Mens PREMIER

Croatia started the game brightly and almost took the lead in the first minute when a shot By Mike Brkic was brilliantly saved By Surrey's netminder Drew Smiley. It was the wake-up call the Firefighters needed and they responded well and they almost grabbed the lead themselves at the 15 minute mark when Rizal Ganief's pace took him past the Croatian defenders and as Didhar Sandhu advanced he calmly lobbed the ball over the keeper's head towards the net but a brilliant over the head clearance on the goal line by a Croatian defender kept the ball out of the net. Ten minutes later Ganief was through again and this time as he went round Sandhu but just as Ganief was prepared to steer the ball into the net he was pulled to the ground by the Croatian keeper. While the offence was clearly just outside the box the referee awarded the free-kick to Surrey keeper and yellow carded Sandhu who was fortunate not to receive a red as he clearly denied a goal scoring opportunity. The teams were tied in a goalless draw at the half and Surrey finally broke the deadlock when Jeff Skinner's flighted cross behind the defence found United striker Angus Burke who spun and steered a shot past Sandhu into the net. Croatia battled back strongly and capitalized on a Sulentic free-kick which was deflected past Smiley by United defender Jeff Buchanan. United again rallied and Ganief once more broke in on goal but had his shot blocked by the substitute keeper who had come on for the injured Sandhu the ball rebounded to United's Lucas Barrett whose shot struck a prostrate Croatian defender and was scrambled clear. In the dying minutes of the game Firefighters piled on the pressure and came close with two corner-kicks that were cleared off the line and then thought they had won it when substitute Cam Wilson broke down the left but although his shot beat the keeper it rolled agonisingly wide of the far post.

Mens CAT “A” DIVISION

Surrey United Mens Cat “A” finally overcame their massive injury problems and were able to field an almost full squad for the first time this season and celebrated with an impressive 8-1 victory over third places Estrella de Chile. Chris Roots the leading scorer on the team continued his torrid goal-scoring pace netting the hat-trick to take his season total to 10 goals in 11 games. Trevor Tagieff added a pair  with singletons coming from Brad Webowksi Alex King and Joe Mincieli.

Mens CAT “B” DIVISION

Surrey United’s CAT “B” played Richmond Olympic “B” on Sat., Dec. 5, in a game featuring the two best defensive teams in CAT”B”. The weather in the 1st half was cold, but there was no wind, which was conducive to great back and forth soccer which brought plenty of exciting goalmouth action and far from    the strong defensive start that was anticipated.  Surrey United controlled a bit more of the play in the 1st half, taking a number of long distance efforts, which kept the home keeper on his toes.  At the 20 min. mark Krisztian Turcsanyi’s powerful corner kick, surprised the defensive players and United’s  Kelvin Hayes netted his 1st goal of the year, by chesting the ball in from 6 yards.  The game closed into half-time, after a few more long distance efforts by both teams.  The 2nd half was a totally different game, when a 40 km wind started up from nowhere, favouring the home side.   The 2nd half featured 5 yellow cards, with the home team clearly frustrated with Surrey United’s strong defense.  Their many long distance efforts were easily handled by United’s keeper Ben Baerg and they were thwarted by some excellent defensive play by United’s, Robert Byron who controlled the center of defense, with his strong tackling and superior ball control.  The win moved United 8 points clear in 1st place although the second place team does have two games in hand.

Mens MASTERS

Surrey were short on the bench for this week’s trip  to West Vancouver for an early Friday night start, against the league leading WestVan. It was a see-saw battle throughout the game with both teams enjoying periods of domination but with neither team able to secure the breakthrough goal. United keeper Angelo Bonato played well and came up with a couple of big saves as did his counterpart at the other of the pitch. United held on for a very important tie obtaining a point at Ambleside where very few teams have been able to secure points.

Ladies PREMIER

Surrey United Ladies took on the elements and youthful opponents Burnaby Canadians at Burnaby North and it was the youngsters who proved to have the greater desire to win and emerged with a 2-0 victory. United enjoyed the huge benefit of a very strong wind during the first half and pinned Burnaby back into their own half for the opening twenty minutes. However, the ever increasing problem of converting pressure and chances into goals seems to be a real challenge for this version of United’s team. Burnbaby’s youthful aggression and desire coupled with their ability to make better use of the wind advantage in the second half saw  them notch two goals in the second frame to win against a laboring United team. Maybe the Christmas break and the acquisition of university players will prove to be the boost the ladies desperately need.

Ladies DIVISION ONE

The Ladies Division one game was postponed due to field closure.

Player of the Week

This week’s Player of the Week goes to the Divison A CAT player Chris Roots for his three goal performance to inspire his team to their first victory in many weeks