October 26, 2003

Pioneers and Classics battle to 1-1 tie

The Pioneers faced an unbeaten Surrey Classics at McMath with a depleted squad, with three regular starters missing through injury or work.

The first half was, for the most part, played in the Surrey end, with the Pioneers pressing and creating many openings. The Pioneers faced some solid goalkeeping, and were unlucky when Eugene Kishmere hit the post after powering his way through the Surrey defence.

While some Pioneer openings were negated by some typically erroneous offside calls from referee Jimmy Sommerville, the Pioneers looked like the team most likely to open the scoring.

However, on a rare foray into the Pioneers half, the Classics Ray Marrington scored from a corner kick midway through the first half, with the Pioneers defence indecisive. The Classics held on to their one goal lead going into the half time break.

The second half saw the Pioneers continuing to dominate possession, but Surrey's central defenders were holding firm. The Pioneers misfired with shots from the edge of the area on numerous occasions, and on one clear opportunity, Denis Harvington fired high and wide after being put through by Graham Mason.

The Pioneers would finally get the equaliser they so richly deserved when a Harvington corner kick sneaked in at the near post, with the Classics keeper distracted by the presence of Kishmere.

At the other end, Ken Kan and Mike Mogul were having solid games, confidently dealing with anything the Surrey forwards threw at them. The only shots keeper Gary Byrne had to face were two long range free kicks from Surrey's Jimmy Eden. In the latter stages, Surrey's resident goon, Martin Chipperfield, was ejected for a vicious foul on Mason.

The Pioneers pressed hard for the winning goal, but Surrey held firm, and the 1-1 tie was a good result for Surrey, but a dissapointment for the Pioneers. All-in-all, a hard fought game between two good teams, with both sides maintaining their unbeaten records.

Mogul's Man of the Match: Denis Harvington, with honourable mention to Ken Kan.

On a lighter note: Remember the Iraqi Information Minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, affectionately called Comical Ali? He was famous for his outrageous 'spin' on the war, saying things like "Their infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gates of Baghdad."

Well, apparently he has resurfaced and is now writing match reports for the Surrey Classics! (Click here for indisputable proof)

Apparently Sunday's encounter was 'an evenly balanced game'....and 'the Classics were pushing the Pioneers and creating good chances.'

Click to read the Surrey Classics match report...it's a very imaginative work of fiction :-)

Next week: The Pioneers face Trafalgar at McBride Park in Vancouver (4th and Blenheim).

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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

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