Mens PREMIER
Surrey United made no mistake in underestimating their opponents on Saturday at Cloverdale beating Sapperton 3-0 in the first round of the provincial cup. United were well prepared and got off to a flying start winning a corner-kick in the first minute of play which was taken by Angus Burke whose superbly flighted kick found an unmarked Brad Peetom at the far post who skillfully guided his header into the net. United lost full back Stefan Leslie in the 10th minute with an injury but were able to adjust the line-up without too much disruption and Surrey continued to take the game to the visitors. In the 18th minute the Firefighters increased their lead when Sapperton 'keeper Garth Lagassi was unable to hold on to a powerful shot from Lucas Barrett and Rizal Ganief following up on the play was able to fire home the rebound. Two minutes later United scored again when Miles Davis' brilliant cross field ball sent Ganief racing down the flank and his brilliantly low cross was hammered home by Burke. In the 23rd minute United were denied a further goal when Lagassi made a fine save to turn aside a volley by 17 year old United midfielder Graham Spink. United suffered a blow just before half-time when Peetom was shown a red card for a mis-timed tackle reducing the home side to ten men.
In the early part of the second half Sapperton, with their one man advantage, not surprisingly came more into the game but the collective hard working effort of the Surrey team was able to deny the visitors any clear cut opportunities. In the 61st minute Sapperton themselves were reduced to ten men when Barrett was brought down just outside the penalty area on a breakaway thus diminishing any chance of a Sapperton revival. With the outcome of the game pretty much determined Surrey and Sapperton played out the remaining minutes without too much incident.
Mens CAT “A” DIVISION
Season complete.
Mens CAT “B” DIVISION
Season complete.
Mens MASTERS
On Sunday the Surrey United Masters had the difficult task of travelling over to Victoria to play the #1 ranked Island Team, U Vic Alumni and came away with a well deserved highly impressive 1-0 victory. The game was played on a very large turf field which seemed to be suit Surrey’s style of play more than the home side whose defensive line-up left way too much room for their lone striker to cover. Surrey made the most of the wide field, switching the ball from side to side, and enjoyed plenty of possession. They created a number of chances early in the game but deservedly took the lead in the 20th minute when Murray Howes calmly slotted home a nice low shot from about 12 yards out after a neat exchange with Steve McCaw.
The home team picked up their game after the goal and U Vic had two dangerous corners just before the break.
In the second half U Vic pushed more players up front but United’s back line stood firm with Mike Shue and Robin Regnier in outstanding form at the heart of the defence. Surrey had many counter attacks in the second half due to the fact that U Vic was pushing forward but United were denied a further goal by some great saves from the home team’s goalkeeper.
Late in the game, United keeper Angelo Bonato came out strongly to clear away two dangerous crosses in the final few minute to preserve the shut-out and the victory.
Ladies PREMIER
No game
Ladies DIVISION ONE
Season complete.
Player of the Week
This week’s Player of the Week goes to Robin Regnier of the Mens Masters team for an outstanding defensive performance which helped see his team gain a very impressive 1-0 victory against U Vic Alumni which enabled them to advance to the next round of the Provincial Cup.