Raised in England as a Liverpool supporter, Paul Cringle was naturally attracted to a team nicknamed the Reds when he began coaching on the Island.
Now, he has the entire Vancouver Island Soccer League seeing red.
His 12th-seed Lakehill Reds, a largely unheralded Division 2 club before this run, has made it all the way to a Jackson Cup semifinal matchup against seventh-seed Sooke of Division 1 Saturday at 4 p.m. at Braefoot Park.
鈥淚 grew up watching the FA Cup, where smaller teams from lower divisions have been known to record major surprises over bigger clubs,鈥� said Cringle, who has played semi-pro in England.
鈥淭he Jackson Cup is the Island鈥檚 version of the FA Cup. On any given day, any team can beat another,鈥� added the Lakehill head coach and GM.
The Reds better get used to doing it on a regular basis. Having placed second in Division 2 this season, Lakehill has been promoted to Division 1 for next season.
The oldest player on the team is just 21. Cringle has coached the core group since they were seven.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a great run and, hopefully, it will continue,鈥� said Cringle.
He could have been referring to the team鈥檚 long-term future as well as this year鈥檚 Jackson Cup, in which the Reds upset fifth-seed Vic West of Div. 1 by a 1-0 clean sheet in the quarter-finals and eighth-seed Gorge FC of Division 1 by a 4-2 scoreline in the Sweet 16.
Cringle, however, realizes his youthful squad faces an established, veteran Sooke side on Saturday.
鈥淚f we play to our potential, we can give them a go,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t comes down to the day.鈥�
The other semifinal is an all-Division 1 affair with second-seed Bays United Liquor Plus meeting fourth-seed Nanaimo tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Hampton Park.
The Jackson Cup final is set for March 24 at 3 p.m. at Royal Athletic Park.
