Perhaps the toughest way to lose a soccer game is by having the winning goal scored against you when down to 10 players. Even more so when the red card was controversial.
Chris Rushworth of the Victoria Highlanders was shown a straight red at 62 minutes, following scuffling between both the Highlanders and TSS FC Rovers of Surrey, with the score tied 2-2 in the United Soccer League Premier Development League fixture Sunday afternoon at Centennial Stadium. The Highlanders claim it was a phantom foul.
Fourteen minutes later, Thomas Gardner found the left corner with a well-placed shot from a few metres above the box for the winning goal in a 3-2 TSS Rovers victory.
鈥淚 have no idea what the referee is seeing,鈥� said Victoria head coach Thomas Niendorf.
鈥淭here was no elbow given [by Rushworth].鈥�
The call comes a week after another hotly-debated incident, in which Isaac Koch of Victoria went down in the box late in a 1-0 loss to Portland Timbers U-23, with no penalty kick awarded.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what they [referees] see or don鈥檛 see,鈥� said a clearly exasperated Niendorf, as his club fell to 1-4.
鈥淚t鈥檚 getting to the point [shrugging] of what can you do about it?鈥�
The Highlanders still pressed despite being down a man, and missed on at least three good chances from close in to level the game in the late going.
鈥淚t comes down to technical execution,鈥� said Niendorf, of the muffed chances.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need to complicate things. Sometimes, a one-touch finish is best.鈥�
Cam Hundal and Cory Bent scored the Victoria goals, both in the first half.
鈥淢ore than technical, it鈥檚 about mental focus and concentration in those [late-chance] moments,鈥� said Hundal, the former University of Victoria Vikes star.
And being down to 10 men was sapping.
鈥淚t was back and forth on a hot day on a big field and it sure was tough having to do that [for the final half hour] down a man,鈥� said Hundal.
Cory Bent, who helped led the unbeaten Cape Breton Capers to the 2017 U Sports national title, scored Victoria鈥檚 other goal Sunday and now has two of the Highlanders鈥� three goals on the season. But the way Victoria lost still sticks in the craw.
鈥淚t鈥檚 tough to lose a game under those circumstances, especially because our fans have been lovely and shown us so much support,鈥� said Bent, who hails from Manchester, England.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard for the lads and a tough pill to swallow. This is very disappointing and will be hard to bounce back from.鈥�
Hundal said it鈥檚 about soldiering on.
鈥淥ur heads are not down. We鈥檝e been in each game with a chance to win each one. We鈥檒l keep moving forward and try to win each game.鈥�
The Rovers, the only other sa国际传媒 team in the PDL Northwest Division, moved to 2-1-1 and took a one-goal lead in the Juan de Fuca Plate side competition against Victoria. Those are common in soccer among regional rivals. The MLS games between the Vancouver Whitecaps, Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers, for instance, count for their own three-team Cascadia Cup competition.
The Highlanders, now down a goal on aggregate, have an uphill struggle trying to defend their 2017 Juan de Fuca Plate title in the second and deciding leg next Sunday at Swangard Stadium against TSS Rovers. The next home fixture for Victoria is Friday night against Seattle Sounders U-23 at Centennial Stadium.
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