Overcoming a slow start to the season by creating their own brand of March Madness, the boys from Bays United Liquor Plus busted a few brackets to reach the 2022 Jackson Cup final. They will kick-off today at 5:30 p.m. against defending-champion Nanaimo United at Starlight Stadium.
After a difficult and truncated 2020 season in which Nanaimo United was crowned Jackson Cup champions, and a dark 2021, it’s viewed as a welcome relief to have the Jackson Cup back in full form as the Vancouver Island Soccer League’s Div. 1-2 equivalent of the FA Cup.
The Sir John Jackson Cup, established in 1915, has persevered through good times and bad times in Canadian soccer. It’s the former right now with the national team on the rise for World Cup 2022, as it was when VISL alumni played a major role in qualification for the 1986 World Cup. There is now even a domestic Canadian pro league, the CPL, for top players to aspire to.
Some of the trying times, as for all leagues in all sports, have come over the last two years during the pandemic. But a full 2021-22 VISL season concludes today with four Cup finals, all at Starlight Stadium, capped by the Jackson Cup.
“The Cup finals will mark the end to what has been one of the most challenging yet rewarding years in recent history,” said VISL executive-director Vince Greco, in a statement.
“Coming out of a cancelled year, something that had not happened for over 100 years, coming out of strict protocols during a pandemic, we are all grateful to be playing the games.”
Lakehill and Nanaimo United square off in the U-21 VISL final for the George Smith Cup at 10 a.m. The Juan de Fuca Kings meet the Gorge Us-Guys in the George Pearkes Challenge Cup final at 12:30 p.m. for VISL Div. 3-4 teams. Gorge Us-Guys, moving up to Div. 2 for next season, are looking to go out in championship form.
The Tony Grover Masters Cup final for players 35-and-over is at 3 p.m. between Vic West and Cowichan 49ers. “Many of these players have had long successful years with the VISL and abroad,” noted Greco.
The highlight of the day comes with the Jackson Cup final. Bays United was fifth in the VISL Div. 1 regular season at 9-7-4 in wins, losses, draws but ripped through the Jackson Cup brackets with victories over Prospect Lake of Div. 2 in the Sweet Sixteen, Vic West of Div. 1 in the Elite Eight and Cowichan FC of Div. 1 in the semifinals.
The key victory for VISL regular-season second-place Nanaimo (14-5-1), coached by Kevin Lindo, came in a killer match-up in the Elite Eight against VISL Div. 1 regular-season champion Lakehill FC (18-1-1), a 2-1 Nanaimo decision that denied Lakehill not only its dream of the double but also its elusive first-ever Jackson Cup.
“Going against the defending champions, a team that had 12 more points than us this season, is going to be a big challenge,” said Bays United head coach Rich Fast, who gave a great deal of credit to assistant coach Nico Craveiro.
“We’re honoured to be a part of this championship game and happy to get a full season in post-COVID.”
Bays United, led by Patrick Nelson and his 21-goal season, is after its second Jackson Cup title in club history with the first coming in 2013. Nanaimo United is after its fifth title after championships in 1996, 1999, 2017 and 2020.
“Our core group from the 2017 and 2020 championships is still around. So our biggest strength is our togetherness. We are a tight-knit group that plays with cohesion,” said Nanaimo United bench-boss Lindo, who played on the 2017 side before transitioning to the bench and coaching the club to the 2020 title.
“We know the task ahead of us in the final and have a lot of respect for Paddy Nelson and the Bays.”
