July 17th and 18th, 2010
Tough Weekend on the Coast for Thompson Okanagan FC U15B
Saturday saw a trip to Burnaby to play Mountain FC whom we had drawn with at home. Mountain were clearly keen to get a result and began very brightly pinning the TOFC team into their half for the first 10 minutes. Gradually the TOFC began to establish their own rhythm and started to counter attack on the break. Nevertheless the home team retained the ascendancy and it required some good defending and fine saves from keeper Jake Bainas to keep the score level at half time. The second half saw Mountain exploit the through ball, as the TOFC stepped up too early and/or the offside trap failed to catch their quick forwards. Mountain scored 3 times and although TOFC had some good chances, coming close from free kicks, they ultimately failed to convince in the last third of the field, needing to pass the ball just a little more quickly to avoid being closed down by the well organized defence. A tough loss on a hot afternoon.
Sunday saw the team meet Metro Ford in Coquitlam. To add to the already list of injured players, keeper Jake Bainas had gone down sick, requiring Brendan Melin to take over the role of Goalkeeper, with Mackenzie Rigg stepping back into defence. Against the league leaders this was not the ideal situation to be in! Nevertheless, both teams started brightly with TOFC passing and moving more convincingly than on Saturday. The score stayed level until half way through the first half when Metro Ford set up their first goal though a fluid passing movement leaving Brendan Melin little chance. The TOFC showed their character and came back strongly only to be undone by an unfortunate second goal when Brendan Melin made a good save punching the ball away, only for it to hit a Metro Ford player directly in the chest and bounce into the goal. He was as surprised as anyone that he had scored. The third goal came just before half time when the Metro number 9 created an opportunity from a tight angle. Half time saw some reorganization and to the TOFC teams great credit they tried their best to get back into the game in the second half, playing with energy and determination. This drew a number of fouls and Robin Whittaker sent some excellent free kicks in that came close. Unfortunately the TOFC couldn’t get the ball into the net and the score remained 3-0, which didn’t reflect the competitive nature or the quality of the game. The TOFC U15B now take on Surrey Revolution followed by the West Coast Capitals. |
June 26th and 27th 2010
Thompson Okanagan FC U 15B Beat the Provincial U15 Team!
The U15B Thomson Okanagan Y League can feel satisfied with their performance on their first road trip of the year, with a win and a draw.
Saturday saw the team take on the Provincial U15 squad in an exhibition match at Simon Fraser University. A fascinating and exciting match to watch, both teams clearly wanted to win. The TOFC side were first to settle and their commitment gave little time for the provincial team to move the ball around as they would wish. Both sides had chances with perhaps the best opportunity going to the Provincial side, requiring Robin Whittaker to clear off the line. Much good football, but the score remaining 0-0 at half time. Rostam Turner opened for TOFC the scoring with a well taken opportunity in the box. The provincial side fought back and equalized some 10 minutes later from a free kick that T-O failed to clear. However this spurred the T-O on, with amongst others, James Taylor causing the provincial defence much trouble. The winner came from a magnificent 35 yard shot from Andrew Stevenson - the power and placement had the provincial keeper well beaten. The Provincial side came back strongly and created a number of chances, but each time they were beaten by a spirited defence and some fine goalkeeping. The T-O team had the ball in the net again only for it to be disallowed. Despite their pressure and undoubted ability, the Provincial side could not find an equalizer. An excellent result for the TOFC team.
Sunday saw a very wet contest on the South Surrey Turf against Coastal FC. Both sides found the miserable weather affected their game and the first few minutes saw little in the way of decent football, with Coastal perhaps having the better start. However, the TOFC side got themselves going and started to expose gaps. The breakthrough came when Brandon Nahayowski ran through onto a through ball and placed a shot low to beat the Coastal keeper. The TOFC should have then capitalized and extended their lead, but failed to take their opportunities. The game seemed to have swung further to the TOFC advantage when a Coastal player was sent off at the 50 minute point. Curiously, despite a number of good moves and well taken free kicks a further goal just wouldn’t come and it was the 10 men of Coastal who found the equalizer. The final 10 minutes saw concerted TOFC pressure but the result remained 1-1. A draw on the road would normally be seen as acceptable, but it felt like an anti—climax especially after Saturdays game.
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