If there’s a silver lining in losing for the Okanagan Challenge, it’s that they pushed the Pacific Coast Soccer League’s top team to the limit.
On Saturday, the unbeaten Vancouver Thunderbirds connected for the game winner during injury time to slip past the Challenge 2-1 at Thunderbird Stadium.
“The boys did quite well, I was quite happy with the overall performance,” said Challenge coach Dante Zanatta. “Again it’s just moments, mental mistakes in games that seem to cost us.”
After the T-Birds scored early to take a 1-0 lead, the young Okanagan squad held its own for much of the afternoon, with keeper Colin Hasick making some key saves.
In the 80th minute, the Challenge drew even on a goal by Dylan Abbott and the local club looked to be on the verge of earning its second point of the season.
But in the 94th minute of play, Vancouver (8-0-2) converted a corner kick into the game winner to keep the Challenge winless in 2012.
“It was poor decision that led to the goal,” Zanatta added. “We were that close, so it was a tough pill to swallow.”
On Sunday, the Challenge again showed early promise against Coquitlam Metro Ford, but once again simply made miscues at inopportune times and came out on the short end of a 4-0 score.
The Challenge slips to 0-9-1 on the season.
“The reality is that there’s a youngness and immaturity on our team,” said Zanatta. “Coqutilam is a young team too, but the difference is they have a lot more players who have played a higher level of football than ours.
“We’ve made a commitment to developing our local players,” he added, “it’s going to take some time, but they’re learning and I think you’ll see the results over time.”
The Challenge are back on their home turf this weekend as they take on the Victoria Highlanders Saturday, 7 p.m. at the Apple Bowl.
On Sunday, the Challenge will hold its annual alumni game, 2 p.m. at the Apple Bowl.
