Newfoundland Challenge Cup & Jubilee winners decided

2008 Challenge Cup Champions - St.Lawrence Laurentians
St.Lawrenc: 1 Feildians 0 Goalscorer - Richard Kelly

This was a barn burner. The Feildian's threw everything at the Laurentians except the kitchen sink. If it wasn't for a break that the Laurentians received on a hand ball, from referee Mike Edmunds, the outcome very well could have went in favor of the Feildians. I will give more details on this incident and the finals in my next Coach's Corner.


2008 Jubilee Trophy Champions - St.John's Kirby Team
Kirby Team: 2 Holy Cross: 0 . Both goals were scored in Overtime

Feidians: 2 Mount Pearl ; 0 - Keith Walsh Photo

Feildian's opening goal deflects past Gerald Connolly

Feildian's advance to Challenge Cup Final

This game may very well go into the history books as to what occurred and how Mount Pearl's coach Walt Mavin used his starting players, rather than how his team performed in this semi final contest. I will elaborate more on this in my next Coach's Corner article. For the Feildian's, it was a greater overall effort from the team,the solid goal tending of Matthew Prim, and a couple of breaks that led the Feildians to victory. The Feildian's first goal came from a deflected shot, struck by the Feildians Colin Browne from about 30 yards out at the 28 minute mark. The Feildians second big break resulted in a penalty shot, when Gerald Connolly knocked down a Feildian attacker, despite the fact the ball was outside the 18 yard box. It was David Webb who accepted this gift as he scored on this charity shot at the 84 minute mark. The final result is the fact that the Feildian's have advanced to the 2008 Provincial Challenge Cup Final against St.Lawrence.

The Challenge Cup ALL-Stars and Award Winner - Photo's by Keith Walsh

Patty Kennedy - Coach of the Year Award

David Webb- All-Star Midfieler and Golden Boot Award (most goals)

Arron Anstey Under 18's - Tied for most goals

Marc Pittman- League All-Star and Top defender Award

Colin Browne - All - Star Defender

Rudy Norman - All-Star Midfielder

David Webb - Most Spirited Player Award

Brian Reddy accepts Zack Wade's All-star Award

Clinton Edwards - All-Star Midfielder

John Acreman- All-Star Defender

NL's greatest socccer player - Wils Molloy

Wils Molloy - Voted Newfoundland's #1 player of all time in 1994

Wils and Gord

Wils is joined by Jimmy Cluett. Jimmy has just returned home from Fort McMurray to take in the Provincial Challenge Cup to cheer on the Laurentians

Phonse Barry taking in Provincial Challenge Cup Play-offs

Challenge Cup Quarter Finals - Keith Walsh Photo's

Final scores:

Game 1: St. Lawrence : 5 - Feildians: 0

Game Report courtesy of the NLSA
A foggy, drizzly day at King George V greeted a good crowd of 800 plus for the 1st vs. 2nd place match between the defending Challenge Cup champions St. Lawrence and Feildians. The drizzle turned into heavy rain as play got underway but the weather had little effect on playing conditions - the advantages of an artificial turf field – but certainly tested the commitment of the fans.

Line ups; St. Lawrence
Goal: John Douglas, Andrew Perrott, Ryan Slaney, Marc Pittman, Paul Slaney, Darren Pike, Rudy Norman, Jeremy Brenton, Clinton Edwards, Richard Kelly, Mike Howlett

Feildians: Mike Organ, John Acreman, Ryan Sheppard, Colin Browne, Steve Howell, Chris Roche, Liam Kelly, Ian Power, David Webb, Chris Burry, Zach Hynes

It was an open game to start with, both sides forcing corners in the first 10 minutes but St. Lawrence slowly started to dominate mid-field. After 15 minutes Richard Kelly opened the scoring, as a long ball from Douglas found Mike Howlett, who made a great run to the by-line, cutting the ball back leaving Kelly an easy finish.

