Rino’s Fury had a great run in the 2016 BC Soccer Keith Millar Provincial B Cup. The team cruised through the opening rounds with victories over Norvan Viking Storm and Snipers FC, but were met in the semifinals by a resilient Mundiavocat FC of the BMSL who held them to extra time. In extra time though, the Fury boys proved to be too much for the older Mundiavocat side, as a goal by Kyle Reed opened up the floodgates, and two more goals in short succession powered the team to victory.
The team then traveled to Vancouver Island to face runners of up of VMSL Div 2A, Campo Atletico, in the Provincial Final. It’s unknown whether the travel or unusually early start time wreaked havoc with the Fury lads, but they were simply caught napping as they conceded an early first minute goal when caught out by a long ball to a speedy opposition striker. A second goal conceded on a cross-cum-shot that miraculously found the far top corner put the boys behind 2-0 with only a third of the match completed. A nervy remainder of the first half played out, but no further damage was done. At half time the boys regrouped, and came out with a renewed energy, controlling position and working hard to find inroads to the opposition goal. The Campo keeper pulled off a stunning save on a free kick destined for the bottom corner, and later when Cameron Gibson’s powerful header crashed off the crossbar and the follow up shot was blocked it was clear it wasn’t going to be Rino’s day. As luck would have it, a sharp counter attack by the opposition increased the deficit to 3-0, and it was only late in the game where ageless wonder Ben Cougny managed to setup Alessandro Pace for a consolation goal which he headed into the Campo net with aplomb.
Despite the defeat, the boys were still upbeat after a fantastic promotion season and lengthy Provincial Cup run. After collecting their silver medals, most of the lads spent the night out enjoying pints in downtown Victoria before heading home to Vancouver to recharge over the summer and mount their assault on VMSL Division 1 in the fall.
For match reports and highlights of the entire Provincial Cup visit AFTN Canada. Below you can find our posts focusing on the Rino’s Fury matches:
Apr 23: Rino’s Fury 2-0 Norvan Viking Storm
May 1: Rino’s Fury 3-1 Snipers FC
May 8: Mundiavocat FC 0-3 Rino’s Fury
May 14: Campo Atletico 3-1 Rino’s Fury