The Cowichan 49ers finally beat Vic West.
After a loss and a tie to their Vancouver Island Soccer League O35A division rivals earlier this season, the 49ers got their first win against the club last Saturday, prevailing 1-0 at Finlayson Turf.
“They are a good young team,” said Cowichan player-manager Neall Rowlings, making liberal use of the word “young.” “Both of us had most of our players, finally.”
Stu (Shake ‘n’ Bake) Barker scored his team-leading 14th of the season off a corner kick from Tyler Hughes, and Darian Achurch recorded his eighth shutout. Brad Thorne was everywhere on the pitch, Dave Tuckey moved the ball well, and Matt Arnett earned The Chain for his hard work.
Rowlings, who couldn’t stay on his feet, had props for the team’s coach.
“Kevin James did an amazing job changing tactics throughout the game to ensure we walked away with a win,” he said.
The win puts the 49ers in second place in the O35A division, two points back of UVic Alumni, who they still have to play on March 19. UVic and third-place Vic West still have to face each other as well.
The 49ers are on to the Tony Grover Cup finals this Saturday, playing host to the Vic West Thunder Kings at the Sherman Road turf at 5:30 p.m.
“It’s exciting we have so much going on,” Rowlings said. “Playing for the top spot is so crucial due to provincial seeding and home advantage. We want the Tony Grover cup back as well. It’s so much and it just takes one game to lose it all. The team is ready to put the work in, and with a coach like Kevin James at the helm we are one of the favourites.”
Whoever wins the 5:30 game this Saturday will move on to the semifinals where they will face the winner of the 8 p.m. game between the Cowichan Steelheads and Cordova Bay Red Barn Bobcats.
The Steelheads also had a league game last weekend, tying JDF Pacific 2-2 at Royal Bay Secondary School. Kevin Smith and Yuta Yamato staked the Steelheads to a 2-0 lead, but JDF scored twice in the last eight minutes to draw even.