By Matthew Lacy
VANCOUVER, WA—In greying June rain, the Vancouver Victory grinded out a win against the Tri-Cities Alliance on Sunday (6/10) on Hampton Inn Championship Field at the Harmony Sports Complex. The first half was an even affair where shots were fired from both sides, forcing the keepers to saves. The second half remained even with a V2FC goal at the 53rd minute and an Alliance answer at the 63rd minute. But the game winner came from a Victory penalty kick at the 89th. It was an even, gritty affair.
V2FC defender Oliver Tate stated that, “It was a bit of a scrappy one at times. They were trying to make it hard for us, we were trying to play, they were pressing. But I thought we handled it well. It’s not always going to be pretty and I think that shows the heart of the team in a game like this where we can come out with a result.”
And the heart of the Boys in Blue (wearing their blue tops, white shorts, and white socks) came through strong in the 53rd minute when assist winner Zane Provenzano came bombing down the right side. Goal scorer Tyson Fox stated, “It was Zane, our right back, who kind of floated the ball into the box and I just pulled off from my man in the side of the box, split the defenders. It went over the first guy’s head and I just anticipated that, took a touch and settled it at the PK spot and just smacked it and saw the net go. It was good service from Zane. The near defender miss-read it, over-read it and I was just there to clean it up in the box.” 1-0 Victory.
The Alliance (wearing blue and white striped tops, blue shorts, and blue socks) answered back in the 63rd minute when Lenin Guzman heroically lazered off an unassisted shot from 30 yards out. The ball bounced off the left post, beat the keeper, and blew the back of the net. 1-1.
Finally, in the 89th minute, Fox was pulled down an Alliance player in their own box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Fox said of the game and the penalty kick, “It was wet, it was kind of hard to get a touch, the rain was just pouring the whole game. We turned over the ball a few times in the mid-field, but I think in the second half we came out, adjusted the formation, threw more guys up top and we just wore them down the second half with possession going from side to side. We made some solid runs. We pushed at the end, the last five minutes, to get the winner with four guys up top. It went our way, the last one, we got a PK and Oly buried it. It was great.” 2-1 Victory.
Of the penalty kick, Victory’s Oliver Tate stated, “It felt good to grind out the result and get the win with that PK there. I have always considered myself to be a bit of a leader so I felt like I had to step up for the boys and put it away”.
Assistant Coach Scott Lewis stated about the game, “The other team was well-organized and we kind of had a lethargic start. We didn’t play well the first half, we gave the ball away way too much. The second half got a little better, obviously it good to get a goal, the first goal in the game which is nice. The second half, I thought it was better. It is always positive to get a result, even if you don’t play well.”
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Head Coach Logan Emory had a lot to say about the game, “Frustrating, but also happy. In soccer it‘s not always pretty and I think people get hung up a lot of times on the beautiful game and making sure that there is a right way and a wrong way to do it I guess. At the end of the day I am not really happy with our performance, but I am happier with it than if we would have played better and lost or drawn the game. So there is a lot of things we could talk about in terms of what went wrong and what didn’t, but the three points speak louder than anything else, especially in relation to the table right now and our playoff standings. Not happy at all with the way we played again but happy with the three points, happy enough at least.
“We had three players that probably played their best game since we’ve had them. Javi, Joey Kenny, and Tyson Griffin. Griffin looked like a Division One center-back today, which is good. The thing is, we have players where we expect that out of them, it’s when players play below their standard or below their expectations, that is the frustrating part. When guys start to step up to the occasion and show what they are about it’s promising moving forward. We’ve got a very talented roster.
“I thought we were tough defensively. I think defensively we are showing signs of turning it around. There are moments in the game where I didn’t think we handled them very maturely, but there were also times when the guys really buckled down. Again it’s not always going to be pretty. Guys were playing all over the place. We were playing some different formations but they handled it pretty well. I think Oliver Tate is a guy that stepped up well today.”
The Vancouver Victory are back in action next Sunday (6/17) on Hampton Inns Championship Field at Harmony Sports Complex at 5pm. They will take on the Seattle Stars: Coastal Division leaders, top of the table dwellers, and the 2017 EPLWA league champions. It will be an exciting contest, Sea of Blue. Tickets are available online and at the game: $6 for adults, kids 12 and under are free.
Scoring Summary:
V2FC. 53rd minute Tyson Fox assist Zane Provensano
Alliance 63rd minute Lenin Guzman unassisted
V2FC 89th minute Oliver Tate unassisted
Discipline Report:
Alliance 77th minute Yellow Alexis Carmona
