Premier [VMSL Premier] Predictions, Results & Banter 2017/2018

[SmartCoach]

So foggy at memorial
Was looking for the white walkers to show up
The field was also very frozen
Hopefully the game in 9 days will be under better
Weather conditions
Good ref in middle tonight Alan

 

[GoF]

Here's the video I shot last night from Inter v Rino's. Since the focus on my camera is kinda dodgy without the fog, this was better than I thought it would turn out. Rino's goal is still lost in the fog though. Zooming in at that point was a blurry mess.

 

[Dude]

Seeing that highlight...have to admit, that's what I really miss about playing. Loved evening games on near frozen turf in the cold.

 

[Canucks4Ever]

Wow...

Per the Excellent Site CCB forfeit to West Van tonight. Brutal. 100% they deserve to go down, no excuses to forfeit games in Premier. Last year maybe some leeway because of the messed up schedule thanks to the snow, but still. Yes West Van's early kick off on the North Shore sucks and yes CCB are bottom of the league, but have some pride and play for your club.

#Shambles

 

[SmartCoach]

Wow...

Per the Excellent Site CCB forfeit to West Van tonight. Brutal. 100% they deserve to go down, no excuses to forfeit games in Premier. Last year maybe some leeway because of the messed up schedule thanks to the snow, but still. Yes West Van's early kick off on the North Shore sucks and yes CCB are bottom of the league, but have some pride and play for your club.

#Shambles

CCB roster has 35 players on it not sure why they can not field a team
Foggy night at Burnaby Lake
Rino’s 3 Croatia 1

 

[GoF]

Rovers Tigers beat Campo 3-2 this afternoon in a very strange game.

When I saw Campo's line up I though they were in for a hammering. Three of their main attacking pieces were missing, including leading scorer Edson. Unsurprisingly Tigers were 3-0 up by the 25th minute.

Campo hadn't had any shot of danger then pulled one back in the 33rd minute from a deflected free kick.

You still felt Tigers would then move up a gear and rip them apart, but full credit to Campo, they didn't allow them to, even after losing their goalkeeper to a poor challenge at the start of the second half that saw an outfield sub go between the sticks. He had one save to make for the rest of the match! Campo pulled a second back but never really looked like pulling off the shock comeback, as Tigers just seemed to coast through the last 15 minutes.

Here's the goals and some other highlights.

 

[dezza]

What's with #17 on Campo wearing a jersey that's a different colour from the rest of the team? Is that a no-contact jersey?

 

[club_i_champ]

Found out last night that Westside has put in a protest regarding last Friday nights result on the grounds of RFC having gained an unfair advantage from the result of an improperly spotted free kick.

Here is the scenario;

Westside keeper plays his goal kick up the middle of the penalty area towards his on coming central midfielder. This CM is closed down by his marker, and plays the ball directly back to where it came from towards his GK. The GK panics at the pace of the return pass and lays out to make a save to push the ball past the post. Ref awards a free kick just inside the 6 yard box. We score from the resulting play.

Now the issue is that an in direct free kick is to be placed 6 yards from the goal line in the result of an infraction occurring inside the 6 yard box. The spot of the foul, given by the referee was 5 yards out. From my vantage point during the play, the GK played the ball, got the return ball almost immediately from the same spot where he had taken the kick. The keeper handled the ball basically on top of his own 6 yard box it was that much of a bang bang play. He didn't scramble it off of the line is what I'm getting at.

IMO we are the ones who had a disadvantage before taking the kick, as the defending team is less then 10 yards away from the kick no matter what considering the close proximity to the goal.

Westside have asked for a full replay.

Thoughts?

 

[big gk]

Found out last night that Westside has put in a protest regarding last Friday nights result on the grounds of RFC having gained an unfair advantage from the result of an improperly spotted free kick.

Here is the scenario;

Westside keeper plays his goal kick up the middle of the penalty area towards his on coming central midfielder. This CM is closed down by his marker, and plays the ball directly back to where it came from towards his GK. The GK panics at the pace of the return pass and lays out to make a save to push the ball past the post. Ref awards a free kick just inside the 6 yard box. We score from the resulting play.

Now the issue is that an in direct free kick is to be placed 6 yards from the goal line in the result of an infraction occurring inside the 6 yard box. The spot of the foul, given by the referee was 5 yards out. From my vantage point during the play, the GK played the ball, got the return ball almost immediately from the same spot where he had taken the kick. The keeper handled the ball basically on top of his own 6 yard box it was that much of a bang bang play. He didn't scramble it off of the line is what I'm getting at.

