Premier [VMSL Premier] Predictions, Results & Banter 2018/2019

[Canucks4Ever]

Rounding out the day:

CCB 6-1 Richmond
The "Dark Side" era at CCB is up and running, as expected. A brief moment of concern when Richmond tied it at 1-1, but it was one way traffic after that, including 3 more off the post. Could be a long season for Hibs unless they find some players somewhere.

Croatia 4-1 NorVan
NorVan gave a decent account of themselves for 70 or so minutes, working hard to keep it 1-0. Croatia would open the floodgates though and bang in 3 in the span of 10 minutes. Fair play to NorVan who worked hard and got a consolation tally for their efforts.

 

[bulljive]

Inter is better post merger in my opinion. They lost a few mercenaries but I’d argue a healthy Habib is better then Mehrabi and a lot harder to deal with. They also got a lot of good young pieces to add to the vets they already had. Shredded us the first 30min in an exhibition game. We were well off our starting line up but Inter was still impressive.

 

[SmartCoach]

Watched premier games at Newton athletic today
Number one team CCB
Number one manager Ted Hans
A Roster of top players in the lower mainland
Should win all 22 games this season

 

[Regs]

Man crush alert

 

[star #1]

Watched premier games at Newton athletic today
Number one team CCB
Number one manager Ted Hans
A Roster of top players in the lower mainland
Should win all 22 games this season

Robert I’m flattered but I’m married with a daughter... move on, stick to crushing on Blaise or Mohammed please. Thanks

 

[SmartCoach]

Robert I’m flattered but I’m married with a daughter... move on, stick to crushing on Blaise or Mohammed please. Thanks

Ha ha I am married to with 2 girlfriends and about
10 illegitimate in northern England from my Butlins holiday exploits only need one more for a starting eleven

 

[JogaBonito]

The "big" kickoff day is just around the corner at Newton Athletic. Last season's affair surely provided some surprises with divisional castoffs Campo stunning West Van, eventually relegated Westside beating defending champions Metro Ford and soon to be VMSL Champions Rovers absolutely ravaging the then Provincial Cup holders Inter. Opening day can be an indication of things to come, like Campo being able to find the results they would need to in order to survive, Rovers showing their strength en route to the League and Provincial double or Coquitlam sounding early warning bells ahead of a season of struggle. It can mean little, as both West Van and Inter would round into form and qualify for the Provincial Cup. Or, it can be downright wrong, as it was in Westside's case when their form would nose dive soon after. What will it have in store this season? Let's find out...

Completely Baseless Predictions - Week 1

Rovers Tigers v West Van
Right away we begin with the MOTW as last year's title winners, Rovers, battle third placed West Van. Both these teams should have title aspirations this season and what a way for West Van to reintroduce themselves as one of the VMSL's elite teams after a short hiatus at the beginning of last season than by knocking off the champions. Last season saw two very tight games between these two, with each side coming away with a 1-0 win. Reigning league MVP Nick Soolsma will be looking to finally add the golden boot to his trophy case this season having finished runner up in consecutive seasons. He and the rest of Tigers potent offense will look to unlock West Van's stingy defense; a unit that gave up only 20 goals over 22 games last season, a league best. If the meetings last year are any indicator, it would seem that in the battle of offense against defense, the defense usually dictates the game. Can one of these two teams find the breakthrough, though? A draw is tempting, but I think you have to defer to the champions on opening day and I will give Rovers the edge this one.

Coquitlam Metro Ford v Campo Atletico
It is the dawning of a new age in Coquitlam as Metro Ford usher in the Alfredo Valente era. Just how many holdovers there will be from outgoing manager Les Krivak's reign, we shall have to wait and see. Certainly the timing seems right for a change in the Tri-Cities, but can Valente restore the club to its place among the VMSL's elite immediately? Or will this be a process of building over a few seasons before they can once again reasonably be expected to compete for championships? Whatever the club's stated goals for this season may be internally (and I would have to assume they would likely involve qualifying for the Provincial Cup), they will be wanting to put the dumpster fire of last season's opening ten games well and truly behind them. To that end, seeing Campo on the docket for opening day should provide some respite. The Burnaby side was one of only three teams last season that Metro Ford took maximum points off of, including an absolute piss taking when they beat them 7-1 at the start of March. Further handicapping Campo is the fact that they have lost star man Ivan Colin's services to Rino's Tigers and are now rumoured to be without last season's leading goal scorer Edson Castro. Rumblings are that Castro may have decided to play for Metropolitan in Division 2, but those are unconfirmed. Yes, Atletico did pull off a stunner a last season's Opening Day, but I just cannot see lightning striking twice.

