tie in the last 20 minutes, despite the fact that a win for them could have resulted in a 3 way tie, although they were missing their best player. I was suspended and it was pretty hard to watch it get away from us. But we'll pick ourselves up and be ready for the cup.

 

[Dapotayto]

they were missing their best player. I was suspended and it was pretty hard to watchQUOTE]

Modesty not your strong suit I take it?

Cheers to all the Division 2 fellas for the season and good luck with the promotion playoffs to everyone involved with those games.

 

[bonefish]

Chazling has put up some pretty big numbers for the Green Devils(20-30 goals I think) so if he was talking some smack he has some stats to go with that. However, if I read his post again, it would seem to read as, Westide were missing their best player.

 

[Chazling]

Thankyou Bonefish - I meant that Westside were missing their best player, the guy who had a hand in all the goals they scored against us when we last met.

 

[steve a.]

That would be me

I don't have a problem with modesty either I just embrace my large headedness

 

[steve a.]

Westside Knights 0 Los Diablos de la Verde 0

Well another epic battle out at point grey turf could this provide the same excitement as the first encounter .... will Batman foil the joker's plan's ..... (No fcuking chance) I strap on the captain highliner gear and prepare to sit in the piss pouring rain and yell on the sidelines in agony as I witness a game against a team I always love to play Los Diablos de la Verde.

With myself and a few other missing from our fold and Chazling and a few of his merry men not playing as well this one did not have the same highlight reel plays as the first. I thought both teams played well , both goalies played well in their backup roles and the ref was for the most part one of the better ones' this year.
I am sure the lack of starting players on both teams ensured that this one was going to be a hard fought battle right down to the end and it was. To answer your question Chazling yes we did hold on for the tie somewhat as I wanted to put our goalie (starting forward) upfront with 5 mins left and someone else in net to try for the win and really fcuk up the 2c group however the rest of the lads saw fit to keep playing as we were. All in all it was fitting to see us tie the greenies twice as well as the gn lads twice to prove just how close and good our group was this year. Full marks to all the Green Devil lads always enjoy playing you lot as I know it will be a great game. Pleasure to meet Chazling and a few other greenies after the game thanx for the kind words mate here's to hoping you get a playoff game ( I may make an appearance as the special guest referee ).

Thus concludes a very productive and sucessfull campaign for team geriatric through our season of tears and trumoil some light has come at the end bring on the Squamish tourney . Good luck to those left in cup and Army i'll make my way through the tunnel for ya to watch the playoff games.

cheers , the Rattler

 

[BlazeArmy]

Apparently they are tuesday at north delta vs GN and friday at home vs bombastic for us. they want to finish playoffs before cup.

we haven't trained in 2 weeks as the league was discussing finishing the cup first but not now. I am away friday and we are missing a few guys for both games as they are all teachers and the bastards have gone down south for the sun.

MAybe GN ties or loses tommorrow and can throw a damper on the plans but we will see ass the league has all but conceeded them the group win.

 

[Teelay]

We just had to forfeit our game tomorrow vs. Squamish due to lack of players. Too many guys out of town for the Easter long weekend. Sh!tty way to end the season, but it means nothing in the standings so whatever.

 

[This Bud's 4 You]

GN Sporting 2
Unicorns 0

GN locks up first place in Group C.