IMO we are the ones who had a disadvantage before taking the kick, as the defending team is less then 10 yards away from the kick no matter what considering the close proximity to the goal.

Westside have asked for a full replay.

Thoughts?

intriguing. i never knew appeals could be made. i assumed it was a crucial goal and the insurance goal was as they were pushing. could be interesting for the standings at the end of the day.

 

[club_i_champ]

intriguing. i never knew appeals could be made. i assumed it was a crucial goal and the insurance goal was as they were pushing. could be interesting for the standings at the end of the day.

The event in question occurred in the first half.

Another added tid bit is the keeper was also already on a yellow, and by the letter of the law should have been sent off after deliberately handling the back pass, but wasn't.

 

[big gk]

i would say apoeal denied

 

[machel]

Found out last night that Westside has put in a protest regarding last Friday nights result on the grounds of RFC having gained an unfair advantage from the result of an improperly spotted free kick.

Here is the scenario;

Westside keeper plays his goal kick up the middle of the penalty area towards his on coming central midfielder. This CM is closed down by his marker, and plays the ball directly back to where it came from towards his GK. The GK panics at the pace of the return pass and lays out to make a save to push the ball past the post. Ref awards a free kick just inside the 6 yard box. We score from the resulting play.

Now the issue is that an in direct free kick is to be placed 6 yards from the goal line in the result of an infraction occurring inside the 6 yard box. The spot of the foul, given by the referee was 5 yards out. From my vantage point during the play, the GK played the ball, got the return ball almost immediately from the same spot where he had taken the kick. The keeper handled the ball basically on top of his own 6 yard box it was that much of a bang bang play. He didn't scramble it off of the line is what I'm getting at.

IMO we are the ones who had a disadvantage before taking the kick, as the defending team is less then 10 yards away from the kick no matter what considering the close proximity to the goal.

Westside have asked for a full replay.

Thoughts?

Hmm, it's an intriguing scenario. The ball is back-passed goal bound and the keeper needs to put his hands on it to keep it from going in to his goal. Seems like an intentional back pass and the goalie clearly plays it with his hands so at least a yellow card. It's also a goal scoring opportunity, even though kicked from his own player, so maybe even a red but that may be harsh. I think the goal should stand. there's still a lot of work to do. It's probably 50-50 on scoring from that in close from experience.

Why didn't the Westside players make you guys take it from 6 yards out?
Was the ball placed by the ref? Or did you guys just take it from the spot of the foul and play it quick and score?

Hmmm.

 

[dezza]

No, a GK handling a pass from a teammate in his own penalty area is never going to lead to an additional sanction. It's a technical offense resulting in an indirect free kick. It is not "handball", so it's not a yellow, and it's not classified as DOGSO (denial of a goal scoring opportunity) because it's not an offense punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick.

 

[club_i_champ]

That makes sense Dezza, my mistake.

The ball was placed on the spot of the foul by the ref, and it took an age for us to take it as the ref made sure the Westside players were directly on the goal line, as there was nowhere else for them to go.

They're desperate for points, as all of the bottom 5-6 teams are, but this protest is a bit much IMO.

 

[machel]

No, a GK handling a pass from a teammate in his own penalty area is never going to lead to an additional sanction. It's a technical offense resulting in an indirect free kick. It is not "handball", so it's not a yellow, and it's not classified as DOGSO (denial of a goal scoring opportunity) because it's not an offense punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick.

So what's your take on it then? What happened in your view? Were you there @dezza

Whoops, I linked you with Westside again. Old habit...my bad. lol

 

[SmartCoach]

So what's your take on it then? What happened in your view? Were you there @dezza

Whoops, I linked you with Westside again. Old habit...my bad. lol

It was
Westside Rino’s when you were on Roller Blades
At the game at Kensington

 

[machel]

It was
Westside Rino’s when you were on Roller Blades
At the game at Kensington

Untouchable on rollerblades. haha

 

[Canucks4Ever]

Hmm...interesting scenario.

Did some digging on where Westside is coming from on this one. The incident occurred when the score was 1-0 Westside and they contend that the game finished 3-2, not 4-2 as the website shows. Not sure if Richmond can confirm.

