Richmond Pioneers 1 Peace Arch 1
Sunday Oct 31, 2004 - The Richmond Pioneers entertained Peace Arch on a sunny yet windy Halloween, but they failed to put the final nail in the coffin, and had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
The Pioneers at least had the luxury of a few extra players, welcoming back Gary Byrne, Ken Kan and Henry Wan from injury, and Bob Heron and John Murphy from holidays, although missing the physical presence of both Eugene Kishmere and Mike Mogul, with Stan Bogdanovich still out indefinitely.
Bizarrely, the Pioneers won the toss yet decided to play AGAINST the strong wind that buffeted McMath. Aided by the strong tailwind, Peace Arch had the Pioneers pinned back in their own half for long periods, and Gary Byrne in the Pioneer nets had an active first half, producing two saves of the highest order to keep the error prone Pioneers in the game.
On the occasions when they did venture into the Peace Arch half, the Pioneers created a number of solid chances, and they scored the first goal when a nice pass from Denis Harvington released Ben Fung, who placed his shot nicely in the corner.
Although the wind eased up somewhat, the second half was played almost exclusively in the Peace Arch half of the field. However, in a rare foray into the Pioneer end, Peace Arch equalized after capitalizing on some indecisive Pioneer defending.
The goal put some urgency into the Pioneers as they pushed forward looking for the winner. OK, maybe six guys pushed forward, the other five happy to remain a time zone away.
Peace Arch put up a defensive fortress, content with the prospect of a 1-1 draw. Despite this, the Pioneers still had enough chances to win comfortably, but—and this is becoming a disturblngly familiar refrain—they just couldn't buy a goal.
In the end, the frustrated Pioneers had to settle for a tie.
Man of the match: Gary Byrne.
Next Week: Away to Giant Panda.
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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
