Despite a very short bench, Powell River Villa held Gorge FC scoreless for most of the first half before falling 3-0 at the end of their Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL) Division 1 match on Saturday, October 8, in Victoria.
“I was very happy with the way we played,” said Tony Leach, Villa’s coach. “We were composed, we were on the ball, and the fact that we had so few players at the game meant we weren’t in a rush to go anywhere. We still had some good ball movement and were close to capitalizing on some of our chances, which was great to see.”
Players unavailable for illness, injury and previous engagements, as well as captain Niko Cristante being out for the first of his two-game suspension after last week’s red card, meant that Villa travelled to Victoria with only 11 players.
Scott McKenzie played in net for the game, and Matt Liknes, who also plays keeper for Villa, suited up to play a centre-forward position. In addition, some players who have not seen much field time so far this season played a full 90 minutes.
“Some of the players were getting pretty tired towards the end, for sure,” said Leach, “but everyone was committed and gave their best effort for the full game. It was a great team effort and a good road trip.
“We were happy to be in that game and playing well. When Gorge comes to Timberlane later this season, it will be a much different experience for them, and us.”
The game was scoreless until Gorge was awarded a penalty kick at 43 minutes of the first half.
“We were getting tired, and we weren’t able to clear the ball, despite three or four chances to do so,” said Leach. “We came in late on a tackle, so it was the right call by the referee.”
Gorge followed up with another goal off a penalty kick at 52 minutes in the second half, and then a goal from 18 yards at 88 minutes to finish the game.
“Our defensive line played very well again, and our midfield players, Russell [Pielle] and Griffin [Leach], worked very hard,” said Leach. “Our outside guys, Cullen [Buholzer] and Brody [Harry], also worked hard, but really, everyone was putting in the effort the whole game.”
Villa returns to Timberlane on Saturday, October 15, to host Bays United Liquor Plus. The two teams are tied at four points in VISL Division 1 standings.
“This is a big game for us, because it gives us an opportunity to move up three points over Bays,” said Leach. “We’ll still be missing a few players, but we’ll definitely have a deeper bench, and it should be a fun game to watch.”
Kickoff is at 1:30 pm, and tickets will be available at the gate.