St. Lawrence pressure resulted in a second goal after 32 minutes as the ball was played in to Richard Kelly’s feet inside the penalty area. He fell but managed to lay the ball back to Paul Slaney whose low right footed shot from 20 yards was partially saved but crept in by the post.

Feidlians continued to struggle to put pressure on the St. Lawrence defence, and left themselves open to the break. Marc Pittman, charging forward from defence was taken down on the halfway line by Steve Roche, who was cautioned by referee Rob Antle
Second half
St. Lawrence continued where they left off in the 2nd half as Rudy Norman found Jeremy Brenton in space down the right. Brenton followed a strong run into the box with a good right foot finish to make it three after 53 minutes.
Feildians pushed forward and forced several corners but looked vulnerable on the break. After 64 minutes a clever ball from Howlett freed Rudy Norman for a strong run through mid field, and freed up Sean Edwards for a shot. Mike Organ saved well from point blank range but Edwards bundled home the rebound to make it 4-0. The rain was torrential at this point but the fans stayed put. The final goal came after 74 minutes as a powerful run by Norman followed by a nice ball to Sean Edwards led to a near post cross, well finished by Johnny Pickett.

With the outcome decided, both sides made substitutions, with Zach Hynes and Colin Browne picking up cautions.


Coach's Corner Game Predictions:
Game One: 1st seed vs. 2seed: St. Lawrence vs. Feildians
This will be a very one-sided affair, with the Laurentians blowing the Feildians away.
Predicted Score: St. Lawrence 5 - Feildians 0

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Game 2: Mount Pearl: 1 - Holy Cross : 0
Game report courtesy of the NLSA
Mount Pearl & Holy Cross proved to be a closely fought encounter, it was tied scoreless at the half. The weather improved slightly later in the evening but persistent rain and drizzle meant less than ideal conditions. Although the first half had no goals there were good scoring chances, the best falling to Mount Pearl. After 19 minutes Cross keeper failed to hold a hard low shot and the rebound was put over the bar from inside the goal area. Pearl had another excellent chance as the half wound down as a great through ball put Justin Pickford in on the keeper but Scott Edwards made a great save. Cross had some god chances on the break, and failed to take advantage of two free kicks in excellent positions.

Cross came out strong in the 2nd half and put some pressure on Mount Pearl for the first 10 minutes. Their best chance of the game came following a good run and cross from the left and a diving header- only to be foiled by an excellent save from Gerald Connolly. Mount Pearl broke quickly and Ryan Caines had the ball in the net for a 1-0 lead. Zach Wade missed a glorious scoring opportunity minutes later, blasting over the bar from 10 yards out, but that was as close as Cross got. Mount Pearl survived a couple of scares but held on fairly comfortably to earn a place in tomorrow's semi-final against Feildians

Coach's Corner Game Predictions :
Game Two: 3rd seed vs. 4th seed: Mount Pearl vs. Holy Cross
You could flip a coin and make this call. I realize this game could go either way, but I will give the edge to Holy Cross. I wouldn’t be shocked if this game went to overtime.
Predicted Score: Holy Cross 2 - Mount Pearl 1

Note: At the point in time I wrote the article I did not know that Jeremy Babstock would not be playing for Holy Cross. As I referred to, he is their heart and soul.

The Latest Challenge Cup News by Gord Dunphy

St. Lawrence Laurentians

Expect Darren Pike to be in the Laurentians line-up against the Feildians. Pike, originally had been suspended by the NLSA for three games which made him ineligible for the last two games of the season and for the opening game of the Provincial Challenge Cup Play-offs. The Laurentians appealed this decision and won the appeal. Pike's suspension was reduced to two games thus this makes him eligible for tonights game against the Feildians.

Holy Cross

Expect Jeremy Babstock, the heart and soul of the Holy Cross team, not to be in uniform tonight. Jeremy, is presently in training to become a RNC police officer and has his graduation exercises tonight and as a result - NO Jeremy against Mount Pearl. This certainly enhances Mount Pearl's chances of advancing to the semi-finals on Saturday.

