Poles Rain on Pioneers' Parade

Polonia 1 Richmond Pioneers 1

With the afterglow of the brilliant victory at the Penticton Tournament still fresh in the minds of the Richmond Pioneers, it was a rude return to the basic winter fare on Sunday with a game against Polonia. Played on the small and ugly Sunnyside Park in a torrential downpour, the Pioneers stuttering start to the season continued as they could only tie 1-1 against a team they hammered 6-2 last season.

The Pioneers started strongly enough, creating a couple of early chances. Polonia also threatened on a couple of occasions, and midway through the first half took a surprise 1-0 lead with a well taken volley from an acute angle.

The Pioneers pushed forward and came close on a couple of occasions, with Denis Harvington shooting wide after creating space for himself, and Stan Bogdanovich should have scored but his shot went straight into the keeper's arms. The Pioneers scored the equalizing goal when Harvington fed the ball to Ken Swanston, would netted his first of the campaign.

The second half was played mostly in the Polonia half, but the Poles were defending well in numbers, making if difficult for the Pioneers on such a small ground. Ken Johnston came close on a couple of occasions, with a diving header going agonizingly wide. The Pioneers were getting a lot of corner kicks, and at times the Polish defending was frantic, but successful. Late in the game Bogdanovich had a shot tipped round the post by the alert Polish keeper.

As the Pioneers frustration grew, Polonia generated some offence of their own, creating a couple of anxious moments for the Pioneers. Some comic relief was provided late in the game when Jim Fitzgerald and a Polish player started pushing and shoving and then stood face to face giving each other the 'hairdryer' treatment with high decibel screaming, before the ridiculousness of the situation dawned on them and the bravado turned to laughter.

Both teams had late chances to grab the winner, but it was not to be. Four games into the winter seson Pioneers still have only the one victory to show for their efforts.

Next week: Home game at McMath, finally. Our opponents are bogey team Peach Arch.

Pioneers 2005 Penticton Champions!

On the heels of the recent victory at the Juan de Fuca Tournament, the Richmond Pioneers enjoyed a fabulous weekend in Penticton, winning all four games and taking the number one spot in the Over 50 Division at the 2005 Penticton Soccer Tournament. continued

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