Richmond Athletics Win Aldergrove Tournament for Second Straight Year

Aldergrove Old Timers Tournament 2005
April 2/3

Congratulations to the Richmond Athletics for successfully defending their title as Over 50 Champions at the annual Aldergrove Old Timers Tournament 2005, held April 2nd and 3rd.

Kevin Morris' Athletics squad comprised of five players from the Richmond Pioneers and four from the New West Regals, complemented by various players from BC Transit, Paddlewheelers and Cliff Avenue.

Played on a wet and cold weekend, the Athletics started out with a maximum points victory over Coquitlam Royals, winning 3-0 on goals by Neil Fisher, Evgeni Kushnir and a penalty from Danny 'Budd'.

The second game was going to be much tougher, as the Athletics took on mighty Columbus. Predictably, it was a hard fought game, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw, with 'Major' scoring the lone goal for the Athletics. The draw benefitted the Athletics, as Columbus had failed to get maximum points from their first game.

The final 'round robin' game on Sunday morning left the Athletics needing a victory against Chilliwack to top their group and advance to the final. The Athletics turned in a strong first half performance, with three unanswered goals, from Fisher, Kushnir and Dennis Harvington. Chilliwack pulled one goal back in the second half, to make the final score 3-1.

In the final, the Athletics were pitted against Aldergrove, as the home team won the other four-team group. In a hard fought contest, Aldergrove struck first with a great shot from 25 yards to take a 1-0 lead. The Athletics tied the game up when Evgeni Kushnir coolly chipped the Aldergrove keeper after being put through by Neil Fisher.

In the second half, the Athletics took a deserved lead when a Kevin Morris cross found Dennis Harvington, whose first time bullet left the Aldergrove keeper with no chance.

With 10 minutes to go, the referee, 'Kneepads' Lloyd, took centre stage with a couple of bizarre calls, as he seemed determined to help out the home team. After a penalty kick was (correctly) called for a handball against Danny 'Bud', Athletics keeper Doug Low pulled out a stunning save to deny Aldergrove a tying goal. Incredibly, the referee ordered the kick to be retaken, claiming (erroneously) that an Athletics player had moved into the box before the kick was struck. On the retaken penalty kick—a different player this time—Low guessed correctly again, saving a penalty for a second time.

But Kneepads Lloyd wasn't done yet. Seconds later, as Low punted the ball downfield, the referee called a free kick on the edge of the area, claiming the keeper had stepped out of the 18 yard box. Not surprisingly, pandemonium ensued for a second time. When the free kick was finally taken, it hit the post and rebounded to safety, and the Athletics breathed a sigh of relief as they had survived one of the most blatant attempts by a referee to influence the outcome of a game.

The Athletics efficiently closed out the game, to record a fully deserved 2-1 victory and claim the trophy for the second straight year.

At the presentation ceremony, the tournament hosts showed a lack of class when they presented the Most Valuable Player award to one of their own players, a move that goes against the unwritten code of tournament ethics. As the best team at the tournament, the Richmond Athletics had a number of players worthy of MVP consideration; Doug Low, Evgeni Kushnir, Danny Bud, Brian Gorrie, to name just a few.

All in all, it was another great victory for 'Sir' Kevin's Athletics, who next year will go for the 'Threepeat'.

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