Feildians

Expect John Acreman to be suffering from a groin injury that he sustained in the Feildians 18 th game of the season. He immediately left the field and then sat out his teams next game.If Acreman's injury impairs his all -star form it will be a real long 90 minutes for his team.

Mount Pearl

Expect Chris White to start as striker with partner Justin Pickford now that Sean Drew is out for the rest of the season. Drew suffered a season ending head injury while playing in a game against Holy Cross on August 18 at King George "V" pitch.

Burin Peninsula Intermediate Champs - 2008

Gee Bees win BPSA Intermediate championship

The Grand Bank, Gee Bees have won the Burin Peninsula Intermediate Championship. The Gee Bees defeated the Burin Eagles on a penalty shot shoot-out after the game remained tied at 1-1 after 90 minutes of regulation time and overtime. Grand Bank had advanced to the championship contest by defeating the BPSA Under 16 team in semi-final action. Burin advanced to the final contest by defeating St.Lawrence, in their semi-final action, on a game that was decided by a shoot-out after both teams had played to scoreless draw during regulation time. Grand Bank will now play in the Provincial Intermediate Mega Tournament which is to be played in St. John's the third weekend of Sept.

Grand Bank Teams From the 70's

Holy Cross; 2 Paradise: 0 - Jubilee Trophy Finallists Set

Maxine Morris of Holy Cross scored her 1st goal of two goals at the 16 minute mark

Holy Cross advances to final in Jubilee Trophy

Holy Cross's leading goalscorer, all-star Maxine Morris, scored two first half goals which led her team on to victory. Morris scored her first goal at the 16 minute mark from a goal mouth scramble and she was back at the 31 minute mark to dent the twine again.

In the second half Holy Cross ran the field well and played a strong defensive system to maintain their lead and secure the victory. Holy Cross will now take on a powerful, undefeated Kirby squad in the championship contest. Presentation of awards winners and the all-star selection will be announced before the final game which is to be played at:

Sunday, August 31st @ 7:30pm----EPR Kirby vs Holy Cross at KG"V" Soccer Pitch

Jessica Clarke

Two former Burin Peninsula residents, Jessica Clarke of St.Lawrence and Pamela Reid of Marystown, are current members of the Holy Cross 2008 Team. Pamela Reid was not dressed for the semi-final game due to a injury

The Eve of the Challenge Cup Finals -2008

The Big Blue Machine at Practice
Photo's by Roger Slaney

The team stretching before practice

The team jogging

Getting their final touch on the ball

The players listening up

Mike Howlett

Andrew Perrott

Game Coverage & Game Schedule

Radio Station CHCM 740 AM will be broadcasting all four men's Challenge Cup Play-offs games

Labour Day Weekend Senior Men's Schedule

Friday, August 29: 6 p.m. - St. Lawrence vs Feildians in the 1 vs 2 game. This game will be followed by the 2008 award's ceremony.

Friday, August 29: 8:30 p.m. - Holy Cross vs Mount Pearl in the 3 vs 4 game.

Saturday, August 30: 4 p.m. - The Loser of the 6 p.m. Friday game will face the winner of the 8:30 p.m. Friday game.

Sunday, August 31: 3:30 p.m. - Challenge Cup Final - Winner of the 6 p.m. game Friday and the 4 p.m. Saturday game.

Soccer Day in Newfoundland and Labrador , August 31

Celebrate soccer with CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

Relive the glory - and the horror - during CBC' s 2nd Annual Soccer Day in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Come down to King George V Soccer Field on August 31st to see the CBC celebrity team take on the Mount Pearl Under 16 Boys and Girls Allstars. See your favourite CBC personalities and special guests test their mettle, and probably lose, against some of the city's finest young players.

But that's not all. Before the CBC celebrities eat dust, the Under 14 Girls will play a championship match at 10 a.m. with the winner taking home the CBC Cup.

And after the celebrity game, at 1:30 p.m Shanneyganock and Aislin House will rock the field for your entertainment.

