Div 2 Match 13 – Yaletown FC

Kickoff: 8:00pm Friday, December 2nd at Andy Livingstone East.

In search of offense, Rino”s Fury opted for a 4-4-2 formation against Yaletown FC, and handed a surprise start on the frontline to Corby O”Genski.  The move paid big dividends as they had a dominant first half performance in which Corby drove the Yaletown defenders to distraction with his skill and tenacity, while the best chances fell to Francois Clark.  The breakthrough finally came when a poor lunge by an opposing defender brought down Shawn Wilhelm in what was likely the penalty area, but was awarded as a free kick just beyond it.  With Shawn standing over the ball as if to hit a right-footed curler, Francois struck it with his left and it dipped over the wall and past the bewildered Yaletown keeper.  The Fury continued to pressure their opposition, but were unable to strike again, and entered the half-time break with a 1-0 lead.

The second half turned out to be an extremely scrappy affair, with the ankle-biters on the home team adding to their diving tactics by attempting to provoke the Fury players with off the ball fouls.  Some cautions were issued, and amongst the stupidity were some real scoring chances.  Will Langford, back between the sticks after a long layoff shook off the rust and produced a match-winning save as he parried a well placed header onto the crossbar and out of play.  At the other end, substitute Declan Hill was unlucky to see his header ring off the goalpost.  Finally, speedster Yuda Shih was brought down on a breakaway, but the referee inexplicably waved play on.  As time wound down Rino”s men dug deep and hung on for the victory.

The final scoreline read Rino”s 1 – 0 Yaletown

Recap:

Players: Will, Greg (Corby 80″), Brandon, Hawk, Travis, Vinny, Gur (Tommy 60″), Shawn (Declan 55″), Francois, Ben (Alessandro 65″), Corby (Yuda 45″)

Goals: Francois