2022 Provincial B Cup - Predictions, Results and Banter

[machel]

Predictions

Coasters vs GuildFord
Guildford sandbaggers on a roll. jk

West Van B vs Abbotsford United
no idea.

West Coast vs Romania
First in VMSL div1 vs 3rd in RASA. Straight forward here?

Gorge vs JDF Kings
no idea.

Mission vs Mundi
Going for my buddies! haha. Heard Mission is good tho.

Harps vs Snipers
Snipers hungry but will it be enough?
Match of the Week!

All Blacks vs Gastown
All Blacks with 5 goals against in the league. Hard to score on these guys apparently.

Lobbans vs Aldergrove United
no idea.

 

[Canucks4Ever]

With the Preliminary Round out of the way, the First Round Proper of the B Cup is up this weekend. Here are some quick hitters...

Completely Baseless Predictions - Men's B Cup Round of 16

Vancouver Harps (VMSL) v Vancouver Snipers (VMSL)
This is a heavyweight tilt and one that surely these sides would have preferred to come later in the competition. Harps were the VMSL's Div. 2 Cup winners and, as such, received the VMSL's seed to this competition and were given a bye to the second round. They would have qualified on merit for this competition as well though, as they finished second place in Division 2A. The team that beat them for first place, though, was Snipers and they won the league by some margin, besting Harps by 11 points. Snipers beat Harps in both their previous meetings this season, by scores of 2-0 and 2-1, and only lost twice all year, once in the league in November and then they were knocked out of the cup early doors. Any worry about rust for Snipers was waived away when they cruised past We'R United in the prelims, so both sides will be in good form coming into this match. Jose Luis Lillo Aleman is the top scorer for Snipers, but their real strength is at the back end with keeper Luke Hardie, who notched an impressive ten clean sheets in 22 games this season. Harps have a pair of strong scorers in Daniel O'Keeffe and Andrew O'Connor, who scored 12 and 11 goals respectively this season. This should be a great battle, but Snipers got it done during the season and should be slight favourites to do so again.

Mission SC (FVSL) v Mundiadvocat FC (BMSL)
The FVSL's seed this season is Presidents Cup winners Mission SC, who also managed to top Division 2A as well. That said, there is always some amount of grain of salt with which the FVSL Division 2 tables have to be taken, given the preference for some teams to remain perpetually at that level. By all accounts, Mission seem keen to grow their program and possibly go up to Division 1, but we will see about that come September. In the meantime, they ran rampant in the cup final and have plenty of weapons, chief among them being veteran player coach Dan Hill, who scored twelve times across all competitions this season. Fair play to Mundi, who are perennials in this competition from the BMSL and edged another FVSL team, Surrey FC Punjab, 3-2 in their opener. Mission are a step up from that, though, and at home up the mountain in Mission, they should be strong favourites here.

Gorge Us-Guys (VISL) v Juan de Fuca Kings (VISL)
Another domestice battle is on deck for the last sixteen with Juan de Fuca visiting VISL rivals Gorge Us-Guys. Like some of their contemporaries in the FVSL, Gorge have been accused in the past of perhaps sandbagging, avoiding promotion, and playing in a division that is otherwise beneath their abilities. They did the league and cup double this season, actually beating JDF in the cup final by a rather decisive 3-0 margin. That was the only meeting between these two sides this season and it is rather insightful. JDF, meanwhile, were third in their group, but locked down a spot in this tournament thanks to their aforementioned cup run. They have 15 goal man Jaden Jeske to rely on, but he was held off the scoresheet in their previous meeting with Gorge and will likely need that to change if the Kings are to progress further than just their preliminary win over the FVSL's Ridge Meadows. Opposite them will be Gorge's twin threats of Jordan French, who won the 3A Golden Boot with 15 goals, and Declan O’Callaghan, who added 13 of his own. Maybe JDF figured out exactly what changes they need to make after their cup final loss to Gorge, but it is tough to see anyone other than the home side being the favourites in this one.

