Powell River Villa lost its third Vancouver Island Soccer League road game in a row on Saturday, December 4, falling 4-0 to Bays United in Victoria.
“This has been the toughest stretch of our season, with four road games straight and not playing at home since October,” said Chris McDonough, Villa’s manager. “It’s also the time of the season where some players are getting injured. It’s wearing on the guys, but they’re still committed every game, and they’re improving all the time.”
That improvement showed against a Bays United team that has filled out its roster with players from the University of Victoria varsity team. Bays opened the scoring at 36 minutes, but that was the only goal for either team for over 60 minutes of play.
“We held them very well in the first half, and created some good chances of our own,” said McDonough. “We went out with a defensive mindset to hold them off, and to counterattack when we could, and we did that very well. Our strategy worked in the second half as well, but we started to make some mistakes, and Bays was able to capitalize on those.”
Bays United scored at 66, 80 and 82 minutes to finish the game with a four-goal lead over the Powell River side.
“Our keeper Scott McKenzie had an amazing game; without him, it would have been a much bigger goal deficit,” said McDonough. “He made a number of key saves, especially in the second half, to keep the game close. Everyone on the field made a good effort, and in fact we played better than the week before.”
Saturday’s game was also Jake Kenmuir’s first game of the season for Villa; he has rejoined the team from Cowichan FC for the remainder of the season.
“Jake had a solid game for us,” said McDonough. “He was a threat up front and created some great chances, and we’re thrilled to have him back.”
Villa returns to Timberlane Park this weekend, playing fourth-place Vic West on Saturday, December 11. The game starts at 1:30 pm, with tickets available at the gate.
“We’re also hosting a burger and beer fundraiser/fan celebration at the Soccer Centre at Timberlane after the game,” said McDonough. “We’ll have a limited number of passes to the event available at the gate for $15, so if you’d like to attend and support Villa, be sure to come early to get your ticket.”
Villa will be on the road once again before the holidays, heading back down to Victoria to face Lakehill FC on Saturday, December 18, before taking a well-deserved break to rest and recuperate.
“Our schedule in the new year isn’t nearly so tough, with only two road games out of seven,” said McDonough. “We’re really looking forward to being on the grass at Timberlane in 2022.”
