After celebrating its 40th anniversary last weekend Powell River Villa started its 41st with a big 2-1 win over FC Sagres of Victoria.
Cranberry Field was soaked in sunshine on Sunday, September 14, for two teams expected to battle for first place in division 3B of the Vancouver Island Soccer League.
Just seconds in Sagres broke through Villa defenders and put a shot just wide of the net.
Matt Liknes’s goal kick ended up on Billy Bagiopoulos’s foot and he neatly fed Brody Harry who got in alone. Harry’s shot was saved by the keeper.
Sagres’ strikers slowly took control of the game for the next 20 minutes but either missed the net or were foiled by Liknes.
Villa finally started to push back in the last 20 minutes but couldn’t find the finish on four corner kicks in a row.
In fact, early season rust was a problem for both teams in the first half which resulted in a 0-0 tie at the end of 45 minutes.
Villa came out a little bit fresher than Sagres in the second half and started to generate some offence as a result.
Jake Kenmuir, Nick van’t Schip and Harry each had good chances and Harry probably could have been awarded a penalty kick when he was mugged by three Sagres players 10 minutes in.
Villa narrowly missed on a long 40-yard free kick by Jorge Martinez Reyes that flicked off the head of Kye Taylor and just over the net.
The 0-0 tie was finally broken when Villa’s Bagiopoulos drifted a corner kick and Taylor leaped high to get his head on it and steer it into the net.
His goal at 28 minutes put a spark into Villa and the young side continued to press Sagres’ back line.
At 33 minutes, Harry sent a long pass through the air to Bagiopoulos who got his boot on it and on the first bounce, from between two defenders, pounded his 16-yard shot past the surprised keeper.
The goal was a beauty with just 15 minutes or so to play and things looked very good for a Villa victory.
Sagres, however, weren’t ready to fold and after sustained pressure, one of their strikers was taken down in the box by Martinez Reyes.
The ensuing penalty kick went left with Liknes moving to his right and with nine minutes to play the lead was cut to 2-1.
Villa had some difficulty playing with the lead for the final minutes but eventually did run out the clock and celebrated its first win of the season.
Perhaps it was not the prettiest, but it was a well-deserved win against a tough opponent.
“They made a late push,” admitted coach Chris McDonough, “and we were on our heels there for about 10 minutes but we managed to squeak one out. Those guys are a really good squad. They are a big, strong, veteran team and a lot of their players have played division 1 soccer before so it was a big test for us.”
While Bagiopoulos and Taylor scored the goals, another player new to the team also had an big impact on the outcome.
“I think we did well,” said Martinez Reyes, who is from Mexico and studying English in Powell River. “We have to keep working but for now we did well.”
His English, like Villa’s game, is bound to improve as the season progresses but so far they are both doing just fine.
Villa’s next game is on the road against PLSC Lakers on Saturday, September 20.