West Van FC B (VMSL) v Abbotsford United B (FVSL)
Speaking of sandbagging, low and behold, despite having their fate in their own hands down the stretch and needing just one more win to take first place in the FVSL's Division 2A, Abbotsford, somehow, just could not get it done. Surely they are devastated on being consigned to yet another season in Division 2 next season... In the meantime, they managed to shake off that "poor" finish to the season and head over to the Island in the preliminary round, where they chalked up a solid 1-0 win over Mid-Isle Mariners. Coming back from the Island with an away win is always impressive, but it will be an equally difficult trip for the Valley side to head out to Ambleside to face a West Van team that narrowly missed out on the Div. 2B title in the VMSL. The North Shore side are a young group made up of several youth graduates with a few experienced players mixed in. Mike Mauro led the way with a dozen goals, but, really, West Van's strength is their tactical team play. Their youthfulness can leave them slightly bereft of big game experience at times, which is part of the reason they faltered down the stretch. Abby will need to exploit that and will hope experience strikers Taranjit Bagri and Manveer Dhillon can make the difference on the day. While West Van may not quite have the pedigree to go all the way in this tournament just yet, their exuberance may well be enough to carry them to victory in their opener.

Burnaby Coasters FC (BMSL) v Guilford FC (VMSL)
This is a very intruiging match up and, while it may not be the best game on paper, it is probably the Match of the Round given it bits a first place side against an upstart from the lower divisions. Guildford previously climbed all the way to the Premier Division in the VMSL, but, could not maintain that standing and, allegedly, "sold" their spot at the end of the 2018-19 season. They maintain a U21 team, though, and, following the pandemic, shifted to Division 3 which, of course, also allowed them to compliment the group with other experienced players. They ran away with a very competitive Div. 3B, led by Dipinder Gill and his 22 goals. However, the only way to qualify for the Provincial Cup was by stepping up and reaching the final of the VMSL's Division 2 Cup which, to their credit, they did. Guildford may be well on their way to climbing back to Premier, only time will tell, but, in the meantime they have their eyes set on making a run at the Provincial B Cup. They made short work of FVSL 2B winners Langley United Dynamo, smashing them 4-0 in the preliminary round. They now face another league winner in the form of BMSL champions Burnaby Coasters. With due respect to Coasters, the Langley likely would have been favourites over them had they matched up and the Dynamo were no match for Guildford.

West Coast FC (RASA) v FC Romania (VMSL)
The draw was kind to West Coast FC who were handed one of the random byes past the preliminary round. That kindness effectively ended there though, when they drew VMSL 2B winners FC Romania. Romania are headed back to Division 1 after a hard fought season, but would not mind adding the Provincial B Cup to their trophy case along the way. They charged past the FVSL's North Surrey Mustangs in their opener, breezing to a 4-1 win. This is a very experienced team that has to be considered a favourite for this competition overall. Vaughn Andrews was Romania's main goal threat this season, scoring eleven times, but the Vancouver based side have plenty of weapons. For West Coast, they qualified for this tournament by winning the League Cup, edging League winner All Blacks 1-0, but had an otherwise average season, finishing well off the pace in third place. Leading scorers Todd Anderson and Nick Varley will be hoping they can lead their side to another fantastic cup run, but they will be underdogs in this first match certainly.

Richmond All Blacks (RASA) v Gastown Astro FC (VMSL)
It seems that Richmond league stalwarts All Blacks go in somewhat of a cycle, dominating and then fading and then dominating again. This season certainly fell into the "dominating" category as they bossed Division 1 of RASA, going undefeated with only one tie to blemish their record. They did come up short in the League Cup final, but that has been the only down point of the season to date. Ethan Mangilit is their leading scorer and will be hoping to prove that the All Blacks can take their talents beyond just RASA this season. All Blacks are three time winners of this tournament, but have not won it since 2013. It is a tough draw for Gastown, who eked into this tournament thanks to Inter opting out. That said the downtown boys nearly made it on their own merit, losing a tough cup semi-final and just three points back of Inter in Div. 2A. They boast joint top scorer Gareth Allen-Symmons among their ranks after he scored 21 goals across all competitions this season. Gastown saw off BMSL's Euro FC with relative ease in their opener, easing to a 3-1 win, but All Blacks look to be a different kettle of fish this season.