Rino's Tigers v Pegasus
A very intriguing fixture this one and one that will be tough to predict. With perhaps the second most transfer business of all the teams in the top flight, besides of course CCB, Rino's look set to field an almost entirely unrecognizable line up to that which took the pitch for their first ever Premier win against Richmond on this day last year. There are some holdovers, principally Declan Rodriguez of ITC fame, but new faces include Ellie Gindo, Zach Karmel and Ivan Colin while exits include Daniel Sagno and Connor MacMillan. Several players are also likely to be tied up with SFU and UBC commitments. Pegasus on the other hand have had a rather quiet summer, well away from the spot light of their local rivals with Rovers winning the Provincial Cup, Guildford earning promotion and CCB going on their epic summer recruitment drive. Surely Peg would like to emerge from the shadows and reclaim a place in the spotlight and a win on Opening Day would go some way to achieving that. This one has a ton of moving pieces, so I will fully turtle and call it a draw.

Inter EDC v Guildford
Get the upset special banner out for this one. Inter have had a tumultuous summer to say the least. After parting ways with the mercurial, but supremely talented, Milad Rahmati and their merge with Chile, they lost top scorer Milad Mehrabi to CCB. Now word comes out that second leading scorer Dzennan Bezdrob has too been tempted out to Surrey to join CCB. True, veterans Alex Marrello, Bryan Fong and Michael Nonni remain with the side, but, while they bring quality, you do wonder about an "X"-factor. Rizal Ganief was a player with that extra something and while their merger with EDC has tempted him back into the fold, you have to wonder if, three years on, he can still be that player. Guildford will surely find life difficult at this level, but they have a history of starting the season well (they won their first ever game in Division 1); it is generally the middle part of the season where they struggle for consistency. With a big crowd on hand in Surrey to cheer them on in their Premier League debut, they will no doubt relish the atmosphere and feed off of it. That being said the Evil Empire, as Inter EDC like to go by, love to play with a chip on their shoulder, so being cast as underdogs plays right into their hand. Surely they will enjoy the proverbial "up yours" that will come with winning this game if they can pull it off, but I am saying Guildford provides this year's Opening Day shock.

NorVan v Croatia
A tough draw for new boys NorVan to get on Opening Day as Croatia will fancy themselves as one of the teams who expect to challenge for the title this season. NorVan proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they deserve to be back in the top flight with their dominant display in Division 1 last season as they blew the field away. They certainly should have chances to establish themselves in Premier this season given their team camaraderie and heart. It also would help if the rumours of the club adding some former Whitecaps FC 2 talent to the squad prove to be true. That being said, those chances are not very likely to come in this game. Expect the North Shore boys to give a good account of themselves, but Croatia are definitely favourite.

CCB LFC v Richmond
If ever there was a must win game on the first weekend of the season, this might just be it. CCB have spent the summer amassing a veritable smorgasbord of talent and now it is time for the curtain to come up. They will be missing a good number of players due to college commitments, but the remaining pieces should be more than enough to put them over the top. One cannot fathom to think what it would do to their collective psyche if, after all this recruitment and build up, they fail to beat, and perhaps not only beat but dominate, a Richmond team that they do not expect to be in the top half of the table. Above all else, CCB need buy-in and losing games to teams that are "not at their level" is hardly the way to achieve that. The Surrey boys called themselves the #DarkSide as they lured players "sell their soul" over the summer and join them out at Newton. Well, now it is time to show everyone the true power of The Force. Richmond could not give a damn about fancy hashtags or flashy player reveals. They are a hard working, blue collar team and they play the same way against everyone. Are CCB favourite here? Yes. Could Richmond get a bounce or two early and set the cat among the pigeons in the CCB camp? Yes. If that were to happen, do the Surrey boys have the mental fortitude to overcome the resistance and persevere? Now that is the question. The most likely outcome is that CCB do exactly what they were assembled to do, and that is run out easy winners here, but there is a wild card. If they go behind early, this one might just be worth keeping a close eye on.

Ivan Colin at Rinos?

 

[SmartCoach]

Ivan Colin at Rinos?

Yes played great as a starter and I have his ITC

 

[club_i_champ]

CCB 6-1 Richmond
The "Dark Side" era at CCB is up and running, as expected. A brief moment of concern when Richmond tied it at 1-1, but it was one way traffic after that, including 3 more off the post. Could be a long season for Hibs unless they find some players somewhere.

