Arsenal shocked everybody but themselves as the championship winners in the St. Albert Men's Soccer League.
"Are we surprised? Not at all," said a smiling Keith Gibbons, after the Gunners knocked off SA United 2-0 in Tuesday's final at the Riel Park turf field.
It took longer than expected for Arsenal to celebrate playoff success.
"It's such a good feeling," Gibbons said. "It means a lot to a lot of the veterans. We've been playing in this league for a long time. We've won a couple of second div championships but it's the first time that we've ever won first div."
Ranked fourth in league play at 4-5-3, Arsenal won two out of three games in the group B playoff draw en route to the semifinals. They upset top-ranked Chester City 2-1 on penalty kicks Sunday and then humbled second-place United for the playoff cup.
"We knew coming into the playoffs we had a chance if we started to play better," said centre-midfielder Matthew Oosterhuis, who came through in the clutch with huge goals against Chester and United. "Before the playoffs started we were still sort of an enigma because we hadn't really got our stuff together. We had to figure out how to play together because we've got some young guys and we weren't really gelling."
So how did Arsenal pull off the impossible?
"The last two games it was defence first and it worked," Gibbons said. "We went back to basics and started playing a disciplined game. We tried to play run and gun all year and we lost a lot of games we felt we could've tied and tied a lot of games we felt we could've won."
In the regular season Chester (12-3 overall) whacked Arsenal 9-2 and 5-2. Results against United (13-3-1 overall) included a 2-1 loss and 1-1 tie, plus a crushing 7-2 defeat earlier in the playoffs.
As the top finishers in the seven-team standings, Chester and United will represent the league at the tier IV provincials next weekend in Calgary.
Semifinal shocker
In the semifinal the game plan for Arsenal was to take Chester into penalties and it worked to perfection.
"To play 120 minutes, plus penalties, was an exciting way to win," Oosterhuis said. "It was a good game. They're good guys to play against."
Arsenal soaked up lots of pressure but never wilted defensively with Jerome Bourchier between the posts. The two red cards Chester received in the second half also helped. It was 1-1 after 90 minutes and two 15-minute overtime periods.
"We didn't try not to score but nothing was really happening for us," said Oosterhuis.
His chip shot from about 25 yards out knotted the score with less than 10 minutes left in regulation time.
"I haven't hit a ball like that in a long time. It was a laser. It was probably one of the best goals I've scored," said Oosterhuis, 31, in his second go-round with Arsenal after a brief stint with Summit FC, last year's division one champs.
Leading up to the tying marker, Arsenal didn't generate much going forward. In extra time they had a few chances but couldn't score the go-ahead goal.
In the shootout Oosterhuis, Kris Rasmusen, Shane Moore and Gibbons filled the net. Both keepers stopped two shots. Chester banged a ball off the crossbar before Gibbons sealed the deal.
"That was almost a sweeter win than winning the final. Chester has been our rival in this league for 15 or 20 years and they've had our number for the last 10 years," Gibbons said.
It was also Bourchier's first game back from a knee injury in late June. Despite a lack of running or kicking mobility, he made critical stops at key times to give Arsenal a chance against the league's highest scoring team.
"He did fantastic," Oosterhuis said.
Fantastic finish
In the final Arsenal capitalized on what few chances they enjoyed. Oosterhuis scored in the 37th minute and Gibbons kicked in the insurance marker in the 71st minute.
"We didn't really have the ball the whole game, which was frustrating, but all you need is one or two chances," Oosterhuis said.
After knocking down a throw-in with his leg in front of the United bench, Oosterhuis sprinted towards undefended territory in the middle and then unleashed a low shot past a diving Alistair Todd into the corner of the net.
"I knew if I just kept going to the right side, and if there was a decent shot to take, I had a chance," Oosterhuis said. "It's great to score a goal like that, but the one against Chester was the better goal. The timing was better because we tied it up."
After taking the lead, Arsenal went into lockdown mode defensively. United's main snipers in the playoffs — Cam Allam and Ryan Clark with three apiece and a pair by Dan Hoke — were unable to crack Arsenal's armour in front of the steady Bourchier.
"That goal put us in a position we're not used to being in. We're usually scrapping for a tie, trying to catch up and it let us settle back into D and not worry too much because they were the ones that had to press forward," said Gibbons.
His league-leading sixth playoff goal was scored off a free kick by Moore from the edge of the 18. A lack of defensive coverage in front of Todd allowed the veteran forward to bang the ball in with ease.
"I was just Johnny on the spot. The ball came across and it skipped through everybody and I just happened to be there," Gibbons said. "It was a relief to score but the problem with these teams we play in this league is they can score quick so even with basically no time left in regulation we were still worried they were going to get back into it somehow."
It was only fitting that Gibbons, one of the oldest players in the league at age 37, would play a prominent role in the team's playoff triumph. He's been a fixture in the Arsenal line-up since the early 1990s.
"There are players on the team that weren't born when I joined this team."
