Powell River Villa heads into battle on a winning note for the George Pearkes Cup after handily defeating Lakehill Danger Police 4-1 on Saturday, February 7.
A 14-man roster was sent to Victoria for the match and got off to a customary fast start against the middle-of-the-pack seed.
After a fair amount of early pressure, a cross from Jake Kenmuir was neatly headed in for the game’s first goal by Kye Taylor.
Scored at the five-minute mark, Villa quickly added another at 18 minutes when Braxton Leask beat his man and crossed a perfect pass to Kenmuir who hit it hard and low past the defenceless Lakehill keeper.
The quick 2-0 lead lulled Villa into a false sense of security when it eased up on its intensity and allowed the Danger Police to get some chances on the Villa goal.
Matt Liknes, however, was steady in net and made several good saves to keep the Danger Police off the scoresheet after the first 45 minutes.
Following the break, Taylor was sidelined with a slight hamstring problem and Lakehill took advantage with a strong push to get back into the game.
It applied some pressure and had a couple of chances but Villa held its ground and successfully turned the tables when it scored at the 64-minute mark.
A neat three-way passing play between Kenmuir and Billy Bagiopoulos to Brody Harry ended with Harry blasting in Villa’s third goal to the keeper’s right.
Villa had a few more close calls after that including a few posts but finally extended the lead to 4-0 on Kenmuir’s second of the game.
He beat his man cleanly then did the same to the keeper where he calmly stepped forward and slotted a shot to the corner.
His goal with just 10 minutes remaining pretty well clinched the win but Villa lost the chance for a clean sheet when Lakehill’s Matt Milloy unleashed a hard shot that eluded the hands of Liknes.
It was a nice tidy win for Villa who is close to clinching the top spot in the division.
“We were in control for the entire game,” claimed coach Chris McDonough. “There were a few injuries so people got moved around a bit but we used our whole bench.”
With the win and a firm hold on first place Villa, this week, turns its attention to the start of the George Pearkes Cup.
It has drawn Vic West Casuals, the top-scoring team in division four, who has scored 53 goals in 15 games while allowing just seven for a goal differential of 46.
Drawing the unknown, even if it’s in a lower division, could be a concern but McDonough has a tonne of confidence in his troops.
“We’re always focused on how we play and if we play the way we can I think we’ll get a good result,” he said. Guessing about the competition, he added, “It could be a veteran team that’s been together for a while brought down to play a less committed level of soccer or maybe a new team that started in division 4, but they obviously can score.”
So can Villa and the opening round promises to be an exciting offensive game that soccer fans in Powell River will not want to miss.
The two teams square off in the first round of the George Pearkes Cup at 1:30 pm on Sunday, February 15, at Cranberry field.
