Mens PREMIER

Surrey United started their match against Richmond Hibernians strongly and almost took an early lead when striker Lucas Barrett narrowly failed to connect with a superbly taken free-kick by Tyler Rosenlund. However, after defending resolutely for most of the early part of the game Richmond almost grabbed the lead against the run of play but were denied only by the brilliance of United netminder Drew Smiley whose point blank save was scrambled clear by midfielder Simon Codner.

It proved to be a key turning point because three minutes later Rosenlund’s preciously measured pass split the Hibernian defence and sent Cam Wilson racing through to score his fifth goal of the season. Surrey increased their lead ten minutes into the second half with Rosenlund once again playing a key part in the move sending a glorious ball to the right flank where outside midfielder Vinny Stewart accelerated past his marker and picked out Barrett in the middle who scored with a close range shot. United were thwarted from scoring on four subsequent occasions by a combination of fine saves from Matt Clayton and some woeful finishing. The Firefighters paid the price for not finishing off their chances when slack defence play allowed Richmond's Alan Chivers to sneak unmarked at the far post to head past Smiley from close range. The goal spurred on the home side who rallied strongly but they were denied by two more great saves from Smiley, one from a free-kick and the other another point blank save from Chivers which was a virtual replica of the Richmond goal. With Richmond surging forward for the equalizer Surrey capitalized on an outnumbered situation in the Richmond defence and were awarded a penalty after substitute Niall Thompson was brought down in the penalty area. Substitute Rizal Ganief slotted the ball past Clayton to seal the victory which extends the Richmond winless streak to six games. Player of the game was Surrey goalkeeper Drew Smiley who although did not see a great deal of action made three critical saves at crucial times in the game which certainly influenced the score-line and the result.

Mens CAT “A” DIVISION

Surrey desperately struggling this season with injuries and unavailability once again utilized the resources of the Cat “B” team but alas came up on the wrong side of a 3-0 scoreline in their game against Westside who are traditionally one of the stronger sides in the division.

Mens CAT “B” DIVISION

This week’s game featured the VMSL’s top two CAT “B” teams, Surrey United “C” and UBC Metropolitan “B” in what proved to be a very entertaining game at Cloverdale Athletic Park on Sunday”.  The game kicked off at a very high pace, with Surrey United controlling most of the play and leading goal-scorer Lenny Longley almost grabbed a sensational first minute goal but was denied by a fine diving save from the UBC keeper.  Finally, United’s pressure paid off and in the 21st minute Longley opened the scoring when he received a nice feed from Krisztian Turcsanyi, slipped past a defender and placed a perfectly measured shot past the visiting keeper’s left side.  The goal fired up the young United team, who started running at the UBC defenders and both Corey Bergen and Longley again were denied further goals by two great saves from the opposing keeper who acrobatically tipped both efforts over the cross-bar. The second half started very differently with the older and more experienced UBC taking charge with their slick passing and possession play but Surrey United’s league leading defence proved too tough to break down for the seasoned UBC team and on the occasions they did break through the defence Surrey United’s keeper Ben Baerg took charge and produced two memorable saves of his own. Man of the match for Surrey United, was captain Dominic Garzitto, who was dominant in the centre of defence and led the team to an impressive victory that sees them remain at the top of the table.

Mens MASTERS

The Masters entertained Columbus in a heavyweight tilt at Cloverdale Athletic Park on Sunday where the visitors emerged with a 1-0 victory in a game that could have gone either way but the loss anchors United in an uncharacteristic place at the bottom of the table. United failed to score for the third successive game and if they came find the answer to the scoring drought then they will surely climb up the table in a hurry.

Ladies PREMIER

Surrey United Ladies returned to league action after their trials and tribulations at the Nationals where they lost 5-4 in penalty shoot-outs in the final game to secure the Silver medal. The physical and emotion drain of four games in five days at the Nationals was very apparent as the United team, who were also missing a number of key players through injuries, looked tired and laboured in the game against a workmanlike Delta United team. However, after enjoying most of the territorial advantage in the first half United finally opened the scoring two minutes before the interval when midfielder Lindsay Rohla pounced on a loose clearance and fired a low shot from eighteen yards into the corner of the net. After the break United looked a little more lively and increased their lead ten minutes into the half when Kate Qually’s fine pass sent Rachael Pelat galloping down the left and her perfectly measured cross found Sharon Lehnert open at the back post and her clinical finish from close range gave the keeper no chance. Two minutes later Lehnert added her second with another clinical right foot strike after Shannon Douglas’ measured pass sent Lehnert racing clear. In the 67th minute United added their fourth and final goal of the game with this time goal-scorers Rohla and Lehnert becoming the playmakers as they set-up a chance for Kate Qually to convert from close range. Man of the match Lehnert was denied a hat-trick when her powerful shot struck the cross-bar and rebounded to safety. Goal-keeper Theresa Nuttall made a fine save late in the game to record her third successive shut-out of the season.

Ladies DIVISION ONE

In Sunday's match both sides spent the first few minutes testing each other out by making strong runs at either end of the pitch. However, Surrey United ladies came to play and stuck to their game plan producing one of their best performances of the season. United opened the scoring at the 15 minute mark after some quick slick passing in the midfield the ball was worked to striker Sam Pither whose fierce shot was turned away by the Vancouver's keeper directly into the path of Surrey midfielder whose subtle lay-off enabled Sandra Able to score with a low shot into the corner of the net. United increased their lead after 35 minutes when some neat inter passing play between defender, Jaide Helgason and midfielder Lora Brownlow, created an opening for the charging Surrey United striker Claire McKinnon whose hard rising left-foot shot rocketed over the keeper’s head into the top right corner of the net. The pattern of the second half remained the same as the first with United maintaining ball possession and making strong offensive runs into Vancouver's end of the pitch. This hard work by Surrey United was rewarded in the 20th minute of the second half when Sam Pither was awarded a direct kick well outside Vancouver's 18 yard box. The Surrey striker hammered a powerful shot into the top left corner of Vancouver's net giving the keeper no chance of making a save. Surrey United's 4th and Claire McKinnon's 2nd goal of the match was the highlight of the match saw her beat off the challenge of two defenders and the keeper and then unleashed a powerful left foot shot that flew into the back of Vancouver's net. What should have been a shut-out for United was spoiled when a lack of focus allowed  their opponents to score a late consolation goal five minutes from time.

Player of the Week

This week’s Player of the Week goes to the Women’s premier team striker Sharon Lehnert whose two goals not only clinched victory for the team but also took her personal tally for the season to five.