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MATCH REPORT Weekly Roundup - September 20th & 21st By Marion F Dent
The second week of the season saw Surrey United teams take a dip in fortune from previous weeks as the seven teams combined for a .500 record registering 3 wins, 3 losses and a tie. Unfortunately, our two flagship teams the mens and ladies teams both lost in similar fashion in games were they both dominated play for the vast majority of the game but ended up losing against teams they should have beaten. The men’s premier team started the weekend off for the club on a losing note going down 2-1 to a below par Burnaby Canadian team who grabbed a last minute winner thanks to the generosity of the Surrey defence. Straight from the kick-off it became evident that an injury decimated and sub-standard Burnaby team were quite content to emerge from the game with a share of the points by packing their defence.. While, United enjoyed plenty of possession they failed to create any clear-cut chances in the first half which not surprisingly ended up scoreless. In the second half United increased their tempo somewhat and were awarded a penalty at the sixty minute mark after Burnaby keeper Cory Breure r had brought down United midfielder Gareth Wilkshire in the penalty area. Unfortunately, United were unable to capitalize as Joe Deacon’s spot-kick was well saved by Breure. Ten minutes later Burnaby continued to ride out their good fortune and were awarded a free-kick some thirty five yards from goal which there centre-back hammered past United keeper Drew Smiley to give the visitors a surprise lead. United in fairness rallied and tied the game up at the seventy minute when Todd Stauber’s precise placed right foot shot from eighteen yards beat Breure to nestle neatly in the corner of the net. United hit the post and saw substitute Sean Crocker and defender Martin Schaefer miss glorious opportunities to score. Then when, it seemed that the game was destined for the inevitable tie a shoolboy error in the United defence in the 89th minute allowed Burnaby ‘s Mike Gehan to latch onto the loose ball and lift it over Smiley’s head and into the net. Overall the performance from United lacked the normal passion and energy which is usually the hallmark of their premier team's performances and it may well be that the players have their minds on the nationals. However, winning VMSL league games is the most important thing for our club right now as they provide the best opportunity for our team to qualify for the provincial championships and we cannot treat the games as warm-ups for the nationals. Burnaby made a mockery of the ensuing division one game as they attempted to play the game with virtually their premier roster. Not surprisingly the young and talented United squad scored early and often to establish a 6-0 lead at the 55 minute mark before Burnaby threw in the towel. United’s efforts were based on a sound defence that continually dominate opponents allowing the creative midfield and forward players to utilize their obvious talents and skills to terrorize their opponents. Once again the trio of Sean Kelly (3 goals), Maarten Koorn (2 goals) and Chris Powell (1 goal) caught the eye with some dazzling play and all three are clearly knocking on the first team door. The Men’s Under 21 team entertained arch rivals Westside at Cloverdale Athletic Park on Sunday. Both sides fielded very young teams but demonstrated why they have both emerged over the past two years as the best two young teams in the province as they provided great entertainment and excitement in a game that ended up as a scoreless tie. United dominated most of the play and came mighty close to scoring on a number of occasions. In the second half they piled on the pressure, hit the post and the cross-bar, had two goal-bound shots blocked by defenders, saw another cross roll agonizingly across the goal line without anyone getting the a touch and then saw the usually reliable leading goalscorer Sean Kelly fire wide with the goal at his mercy. The tie drops United to 3rd in the league standings which should illustrate that so far United’s two easy wins were merely against the bottom feeders and that the quality of the opposition evident in those two games is not indicative of the rest of the league. Jason MacKenzie was again doing double duty this past weekend with both the Under 21 and Division One team and had another great weekend recording two more shut-outs (bringing his total to five in five games this season). His performances earn him this week’s PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD. (Each Weekly Winner will have their name entered into a random draw for the month to win a “Dinner for Two” prize.) In division two action our last year’s divisional champions suffered an early and unexpected loss going down 4-3 to Vancouver Lobbans at Clinton Park. United only had a starting eleven for the game with no substitutes which may have played a factor in the loss. Vancouver took an early lead at the sixteen minute mark and then increased their lead at the forty minute mark but United fought back in the remaining minutes to reduce then deficit when Dale Kahri scored from the penalty spot after Martin Kelly had been fouled inside the penalty area. After sixty minutes Vancouver increased their lead only for United to peg back a goal five minutes later when Nick Golllogly headed home a Martin Kelly right wing cross to make the score 3-2 in favour of the home team. Eight minutes later Vancouver once again regained a two goal advantage only to see United gallantly come back with a Trevor Tagieff goal to make the score 4-3 and set the scene for a rousing finale. United’s players poured forward in search of an equalizer but sadly ran out of time (and probably stamina) as they tried desperately to staive off defeat. In Masters action United registered a 7-0 home victory against bottom
of the table Delta Metro United at Chimney Heights. United scored seven
and missed just as many in a game where they appeared to be able to score
at will. In ladies action the Division One ladies registered their second successive win of the season beating the Langley Devils 4-3 in an exciting road game. United got off to a great start and after fifteen minutes of play were up by two goals. Kaitlin Clarke opened the scoring in the fourth minute following some set-up work by Ellen Malterer. The pair combined again ten minutes later with this time Clarke providing the assist and Malterer the final touch as she maintained her goal a game record so far this season. United took their foot of the gas pedal thinking perhaps they could cruise through the remainder of the game but received a rude awakening when the home side rattled off three unanswered goals to take the lead 3-2. United bounced back to control most of the second half and were rewarded for their endeavours when Danielle Jackle finished off a cross from Carly Dupas to level the scores. With the game finely balanced United grabbed what proved to be the winner when midfielder Nicole Gertsen sent a fine through ball for Clarke to race onto and she hammered a high shot past the opposing keeper to register her second goal of the game and United,s fourth which was sufficient to seal the victory. In ladies premier play, United entertained Coquitlam City at Cloverdale Athletic Park knowing that the team contained many players from last year’s nemesis Burnaby Canadians. Similar to their male counterparts United dominated virtually every aspect of the game apart from goalscoring and Coquitlam’s Kristine Jack headed home a Linsey Burkinshaw cross to give the visitors the lead against the run of play after thirty five minutes. For the balance of the game Surrey enjoyed all the play but squandered a host of goalscoring opportunities to end up losing a game that should have resulted in a clear victory. |
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