Two goals by Jarek Long and uncanny accuracy off the foot of Chris Fisher gave Powell River River Villa SC a 3-0 win over Juan de Fuca All Flows in Villa’s first game of the 104th Jackson Cup tournament.
During a cold and sunny Saturday, February 23, home game at Timberlane Park, Long scored the first of his two goals at the 30-minute mark. Then free kicks by Fisher set up a goal from Daniel Paul at 50 minutes and Long’s second at the 64-minute mark.
While Long and Paul played a great game and the back line was strong in the shutout, it was Fisher's dangerous distribution and pinpoint free kicks that was the difference maker.
“He's really good at set pieces and it gives us another weapon back there; all of our goals came off set pieces,” said Villa coach Chris McDonough about Fisher’s second game of the year. “We don't get a lot of those so it’s nice to add that to our arsenal of weapons.”
Missing in McDonough's lineup was Jake Kenmuir, and fans at Timberlane Park wondered where one of the top scorers in Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL) Division was.
“Jake is based in Nanaimo right now and he just came down with the flu so he wasn't able to make the trip back to Powell River,” said McDonough.
Goalkeeper Matt Liknes earned the clean sheet. He was solid and had good positioning on the few real threats from the All Flows, according to the coach.
“There were a few dangerous shots but he was excellent,” said McDonough. “He didn't give them much of anything.”
The only real scare the All Flows gave Villa was on a penalty kick, but the ball skydived over the bar.
Villa met Juan de Fuca twice in Vancouver Island Soccer League Division 2 play earlier this year and split the series, winning the first game 1-0 and losing 5-0 in the second.
With Saturday’s win in Jackson Cup play, Villa moves onto the quarterfinals on March 9. Powell River will travel to play the winner of a March 2 game between Nanaimo and Westcastle.
First place Villa has two remaining games to play in the VISL Division 2 regular season. If the team can finish in either first or second place in the standings, it will be promoted to Division 1 next year.
For now, the team is focused on the Jackson Cup.