At 3:30 p.m., watch Newfoundland and Labrador's best male players square off against each other in the Senior Men's Molson Challenge Cup Final.

At 7:30, p.m. watch Newfoundland and Labrador's best female players square off against each other in the Senior Women's Breen's Provincial Jubilee Trophy Final

A full day of soccer and fun...

And a chance to win a Mitsubishi Lancer from Capital Mitsubishi. Watch Here and Now starting August 18, 2008 to find out how you can win. Learn more.

Clean Sweep for Halifax City Seniors

Nova Scotia Senior Men and Women Reps Decided

In Halifax, Coldwell Banker Senior Men team defeated the Dunbrack Senior Men's team in their provincial final by a score of 3-2. Dunbrack went into the final with a 20- 0 record prior to the Championship game.. Halifax City took the final, making it their second straight championship, and the fifth in six years.
This team has three well know NL'ers playing on their squad: Wayne Francis & Brian Francis from Burin and Mark Sweepapple from Corner Brook. St.Lawrence defeated this Halifax squad last year in Halifax to win bronze.

The Halifax, Salty's Senior women put on a solid performance to take Scotia Women, 2-1 in the final.

Soccer Press Release - NLSA Hall of Fame Selection Committee

Three very well known and very well respected soccer figures have been appointed to the Selection Committee of the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Hall of Fame.

Provincial soccer president Doug Redmond named Jeff Babstock and Angus Barrett of St. John’s and Gordon Dunphy of St. Lawrence to comprise the committee with Babstock as chair.

“During the past ten years or so the soccer hall of fame has been a smooth and very respected aspect of our association and we are looking to continue this type of operation,” Redmond said. “We are thankful to old committee of “”Joe Keating of Marystown, Don Huxter of Springdale and Dee Murphy of St. John’s for their time and effort that has greatly benefited the Hall.”

“And now we are certain that the new board will continue this fine work. All of the new members have lengthy soccer backgrounds and are well versed in the history of soccer. In addition, they share a wide range of soccer knowledge and have earned great respect for their achievements and contributions.”

Redmond stressed “the need for competent nominations remains and we hope soccer people will co-operate with the new committee in the same manner that they co-operated with the old committee.”

Read Gord Dunphy's Latest Coach’s Corner: Labour Day Weekend Predictions – 2008

Soccer in Fort McMurray

Soccer in Fort McMurray

This past weekend, I took a trip out to Fort McMurray to check out the scenery. While there I was given a tour of the city and obviously I took a quick visit to their soccer fields. As one would expect they do have a beautiful soccer pitch and a great indoor soccer facility.

I ate lunch at the NL'ers Restaurant, knowing full well when I went there that I would see some one from home

At the restaurant,I met and had a great chat with Teddy Edwards. He wanted to know how soccer is presently going in our province? He informed me that his brother Brad, who was a great player in his time, was at work. Actually I coached Ted in 1995 when I coached the Lawn Shamrocks in the Provincial Challenge Cup League.

St. Lawrence Laurentians: 2 St.John's Under - 18: 1

Photo's by Vicki Lockyer

St. Lawrence wraps up the season with a 3-1 score over St.John's Under 18's

St. Lawrence defeated St. John's Under- 18's in their final contest of the season by a score of 3-1. Matthew Breen opened the goal scoring in the contest at the 36 minute mark of the first half. Three minutes later the Laurentians Mike Douglas tied the score at 1-1. In the second half St.Lawrence scored two consective goals. Sean Edwards scored at the 51 minute mark and Ryan Slaney replied at the 59 minute mark.

What's up?

Laurentian's Captain Blair Aylward

Laurentians backup, keeper Keith Jackman & some future prospects

Players Receive Suspensions

Ryan Caines of Mount Pearl and Darren Pike of the St.Lawrence Laurentians have received suspensions handed out by the NLSA. Both players were red carded in a contest between Mount Pearl and St.Lawrence played in Mount Pearl on August 16. The game was refereed by Shannon Tobin. Darren Pike receives 3 games while Caines was suspended for 2 games.