We are in a complete rebuild this year, having lost 10 core players to work commitments, family life and departures to other clubs, with only 5 players returning from last years squad at this time last year. We have lost the experience in our squad and replaced it with youth but it will come at a heavy price, as Saturdays result shows. 5 of our starters played their 1st ever VMSL Prem game over the weekend, and I was slated to start the year in goal, but we are that thin, I started up front. At least I scored

It will be a struggle all year, we just need to hang around until the college and uni seasons are over to get our reinforcements before it's too late. That being said, I'm not going down without a fight.

 

[Canucks4Ever]

Opening Day saw several lopsided scorelines, and one absolute cracker of a match between Rovers and West Van. For the six teams that lost, they will be desperate to avoid starting the season without any points to show, though for some it will be an uphill task.

Completely Baseless Predictions - Week 2

Coquitlam Metro Ford v Club Inter EDC
It was tough to get a read on either of these teams in Week 1 on the sloppy grass on opening day as neither were particularly pushed. Mo Habib looked like he could have beat Guildford by himself. As it was, he scored three and had a fourth ruled out for offside in Inter's 5-0 romp. I doubt he will find life quite as easy against an experience Metro Ford back line this week. Coquitlam themselves came away with the points as well on Opening Day, which one supposes is all that really matters, but their performance did little to erase the memory of the team that finished mid-table and outside the Provincial Cup places last season. True, they appeared to be missing a few key players, but overall this team looked much the same as it has for the past few seasons. If Alfredo Valente was planning on ushering in some new blood, it would appear that he is perhaps waiting for a more opportune time. Coquitlam relied on their talisman Carlo Basso to get them over the line against Campo as he banged in both their goals and could have matched Habib's hat trick had he not seen his second half penalty saved. It would seem then this one will likely be decided by which team's superstar striker can find a way to be the difference maker. Too early to really tip a favourite here given there is still much unknown about the depth on each side beyond their strikers, so I'll say they'll cancel each other out and split the points.

Croatia v Rovers Tigers
MOTW here as, for the second week running, defending champions Rovers play one of the teams that will surely hope to challenge them for their crown this season. Both of these side put up four goals in their opening game of the season, though Rovers had to come from both 2-0 and 3-2 down before an own goal by West Van ultimately decided the match in their favour. Croatia meanwhile rode braces from Joal Padmore and last season's Golden Boot winner David Malamura to a 4-0 lead before their clean sheet bid was disrupted by a late NorVan consolation. Rovers have indicated that they will be resting and rotating their squad in the lead up to Nationals, but it looked like a 90 minute performance from Nick Soolsma, and close to that for Pavi Dhillon and Cam Hundal, so clearly they are still looking to put some points on the board before they head to Saskatchewan. This will be a good measuring stick for Croatia and, if they can take the points, it could prove to be an invaluable springboard to a title challenge. Croatia fared well against the champions last season; holding them to a 0-0 draw in November before beating them 3-0 at the end of the season, though it was after Rovers had clinched the title. It will be interesting to see what kind of team Tigers field, however, it was clear by their fight back against West Van that they still have the desire. I'll back them to come away with another hard fought win.

Pegasus v NorVan
Certainly not the start Peg would have envisioned when they got thumped 5-1 by Rino's. It was comprehensive as well with Rino's taking an early lead and continuing to add to it until half time when it was 4-0. Even the return of CJ to the Pegasus ranks could not leave them with a good taste in their mouths. A nicely taken free kick goal by Javid Kahn, as he got his account up and running for the year, would be their only consolation. They have chance this week to bounce back against newly promoted NorVan, though it will be far from a sure thing. Despite a comprehensive 4-1 loss, NorVan dug in a made life difficult for Croatia for the better part of 70 minutes. The problem of course being that a game last 90 minutes and the North Shore side completely collapsed over the final quarter or so of the match. The will have learned from this however and will be doubly keen to earn their first points in Premier. Presented with an apparently weak Pegasus side might just seem like the perfect chance to achieve just that. I expect this one to be low scoring and tight, but, in the end, I have to think the Surrey side will get it across the line.

