by Glen Gibbs Peak Sports In their last game before the Christmas break, Powell River Villa players hoped to unwrap an early gift with a win against Bays United FC2.
They gleefully got what they wanted when they scored a goal in each of the 45-minute halves to shutout the 10-man side from Victoria 2-0.
It’s the second time this year a team from Victoria has shown up at Brooks Turf field with only 10 players but coach Jamie Zroback says the numbers don’t necessarily change the approach to the game by Villa.
“We play them like they have 11,” he said, “and you need to try to keep the intensity up to bury them.”
On the other side of the pitch Bays shored up the back end with an obvious intent to keep the score close.
It was successful for the first 20 minutes, limiting Villa’s chances and virtually keeping it outside the 18-yard box.
Villa finally cracked the defensive wall when Kevin Sawchuk broke through and scored 23 minutes into the game.
“It was a brilliant ball through from Kye [Taylor],” he said, “and one on one with the goalie, he just stood still, I picked the far corner.”
Of the defensive setup for Bays Sawchuk said, “They played a very high straight back line so it was either an offside or a through ball to us and we couldn’t quite figure it out at first. Once we cracked that it seemed okay.”
Villa led 1-0 at the half where Zroback stressed the importance of continued pace and pressure.
A substitution, Dylan McLean in for Nick van’t Schip, 20 minutes into the second half looked to be a key move with Villa hanging onto a slim lead.
Five minutes after entering the game McLean took the ball down the sideline and labelled a shot into the low corner of the Bays’ goal. This was a perfect shot from 20 yards out for his first goal of the year.
“I made the run,” said McLean, “and I hit it right in the corner. It just snuck in.”
The two-goal lead meant Bays had to abandon its defensive game and exert some pressure on the home team.
Villa keeper Matt Liknes was up to the task, however, and he made several good saves with his best coming on a free kick from 20 yards.
The ball was well placed and headed for the top left corner but Liknes stretched out and deflected the shot wide of its mark.
It really was a complete victory for Villa who vaulted themselves over Bays into the middle of division two standings of Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL).
Two wins and two ties in the last four games, with a couple of games in hand over most of the clubs, have placed Powell River in a good position heading into the second half of the season.
“This win keeps our streak going,” said manager Todd Phillips after the game, “and takes us from eighth up to fifth place in the standings. There are not a lot of games left in the season and we just took a huge jump in the standings. No more fighting to stay out of relegation,” he said with relief.
Villa will now enjoy a one-month break from the VISL schedule and looks forward to exhibition action on Boxing Day when it participates in the Steve Steele memorial game.
