Division-leading Cowichan United 2 came to town Sunday for an eagerly awaited Vancouver Island Soccer League match against fourth-seeded Powell River Villa.
Villa defeated this experienced side three times last year, twice in the regular schedule and once in the Jackson Cup. This year it hoped the trend would continue.
Weather was perfect and Timberlane Park immaculate for the afternoon game which started with a slightly cautious pace.
Villa worked the ball around patiently while Cowichan hung back and seemed content to wait for the play to come its way.
On one rush Kye Taylor had some time at the 18-yard line and with only the slightest hesitation drifted a ball just wide of the goal.
A few minutes later Villa pressured again when a long ball drifted into the box and Sean Jenkins got there at the same time as the keeper. The collision between the two was seen as fair by the referee but Cowichan’s goalie was slow getting to his feet.
Neither team could really generate quality scoring chances but Taylor did manage to launch another hard shot from the centre of the 18-yard line.
This time the ball sailed just over the crossbar but nonetheless the shot was dangerous enough to have beaten the keeper and broken the tie.
Back and forth they went until the 40-minute mark when the physicality of the game increased.
Villa’s captain, Taylor, was decked by an opposing player while making a play on the ball.
“I went up for a header and landed on his back,” said Taylor later, “and he must have thought I was trying to knock him over. He just threw an elbow at me and it just glanced off my face. I tried to get out of the way, but I went down at the same time and after that I don’t know what happened.”
What happened was a lot of pushing and shoving and Villa’s Brandon Knox getting in the face of Taylor’s attacker.
Both the Cowichan player and Knox were red-carded and sent off the field leaving the two teams to finish the game down a man.
Tied at the break, Villa’s coaches implored the team to keep it going and to continue applying the pressure.
Cowichan, however, was better in the second half than the first and on a couple of dangerous crosses Villa keeper Matt Liknes sacrificed his body to make saves and preserve the 0-0 draw.
Taylor and his teammates seemed disappointed with the final score.“I thought the whole first half, considering their place in the standings, that we really took it to them,” said Taylor. “Given the team we were playing, and without a couple of guys, we have to be satisfied with the effort out there today.”
Player and coach Jamie Zroback was on the sidelines Sunday and he was not only pleased with the team’s performance on the pitch but also with the return of the fans to Timberlane. “We had a very good revenue day today,” he reported, “with the gate, the 50/50 and the clubhouse later.”
Taylor agreed saying, “It was a great day with all the alumni showing up and the atmosphere was great at the clubhouse later. We had the [Vancouver] Whitecaps’ game, burgers and beer on and also the ‘Man of the Match,’” he said, “so it was a really good day.”
Villa hits the road next weekend to play at 6 pm on Saturday, October 27 against Lakehill Reds 2.