Richmond v Rino's Tigers
Yikes, the last thing Richmond needed to see on the schedule after they got thumped 6-1 by CCB was the other side that took the piss out of an established Premier team on Week 1. Rino's were rampant against Peg and full value for their 5-1 victory. Unfortunately, the same can likely also be said for Richmond in that 6-1 was likely a fair score line. Hibs are doing their best to integrate youth into the club but, based on the first outing, these kids have a lot to learn. How quickly they can grow and adapt to the men's game will go a long way towards determining whether or not Richmond stay up this season. Rino's are at the other end of the spectrum and trying to prove that they can contend with the big boys for the league title. Their potential was laid out for all to see last season when they had their university players back and, if this is how they look without them, they very well could be forcing their way into the conversation for first place. We will need to wait on that one, though, for a firmer test of their credentials as this week should be pretty straight forward.

Campo Atletico v West Van
Hard luck for West Van to come away with nothing after having twice had the lead against Rovers on Opening Day. They did prove, however, that they intend to pick up where they left off after going on an absolute tear last season. Ironically, after not losing a game from November thru to March, the former Trollers are actually winless in their last four matches. They lost the Imperial Cup semi-final to Croatia, then drew Inter 0-0 in a league make up game to finish off their schedule last year. After that they lost narrowly in the first round of the Provincial Cup to Cowichan and then the result this past weekend. No doubt a quick return to winning ways is just what the doctor would have ordered for this group and Campo should provide an opportunity for just that. The Burnaby based side were not played off the park by any stretch by Coquitlam in their opener, but were second best on the day for sure. Campo had one or two threatening moments, but they were too few and far between to cause Metro Ford any real strife. They will certainly need to find some cut and thrust from somewhere if they plan on surviving to play another year at this level. Last season Campo was a bogey team for West Van, taking four out of six points off of them. Can't say I would expect that again this year as West Van will be in no mood to be generous after that heart breaker last time out.

Guildford v CCB LFC
Welcome to Premier... Guildford were given a pretty harsh reality check when Inter/Chile walked all over them in their Premier debut, to the tune of 5-0. As a reward, the schedule has handed them a date with CCB whose new look offense hung six goals on Richmond to start the season. Life in the top flight is going to be hard work with, likely, minimal, if any, reward; at least to start off with. Do Guildford have the stomach for it? Millennials are known to lose interest rather quick and the Surrey side have been known in the past to have their issues staying focused, even when they are having relative success. Losing can wear a team down so no doubt Guildford would like to get some points on the board in short order; problem is, with the way CCB is going at the moment, they're likely staring down the barrel of another beat down. New signings Nic Morello and Milad Mehrabi were on target in their debuts and with the roster's attacking talent only slated to grow once Victor Blasco, Caleb Clarke, et al. are through with their college seasons, you have to think that this squad will have little trouble scoring goals. Keeping them out might pose a bit of a problem, but after Guildford offered very little to trouble Inter's goal a week ago, that seems like a problem CCB can likely put off to another day.

 

[GoF]

2-1 Croatia over the champs.

Pretty even first half, with both goals coming midway through and within a minute of each. Croatia took the lead with a nice strike from the edge of the box before Soolsma tied it up seconds later with a long ranger that took a bounce in front of the keeper and over him, but he should have done better.

Croatia scored winner in 56th minute from a lovely header that was guided with precision into the left of the net from 12 yards out.

They deserved the win. Much better team in the second half. Tigers looked really out of sorts. Played very deep, little movement, and it seemed even less communication.

 

[GoF]

Varying quality (and shite focus in the dark) but the goals and some other stuff from Croatia's win over Rovers Tigers

 

[Canucks4Ever]

Whoa where did that Richmond result come from? Well done.

Also Peg look to be all out of sorts...

 

[Regs]

Whoa where did that Richmond result come from? Well done.

ITC

 

[club_i_champ]

Whoa where did that Richmond result come from? Well done.

Also Peg look to be all out of sorts...

We certainly gutted that one out.

Tigers had all of the ball basically the entire game, but we stuck to our game plan to just sit in and try to counter. Capitalized on two horrendous mistakes by their keeper and back line. A lot of heart and discipline shown by our new youth team on Friday night to say the least.

Hopefully in the reverse fixture Blaise will shake the oppositions hands after the final whistle.

Next up for us is a big away fixture to Norvan, after their big away result vs Peg over the weekend.

 

[dezza]

@club_i_champ it's a bit early in the golden boot race for you to be Harry Kane'ing goals away from your teammates innit?

iswearitouchedit

 

[Canucks4Ever]

We certainly gutted that one out.

