It was just what the doctor ordered but the 4-0 shutout by Powell River Villa, at the expense of Westcastle SSFC 3A, came with an asterisk.
Westcastle has had difficulty lately getting a full squad out to games and in this one, on a long weekend, it was only able to field seven players.
That is the minimum allowed under Vancouver Island Soccer League rules to avoid fines and forfeits so the game went ahead on schedule with the predictable result.
After a minute of silence to honour war veterans, play got underway with Westcastle moving forward and getting the first shot on goal.
After that, however, Villa took control and systematically worked the ball inside the Westcastle end of the pitch.
Several shots and close calls eventually led to a nice pass by Brody Harry to Nick van’t Schip and he labelled a low shot to the far side of the Westcastle net at 16 minutes.
After a couple more narrow misses Villa connected for its second goal when a ball was headed by Ben Elliot to the head of Rob Devlin who knocked it in at 26 minutes.
Villa went into the break with the comfortable 2-0 lead and, for goal differential, looked to add to its total in the second half.
It took just five minutes for the players to do that when Harry had a nice give and go with Jordan Peters, then slotted a blast into the corner.
Van’t Schip got his second of the game 10 minutes later when Billy Bagiopoulos raced down his wing and crossed the ball for the shot.
Up 4-0, it was determined at the 70-minute mark that Westcastle’s keeper couldn’t continue due to injury and the game was called at that time.
“It was awkward playing against seven men,” said Chris McDonough of the circumstances. “There’s so much space to move. You’re always open and everyone made runs but we were sort of stagnant for a bit.”
The big advantage gave McDonough a chance to play everyone and get a look at a few different combinations.
That opportunity and a chance to increase its goal differential put Villa right into the thick of things in the standings.
The team has risen to a third-place tie in points and goal differential with Hellas FC and Powell River also has a game in hand.
Villa hopes to improve on its standing next week when it travels to Victoria to play last place Peninsula Stachers 3A on Sunday, November 17.
