Cowichan Red Arrow made it through to the semifinals of the Div. 4 J.V. Barnes Cup with a 2-1 extra-time win over Fernwood at the Sherman Road soccer turf in a quarter-final test last Saturday.
Patrick Foley and Shermag Joseph scored in the match, which was a much tighter battle than Red Arrow’s 7-1 win over Juan de Fuca Pilgrims in the first round.
“A close played game with teams playing a similar plan of maintaining possession and pressuring,” Cowichan coach Will Chaster commented.
Goalkeeper Tim den Hartigh was kept busy but yielded just a single goal. His countless saves included a stop on an indirect kick from seven yards out in the second overtime period.
A deep lineup proved beneficial as Cowichan players suffered numerous injuries in only their second game in a month.
“The cold led to cold-player injuries, and the long break from play meant we had to run the bench,” Chaster said. “Good thing we had lots of players available at the start.”
Cowichan will face Saanich Fusion FC Squadron at Tyndall Turf this Saturday afternoon. Saanich sits third in the Div. 4 A pool, while Cowichan is second in the B pool. Red Arrow won last time the teams met, in Duncan on Jan. 19.
It will be a busy weekend for Red Arrow, who are also scheduled to play a league game against Peninsula at Blue Heron on Sunday afternoon.