The protest states that the referee made a "technical error" in applying the Laws of the Game. Law 13 clearly states that indirect free kicks awarded for fouls occurring inside the goal area must be moved and placed on the edge of that area. They protested before to have the kick moved, along with allegedly at least a few of the Richmond players who knew the rule and voiced their concerns. The protests continued after Richmond scored a goal as a result of the free kick and the referee admitted to not knowing the rule and essentially not caring. Westside say that he could have consulted with his assistants (presumably at least one of the three would have known the correct application of the rule) but he did not, nor did either one of the assistants have the wherewithal to step in and assure the call was made correctly. He also could have paused the game and allowed a member of either team to present him with the rule which took less than 3 minutes to produce on a smart phone, though obviously this would have been slightly unorthodox. Instead, he decided to let a match changing incident stand while clearly unsure of if the rules had been followed correctly or not. Westside claim this was totally avoidable, the kick could have been immediately moved and retaken, but instead the officials just powered through, irrespective of the rules. In the protest apparently they have cited precedents where referees have made similar technical errors (not matters of judgment) that were in match changing scenarios including a World Cup qualifier between Uzbekistan and Bahrain that was ordered replayed.

Sounds like Westside fully expect the VMSL to reject their protest (it is the VMSL after all...), but it is interesting because in doing so the league will essentially be saying "we don't care if our referees know the rules or not." Keep in mind these are supposedly the "best" referees available in the lower mainland, the same ones who got a raise this year and insist that they are, in fact, worth more. Presumably there is a line somewhere where the league would have to take a stand and say "okay this was a complete blunder and we have to fix it" but where exactly that point is, who knows. Definitely worth keeping an eye on how this shakes out though, the VMSL's reasoning will be particularly intriguing.

 

[SmartCoach]

Not having Azzi making the decision
Westside might get a break from this new board
Video footage would have been good
You should be able to see the players that scored
Who gets the phantom goal
Tough way to lose
I do think the Ref is one of the excellent ones in Vmsl
So only luck might prevail

 

[Canucks4Ever]

Time to ring in the Holidays with one last slate of fixtures before a well deserved Winter Break for all involved. Rovers are back to having some breathing room at the top, but things are getting very bunched up around the sixth Provincial Cup place as well as the second relegation place. Any one of four team could finish the calendar year in the drop zone, while Coquitlam have games in hand in the Provincial chase so there are valuable point on the line for the other clubs vying to avoid being the odd team out come April. Ho, ho ,ho; let's see who might be in the giving spirit!

Completely Baseless Predictions for Week 15:

Richmond v Campo Athletico
This is definitely the match with the biggest implications for the bottom of the table. The teams look well matched in the table, separated by a single point with nearly identical records and goal differences. Importantly for Richmond they are finding ways to score goals again, after a dreadful stretch that saw them only find the net once over a six week period. They have hit for 11 (or maybe 10?) over their past four matches and picked up a pair of crucial victories. Campo are hanging around and picking up enough points to make you think that will are beginning to look a good bet to be in the league again next season. They have picked up four points from their last three games and lost a narrow one to top of the table Rovers last time out, 3-2. Richmond won the fist meeting between these two back at the end of September, but there was some controversy involving a sending off as a result of a retaliation to alleged racial comments. Three months on I would be surprised if there is any carry over from that incident, but you never know. Certainly the points will be more valuable than any potential score settling and I think these two will be hard to separate. A point a piece as they share the spoils heading into the holidays.

Coquitlam Metro Ford v Croatia
A week off in the fog last Friday mean Coquitlam remain on a five game winning streak heading into this one. Metro Ford are in seventh at present which would leave the two time defending league champions on the outside of the Provincial Cup looking in, but they have two games in hand over sixth placed West Van and would vault over the North Shore boys should they win those games. Those matches are far from givens against Inter and Pegasus however, so the heat is definitely going to be on the Tri City boys come the New Year when they will be under pressure to make sure they come up with these points. Croatia are on a trajectory that will see them safely into the tournament come April, they lost only their third game of the season last weekend against Rino's. Croatia continue to boast the league's top goal scorer in David Malamura, who has 18 goals through 14 games, but two time defending Golden Boot Champion, Metro Ford's Carlo Basso, has dragged himself back towards the top of the goal scoring charts as he is up to eight goals on the season. This one should be a top game this weekend and another chance for Coquitlam to atone for their poor early season form. The Tri-Cities boys are the more desperate team and they've got that winning feeling back which can sometimes be the little bump in momentum that you need to find a win.

