Members of SA United are kicking themselves after missing the mark in Sunday’s showdown with Chester City.
The 3-1 loss prevented United from strengthening their grip on first place in the St. Albert Men’s Soccer League and securing a tier IV berth at provincials.
“It’s been a pretty successful season so far if you look at our record but today was a little bit rough,” said United captain Mark Kilbride.
United (7-2-1) leads the pennant race by one point over Chester (7-1) and Strike Force (7-3). The top two teams qualify for provincials in September in Edmonton.
Chester has four games to play in 11 days before the playoffs kick off Aug. 10. United and Strike Force are down to a pair each.
“We have to hope for a little bit of help from the lower teams but it’s still possible,” Kilbride said. “Regardless how it plays out, we’ll finish it out strong in the playoffs.”
Chester rose to the challenge as they march towards their second playoff cup in team history since 2008.
“It was a big game, especially when you’ve got games in hand and you have to convert them,” said Jason Steele, who anchors the back line for Chester. “We came out very relaxed, played our game and got the points we needed.”
The teams turned in an entertaining performance despite poor playing conditions on the premier pitch at Riel Park. It was also one of the better-officiated games of the season.
“It was a terrific game. Both teams did really, really well,” Steele said. “The conditions were tough because the grass was long but both teams played pretty good possession ball. The difference probably in the game was we took advantage of the chances we had.”
Chester was led offensively by the Big Three of strikers Matt Starcheski, Vinny Segreto and Trent Hillman and solid netminding by Sean Duffy. In the 83rd minute with Chester ahead by two goals, United was awarded a penalty kick and Duffy had no trouble stopping a slow roller through the thick grass by Ryan Clark. His kick was gobbled up by Duffy’s diving grab near the right post.
“They capitalized on their chances and we didn’t and we had a lot of chances,” said Kilbride, a sturdy midfielder who pumped a ball over the tress behind Chester’s net in the second half from excellent scoring range. “They certainly didn’t outplay us. Possession was pretty much 50/50 the entire game.”
In the third minute of play Starcheski took the ball for a lengthy run, turned a couple of United defenders inside-out with some slick footwork with his lime green cleats before threading the needle with a low boot through a screen. It caught the right corner of the net as player/coach Alistair Todd struggled getting to it. The goal was Starcheski’s league-leading 14th of the season.
Two minutes later, United scored the equalizer as Clark stuck his foot into a loose ball with tremendous force during a wild scramble in the box. After a turnover in Chester’s territory, United speedster JR Rafols raced in down the left side and got a shot away in tight as Duffy charged out to cut down the angle. The ball flew across the crease and with Duffy out of position United got a couple of whacks at it before Clark prevailed in traffic.
“The thing about those guys is they are all hustle and all work. They don’t give you a second on the ball and that really created their first goal. They didn’t give up on the defence, pressured us, got a turnover and scored the goal,” Steele said.
With the score deadlocked, Chester ramped up the attack with quality chances by Mike Fulton, Segreto and Starcheski but they couldn’t bury the ball.
In the 27th minute, Segreto out-fought a couple of defenders in tight on Todd before slipping the ball in. Starcheski had a big assist on the play in springing the gangly striker into scoring range for his fifth goal.
Ten minutes into the second half, Hillman surprised Todd with a well-struck ball for his sixth goal. While lacking in speed, Hillman is considered the most dangerous and smartest scorer in the league even though he ranks third on the team in goals.
“We’re lucky to have some guys that can finish those chances but it’s other guys that usually create the chances to start with. They may not score the same number of goals but they equally contribute. Guys like Abe [Hasanaj] and Ryan [Prodorutti] in the midfield won the ball back a ton today and they helped set up a lot of stuff,” said Steele, 39, who is kicking the ball around in his 16th season with Chester.
Despite the two-goal margin, the game was closer than the score indicated as United proved they are serious contenders for the playoff cup. United’s best season since joining the league in 2003 was two years ago with their first-place 11-2-2 division two record and 1-2 effort at provincials. Last year they reached the division one semifinals.
“We seem to play up to the good teams and [Chester] is one of the better teams that have been around for years and years and have been coached by Malcolm [Steele] forever,” said Kilbride, 24, a sixth-year United veteran. “For some reason, we seem to almost play down to the lower teams but not the good ones.”
Thursday’s rematch between Chester and United at 8:30 p.m. at the Riel Park turf should be barnburner. It was rescheduled from July 22, when lightning forced the game to end after 30 minutes with no score.
CORNER KICKS: In the league’s second annual all-star game Saturday, team white edged team grey 3-2. Prodorutti tallied twice and Hillman also scored for the winners. Cam Allam and Chris Normandeau replied for the greys. Strong netminding on both sides kept the score close, as each team had more chances that were denied.
The greys also featured players from Strike Force and SA City. The line-up for the whites included representation from Arsenal, Crossfire and the Decepticons.
