DUNPHY'S CORNER : Weekend Wrap-up : June 17/18, 2017

Gord Dunphy

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 Mark Reddy - Mount Pearl

Got to say,"I loved it the Mount Pearl / St. Lawrence series"

Hey, what a battle this past weekend. It was in St. Lawrence between the Laurentian's and Mount Pearl . It was sort of old time soccer, the teams battled hard and made the officials earn every cent they are paid. More importantly this past weekend referee Corey Walsh and his two young linesmen got it right, they allowed the teams to play the game. To often, I witness a referee not allowing any flow to the game. For most part we all know who the referees are, we don't need them, nor do we want them to be the center of attention in a game. They need to control the game and yes at times there will be a need to issue cautions to control the game. However, I also realize that there are times that verbal reprimands should be given to players before the referee goes deep into his pocket or on his jersey to retrieve a yellow card.  I know there are other times a straight yellow can be warranted or for that matter a straight  Red Card is deserved but there is no need for the officials to be card happy.

"Very enjoyable soccer"

Moving on from this early week rant, I must add, Mount Pearl put on a great show in St. Lawrence where the ghosts at the St. Lawrence Centennial field usually lead the home team to victory. It was very enjoyable soccer.   On Saturday, Mount Pearl  were persistent in their efforts and as a result they tenaciously earned a point in a 2-2 draw. Besides the goals scored by the Laurentians Sean Drew and Brent Hennebury,and Mount Pearl's Tyler Forsey and Scott Woodfine, I liked  how Mount Pearl's veterans battle including Andrew Murphy, Kevin Oram, Taedy O'Rourke, Ryan Thistle and Mark Reddy wouldn't back down, they simply wouldn't go away.   I also have a great amount of respect for the offensive abilities of Tyler Forsey, Scott Woodfine and Ronaldo Morris.  Meanwhile, when it comes to the Laurentian players, you can be guaranteed where there's a little commotion happening, you can count on Laurentians captain  Marc Pittman to be there. Now the Laurentian's have newcomer Marc Brefo who hails from Ghana.  Brefo is dynamic, he is another player who draws players and officials to his area of play. I would have to say he is the most physical player in the league but he also has talent. I totally admire his skill set and physical strength. He is Ghanaian version of former St. Lawrence Laurentian star player Alec Turpin. Now proceeding on to Sunday when the Laurentians defeated and shutout Mount Pearl 3-0.  Folks, don't let the score fool you. Mount Pearl and St. Lawrence again clashed and at times both teams viciously fought for supremacy. There's no doubt the Laurentians had the better quality scoring  chances throughout the entire contest but two of the Laurentian goals, Sean Drews and Devon Ryans markers were scored late in the dying minutes. The other Laurentian goal was scored by Brent Hennebury  at the six minute mark. However throughout the contest, Mount Pearl had their chances too, but they couldn't capitalize. During this contest, referee  Corey Walsh handed out five yellows, three going to St. Lawrence and two to Mount Pearl. These sort of contests are what the fans want, they want action, they want teams to illustrate heart and above all they want quality soccer, that's what they saw in both matches between Mount Pearl and St. Lawrence this past weekend. 

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Holy Cross lose again

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 CBS pick up four points in Corner Brook

Erick Mathiasen

I would have to say the biggest surprise this season is the fact that  Holy Cross has faltered so much in the start to the 2017 season. On Saturday at KGV , the Feildians shout-out Cross 1-0.

Simon Pope scored the lone goal for the Feildians. The loss for Holy Cross puts them into 5th place with a 1win -3ties - 3 loss record. I can't say anyone would have predicted such a horrendous start for Holy Cross who have virtually owned the regular Challenge Cup season for the past eight years.  CBS Strikers, playing out of Topsail, are off to their best start in years. This past weekend CBS collected four points defeating Corner Brook 3-0 on Saturday, with league leading goalscorer Erick Mathiasen, scoring a pair for CBS.  On Sunday the teams played to a scoreless draw. CBS's four point weekend currently puts them into 3rd place, with 14 points, behind the 2nd place Feildians who has 15 points, while the 1st place Laurentians, have 22 points.