On Sunday, in Premier action Surrey emerged victorious from a close affair with Croatia thanks to an 82nd minute penalty shot from Steve Millar. The two teams have established a healthy rivalry over the past few years and have been involved in some classic encounters but this early season game was a dull affair for the many spectators with the notoriously poor field conditions at the Croatian Centre in Richmond really limiting the chances of producing some quality soccer. Nevertheless, the two teams battled fiercely with Croatia having maybe the best chance to break the deadlock in the first half but were denied when Surrey keeper, Drew Smiley, produced a fine save to push a low shot wide of the post. The second half belonged pretty exclusively to Surrey and they played almost the entire frame in the Croatian half. They maintained the pressure on the home side and won a succession of corners and although they came close with a number of headers Surrey couldn’t find the net until the 82nd minute when a well worked move down the right ended up with the ball finding United striker Ryan Hopp wide open in front of the net. However, with a goal almost inevitable Hopp was tackled to the ground as he was about to shoot, which resulted in an obvious penalty call. Millar hammered his powerful spot shot high into the net to give the visitors the win and the all important three points.

The first division game the day before featured the same two teams and in an entertaining affair United this time ended up the loser surrendering a n 89th game winning goal to Croatia and losing by a margin of 2-1. The game featured some fine football with the young United side surrendering an early goal but then bounced back to tie the game in the twentieth minute when Scott McDonald headed home Les Antone’s corner-kick. Throughout the second half United’s speed created all sorts of problems for the much older Croatian team but United squandered each and every opportunity they created and their experienced opponents seized the opportunity with the late winner. This was a game that United fully deserved to win with some excellent performances from their young players.

In division two men’s action on Saturday, United also took to the road for their first away game of the season travelling to New Westminster where they enjoyed great success and beat Sporting Punjab very convincingly 8-1. Jordan Gibbs had an outstanding game for United scoring the two opening goals of the game and then later on chipped in with four assists on the remaining goals. Brendan Wilkinson, Chris Roots and Dale Kahri also scored first half goals as United built up a commanding 5-0 lead by the interval. A pair of second half goals from Nick Gollogly and another from Wilkinson rounded out the scoring for United before they somehow conceded a late goal in the 87th minute to ruin the shut-out for keeper Jim Davis who was making his debut for the team.

In masters action our mens team were missing four key players due to a mixture of unavailability and two suspensions but despite that disadvantage they produced a solid performance to earn a 1-1 tie over local rivals Surrey FC Rangers Firefighters at Cloverdale Athletic Park on Sunday morning.

The Rangers opened the scoring after ten minutes with an opportunistic goal but Pete Hjorth tied things up before the half-time with a close range effort. Both teams had their respective chances to win the game but neither side converted and the game remained a tie at full time which was probably a fair and just reflection of the game.

The two time defending provincial cup ladies premier team opened up the weekend with a Friday night game on the turf away to Richmond at Minoru park and produced a solid performance to earn a comfortable 2-0 victory. After needing to call upon their keeper Teresa Nuttall for two great saves in the early going Unite gradually got into their stride late in the first half. Megan Blaker provided the opening outpacing two defenders with a strong run down the right flank before cutting in and squaring a ball into the path of Randee Hermus who hammered home a powerful shot from twelve yards. The same two players linked up once again before the half time whistle with this time Hermus providing the cross and Blaker the finish. United played a much more controlled second half, dominating the game and keeping Richmond virtually pinned in their half for the entire frame. However, United were denied any further goals by a combination of careless finishing, the woodwork and some outstanding but somewhat unorthodox saves by the Richmond keeper.

The division One B ladies team did not fare as well this week losing their home game on Sunday to local team SBBA Ajax 4-0 at Cloverdale Athletic Park.

Last season’s ladies under 21 team made the jump to Division One (now the “C” team) had their first away game of the season taking the massive road trip to Chilliwack for that wonderful 10.00am kick-off. The match was a keenly contested physical affair with both teams striving to gain the upper hand. During the first half both teams had their chances to score early on but both keepers produced some quality saves. United also hit the cross-bar twice and could have put forward a good case that they deserved to be in front but however it was the home side in the 43rd minute side that broke the deadlock scoring after a miscue in United’s defence.
United responded well to this adversity and came out strongly in the second half to dominate the remaining portion of the game. It took until the 67th minute for them to equalize when striker Ally Pross stripped the ball away from a Chilliwack defender and broke clear to hammer a powerful shot into the Chilliwack net. Despite continuing to dominate the remainder of the game United were unable to convert any further chances and ended up coming away with a disappointing 1-1 score.

We selected Jordan Gibbs of the Men’s Division Two team as this week’s Player of the Week for his two goal and four assists performance in his team’s 8-1 victory. Each Weekly Winner will have their name entered into a random draw for the monthly prize of for Dinner for Two.