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Crichton gets Cowichan LMG past Gorge in Jackson Cup opener

Late goal sends Cowichan on to the next round

Cowichan LMG dominated their Jackson Cup opener against Gorge’s Div. 2 entry last Friday night, but a single goal proved to be all the difference.

Connor Crichton scored with 20 minutes left to play, giving Cowichan a 2-1 win over a scrappy Gorge squad and a spot in the quarter-finals of Vancouver Island’s senior men’s soccer championship.

“You don’t win a game in possession, but it was 90-10 per cent for us, guaranteed,” Cowichan coach Ryan Flynn said. “It was crazy. We did everything but score.”

Cowichan did score enough to win however. Blaze Roberts had the other goal at the 30-minute mark, although it was quickly negated by Gorge just three minutes later. Cowichan poured on the pressure, but Gorge’s defence always had the answer.

“Their goalie was great,” Flynn said. “He probably made half a dozen really good saves. The score should have been five or six to one. But this time of year, a win is a win. It doesn’t matter how you get them.”

The Cowichan players knew it wasn’t their best game, admitting to their coach at halftime that they weren’t running as hard as they usually do in practice. They started to loosen up in the second half; midfielder Govinda Innes in particular realized what he could do against Gorge and dominated the second half, and Roberts earned his first Man of the Match with Cowichan for his hard work that created several scoring chances.

This weekend, Cowichan will visit either Comox Valley United or Campbell River Golden Wings, who are scheduled to play this Thursday. If Cowichan wins that match, they will host their semifinal match.

The Div. 4 Cowichan Fury were also in action last weekend, losing 5-0 at home against Cook Street United. The Fury’s next league game at home on March 12 against Castaways Invicta.