Classics master the conditions and the opposition...........
The Classics made their first ever visit to Burnaby Mountain Secondary School for a game which had been rearranged from the unfit Moody Park. The early morning dew and slight sprinkling of frost gave the impression that it could be a slippery surface but it took a stud remarkably well and the pristine field was the perfect surface for this eagerly awaited match between two teams who have never met before at this level. After a pitch inspection, Chuck McGill opted to wear his boots rather than the skis which he arrived on.

The Classics depleted side started on a high and it took just 12 minutes for them to find the net. It came courtesy of Rick Geary who received and controlled the ball, before hitting a low shot to the diving home keeper’s left. The remainder of the half was evenly balanced although Garry Hackel was never seriously tested and the best chances fell to the visitors.

Ten minutes into the second half the Classics were two up. A high free kick from McGill was hoisted forward and dropped just over the half way line. Jim Eden put off the centre half sufficiently for the ball to run through to Bruce Cook who had a clear run to goal. Alfie Deglan was partnering him and they headed off in tandem on route to the net. With Deglan free it would have been an easy task for Cook to advance on the keeper and lay a square ball for Deglan to tap in. However, in a moment of inspiration, he saw the keeper well off his line and sent a delightful chip high over his head and into the net.

Five minutes later a powerful left wing run from Mike Snow resulted in a teasing cross which the keeper, obviously with fingers still full of grease from his early morning bacon butty, fumbled and dropped. Cook was on hand to chest the ball to his feet and tap in for a goal which he made look easy.

In the 64th. minute the referee awarded a penalty for a push against Snow. The referee was the only one to see the incident and the Regals were as surprised as the Classics to be given a life-line. Hackel was in one of his “You’re not going to beat me” moods and he dived long and low to his right to make a miraculous save from what was really a perfect penalty. It was Hackel’s 15th. penalty save and one which ensured that the Classics should keep a shut-out once again.

The remained of the game was one of containment for the Classics, a feat they achieved without many concerns. Hackel’s after match comments, when he was unbelievably one of the remaining seven, was a plain, simple, casual, “Boom -boom!”

Final Score 0-3 (0-1)

Stats:
MWG: R. Geary
Penalty Conceded: M. Snow
Penalty Save: G. Hackel
You were crap award: B. Cook