Feb 1, 2004 Pioneers and Aldergrove settle for a draw
Aldergrove Two 1 Richmond Pioneers 1
The Richmond Pioneers travelled the long road to Aldergrove for the second time this season, this time facing Aldergrove Two. The competitively fought game ended in a 1-1 tie, with both teams having chances to break the deadlock.
The Pioneers had to shuffle their starting line up when Jim Fitzerald came down suddenly with another case of the 'Aldergrove flu' - the second time this year he has succumbed to this mysterious illness! According to reports, the man who travels as well as fine wine apparently recovers fast, as he managed to climb out of his sick bed to stand in the cold and watch Richmond United play at McMath.
Despite the unsettling effect this had on the team, the Pioneers struck first early in the game when Ken Johnston latched onto a Eugene Kishmere pass. Johnston did well to shrug off the attention of a couple of Aldergrove defenders and his shot from an acute angle deceived the Aldergrove keeper.
The Pioneers had most of the early play, and could have gone 2-0 up on a couple of occasions, with Kishmere twice electing to run into traffic instead of shooting or passing.
At the other end, Dave Valitis made a nice diving save to deny Aldergrove an equalizer.
The second half saw Aldergrove applying pressure to try and even things up, and 10 minutes in they did just that, thanks to a spectacular diving header at the near post.
Midway through the second half, it appeared that Eugene Kishmere had broken the deadlock when his shot from an impossible angle was bungled by the Aldergrove keeper and went into the net. After signalling a goal, the referee reversed his decision following Aldergrove claims that the ball had crossed the goal-line before Kishmere's shot. Kishmere was incensed at the decision, but a goalkick was awarded and the game remained 1-1.
Although the Pioneers were struggling to find any kind of rhythm on this day, they had a glorious chance to win it, when Kishmere set up Stan Bogdanovich who wasted the opportunity by blasting the ball wide of the goal.
The back and forth encounter saw Aldergrove also have their chances to snatch a late winner, and Valitis was called upon to make a couple of great saves. As the full time whistle blew, both teams seemed happy to settle for the tie.
Man of the Match: Dave Valitis
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- Based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, the Pioneers play in the Over 50 Division of the BCOTS (BC Old Timers Soccer League). The league has over 40 teams from all over the Lower Mainland region
