Friday, we welcomed our friends from Kamliips, the Rivers. (If they’re going to spell Rovers with an i, I’ll spell their home city with them, too.)
Once again, Sunny Swangard lived up to it’s name. Not quite as warm as our last home match. Conditions: ideal. Due to the fact we were hosting the folks from the interior, kickoffs were pushed forward an hour to assist with their travel. This meant some late arriving Pirates due to work (or, some who just plain forgot to check the schedule and showed up as if it were a 6pm start….)
@residualimage/AFTN 
@residualimage/AFTN
If we were to make a stock chart of our women’s team and their play this season, it would be heading up consistently from the first week to now. The powerful Whitecaps were given all they could handle from the Rovers, and with games in hand, and only a couple of points keeping us out of the playoffs, it would be critical that the chart keeps going up.
From the start, we looked good again. The Rivers keeper was tested a couple of times by Alyssa Scott, but we went into the break with no score on the board. At the half, we were informed that one of our little Rovers (and Cygnet!), Emma, had made a sign for the team, which we invited her to bring down to the section.
Second half saw more of the same, Rovers pushing forward, but not finding a goal. But then, in the 69th minute, Katie Bishop split the defense with a perfect pass to Jenna Baxter. Jenna Baxter did what Jenna Baxter does, and it’s Rovers 1, Rivers 0. Not long after, one of the Rivers players had a moment, and kicked the ball into the parking lot in frustration. That’s the kind of move you pull when you have 0 yellow cards in the game, but apparently the Rivers defender forgot that she had been given one a few minutes earlier. That’s a Red. Hey hey hey, goodbye. We should have been free and clear from there, but late in the contest, Rivers decided to give us a scare by hitting the crossbar from distance. We weren’t really worried, because if it would have been lower, Kirstin Tynan would have stopped it anyway.
We do love our crossbars around here….(as I look around for the bolt of lightning to strike me down).
We won. We win. Whichever vowel you choose, it’s 3 points. We move into the 4th playoff spot, with games in hand.
On to our men, who maybe (likely) got away with one early, as our keeper, Connor Adams, might have clipped the boot of the Rivers attacker in a dive attempt and possibly should have been facing a penalty. That’s not what the ref saw, in spite of the protests from the “I” side. It was right in front of us. I have no comment. So 5 minutes in, we counted our lucky stars. Apparently that’s all the lads needed, as Massud put us on the board not long after. Tyler Dhillon added to the total and we took a 2-0 lead into the break.
Emma, who had been drumming with us earlier, brought the sign down. An absolute work of art. All. Of. The. Women’s. Team. So, we scarfed our young friend in, and hung the sign with the rest of our banners on the railing.
With the new signage in place, the second half began somewhat dubiously, as Rivers got one early. Rather than deflating our men, Starman Ivan Mejia restored the 2 goal lead a minute later. Emma came back down, and said she wanted to drum again, and as she picked up the sticks from the ground, Massud buried a second to make it 4-1.
“I guess I’m just good luck,” Emma said, matter-of-factly. Indeed.
We sang. We shouted. We smoked them out. It was a jubilant Pirate Cove as the Rovers saw the game out, with Michael Hennessy adding a 5th in the 90th minute, capping off a 6 pointer at Swangard with the sun long since gone. Big moment came late in the game, as the Lengend that is Erik Edwardson made his season debut after an injury. His first touch was a free kick that just cleared the crossbar. Lucky, Gavin.
On that note, quick shout out to the Rivers keeper, Gavin McFee. He put up with 45+ minutes of some of the finest shit-talk the Swanguardians have ever heaped on an opposing keeper. It’s long been tradition that we talk the ear off the visitors netminder with a combination of useful facts, nonsense, and questions about their pets when they have to guard the goal in front of us. With the suprisingly useful League 1 BC app, we actually have lineups and names again. Very helpful for finding social media accounts! We reminded him that he’s no Jackson Gardner, who is the OG of taking it from us with a smile. We’re looking forward to re-acquainting ourselves with the Burnabeagles’ keeper, Evan Ince, this coming Friday. According to his Instagram, he’s “City Till I Die” which, LOL. We love a good sport in goal.
Friday is our last home game of the year. Both our squads are in the hunt – the women, clinching a playoff berth. The men, top spot and a berth in the Voyageurs Cup. No better place to be than sunny Swangard on a Friday night watching the Rovers.
