Pioneers Edge Regals in a Game of Two Halves

New West Regals 1 Richmond Pioneers 2

Sunday Nov 14, 2004 - After the postponement of last week's game against Giant Panda due to a waterlogged field, the Richmond Pioneers headed into a difficult part of their shedule. The first of these three anticipated tough matches lived up to its billing, as the Pioneers travelled to New Westminster on Sunday to face an impressive New West Regals team, and came away with a hard fought 2-1 victory.

The Pioneers won the toss and, unlike the last game against Peace Arch, wisely chose to play with the wind behind them. After the keenly contested opening exchanges, the Pioneers gained control of the midfield and were causing some problems for the Regal defense. The opening goal was fortuitous, but no more than the Pioneers deserved. A Ken Johnston cross from the right wing across the face of the goal put a Regal defender under pressure, and he headed the ball into his own goal.

There was nothing lucky about the second Pioneer goal though. A wonderful pass from Denis Harvington found Ken Johnston, who battled a Regal defender before tucking the ball just inside the post.

The combatative nature of the game was unrelenting, and both teams were now creating chances. Pioneer goalie Gary Byrne had to be alert on a couple of occasions, while left back Bob Heron was having a solid game, holding his own against some quick and tenacious forwards. The half came to a close with the Pioneers leading 2-0.

Predictably, with the wind now behind the Regals, the second half saw the Pioneers adopt a more defensive approach. The Pioneers second half keeper Dave Valitis was quickly called into action, saving a troublesome shot with his legs on the near post. As the half wore on, the Regals were winning a lot of corner kicks, but the Pioneers cleared their lines well. The Regals pulled a goal back at the 65 minute mark, an ugly scrambled goal.

The Pioneers were still creating chances, the most notable was when a John Tsang cross flashed across the face of the goal, just missing the foot of the lunging Henry Wan.

As the minutes ticked away, the Pioneers were frustrating the Regals as they pushed forward trying to grab an equalizer. Mostly restricted to shots from outside the area, the Regals shooting was consistently high and wide.

As the final whistle blew, it was very satisfying 2-1 victory against one of the top teams in the Over 50 South Division. Overall, a fine team performance by the Pioneers, with kudos to Byrne, Valitis, Heron, Mike Mogul, Tony McBride and Denis Harvington, who put in a tireless performance in midfield.

Next up is a home game against Stingers, with the Surrey Classics fixture the following week.

Man of the match: Denis Harvington.

Next Week: Home to Stingers.

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