Morning Star Staff
The top two teams in the Capri Insurance Men’s 45+ Soccer League will meet for the playoff title Sunday (1 p.m.) at Kings Park in Penticton.
Second-place Penticton United advanced by ground the visiting Okanagan Spring Brewery Camels 4-0 Monday night.
League champion Brown Benefits brushed back the North Country Appraisals Kickers 5-2 in the other semi under the lights at Beasley Park in Lake Country.
Zeke Pescada netted Penticton’s winner in the opening minute and the half ended 1-0.
Humpback keeper Dave Dutcher, who was reportedly seen backstage at last week’s AC/DC concert in Vancouver, earned the Heavy Metal Digest Man of the Match for the Camels.
“Dutch stood on his head for the first 20 minutes before we settled down,” said Camel veteran Ron Krause, who pulled his hamstring in warm-up and didn’t play. “He was robbing them left and right and stopped a few breakaways.”
Kevin Kothlow, Derrick Webb and Ron Derksen rounded out the Penticton scoring and several good saves by Tony Sheremeta kept the Camels off the scoresheet despite a strong effort.
“We just missed on a couple of headers and their goalie made some good saves on some other chances we had,” added Krause. “We were missing six starters who would have really helped us.”
Tony Gonzales and Don Brown each supplied a deuce as Browns knocked out the Kickers, who got two goals from Steve Fagan.
North Country came out determined at the start and generated some good chances but Brown’s keeper Steven Heiss made some key saves to hold them off.
In B side play, Bryan Schenker scored twice as Turn-Key Controls Ogopogos bounced Bosman Accounting 5-0 at Marshall Field #1.
Schenker sailed a 20-yard shot over the net in the opening minute and Bosman responded with striker Carl McLennan getting stoned by a charging Pogo keeper Tim Clarke on a breakaway.
Mark Grace just missed the Pogo net on another solid chance with Roland Riedstra performing a glorious swan dive into the grass to nod in a cross from Nolan Clark to open the scoring.
Schenker cakewalked through the Bosman defence for his first snipe and then wired a hard pass from Volker Otto for his second.
Ian Bos, on a nice feed from ageless Brad Conlin, and Clint Dickinson, on a top-cheddar snipe, finished the offence.
Keeper Yogi Kongsdorf recorded numerous big saves to take the Maple Leaf Meats Man of the Match for Bosman.
Turn-Key went unbeaten through the double round-robin playoffs and will battle the Rented Mules for the B Cup Sunday, 11 a.m. in Penticton.
The Mules tied Cantinas 1-1 Monday night and advance on a better goal differential.
