The Richmond Pioneers entertained Britannia at Honda Field and—in a sporting gesture that horribly backfired—‘loaned’ a goalkeeper to the depleted visitors and promptly lost the game 2-1.

The Pioneers themselves were depleted, or at least ‘offensively-challenged’, starting the game with only one recognized striker, in stark contrast to earlier in the season when coach Mike Mogul had a chorus line of strikers to pick from.

The Pioneers opened the scoring when Jusuf Skrijelj bundled the ball over the line from a Graham Mason pass. But despite their best efforts, this would be the only time the Pioneers succeeded in getting the ball past ‘guest’ keeper Gary Byrne.

Britannia played the offside trap to great effect, and the Pioneers were getting frustrated at the lack of penetration. Although lacking any real offensive threat, Britannia had a solid midfield, with Billy Dixon as always at the heart of it.

The Pioneers went into the half time break up 1-0. In the second half, Britannia contained the lackluster Pioneers with relative ease, and eventually scored to tie the game 1-1.

Late in the game, Pioneer goalie Dave Valitis misjudged a long range shot, gifting the ball to a Britannia forward who scored from a tight angle.

A disappointing performance from the Pioneers, Britannia became only the second team ever to beat the Pioneers on home soil (for the record, Richmond Olympics are the only other team).