Feildians: 2 - Holy Cross: 1

Colin Doyle gets ready for a Feildians shot - Photo by Gord Dunphy

Feildians defeated Holy Cross by a 2-1 margin as both teams are gearing up for the provincial finals. The game was a very quite affair as one would expect. Scoring for the Feildians were; Colin Browne and Justin Black while Jon Lacey replied for Holy Cross.

BPSA Under 16 "A" Results

Game 1: BPSA: 2 - Western: 2

Opening Game

This contest was played at Mundy Pond.In this game the Burin Peninsula carried the majority of the play, outplaying Western by a 75% - 25% margin but the end result at half time was Western: 1 and Burin: 0 . Then at the 47 minute mark it was Western going up by 2 but for the rest of the contest it was all Burin Peninsula. Stefan Slaney and Jordan Spencer scored in the second half onslaught but it was one of those games where the ball just wouldn't go in for the BPSA for a third goal. Despite hitting the goalpost, the crossbar and great saves by the Western goalie, the scored remained tied at 2-2 when the final whistle blew.

Game 2: BPSA: 3 - Mount Pearl: 2

The Best Game of the season

This game was played at King George V Pitch.Folks I've seen a lot of games this summer but this game was by far the best game that I've witnessed this year. I feel young Stefan Slaney from St.Lawrence, is by far the best Under -16 soccer player on the island. Yes I feel he can play Challenge Cup and he can play it now. This kid is remarkable. He's big, strong, fast, good with both feet and his shot is dynamite. It's to bad that his grandfather(Leo) is still not here with us to see him and his brother Jordan play. Young Tyler Forsey from Fortune, that's Walt's son, plays on this team as well. I'm after hearing a lot about this kid and this was the best game that I've ever seen him play. Folks what a game it was!! I've never seen anything this season close to this game in the regular schedule of Challenge Cup play.
In the opening half both teams played hard. The play was even and at the 45 minute mark the score was even at 0-0. But in the second half it was a different story with five goals being scored. At the 60 minute mark, Stefan Slaney let go a bullet. It was one of the hardest shots that I've seen taken at the new King George V turf pitch. This shot hit the crossbar and the rebound came back to Justin Caines from Grand Bank, and he kicked it into an open net. After this goal the BPSA missed four glorious scoring opportunities. As luck would have it, at the 80 minute mark, Mount Pearl were awarded a penalty kick after the ball accidentally struck Stefan Slaney's elbow. Mount Pearl tied the score 1-1 on the penalty. Then just minutes after this goal Tyler Forsey, who was set up by Stefan Slaney, let go a beautiful shot with his right foot, scoring and giving BPSA a 2-1 advantage. When it looked like the game was over, Mount Pearl scored at the 90 minute mark on a defensive lapse by the BPSA making the score 2-2. Then on referee time Tyler Forsey went to the left side of the field, received the ball and went deep into Mount Pearl territory and struck the ball with his left foot scoring and giving the BPSA a 3-2 lead and a very important 3 points after BPSA had received 1 point earlier in the day for their tie in the opening contest.

Burin Peninsula Under - 12's, Under - 14's, Under -16's, Participate in Provincial "A" Tournaments - Regional All-Stars

BPSA Under-12 "A" - Missing from photo Wesley Brockerville

Photo by Gord Dunphy

Game 1 - St. John's: 4 BPSA: 0 :
An excellent game of soccer played at King George V Soccer Field. The St.John's Under -12 are dynamite in the St.John's Metro League. They are so overpowering and dominating that they were moved up to the Metro Under -14 League. The BPSA were very respectably and held their own in this contest. The play was fairly even but St.John's were much stronger offensively. I counted 8 quality chances for St.John's while the BPSA had 4 solid chances.It was a great experience for the BPSA Under -12's just to play on the artificial turf. Overall they played a very strong game and it was a game that these kids will remember a lifetime.

