Powell River Villa soccer club lost 6-0 against Cowichan United 1 in the second round of the Jackson Cup Sunday, February 21. After receiving a bye for the first round of the long-running Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL) tournament, Villa drew the top-ranked opponent for the second round.
“It was probably the toughest challenge we could have had,” said Villa head coach Chris McDonough of the game in Cowichan. “We did some good things out there, so it was good learning experience for some of the younger players, just to see what the best level of play is on Vancouver Island.”
McDonough said the team’s game plan was to play a sound defensive game against Cowichan. Villa was able to stave off the Cowichan offence until the 30th minute mark when the team fell behind 1-0. Now down a player due to yellow cards, Villa trailed 2-0 at halftime.
Villa was pinned for the majority of the game and down 4-0 halfway through the second half. To make matters worse, Villa gave up two penalty shots late in the game, inflating Cowichan’s winning score to 6-0.
“We played well considering the circumstances, but the score probably didn’t reflect that,” said McDonough.
The Jackson Cup wraps up in the last weekend of March with Cowichan as the heavy favourite to win the VISL tournament.
Villa now puts its focus back on regular-season league play with three games remaining.
Villa’s next game is on Saturday, February 27, at 6 pm versus Castaways FC 2 in Victoria. Powell River’s last two games of the season will be at home, dates to be announced.
