December 7, 2003

Vikings Pillage a Tie

Richmond Pioneers 1 Surrey Vikings 1

With the fixture changed to the tighter confines of Hamilton School, it took a late Ken Johnston strike to spare the Richmond Pioneers' blushes, as Surrey Vikings surprisingly held the Pioneers to a 1-1 tie.

The Pioneers missed numerous clearcut chances to grab an early lead, including a penalty taken by Stan Bogdanovich that was saved by the Vikings keeper. The early misses would prove to be costly, as the Vikings defensive posture limited the chances the Pioneers had in the last 20 minutes of the first half.

One chance of note was a nicely struck volley from makeshift striker Gary Byrne, which found the Viking keeper well positioned to make the save. At the other end, Pioneers' keeper Dave Valitis was rarely troubled in the goalless first half.

The second half was more of the same, with the Pioneers enjoying more of the possession but failing to penetrate the Viking defence. Following good work from Ken Johnston, Stan Bogdanovich had another good chance to get on the scoresheet, but his a shot narrowly missed the far post.

Against the run of play, the Vikings took a shock lead, aided by the Pioneers' inability to clear the ball from the danger area. The setback put some much needed urgency into the Pioneers, and the game became a chippy affair, with Eugene Kishmere earning a red card.

In a familiar refrain, the Pioneers had their chances, including a David Chan free kick that missed by inches.

Finally, a great individual effort from Johnston tied the game. Set up by a pinpoint David Chan pass, Johnston showed great tenacity to battle his way past a couple of Viking defenders.

The remainder of the game saw the Vikings desperately hanging on until the final whistle blew on what was another disappointing Pioneer performance.

Man of the Match: Bob Heron

Next week: The last game before the Christmas break, the Pioneers are away to Peace Arch at Softball City in White Rock

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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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