Lobbans FC (VMSL) v Aldergrove United Highlanders (FVSL)
Fair play to Aldergrove who had to win a last minute playoff to claim the FVSL's final spot in this competition and they went to Saltspring in the preliminary round and came home with a 3-1 win. That is more than most of their contemporaries from the Valley can say, as only three FVSL teams of the seven that entered remain after the preliminary round, and Mission received a bye. Despite only finishing fifth in FVSL 2A, Aldergrove have Division 2 MVP Scott Lively to call upon as well as Golden Boot winner Davor Rajhert, who notched 17 goals in 18 games. Lobbans qualified as the third place side from the VMSL's 2A and have a Golden Boot winner of their own in Guarav Bassi, who banged in 28 goals through 22 league matches. Lobbans also remain under the watchful tutelage of former Canadian International Randy Samuel. This one is a bit of a toss up between a pair of sides with some weapons, but perhaps not the complete package required to be a championship side. Historically the VMSL has edged these types of meetings, so maybe that will be the difference once again in this clash.

 

[4thplacetrophy]

Mission 3-0 Mundi

 

[Totis]

With the Preliminary Round out of the way, the First Round Proper of the B Cup is up this weekend. Here are some quick hitters...

Completely Baseless Predictions - Men's B Cup Round of 16

Vancouver Harps (VMSL) v Vancouver Snipers (VMSL)
This is a heavyweight tilt and one that surely these sides would have preferred to come later in the competition. Harps were the VMSL's Div. 2 Cup winners and, as such, received the VMSL's seed to this competition and were given a bye to the second round. They would have qualified on merit for this competition as well though, as they finished second place in Division 2A. The team that beat them for first place, though, was Snipers and they won the league by some margin, besting Harps by 11 points. Snipers beat Harps in both their previous meetings this season, by scores of 2-0 and 2-1, and only lost twice all year, once in the league in November and then they were knocked out of the cup early doors. Any worry about rust for Snipers was waived away when they cruised past We'R United in the prelims, so both sides will be in good form coming into this match. Jose Luis Lillo Aleman is the top scorer for Snipers, but their real strength is at the back end with keeper Luke Hardie, who notched an impressive ten clean sheets in 22 games this season. Harps have a pair of strong scorers in Daniel O'Keeffe and Andrew O'Connor, who scored 12 and 11 goals respectively this season. This should be a great battle, but Snipers got it done during the season and should be slight favourites to do so again.

Mission SC (FVSL) v Mundiadvocat FC (BMSL)
The FVSL's seed this season is Presidents Cup winners Mission SC, who also managed to top Division 2A as well. That said, there is always some amount of grain of salt with which the FVSL Division 2 tables have to be taken, given the preference for some teams to remain perpetually at that level. By all accounts, Mission seem keen to grow their program and possibly go up to Division 1, but we will see about that come September. In the meantime, they ran rampant in the cup final and have plenty of weapons, chief among them being veteran player coach Dan Hill, who scored twelve times across all competitions this season. Fair play to Mundi, who are perennials in this competition from the BMSL and edged another FVSL team, Surrey FC Punjab, 3-2 in their opener. Mission are a step up from that, though, and at home up the mountain in Mission, they should be strong favourites here.

Gorge Us-Guys (VISL) v Juan de Fuca Kings (VISL)
Another domestice battle is on deck for the last sixteen with Juan de Fuca visiting VISL rivals Gorge Us-Guys. Like some of their contemporaries in the FVSL, Gorge have been accused in the past of perhaps sandbagging, avoiding promotion, and playing in a division that is otherwise beneath their abilities. They did the league and cup double this season, actually beating JDF in the cup final by a rather decisive 3-0 margin. That was the only meeting between these two sides this season and it is rather insightful. JDF, meanwhile, were third in their group, but locked down a spot in this tournament thanks to their aforementioned cup run. They have 15 goal man Jaden Jeske to rely on, but he was held off the scoresheet in their previous meeting with Gorge and will likely need that to change if the Kings are to progress further than just their preliminary win over the FVSL's Ridge Meadows. Opposite them will be Gorge's twin threats of Jordan French, who won the 3A Golden Boot with 15 goals, and Declan O’Callaghan, who added 13 of his own. Maybe JDF figured out exactly what changes they need to make after their cup final loss to Gorge, but it is tough to see anyone other than the home side being the favourites in this one.

