The Marine Harvest U14 Boys Riptide travelled to Vancouver April 30 to compete for the gold medal at the Coastal A Cup final against Surrey Football Club.
Riptide came out of the gates with force and control. A string of passes presented striker Fergus Hall a window to move the ball forward to Jerod Timothy. Jerod manoeuvred through two Surrey defenders and made a nice pass across the front of the goal for Cameron Bell, who tapped the ball into the Surrey net.
The physical intensity of the Surrey players kicked into high gear after that. Surrey turned up the attacking pressure which resulted in a goal to tie the game at the half.
However, Riptide’s counterattack was excellent which led to abundant scoring opportunities throughout the match. This allowed Riptide to take back the lead with five minutes left in regulation time, almost sealing the deal. In the dying minutes of the second half, Surrey’s relentless determination paid off, managing to score and tie the game once again.
In overtime the play continued to move like a fast-paced pendulum, with both goalies making outstanding saves. Surrey was the first to find the back of the net to take a 3-2 lead, but the Riptide fought hard to recover, and the passion and perseverance was awarded with a goal in the last couple minutes of overtime. The elation of the moment was shortlived, however, as the play was called offside, resulting in Surrey FC winning the match.
“The boys had every chance to win the game and the whole team was complimented by the head referee of the tournament on how classy we were in our behaviours and play,” said Riptide head coach Steve Hall.
Congratulations to the Riptide players and coaches for a well battled game and silver medal. Good Luck at provincials in July.