The rain kept all but two of the women's teams off the pitch last weekend.
CALs Crushers and Marshall Mayhem left their heated cars to slog it out at Brothers Park andsettled ona 1-1 tie for their efforts. It was backliner Hope Keats who sailed one in for Mayhem while Jane Sibury from CALs managed to get her shot off into the Mayhem net just prior to wiping out on the muddy ground.
In men's league action, Gibsons United and Halfmoon Bay played a close match, taken 2-1 by United. Rich Getzkow seems to be playing a Jeff Cowan role for United, going from a midfield mucker to scoring three goals in three games. However, it helpsthat Neville Judd could cross a ball into the net off the head of a sleeping chicken. Tony Duffy scored the winner for United and 'Big' Marcel Vander Stedlt hit the net for Halfmoon Bay.
Coast Progressive United (CPU) took their match 5-2 with the Sechelt Chiefs.
Kurt Vernon put three in the net, Dean Totten hit for one, and Martin Blackwell found the top corner as he sprinted past a sprawling defender for the other. Chiefs' 'Magic' Mattie Joe nailed his penalty shot, then sent a free kick skimming over the wall and off the crossbar downinto the net. Defenders Rick August and Jeremy 'The Hampster' Hamp also both played well.
This week it was Pender Harbour who was on the receiving end of a shorthanded pitch, and their nine-men bunch of Bananas went down to the Xenichen Wolves 4-1. Corey Mottishaw, who has scored every game since he joined the league, scored for Pender, while it was headers from Ian Dixon and Rick Timothy and shots from Junior Dixon and Ryan Paul that notched the goals for the Wolves. With the win, the Wolves edged CPU to win the league. Congratulations, Wolves.
The Wolves havebeen in the playoff final every year for the last 10 years. However, Coast teams from Gibsons to Pender will be snapping at their heels, looking to replace them in the final, scheduled for 2 p.m. this Sunday, March 18 at Cliff Gilker Park.
By this time next week, the strivings of eight teams for eight months will have determined a champ. Physiotherapists will have been visited, and Red Bulls and Ibuprofens will have been consumed. The fields and refs will have endured, and one team will have triumphed.As it was said in The Highlander, 'There can be only one!'
