Powell River Villa overcame a one-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 tie with Juan de Fuca All Flows at Timberlane Park on Saturday, February 19.
“It wasn’t quite the result we were looking for going into the game, but at this point in the season, a draw is better than a loss,” said Chris McDonough, Villa’s manager. “All Flows came out hungrier than we thought, and it took us a little while to adjust. Still, we managed to pull together and achieve a result.”
Villa opened the scoring at 20 minutes in the first half with a goal from captain Niko Cristante.
“We struggled the first 10 minutes or so, but then we started playing some good soccer,” said Tony Leach, Villa’s coach. “There was a good passing play down the left side that ended with Niko getting a shot away, which got past their keeper. It gave us a lift to take the lead, and we’d hoped to hold that lead into halftime.”
Unfortunately, All Flows scored at 39 minutes, ending the half in a 1-1 tie. The visitors scored again immediately following kickoff, going up 2-1 at 46 minutes in the second half.
“We came out a little flat in the second half, and it took us a while to regain the momentum,” said McDonough. “About 20 minutes before the end of the match, we made a few tactical changes, and then we kept the pressure on them.”
Cristante capitalized on a penalty kick at 83 minutes to tie up the game, and Villa held off a push by the visitors in the last seven minutes to end it in a draw.
“All in all, we put in a great team performance,” said Cristante. “We were able to regain our composure, pull a tie back, and get a point. We played with a lot of determination and grit. We knew what was on the line and knew we had to come out, put on a good performance, and end the season strong.”
The tie awarded both Villa and All Flows a point in the Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL) Division 1 standings, where they sit with 15 and 16 points respectively. All Flows are in the last non-relegation spot, and both teams have one more regular season game to play.
“There are a few things that need to happen for us to get out of the relegation zone,” said McDonough. “All Flows has to tie or lose to Comox, we have to win against Gorge, and Comox, who are below us with two games to play, has to win against All Flows and lose or tie against Westcastle. The only part of that we can affect is our performance against Gorge, so we’re focusing on that.”
Prior to the last regular season VISL game, Villa will play in the first round of the Jackson Cup. On Sunday, February 27, Villa meets Division 2’s Juan de Fuca Hellas for an evening game in Victoria. The Jackson Cup tournament schedule will take precedence over the regular season games until Villa is knocked out of the table.
“No matter what happens, we are much further ahead than we were at the beginning of the year,” said Leach. “Now, we’re competing in every game. Our work ethic is there, and our cohesiveness is starting to come together. We’re going to be that much stronger next year, and that’s exciting.”
