Not only did Powell River Villa soccer club lose its home opener 1-0 to Victoria Vantreights, coach Mario Paul said midfielder Kurtis Dennison suffered a broken rib due to a tackle late in the first half of the game on Sunday, September 25.
“The kid is a warrior,” said Paul. “He refused to come out, even though he knew he was injured.”
According to Paul, the injury will change Villa’s dynamic for at least the next couple of weeks and will cause the coach to reshape his lineup to fill Dennison’s position.
Paul said the game was physical and fast-paced.
“They caught us off guard with a quicker attack than we anticipated,” he said. “It put us back on our heels, but we recovered and regained control. With the exception of the goal they scored, I thought we were in control for the majority of the game.”
Vantreights scored early but, despite repeated chances, Villa was not able to equalize.
“We had a great deal of chances in the second half, especially,” said Paul.
Villa came close to tying the score late in the second half. Brandon Knox put the ball into the back of the net, but officials called the play offside. Paul said he agreed with the decision but said Knox “wasn’t offside by much.”
Next action for Villa is against Prospect Lake on Saturday, October 1, in Victoria.
