November 9, 2003 Deja Vu All Over Again
The second of two back to back encounters with Trafalgar saw the game follow a pattern remarkably similar to the game played a week ago, which the Pioneers had won 5-1. Like last week, it was a game of two halves, with the Richmond Pioneers turning it on again in the second half, this time settling for a 4-1 victory.
The first half saw Trafalgar the livelier of the two teams, with the Pioneers unable to get into any kind of rhythm. Trafalgar scored first with a freakish goal, when an attempted clearance from Pioneer goalie Dave Valitis hit a Trafalgar player and rebounded into the goal. Although unlucky on that occasion, the Pioneers were lucky not to have conceded a couple more, as two gilt-edged chances were missed courtesy of some woeful Trafalgar finishing.
The Pioneers also missed a great chance of their own when John Tsang took one too many touches after being nicely set-up by Ken Johnston. However, the Pioneers would tie it up when a pinpoint pass from Stan Bogdanovic enabled Johnston to nip in and touch the ball past the Trafalgar keeper.
Just like the game last week, the second half saw space open up, and the Pioneers' seemed to have more urgency in their play. A delicate Harvington lob sent Tsang through alone on goal, but his shot was blasted wide. The breakthrough goal came when another Harvington pass found Graham Mason, and his measured shot found the far corner of the net to give the Pioneers a 2-1 lead.
Ten minutes later, the Pioneers would get a third goal, when Mason put Johnston through and the Pioneers' leading marksman made no mistake. It was now one way traffic, and Johnston would complete his hat-trick soon after latching onto a fine pass from Lorne Baumel.
Mogul's Man of the Match: Ken Johnston, for the second week running.
Next week: Road trip! The Pioneers take on mighty Aldergrove, arguably the second or third best team in the South Division.
Stop the Pop Ups! This website is a free site from 20M.com. Because it's free, we have to put up with those pop-up ads. If they really annoy you, download this free popup stopper software. Gary says it works really well.
- 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