Tigers had all of the ball basically the entire game, but we stuck to our game plan to just sit in and try to counter. Capitalized on two horrendous mistakes by their keeper and back line. A lot of heart and discipline shown by our new youth team on Friday night to say the least.

Hopefully in the reverse fixture Blaise will shake the oppositions hands after the final whistle.

Next up for us is a big away fixture to Norvan, after their big away result vs Peg over the weekend.

Congrats on the result and that does seem to be the book on Rino's Tigers. If you open up and try to trade chances, they have the weapons to burn you, as Peg discovered, but if you sit back and counter that can be managed. You will still give up chances because their personnel are just that good, but if you can get the bounces you can often come away with something. That being said, they are still a young team and Blaise is a good coach so I am sure they will work on how to breakdown that type of an approach from the opposition, especially if more teams start to play like that against them.

I am never one to shy away from having a pop at Rino's, but the hand shaking thing is just so North American in my opinion. Is it good sportsmanship? Of course. Is this just an amateur league? Yes (although some would question that I suppose...) The point being though, this is why we have finally gone to shaking hands pre-game. If you want to take your ball and go home and have a little tantrum or whatever after the game, then go for it. It always seems so disingenuous to me to force the teams to shake hands after the game (don't even get me started on the "three cheers" piece). If you have lost the game, particularly if it is a big game or if it has been really close and really heated, it can be tough to immediately switch off and pseudo-congratulate the other team post game. Some guys can do it right away, some guys might shake the hands of one or two guys close to them, some guys might just want to be left the f*ck alone. I think all of the above are fine. Some guys who were fired up might get undressed, maybe have a beer and then bump into guys from the other team in the parking lot and now they don't mind saying good game. I've seen Blaise post game a few times and he's never particularly interested in shaking hands even when his team has won, though he appears more receptive. On the other hand, after a loss, from what I've witnessed, while he is certainly not about to go out and shake everyone's hand, if you seek him out he will acquiesce.

Point being, you guys likely put a hell of a shock into them and he was probably pretty rattled. Well in to you guys, but I just hate the idea that it is somehow incumbent upon the losing team to instantly shake it off and "play nice." I don't know maybe I am in the minority on this one.

 

[lego3]

Or you can bottle someone in the head like Milad did last year....

 

[club_i_champ]

@club_i_champ it's a bit early in the golden boot race for you to be Harry Kane'ing goals away from your teammates innit?

iswearitouchedit

Arnold told me write in, and I did. This kind of hot streak isn't the norm

#3in2

 

[Golazo]

Arnold told me write in, and I did. This kind of hot streak isn't the norm

#3in2

Congrats on the result and that does seem to be the book on Rino's Tigers. If you open up and try to trade chances, they have the weapons to burn you, as Peg discovered, but if you sit back and counter that can be managed. You will still give up chances because their personnel are just that good, but if you can get the bounces you can often come away with something. That being said, they are still a young team and Blaise is a good coach so I am sure they will work on how to breakdown that type of an approach from the opposition, especially if more teams start to play like that against them.

I am never one to shy away from having a pop at Rino's, but the hand shaking thing is just so North American in my opinion. Is it good sportsmanship? Of course. Is this just an amateur league? Yes (although some would question that I suppose...) The point being though, this is why we have finally gone to shaking hands pre-game. If you want to take your ball and go home and have a little tantrum or whatever after the game, then go for it. It always seems so disingenuous to me to force the teams to shake hands after the game (don't even get me started on the "three cheers" piece). If you have lost the game, particularly if it is a big game or if it has been really close and really heated, it can be tough to immediately switch off and pseudo-congratulate the other team post game. Some guys can do it right away, some guys might shake the hands of one or two guys close to them, some guys might just want to be left the f*ck alone. I think all of the above are fine. Some guys who were fired up might get undressed, maybe have a beer and then bump into guys from the other team in the parking lot and now they don't mind saying good game. I've seen Blaise post game a few times and he's never particularly interested in shaking hands even when his team has won, though he appears more receptive. On the other hand, after a loss, from what I've witnessed, while he is certainly not about to go out and shake everyone's hand, if you seek him out he will acquiesce.

Point being, you guys likely put a hell of a shock into them and he was probably pretty rattled. Well in to you guys, but I just hate the idea that it is somehow incumbent upon the losing team to instantly shake it off and "play nice." I don't know maybe I am in the minority on this one.

Agree 100% with this. Pregame hand shake is plenty, especially if it's been a heated match.