BB5 drop more points as Columbus and VUFC continue winning ways at top of VMSL Premier (with video highlights from three matches)

There are battles raging all across the Vancouver Metro Soccer League (VMSL) Premier Division as the 12 teams head into the final week of matches before the Christmas break.

The fight for the title took another interesting development this past weekend with the top two sides each getting another win and the chasing BB5 United dropping a couple of more points, but still with three games in hand.

At the other end of the table, Rino’s Fury closed the gap further in the fight to avoid the drop with their second straight victory and there will be some teams looking over their shoulders nervously right now.

VUFC Hibernian continue to lead the way, but were made to work hard by West Van FC at Ambleside on Friday night. In the end, Mario Kovacevic’s 75th minute goal, his 10th of the season, gave the league leaders the 1-0 win and kept their two point lead at the top of the table.

Breathing right down their necks right now are second placed Columbus FC, who have have a game in hand on the leaders.

Columbus destroyed Coquitlam Metro Ford Wolves at Burnaby Lake on Friday night and were three goals up within the first eight minutes after a quick-fire start.

Alan Camacho had two of those goals and went on to score five in the game, wrapping up his hat-trick in the 42nd minute and hitting two more in the second half. A couple of those goals were fantastic strikes from the edge of the box, but the goal of the game went to Patrick Izett, whose deft chip over the keeper five minutes in had given Columbus a 2-0 lead.

While the top two were adding another win to their tally, two-time defending champs BB5 United were dropping a couple of points, playing out a 0-0 draw at home to NVFC Norvan at Newton Athletic Park.

You can see Smart Runners highlights of the match in the video below and on their YouTube channel:

BB5 look a little out of sorts at the moment and have taken just one point from their last two matches, but with three games in hand on leaders VUFC Hibernian, if they take all nine points, they’ll hit top spot.

Friday’s final match saw the in-form Rino’s Fury head to Burnaby Lake to take on Inter EDC and after being outplayed for the first half hour or so, they put on a show in the second half to come away with a hugely important 4-2 victory that saw them move to within on point of safety at the bottom of the table.

Inter had taken a 16th minute lead when Massud Habibullah was played in and tucked away his 13th of the season in the 16th minute. Having looked the better team in the early going, with Rino’s failing to get their attack clicking, Inter were pegged back in the 34th minute when Kazuki Nakanishi brought the Fury back onto level terms.

The goal rejuvenated Rino’s and a stunning second-half performance, led by man of the match Athos di Siqueira, saw the Fury fire in three unanswered goals before Inter got a late consolation second.

Di Siqueira fired in a beauty into the postage stamp corner in the 49th minute to make it 2-1 and grabbed his second of the match eight minutes later with a fantastic solo effort that saw him weave his way towards goal from his own half before finishing to the far corner. Di Siqueira then turned provider in the 83rd minute for Nakanishi to hit home his second of the match.

Lucianno Keramen pulled one back for Inter with a nice finish two minutes from time, but there was to be no denying Rino’s who look to be a much different animal after being bolstered by a number of college players, many of whom have played together with Altitude FC in League1 BC.

You can see our highlights from the match below and on AFTN’s YouTube channel (please subscribe!):

Saturday saw the final two matches of Week 14, both with implications at the bottom of the table, particularly after Rino’s latest win.

First up was third placed Croatia SC, who are still in the title mix, but need to keep winning and hope those around them start to drop some points and soon. They faced off with BCT Rovers Hurricanes at a sodden Burnaby Lake, who could find themselves drawn into another relegation dogfight and now sit just two points clear of the drop zone after Croatia came away with the 2-1 victory.

Nathan Walters fired Croatia ahead in the 8th minute before Gagandeep Dosanjh tied things up for the Hurricanes, finishing off a cross from close range 10 minutes later.

The winner came in the 65th minute when Anastazi Ahayo finished off a cross to the near post, in what was a fantastic weekend for Altitude FC players!

You can see Sports Revolution’s highlights from the match below and on their YouTube channel:

The final match of the weekend saw Port Moody go nap at home to Westside at the Trasolini turf on Saturday evening. A first half brace from Quintin Desaulniers and goals from Quinn Dawson, Rahid Rahiem, and Jacob Low saw Port Moody run out 5-1 winners. Navid Samiei hit a late stoppage time consolation for Westside.

So here’s what the VMSL Premier Division table looks as follows after the Week 14 action:

There’s another big set of games coming up with Premier matches over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this weekend – the final games of 2023. Here’s what’s on the slate:

A reminder, you can get all of the results, fixtures, and standings across all of the divisions at VMSLsoccer.com