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Ponoka FC Storm achieve “double bill”

With the league championship already under their belt, Ponoka’s Storm managed to clinch the second title
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Storm coach Rich Evans sprays his players with champagne after the Battle River League Cup victory at the Manluk field on Sunday

With the league championship already under their belt, Ponoka’s Storm managed to clinch the second title of the Battle River Soccer League, that of the Cup Winners, in an away game on Sunday, Aug. 24 by beating their arch rivals Manluk in a penalty shoot-out, thanks in no small measure to spectacular goalkeeping skills of Wouter Opsteen and very enthusiastic and loud support of Ponoka fans who drove to Wetaskiwin for the game.

When the game started, it was clear that the hosts were comfortable being on their own turf and knowing their pitch better than the visitors, but the visitors could also feel at home as the chorus of Ponoka supporters made the Storm players feel they were not alone from the very first minute of the game until the last.

Storm kicked off the cup final under bright sunshine with the hosts proving to be the stronger team in the first quarter of an hour. Ponoka players struggled to maintain possession long enough to organize attacks with Manluk defense putting up great pressure on the visitors in midfield with close man-to-man defense.

In the 15th minute, the Ponoka defense survived the first serious attack by Manluk when a close range effort failed to produce a score for the hosts as the ball went out and it was not until 10 minutes later than that attack that Ponoka offense made its first appearance in front of the Manluk goal with Josh Simons attempting to score, but being blocked by the goal keeper.

In the following minutes Storm managed to step up its defensive effort making it harder for the hosts to maintain possession and execute their game plan but not yet achieving the control of the ball long enough to set up their own game plan.

As the clock kept ticking, Ponoka started to show up more frequently in the 18-yard box of the Manluk’s half of the pitch and things reached a climax during the final minutes of the first half when Storm won three back-to-back corner kicks but failed to convert any of them.

Immediately after the inconclusive corner kicks, as all players, both benches and the fans were waiting for the final whistle of the first half, Manluk struck with a swift counterattack and scored the first goal of the game from close range taking the lead 1-0.

The second half started with signs of revived enthusiasm among the Storm players, encouraged by the ongoing support of the Ponoka fans. As they managed to wrest the ball away from Manluk offense more frequently, Storm started to generate more opportunities to get close to the Manluk goalie and Josh Simons made several attempts with his shots either blocked by the Manluk defense or deflected by the crossbar.

Right about the 30th minute mark of the second period, Carmen Lyon of Storm received a pass in midfield and blew like wind through the right hand corridor of the field and took a shot through a quite narrow angle, scoring the equalizer and bringing a deep sigh of relief to Storm bench and a huge wave of joyful celebration to all the fans and his teammates.

The following 15 minutes looked more like a tennis match with the ball appearing in the vicinity of one goal seconds after being deflected in front of the other and neither side managing to take control of the possession in a consistent fashion. Manluk won a few corner kicks within the last few minutes of the regulation but Ponoka defense managed thwart the attacks while creating a few opportunities themselves, but neither side managed to score and the game went to overtime.

The first half of the overtime turned out to be one of missed opportunities for Storm as several attempts to break the deadlock failed to produce results while Manluk defense stepped up its game to deprive the visitors of possession. In the second half of the overtime, Manluk attacks came in wave after wave in the form of close and long range shots, corners kicks and  crosses from both the right and left ends of Storm’s half of the pitch. Goalkeeper Opsteen had four spectacular saves and he was the principal figure that carried the game to the penalty shoot-out, when he would become the ultimate hero.

Opsteen made a point of wishing luck to every Manluk penalty shooter he would face before the opponent took the shot, and whether it was magic or it was mind reading as he suggested, he managed to stop two of the first three of Manluk’s shots. After the second of the three penalty shots was converted for Ponoka, Opsteen was facing his counterpart, the Manluk goalkeeper who would be taking the fourth penalty shot for his team. After wishing luck again, Opsteen took his position at the centre of the goal and easily deflected the shot, bringing the victory and the cup to the Storm.

This is the first time since its creation that Ponoka FC Storm won both of the titles and in the same year.