West Van FC B (VMSL) v Abbotsford United B (FVSL)
Speaking of sandbagging, low and behold, despite having their fate in their own hands down the stretch and needing just one more win to take first place in the FVSL's Division 2A, Abbotsford, somehow, just could not get it done. Surely they are devastated on being consigned to yet another season in Division 2 next season... In the meantime, they managed to shake off that "poor" finish to the season and head over to the Island in the preliminary round, where they chalked up a solid 1-0 win over Mid-Isle Mariners. Coming back from the Island with an away win is always impressive, but it will be an equally difficult trip for the Valley side to head out to Ambleside to face a West Van team that narrowly missed out on the Div. 2B title in the VMSL. The North Shore side are a young group made up of several youth graduates with a few experienced players mixed in. Mike Mauro led the way with a dozen goals, but, really, West Van's strength is their tactical team play. Their youthfulness can leave them slightly bereft of big game experience at times, which is part of the reason they faltered down the stretch. Abby will need to exploit that and will hope experience strikers Taranjit Bagri and Manveer Dhillon can make the difference on the day. While West Van may not quite have the pedigree to go all the way in this tournament just yet, their exuberance may well be enough to carry them to victory in their opener.

Burnaby Coasters FC (BMSL) v Guilford FC (VMSL)
This is a very intruiging match up and, while it may not be the best game on paper, it is probably the Match of the Round given it bits a first place side against an upstart from the lower divisions. Guildford previously climbed all the way to the Premier Division in the VMSL, but, could not maintain that standing and, allegedly, "sold" their spot at the end of the 2018-19 season. They maintain a U21 team, though, and, following the pandemic, shifted to Division 3 which, of course, also allowed them to compliment the group with other experienced players. They ran away with a very competitive Div. 3B, led by Dipinder Gill and his 22 goals. However, the only way to qualify for the Provincial Cup was by stepping up and reaching the final of the VMSL's Division 2 Cup which, to their credit, they did. Guildford may be well on their way to climbing back to Premier, only time will tell, but, in the meantime they have their eyes set on making a run at the Provincial B Cup. They made short work of FVSL 2B winners Langley United Dynamo, smashing them 4-0 in the preliminary round. They now face another league winner in the form of BMSL champions Burnaby Coasters. With due respect to Coasters, the Langley likely would have been favourites over them had they matched up and the Dynamo were no match for Guildford.

West Coast FC (RASA) v FC Romania (VMSL)
The draw was kind to West Coast FC who were handed one of the random byes past the preliminary round. That kindness effectively ended there though, when they drew VMSL 2B winners FC Romania. Romania are headed back to Division 1 after a hard fought season, but would not mind adding the Provincial B Cup to their trophy case along the way. They charged past the FVSL's North Surrey Mustangs in their opener, breezing to a 4-1 win. This is a very experienced team that has to be considered a favourite for this competition overall. Vaughn Andrews was Romania's main goal threat this season, scoring eleven times, but the Vancouver based side have plenty of weapons. For West Coast, they qualified for this tournament by winning the League Cup, edging League winner All Blacks 1-0, but had an otherwise average season, finishing well off the pace in third place. Leading scorers Todd Anderson and Nick Varley will be hoping they can lead their side to another fantastic cup run, but they will be underdogs in this first match certainly.

