The second half of the 2012 NL Summer Games officially got underway Wednesday evening with the beginning the boys’ soccer tournament.
Three games were held between Pike’s Field in Carbonear and St. Francis field in Harbour Grace featuring six of the nine teams in the tournament.
At Pike’s Field in Carbonear, Mount Pearl/South met the team from Central, while at the same time St. John’s/North battled St. Pierre in Harbour Grace.
St. John’s blasted St. Pierre 8-0, while Mount Pearl squeaked by Central by a score of 2-1.
Goal scorers were not known at press time.
The host team met Western in the last game of the evening in Harbour Grace.
Dozens of fans lined the sidelines in anticipation of seeing a hotly contested match between two athletic, young teams.
What they got was a one-sided 6-0 victory for Western.
It was not for a lack of trying on the host side.
Although Western pinned the host athletes in their own end for minutes on end, the Western players knew they were in a fight.
Host head coach Corey Penney gave full recognition to the Western team.
“The boys were in tough against the bigger, taller Western team,” he said “The boys, the battled, but we just lost to a better team.”
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Penney said that the focus now shifts to the rest of the tournament and the his can not let the early setback affect their mindset heading into tomorrow’s action.
“There are some technical things to go over, but the most important thing now, is to get in the room and get the boys ready for tomorrow,” he said.
Experience played a factor in the game. The Western team have been playing in a provincial league all season, according to coach Colin Lynch.
“We’re in the top of three in that league,” he said.
Also playing into its favour is the fact that the league Western plays in the same regional league as its Games region.
“The boys have been playing together since April and May,” said Lynch.
The coach was pleased with his team’s performance in the tournament opener.
“It was a good game, especially after a long bus ride today,” he said.
Goal scorers were not available at press time.
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