Powell River Villa extended its points streak to three games with a 0-0 tie in Duncan against Cowichan Axis FC on Sunday, November 6.
“We’re pretty happy with getting another point for the standings, but we’re happier with the way we played, and continue to play,” said Tony Leach, Villa’s coach. “We’ve had a great defensive showing in the last three games, only giving up one goal as opposed to the seven goals we gave up in the two games before that.
“Everyone has really stepped up and invested in the direction we’re going, and they’re playing well. This game we saw more possession of the ball, and more opportunities to score, even though we were unlucky not to put the ball in the net.”
Transportation issues caused a few problems for Villa, as a ferry delay caused the team to arrive at the field only 30 minutes before kickoff, and ferry cancellations from Vancouver made for some headaches for keeper Scott McKenzie, who nevertheless made it to the game and earned a shutout.
“Scott made some key saves for us, and without him it would have been a completely different game,” said Chris McDonough, Villa’s manager. “Our defensive line was great again: Chico [Richard Murphy], Nick [Van’t Schip], Kiran [Hollmann Prichard] and Jake [Kenmuir]. They were rock solid and were a big part of shutting Cowichan’s chances down.
“In the middle of the park, Niko [Cristante] and Griffin [Leach] did some great offensive and defensive work to keep Cowichan on their toes. Kalem Lindstrom also had a great game; he almost scored in the final minutes with a header that their keeper just managed to deflect away from the net.”
The game against Cowichan marked the end of the first half of the season. With nine games left to play, Villa is sitting in ninth place with seven points in Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL) standings, but are only separated from fourth-place Victoria Highlanders by five points.
“The bottom of the Division 1 table is really close,” said McDonough. “We’re within striking distance of a number of teams, and the last few games have left us in a decent position to move up the table. Hopefully we can do that this week.”
Villa begins the second half of the season on the road to face Westcastle in Victoria on Saturday, November 12, the second of their three-game road stretch.
“Westcastle is only two points ahead of us, so a win against them would move us up one position in the standings,” said Leach. “We tied them here at home at the beginning of the season, and we’ll have a few more players in our lineup for this game, so we’ll be looking for a win.”
Villa then travels to face last-place Comox Valley United on Saturday, November 19, before returning home to host first-place Lakehill FC at Timberlane Park on Saturday, November 26.