Richmond All Blacks (RASA) v Gastown Astro FC (VMSL)
It seems that Richmond league stalwarts All Blacks go in somewhat of a cycle, dominating and then fading and then dominating again. This season certainly fell into the "dominating" category as they bossed Division 1 of RASA, going undefeated with only one tie to blemish their record. They did come up short in the League Cup final, but that has been the only down point of the season to date. Ethan Mangilit is their leading scorer and will be hoping to prove that the All Blacks can take their talents beyond just RASA this season. All Blacks are three time winners of this tournament, but have not won it since 2013. It is a tough draw for Gastown, who eked into this tournament thanks to Inter opting out. That said the downtown boys nearly made it on their own merit, losing a tough cup semi-final and just three points back of Inter in Div. 2A. They boast joint top scorer Gareth Allen-Symmons among their ranks after he scored 21 goals across all competitions this season. Gastown saw off BMSL's Euro FC with relative ease in their opener, easing to a 3-1 win, but All Blacks look to be a different kettle of fish this season.

Lobbans FC (VMSL) v Aldergrove United Highlanders (FVSL)
Fair play to Aldergrove who had to win a last minute playoff to claim the FVSL's final spot in this competition and they went to Saltspring in the preliminary round and came home with a 3-1 win. That is more than most of their contemporaries from the Valley can say, as only three FVSL teams of the seven that entered remain after the preliminary round, and Mission received a bye. Despite only finishing fifth in FVSL 2A, Aldergrove have Division 2 MVP Scott Lively to call upon as well as Golden Boot winner Davor Rajhert, who notched 17 goals in 18 games. Lobbans qualified as the third place side from the VMSL's 2A and have a Golden Boot winner of their own in Guarav Bassi, who banged in 28 goals through 22 league matches. Lobbans also remain under the watchful tutelage of former Canadian International Randy Samuel. This one is a bit of a toss up between a pair of sides with some weapons, but perhaps not the complete package required to be a championship side. Historically the VMSL has edged these types of meetings, so maybe that will be the difference once again in this clash.

Westcoast winners over Romania 2-1 in extra time.

 

[Highlanders12]

Aldergrove Highlanders 3 - 2 Lobbans after ET.

 

[club_i_champ]

Westcoast winners over Romania 2-1 in extra time.

I heard Romania only showed with 11 bodies...

All Blacks 3 Gastown 2 last night, great finish for the GWG.

 

[4thplacetrophy]

Only result not showing on the website is the guildford one?

Does anyone know the result in that one?

 

[Unitedforever]

@4thplacetrophy How'd you guys do last night? Score still isn't posted

 

[4thplacetrophy]

@4thplacetrophy How'd you guys do last night? Score still isn't posted

Games tonight.
6:30 UBC

 

[4thplacetrophy]

8-1 snipers.
Embarrassing

 

[Unitedforever]

Guildford 2-1 West Coast
Lots of drama, 2 reds and a handful of yellows

 

[GoF]

What was the second red? I must have totally missed that one. Was definitely a feisty affair.

Would have liked to have seen that one for more than 13 minutes as 11 v 11. West Coast may have nicked it.

 

[Crowndevil]

What was the second red? I must have totally missed that one. Was definitely a feisty affair.

Would have liked to have seen that one for more than 13 minutes as 11 v 11. West Coast may have nicked it.

Yea 2nd red came after the final whistle

 

[Crowndevil]

Yea 2nd red came after the final whistle

N I think for sure West coast would have had them 11v11

 

[Unitedforever]

Yea 2nd red came after the final whistle

The west coast coach walked up to the referees and started complaining when he was given his final warning during the match.

 

[GoF]

Ah, I saw him at the ref at the final whistle and thought that might happen.

 

[GoF]

Here's some highlights from Guildford v West Coast.

Unfortunately missed the tackle for the sending off as was switching back to video after taking some photos and my camera wasn't as quick as the breakaway, so just got the tail end of it

 

[Unitedforever]

Guildford 3-0 All blacks. Scored one in the first half and then 2 in the second. They seemed to wake up after their half time speech.

 

[GoF]

A bit late but just in time for tomorrow's final, here's the second half highlights from the Guildford v All Blacks semi last weekend

 

[GoF]

Here's my highlights package from yesterday's B Cup final, including medal and trophy presentations.