On Saturday October 22nd, a day now dubbed “Vincent Martin Day”, the mighty Burnaby Fury Rinos took the pitch against home side Point Grey Rangers in front of Soccer and Rugby Fans alike. The highly contested derby (with Jericho Park being the closest pitch in proximity to Point Grey Turf) did not disappoint, leaving fans and commentators with some great talking points including some excellent goals and terrible reffing decisions.

Match Report

The game opened with a bang. In the third minute, a ball played through to Ben Cougny was received in stride and crossed with precision from the right side where the man in form, Vinny Martin, was streaking in and finished brilliantly with a volley into lower left part of the net. A great team goal and a great start to the game. The Fury continued to show their class by controlling possession with confident passing and frustrating the Rangers men who could not seem to hold the ball for more than 1 or 2 passes. The constant pressure looked to pay off when Wilhelm found himself in the box, faked a shot and nicked the ball past the Rangers defender before being completely taken out in an insanely reckless challenge. A clear penalty to everyone who was watching, but fortunately for the Rangers, the notorious 127 year old ref was on duty Saturday and somehow gave a Goal kick out of it. In my unbiased opinion it would have to go down as the worst no-call since the Hand of God. Play continued with a few more chances for Rinos and nothing coming in the form of an attack for the Rangers. in the 40th minute against the run of play, a long ball played over top and was collected by the Rangers striker. Hawk’s challenge from behind brought the player down, controversially outside the box but was deemed inside. The lucky Rinos defender escaped with his life as the referee again was hit with another sudden case of Alzheimer’s  and somehow wasn’t shown a Red card (or any card for that matter) but the penalty was converted and the match all square.

Halftime (1-1)

The second half started like the first with good positive play from the Rinos. Seemingly fitter and ready to play a full 90 minutes, chances were being created through wide play and a ton of second half corners. With the Rangers keeper making a few key saves and getting some help from the crossbar, they looked to be holding on for a draw. Not being satisfied with 1 point, the Rinos captain, Vinny Martin once again to it into his own hands (feet) to make sure 3 points were guaranteed. In the 55th minute after a few tight passes, Martin found himself with some room in the box to take a touch and blast it through the keeper who got a touch but not enough and it just managed to trickle in. Once again a great team goal. With the lead, substitutions were made to hold down the fort and preserve the victory. A few hairy moments in the dying 10 minutes put some fans on the edge of their seats but some calm goalkeeping from the Rinos reserve keeper Patrick “The Beast” Best put a stop to anything dangerous.

Final (Rinos 2 – Rangers 1)

The Rinos added to their current win streak with 3 in a row and 4 in the last 5 putting themselves in sole possession of 2nd in the league. Next weeks match up against first place MYB Panthers could see them go top of the table with a win.

Players:  Patrick,  Hawk , Evan, Riley (Cory 45′), Ash , Ben (Yuda 70′), Wilhelm(Adam 65′), Vinny, Riley, Gur (Ryan 45′), Francois, Tommy (Alessandro 60′)

Goals: Vinny (2)

Assists: Ben, Tommy

NEXT GAME:  

Burnaby Fury Rinos vs MYB Panthers

4pm Point Grey Turf – Saturday October 29th.