JDF Masters FC

JDF-48 Pummels Saanich Fusion Power7s, 5-0
February 23, 2018, 8:00PM, Tyndall Turf

It was the Olympics of "Shanks" for which the competition was fierce among our 48s on Friday night.  Coming in with the Gold Medal was Dwight Blame-The-Other-Guy Mueller who rocketed one over the fence and almost into the soccer park two fields over when he descended on a cross that looked like a perfect set up for a goal.  Joel had chased the ball to the corner and as Paulo flew into the area calling for the cross and drawing three defenders with him, the ball was angled behind him to an option of three separate JDF players who were wide open on the attack.  Dwight called for it and then let out his signature howl as the Gold Medal shank cleared the fence.  He was promptly issued a yellow card by the referee.  Coming in with Silver was Rob Blame-The-Turf-And-My-Shitty-Shoes Patten whose shank didn't quite clear the fence but was still considered a home run when he pummeled the ball on one…

JDF-55 Hangs On for a Tie with Oak Bay Old Boys-55, 1-1
February 14, 2018, 7:30PM, Royal Bay Turf

Maybe it was because we were all feeling slightly guilty for not being with our wives/partners/significant others on Valentines evening that we couldn't pull out a decisive win over the Oak Bay Old Boys.  The game was evenly matched and a good fight from the start.  OBOB did lend us a couple of their players, as we were short of men since a few of our guys did make "the right choice" for the evening.  I don't know what it says about our opponents that they had so many extras.  Nevertheless, we ended up playing a more defensive line up, with essentially 5 midfielders and one forward.  Oak Bay came out strong, managing the ball well in the middle with good speed and constant movement toward attacks.  Despite their creative and strong play, we consistently shut them down and created dangerous counterattacks.  This seems to be our strength when we have a few of the older 48s…

JDF-55 Scrapes By Over Lakehill-55, 2-1
February 10, 2018 4:00PM Braefoot Turf

Not a whole lot to report in this game, though it was a well-fought and evenly matched game throughout.  We could have gone ahead early with an easy tap-in from Mirek, who instead looked up to celebrate and forgot to tap it in.  He made it up later with nearly exactly the same play and no mistake on the second try.  After they tied us early in the second half, we scored on a PK that Tommy took after their goalie grabbed Paulo by the shirt and dragged him to a stop.  Player of the match definitely went to Kim, who played in net for the 55s and frustrated Lakehill's speedy attacks and shots by stopping attempts that everyone thought were going in.  The most intense point of the game came as Lakehill was pummeling us in a last ditch effort to tie the game and was granted a free kick just outside of the area.  The shot was well taken, low and around the right side of the wall, but Kim dove and punched the b…

JDF-48 Persists Over Cordova Bay-48, 3-2
February 7, 2018 7:30pm Royal Bay Turf

Probably one of the best fought games of the season thus far, both teams came out with offensive fervor from the starting whistle.  Within the first minute, Cordova Bay nearly scored on a header from a corner kick that was flying toward the top right corner, when out of nowhere George K leaped and tipped the ball up against the cross bar.  With that scare, our team gained its consciousness and began to attack with crisp, short passes, moving the ball well up the field.  We thought we had our first goal when Paulo skirted the ball by the goalie, but then watched the ball roll up against the left post and then putter along the goal line only to be swiped up by the goalie.  Not long after, Mirek brought the ball into their 18 and gave a crisp pass to an open Joel who one-touched it into the right side of the goal for our 1st.  Having drawn first blood, we relaxed a bit too much perhaps, as we watched their te…