A controversial goal by Strike Force left Chester City reeling after its first loss of the season in the St. Albert Men's Soccer League.
"It was a hard fought game that went down to the wire," Strike Force captain Paris Singer told the Gazette after the stunning 5-4 result at Riel Park.
With seven minutes to play in Sunday's wild affair, Adam More pumped the game winner into an open net after Chester keeper Sean Duffy and an opposing player collided for the ball. The impact left Duffy out of position to guard the cage as More tallied his second of the match and fourth of the season.
"I got a through ball and I flicked it on and then it was a 50/50 ball between one of our players and the goalie. They both went up, the ball popped loose and [More] got a hold of it. The goalie was out of the play at that point and our guy played a shot and it managed to get through their defenders," said Singer, the team's centre midfielder.
Duffy was livid no call was made against the player that sent him sprawling. His teammates also voiced their disbelief.
"They got a little bit of a questionable call at the end and they took advantage of it," said Chester player/coach Trent Hillman.
Entertaining tilt
The game of the week lived up to its advance billing.
"One or two plays changed the game," Singer said. "They got up on us by two goals and then we came back with four in a row and then it was just a scrap at the end. It could've been anyone's game really."
Goals by Vinny Segreto on a breakaway in the ninth minute and Hillman from a free kick by Jason Steele in the 11th minute got Chester off to a flying start.
Strike Force responded with three straight before halftime and made it 4-2 in the 55th minute on Victor Buitron's penalty shot.
A pair of markers two minutes apart by Matt Starcheski and Hillman evened the score with 34 minutes remaining.
"That's probably the funniest game I've played in this league for a long time," said Hillman, 38.
The decorated veteran of several division one playoff cups with the Rummies and a major contributor to Chester's first league championship in 2008 was gracious in defeat.
"That team was really good and they capitalized on their chances. Good on them," said the prolific scorer with deep St. Albert soccer roots.
Hillman was also popping buttons over Chester's spirited comeback charge after blowing an early lead.
"It's a huge character builder for everybody to get back into the game like that. It was fantastic to see," he said.
Suspect defence
However, the sketchy defence Chester displayed left a lot to be desired.
"We've got to be better defensively. We've got a system we developed a couple of years ago and we didn't play it like we normally do," Hillman said. "We have a few new guys this year so I'm going to bring out the chalkboard before our next game and I'm going to say this is how we're going to play and see if works."
One of several defensive gaffs by Chester was the own goal by Steele in the 11th minute. As the backchecker on a through ball for Buitron to track down, the lanky defender caught up to the dangerous Strike Force striker and in desperate attempt to boot the ball away he nailed it past a startled Duffy into the bottom right corner.
"We got down behind pretty early and that own goal gave us some momentum and we were able to fight through from there," Singer said.
The defensive meltdown continued as More tied it up in the 36th minute and Eric Casson notched the go-ahead goal in the 41st minute. Slick footwork deep in the crease by More was set up Manuel Zarate's work down the wing. His short cross from the right corner was quickly converted by the unmarked More with a nifty back kick. Casson followed up with a World Cup calibre run from the backs and then finished it off in grand style with a low kick while falling backwards.
"That was a beauty," Singer said.
Second-half drama
In the second half Starcheski scored his league-leading 11th goal with a great individual effort. Hillman followed with a scorching laser under the crossbar on a long free kick that Chad York waved at in the Strike Force net.
"I've been watching the World Cup and every time I watch a lot of good soccer it builds that confidence in me. We were playing with a World Cup ball, too, so I wanted to make it happen," the Argentina supporter said of his fifth goal of the season.
With Big Mo back on Chester's side, the highest-scoring offence in the league with 37 goals in six games started peppering York with shots by Starcheski, Hillman and Mike Crothers. Chester also survived a couple of close calls with Buitron causing havoc offensively.
Late in the game and with the score deadlocked at four apiece, Starcheski uncoiled an unsuccessful corner kick that paved the way for the game winner by More.
The game ended with a juicy free kick by Hillman from a prime scoring area. He directed a low shot into the wall of Strike Force defenders but Chester couldn't convert the rebound as the final whistle blew.
"I'm looking forward to playing them again. I bet it will be 1-1," Hillman said.
In a scheduling quirk the teams tangled on Tuesday but the score was unavailable. They shared second spot at 5-1 behind the surprising SA United, which defeated Strike Force 3-1 June 13.
"We were short a few players and we had some injuries that game," Singer said. "After that loss we knew we had to steal some points from Chester because they've been handling everyone so far. If you looked at their record coming in they were the team to beat so it was a must-win game today."
With only seven teams this year the league is going with a single division format instead of first and second tables. Last year in division two Strike Force lost the playoff final to the Borrachos. Some of their players hooked up with Strike Force after the Barrhead-based team called it quits.
"They've been huge for us so far, but other than that it's pretty much the same team for the last few years," said Singer, 34.
