The first pennant in team history was worth the long wait for Chester City.
“I’ve been on this team for a lot of years and we never finished first overall so it’s a big accomplishment,” veteran defender Chris Foster said after Chester nailed down first place by hammering the Decepticons 6-0 Sunday at Riel Park.
The 10th win in 12 games vaulted Chester past the young and talented SA United into top spot in the St. Albert Men’s Soccer League.
“By finishing first, it’s good confidence going into the playoffs,” Foster said. “There is some tough competition this year and if we can get all the way to the semis then we have just as good a chance as anyone to win it.”
Chester celebrated their last and only playoff cup in the 14th season of operation, 3-1 over the iconic Rummies in 2008. The Rummies, winners of 13 playoff cups in 17 straight trips to the division one finals, in addition to 11 provincial medals, ceased operations prior to the league’s 30th season kicking off. It allowed Chester to grab some of the better Rummies in pursuit of league and provincial honours.
“At the beginning of the year we weren’t sure how we were going to be for numbers, but by amalgamating a few of the Rummies’ guys we’ve really built a strong team,” Foster said. “Right off the get-go the gelling happened quickly and we moved on from there. The first couple of games we already felt like we were a team.”
Chester (10-2) joins United (9-2-1) as the league reps for the tier IV provincials next month in Edmonton as the highest-ranked finishers in the seven-team standings. Previous provincials for the perennial Fairplay Award contenders have been dismal failures. Recent appearances by Chester included winless efforts in tier IV last year and 2008 in tier III.
“You go in a little bit blind because you have no idea who your opposition is going to be but we’ve got a lot of confidence so this could be the year we can make a decent run,” Foster said.
The most explosive offensive team in the league averaged five goals a game while giving up 15, second lowest to United’s 12 goals against. Spearheading the attack was Matt Starcheski, the runaway winner of the Golden Boot Award with 16 goals in 11 games. Red card issues forced Starcheski to sit out Sunday. Filling in up front for the lethal striker was defender Jason Steele, who soldiered through a pulled groin with the team short of subs.
Also finishing top-10 in the scoring race was Abe Hasanaj with eight goals for fifth spot. Tied with seven apiece were Trent Hillman and Vinny Segreto, a pickup from the Rummies.
“We’ve got some good finishers but I also like the way our midfield holds on to the ball. We don’t waste it,” Foster said.
Great goaltending by the Decepticons’ Matthew Bergin limited Chester to only six goals. Jason Marak’s boomer at the eight-minute mark and Segreto’s breakaway marker in the 17th minute put Chester up by two at halftime.
Young gun Colin Andrews fired a pair in the second half. His acrobatic header right off the bat was a thing of beauty as he banked the ball off the crossbar and down to the ground inside the net. In the 64th minute he unloaded a shot that made the net bulge from the sheer force of the kick.
Rilind Pllana also potted a pair as Chester controlled the ball at will against a worn-out Decepticons’ line-up with no subs.
Chester’s regular keeper Sean Duffy was a late arrival for the match so Hillman filled in for the first half. Hillman was rarely tested and spent most of the opening 45 minutes working on his tan while leaning against a post.
“It was a bit slow at the start for us but once we started playing our game and kept the ball down rather than kick and run, that’s when we strung a few nice passes together,” said Foster, 35, who imposes his will on the opposition with a linebacker’s frame and a nose for the ball. “In the second half there was not a lot of kick and run, just slow build-up to get the ball up to the strikers. When you do that, and you have guys who can finish, you’re always going to have a chance to score.”
Ironically, the one game Foster missed Chester failed to win, as United squeaked out a 1-0 decision Aug. 4 as Ryan Clark scored early in the match.
“I wasn‘t there so I guess that’s why we lost,” Foster said with a grin.
CORNER KICKS: The playoffs kicked off Tuesday and wrap up with the Aug. 29 final. In pool play, group A consists of Chester, Strike Force (9-3) and SA City (2-9-1). In group B is United, Arsenal (4-5-3), Decepticons (2-8-2) and Crossfire (2-9-1).