Game 2 - Gander: 0 BPSA: 5
This contest was played at St.Pat's. BPSA dominated Gander in all aspects of the game. Their next contest depends on how the other divisions go.

Game 3- St. John's Maroons - 2 : BPSA: 9
Goalscorers for BPSA: Shayne Dunphy (2), Christian Lace (2),
Damian Byrnes (2), Grant Slaney (1), Jeffrey Doyle (2)
Goalscorers for SJ Maroon: Declan Daly (1), Josh Conway (1)

Game 4 - Paradise: 1 - BPSA: 1

BPSA advances to Provincial Under 12- "B" Championship

Holy Cross: 2 Mount Pearl: 1

Labour Day Games Set

With a Holy Cross 2-1 victory over Mount Pearl tonight this has decided the games schedule for Labour Day Weekend. The opening game Friday at 6 o'clock will have the 1 st place Laurentians play the second place Feildians with the winners advancing directly to the championship game.The loser will play in the semi-final game. While in the second contest at 8:30 you will see Mount Pearl play Holy Cross with the winner advancing to the semi-final game on Saturday at 4 o'clock .The loser of the 3rd vs 4th will pay up at the gate to watch the rest of the tournament. Then on Sunday at 3:30 you will have the Championship Game

In tonight's game, both teams played well during the first half with Mount Pearl opening the scoring on a goal from Bernie Manning at the 18 minute mark. It was a beautiful unselfish play by Justin Pickford who passed the ball deep inside the 18 yard box that set up Manning, leaving Holy Cross's netminder,Scott Edwards with absolutely no chance. Then at the 30 minute mark, a Holy Cross free shot banged off the crossbar and goalpost before being sent out of play.
In the second half play became very relaxed and it appeared that Mount Pearl had victory well in hand until a penalty shot was awarded to Holy Cross at the 78 minute mark.`It was Mount Pearl's Adam Drover bolting over a Holy Cross attacker, causing the penalty kick. When Mount Pearl went back on the attack,while looking for victory that would give them a shot at second place, a major defensive blunder occurred late in the game. This mistake allowed Dan Connolly to break between Mount Pearl's fullback's and score on Gerald Connolly giving Holy Cross a 2-1 victory.

St. Pierre and Micquelon Representatives - Photo by Gord Dunphy

Long time St. Pierre representative Bill Miller and Ronald Manet accompanied the St.Pierre and Micquelon teams to Marystown to participate in the Provincial Under 12 Mega tournament. Below is a copy of a email which I received earlier today from Mr. Manet.

Gord

On behalf of myself and ASSP i would like to thank the organizer of the under 12 mega this past week-end special thank to shane and all members of marystown soccer for a good tournament (except Sunday morning weather)we are very pleased the way that the boys and the coaches were treated hopeing next year we will have the same exchange that we did this year and even better

Yours truly Ronald Manet

St. Lawrence Laurentians: 0 Feildians: 0

Photo by Keith Walsh

Laurentians and Feildians play to a scoreless draw

For the third time this season the St.Lawrence, Laurentians and the St. John's, Feildians scores have ended in ties. On Sunday, in a contest that statistically really didn't mean a lot to St.Lawrence, the Feildians and St.Lawrence played to a 0-0 score. The Laurentians, already have clinched 1st place in the overall standings and with this draw the Laurentians now have eight ties on the season. The Feildians on the other hand are looking to capture 2nd place and they virtually but unofficially have done this. The Feildians have three games remaining and are 4 points up on their nearest rival, Mount Pearl, with a game in hand. John Douglas and Matthew Prim posted the shutout for their respective teams.

Under - 12 Father and Son Photo's by Gord Dunphy

Harry Kelly and son, Adam

Norm Lace and son, Christian

Bill Clark and son, Lucus

Shane Dunphy and sons, Shayne(L) - Ryan (R)

Ray Nolan and son, Bradley

Barry Lambe and son, Barry Jr.

Blaine Kettle and son, Jonah

Gary Doyle and son, Jeffrey