Powell River Villa defeats Comox Valley United at home

Powell River Villa scored two goals in the second half to defeat Comox Valley United on January 22 at Timberlane Park.

“The win this weekend was huge for us, and we approached the game knowing that,” said Tony Leach, Villa’s coach. “The first half was fairly even in play. In the first 10 minutes Comox put a lot of pressure on us, but after that we were able to take the offensive a bit more. Both teams had some great scoring chances in the first half, and both goalies made some great saves to end the first 45 minutes scoreless.”

In the second half, Villa opened the scoring with a goal from James Timothy at 49 minutes.

“It was my second goal of the season, which felt really great,” said Timothy. “Our goalie Scott McKenzie made a save off a free kick and passed the ball up the field; the Comox goalie came out of his net to clear it and made a bad touch, and thankfully I was on the ball right away and just passed it into the open net.”

Villa’s second goal came 13 minutes later.

“The first goal settled us down a bit and we started playing a more technical game; we were moving the ball well and showing great skills,” said Leach. “When we were awarded a free kick, Nico [Cristante] took it, and Chico [Richard Murphy] was there when it bounced off the Comox wall. He directed the rebound towards the net, and somewhere in the melee Griffin [Leach] put the ball past the goalie.”

A good crowd at Timberlane enjoyed the match, and with only one road game out of five regular season Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL) games left, Powell River will be able to cheer their team on as they fight to stay in Division 1.

“I’ve been playing for Villa for about four or five years, and it just fills me with joy to play for my home town,” said Timothy. “The atmosphere is so good here, and we have to thank the fans for their support. I love that I get to go out every weekend and play for Powell River.”

Villa’s next game is on the road against Gorge FC on January 29, before returning to Timberlane for home games on three consecutive weekends.

“Gorge is a big game for us, as they’re only five points ahead in the standings,” said Leach. “This will be the first time we play them this season, as our home game against them in the fall was rescheduled for March 5.

“It will be interesting to play them twice only a month apart, especially as they’ve picked up some university players and have improved the last few weeks. But we’re also improving and getting stronger, so we’re just going to go out and fight for a win.”

Villa will play Nanaimo United FC, currently in second place in Division 1, on February 5 at Timberlane. The game starts at 1:30 pm, and tickets will be available at the gate.