IMPERIAL CUP FINAL—2009-03-29
WEST VAN FC – COLUMBUS-CLAN FC 2-1 PK’s
The Imperial Cup final—between West Van FC and Columbus-Clan FC—took place on Sunday at Kinsman Stadium in North Vancouver in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd. It is estimated that about 750 spectators attended the match, an excellent turn-out on a beautiful sunny day!
West Van FC carried most of the play in the first half and came close to scoring on a few occasions, but goalkeeper Thomas Lindley came up with a couple of magnificent saves—both on shots by Desmond Tachie—to keep the game scoreless throughout the first 45 minutes of play. In the second half, neither team was able to penetrate into the opponents’ danger area, mostly due to some superlative marking on the part of both teams’ defensive units. In particular, Columbus’ Jonathan Poli, Tynan Diaz, and Steve Kindel man-marked Ryan Glanville, Milad Rahmati, and Desmond Tachie respectively and succeeded in limiting the vaunted West Van attackers to few, if any, goalscoring chances. At the other end of the pitch, veteran West Van defender Trevor Short was able to mark young superstar Rizal Ganief out of the game with some extraordinary defensive work.
With about 8 minutes remaining in regulation time, Columbus took the lead when ‘GOLDEN BOOT AWARD’ winner Tiernan King headed home a hard drive by Tynan Diaz for what appeared to be the game’s winning goal. At this point, West Van’s coach—Dave Fiorvento—threw caution to the wind as he inserted a couple of attackers—Corey Birza and Sean Taylor—into the mix, replacing defenders Leo Nash and Max Baessato. The tactic proved to be very successful and it paid enormous dividends as West Van pushed forward relentlessly in search of the equalizer. Well into injury time, the former Trollers were finally rewarded when veteran Paul Dailly smashed a hard, speculative drive into the Columbus’ box. The ball narrowly missed the head of Desmond Tachie and somehow found its way into the net, much to the dismay of the Columbus players. The overtime was rather uneventful as both teams appeared clearly fatigued and unwilling to take any unnecessary risks. The match, and the Imperial Cup winner, therefore had to be decided on penalty kicks. Both teams scored 5 times in the regular ‘shootout’ and added a goal apiece in the knock-out round. However, Thomas Lindley and Marco Durante came up with some miraculous saves in the next three rounds to keep the score tied. Finally, in the 13th round, Columbus’ Scott McEachrean agonizingly watched his shot miss the net by mere centimetres, with Durante well-beaten. Birthday boy Drew Gelley then proceeded to calmly step up to the plate and slot home the winner. Both teams should be congratulated for their wonderful performance—a true credit to the game of soccer in general and to the VMSL in particular!!
TEAM OF THE WEEK: WEST VAN FC for its gritty performance in defeating Columbus-Clan FC on penalty kicks after a 1-1 overtime tie. West Van FC is therefore the recipient of the coveted Imperial Cup, a trophy that has been in existence since 1913! This is the first time since 1989 that West Van has won the Imperial Cup. Congratulations to the entire West Van contingent for a job well done!
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: West Van FC’s veteran defender TREVOR SHORT for his magnificent performance in leading his team to an impressive Imperial Cup victory over the very talented Columbus-Clan FC. For the entire 120 minutes of play, Short was able to mark Columbus’ superstar—Rizal Ganief—out of the match with his determination and incredible defensive skills. For his excellent performance this past weekend, Trevor Short will receive a prize of a pizza for two, compliments of THE GOLDEN BOOT CAFFE`. The prize is available up to 2009-04-16.
How far from goal 45 yards....defenders all around? 
