Powell River Villa scored a 2-1 victory over Nanaimo United FC2 to end the regular season on a happy note but sadly, because of a result from the previous week, will be relegated to division three next year.
Nanaimo had the dubious distinction of playing both of the bottom clubs in division two and last week the best it could do was a 0-0 tie with Gorge United FC2.
The single point was all Gorge needed to ensure its status in division two next year.
Nanaimo almost pulled off the win, according to manager Allan Jorgenson. “One of our forwards missed the open net with about two minutes left,” he said. “It was kind of what we expected. They had four of the top under-21 prospects come out to play for them, but we still dominated most of the play. We just couldn’t stick it in the net.”
Of Villa’s situation, Jorgenson said, “It’s too bad that anybody has to be at the bottom because for the most part any team could beat any team. It just depended on who got the breaks or who showed up, and that made it fun for everybody.”
His point was illustrated by the fact that if Nanaimo had won both games against the bottom clubs it could have finished on top of the division, however it managed just a single point and remained in the fifth spot.
Villa certainly showed up for this game as it carried most of the play throughout the match.
Despite Villa’s effort, however, Nanaimo scored first on a hard free kick that was too high for the intended target but, in an attempt to clear, went off the head of Rob Devlin into the top of the Villa net.
The goal came at 20 minutes but instead of sagging Villa dug in and evened the score at 25 minutes.
Nick van’t Schip slipped the ball through to Jake Kenmuir who unleashed a hard shot that ripped into the top left corner of the net.
Villa continued to take it to Nanaimo for the remainder of the first half and into the start of the second.
It got the go-ahead goal on a nice passing play that started with Kye Taylor’s feed to Ben Elliott who spotted Brody Harry all alone.
“The left back kind of left me open,” Harry said, “and Ben passed it over to me. It was kind of a bad first touch and I set myself up badly, but I saw the keeper pulling one way so I knew I had to go far post. I just tried to hit it with the inside of my foot.”
The shot found the inside of the far post at the 65-minute mark and turned out to be the winner in an exciting game.
Both teams had chances to score but Villa fully deserved the 2-1 victory by virtue of its hard work and determination.
Nevertheless, without some Vancouver Island Soccer League politics, Villa’s record came up just short and as it stands will play in division three next year.
“It is what it is,” said coach Jamie Zroback after the game, “but the good news is there’s going to be a group of guys to keep it together and try to get back into division two next year.”
There will be some unique challenges next year he said. “There will be the ferry debacle and we will be dealing with division three teams. There will have to be some planning to make sure it’s not a gong show...Maybe it’ll be good for our kids to really go and fill the net and get some confidence.”
Looking back on the season, Zroback is very grateful to the fans and sponsors. “It’s been a tough year for us and those that have stuck by us and come out and supported us are really appreciated.”
As a final word, “Let’s get the next crop of young players started,” he said, excited about Villa’s future.
