Lusapalooza! Good Friday for Langley United as they do L1BC double over TSS Rovers

Langley United headed to Swangard Stadium on Friday evening and did the double over TSS Rovers in the first ever League1 BC meeting between the two sides.

In the women’s division, Langley made it two wins out of two for Chelsey Hannesson’s side grabbing a late winner in a 2-1 victory, while a clinical first half display and some resolute second half defending was enough for Langley’s men to get the job done in a 3-1 victory.

Here’s a recap of how those matches played out.

L1BC Women’s Division – TSS Rovers 1 – 2 Langley United

The game began in an unextraordinary fashion, with both teams doing little on the ball as the game failed to get going. It took until the 26th minute for the first shot on target; Maya Smith struck, but without the necessary power to beat Kayla Klim in the Langley goal.

Langley’s first shot on goal would prove more effective. As TSS failed to deal with a looping ball into the box, former Rover Shanya Dhindsa pounced, poking the ball into the bottom right corner to give the away side the advantage 38 minutes in.

Four minutes later, TSS were level. Klim saved well from a powerful Delana Friesen shot, but Claire Ye was on hand to slot home the equaliser.

With little of the first half to go, Ye could have had a second in as many minutes. Her 35-yard free kick looked to have beaten Klim, but the crossbar came to Langley’s rescue, denying TSS a quick turnaround and the team headed into the break level.

An energetic end to the first half was not transferred to the second half. Both teams failed to create, and the game became a scrappy affair.

However, with 12 minutes to go, Langley clinched it through an element of good luck. Langley’s number 16, Daniela Ramirez, looked to have overhit her cross, only for the ball to come dropping quickly, wrong-footing TSS keeper Talia Gagnon and landing in the back of the net for 2-1 and giving the visitors a lead they weren’t to give up.

The narrow victory was enough for Langley to make it two wins in two to start their inaugural L1BC campaign. They host Vancouver Rise in their next match on April 27, looking to make it three in three in what will be their toughest test so far. TSS travel to Unity FC on April 26, looking to bounce back after consecutive defeats.

TSS Rovers: Claire Ye (42’)
Langley United: Shanya Dhindsa (38’), Daniela Ramirez (78’)

You can find the full photo gallery from Tom (Residual Image) on the AFTN Flickr page HERE.

L1BC Men’s Division: TSS Rovers 1 – 3 Langley United

After defeat at Kamloops last weekend, Langley were looking to get off the mark in their first-ever L1BC season. A trip to Swangard Stadium against an unbeaten TSS Rovers side would prove a good test and one they passed with flying colours.

It didn’t start off that way, as nine minutes into this one the test had grown in difficulty as the home side took the lead through Michael Hennessy. The TSS forward converted from close range to bag his fourth goal in three games and continue his stellar start to the season, which sees him lead the Golden Boot race.

Despite going behind, Langley looked up for the challenge and quickly drew level thanks to a fantastic individual effort from former Unity FC man Joel Badger. He picked up the loose ball on the right-hand side before a fine run culminated in an even better finish past TSS keeper Cal Weir.

After a good spell of pressure following their goal, Langley took the lead in an unorthodox fashion. Receiving a pass close to his goalline, Weir struck his clearance straight into Langley’s Brody Thomas, the ball deflecting off the Langley captain and straight into the TSS net for 2-1.

Langley now had the lead and continued their attacking domination. Jonathan Silva’s header was well cleared off the line by Shaya Zarjampour just after the half-hour mark. Eventually, though, their pressure paid off and Langley extended their lead.

A delightful cross to the far post by Joey Buchanan was met by the head of Joel Badger, who guided it over Weir and into the far corner to make it three for the visitors.

The second half lacked the same intensity as the first. TSS head coach Brendan Teeling made three halftime substitutes to get a response from his team, and while they looked like the better team in the second period, they failed to create too many clear-cut chances.

Their best efforts were through Ivan Mejia and Justin Pena, who both went close but were both denied by Langley keeper Matheus De Souza, who was excellent throughout and produced a string of strong saves in the second half.

In the end, Langley’s first-half performance was enough to get the job done, securing their first ever victory in the league.

TSS will hope to bounce back when they travel to Unity FC on April 26. Langley will be hoping to build on their first win of the season when they host Vancouver Whitecaps Academy on April 27.

TSS Rovers: Michael Hennessy (9’)
Langley United: Joel Badger (16’, 35’), Brody Thomas (26’)

You can find the full photo gallery from Tom (Residual Image) on the AFTN Flickr page HERE.