Rino's Tigers v Inter
The rematch; 10 days after they played to a 1-1 draw these two will reacquaint themselves, this time at Burnaby Lake. Not sure why Rino's have been ousted from their usual 4pm Saturday kick off at Trillium, though if I had to venture a guess I would suggest that perhaps they have players who are students heading home for the holidays and they want to get the match in before they disperse. This one is the MOTW as it is again fourth versus fifth, but the teams have switched places in the table. This time a week and a half ago when the two sides drew 1-1, Inter were in fourth place. However, a 1-0 loss to relegation threatened Chile combined with an impressive 3-1 win for Rino's over Croatia at the end of a busy week mean the "Italians" have been vaulted by the former Westsiders. It was a great week for Rino's, who picked up seven points all off teams ahead of them in the standings at the time with wins over second placed Pegasus and third place Croatia sandwiched around that draw with then fourth placed Inter. The new boys have clearly proven that they belong in the division and Inter will certainly have taken notice. The defending Provincial Champions will be rather annoyed at being leapfrogged by these young upstarts and motivating Inter to play is usually a recipe for disaster. The "Italians" just seem to get up for certain games over other ones and if they think they have a point to prove, Rino's would be well advised to take notice. The real concern for Inter though is the fact that their big 6-1 outburst against CCB two weeks ago looks like an outlier, because they have reverted right back to their goal scoring struggles. Chile kept a clean sheet against them last time out and their 24 goals this season pale in comparison to Rino's 43 for the campaign. Should be a cracker of a match, especially if Inter fancy it, but I think Rino's will just have too many offensive threats for Inter to contain.

EDC Burnaby v West Van
An absolutely invaluable 1-0 victory and three points for EDC over Inter last time out. Despite still sitting second bottom, Chile look like they are up for a relegation fight and those sorts of performances should give them a great chance to claw their way out of things at the bottom. Indeed another win this week would see them vault out of the relegation zone for the holidays, as Richmond and Campo are playing each other. West Van are poised for a battle of their own as they look to hold onto the final Provincial Cup spot with Coquitlam breathing hard down their necks. The North Shore boys saw their great performance in their 1-0 win over league leaders Rovers Tigers rewarded with three more points when CCB did not bother to show up for their match at Ambleside last week. A couple of big tests await in January for West Van who will play the red hot Rino's Tigers before a possibly season deciding match against Metro Ford. Points off a team in the relegation zone are almost a must, the Chileans are not exactly throwing in the towel. True a week before their big win over Inter they were blown out 5-0 by Croatia, but leading into that they sent shockwaves through the league when they beat Peg 1-0. West Van are of course the kings of the 1-0 and, in fact, the first time these teams met, a 4-1 win for West Van, was one of only three matches involving West Van this season in which both sides have scored. It also marks the former Trollers best offensive output, so safe to take the under in this one. It sets up as a 1-0, but 0-0 is certainly not out of the question or, perhaps, even 1-1. With Chile's recent ability to hold other teams at bay and get big results I'll say they find a way to get a point of an equally desperate West Van side who will be keen to ensure that their success on late does not go to waste.

CCB LFC v Rovers Tigers
It's top against bottom in this Surrey derby, assuming CCB even bother to show up. In an embarrassing move, last placed CCB did not make the trek out to West Van last week and, instead, opted to forfeit the match. This game is at home so, presumably, they will field some sort of team. It's sad considering that the CCB roster boasts some very talented players and, on paper at least, should not be anywhere near the bottom of the league. Alas, they are and, with recent positive results for the teams that they are chasing, they are fully six points from safety. Rovers skated past them the first time around back in September, the final score was 6-1, and it is likely to be a similar sort of score line this time out regardless of any recent minor downturn in form for the league leaders. CCB will likely know that, if they are to survive again this year, their season will be decided in the New Year when they play all of the relegation threatened teams in Campo, Chile, Westside and Richmond. Until then though, expect this one to be comfortable for Rovers and a chance for their vaunted offense to pad their stats a bit.

Westside v Pegasus
The final game of 2017 for the VMSL Premier division will be Saturday at Point Grey. It has all gone wrong for Westside after a great return campaign last season. They have now lost four straight, irrespective of whatever protests may be before the league, and look to be headed straight towards a relegation scrap. Their upcoming schedule looks bleak and by the time matches against the current relegation side CCB and Chile come around in February it may be too late for the Vancouver boys. Pegasus were cancelled due to the fog last week and, as a result, the Surrey boys themselves come in on the back of a bit of a slump having lost their last two matches. A shock 1-0 defeat to second bottom Chile after they had reeled in their local rival Rovers at the top of the league was followed up with a 4-2 loss to upstart Rino's the last time they played, so they are likely to arrive in a somewhat salty mood this weekend. The good news is Westside look the perfect tonic for that and Peg should be able to head into the holidays on a high note. It would likely take a Christmas miracle for the Westsiders to come away with anything in this one, though with their recent luck I am sure they would feel deserving of a twist of fate in their favour. Unlikely though, take Peg in this one.