The cross-town rivalry between Ballenas and Kwalikum Secondary senior boys soccer teams was renewed this past Tuesday afternoon as the two teams did battle on the pitch at the Qualicum Beach Recreation Fields.
When the final whistle blew, it was the Kondors coming away with a 1–0 victory thanks to midfielder Daniel Doukakis, who finished a nice chip shot over the rushing Ballenas Whalers keeper with about 15 minutes left in the second half to give the Kondors the win.
“We played very well, very controlled,” KSS head coach Butch Gayton said after the win. “Ballenas is a much bigger, stronger and athletic team and you’ve got to play them well to have a chance to win. We played very solid, had great contributions from the back end and our midfield and we were able to come away with the win.”
Both teams battled hard, not giving much room for either side to come away with good, quality scoring chances. The Kondors played a finesse game, controlling the pace of play when they had the ball. The Whalers played more of a physical, straightforward game, utilizing their athletic ability and size over the much smaller and younger Kondors.
“They’ve got a good number of starters on their team that are in Grade 12 compared to us,” Gayton said. “It shows because when we’re out there on the field, our starting side is comprised mostly of Grade 11s and they’re a lot smaller than the starters they have. We had to make some adjustments as we went along to make sure that we could keep the game at our skill level, which I thought we did a tremendous job with.”
That now makes it two league wins in a row for the Kondors, who were flying high after an unbeaten weekend in Campbell River, with victories over Mark Isfeld and Highland Secondary, both with scores of 4–0.
“We’re playing pretty good for a shortened season,” Gayton said. “We still haven’t quite figured out our final formations but with the way these kids have been playing, we’ll see a formation that suits us in tact very soon and we’ll look to execute it as best we can going forward.”
With provincials slated for November 21–24, teams have just over a month left to get their systems in order and the Kondors are looking to have their pieces put together in the weeks leading up to the North Island and Island tournaments.
“We’ve got the right guys to make it there,” Gayton said. “I don’t think that provincials are a stretch for us. It’s just a matter of coming together as a team and putting our best foot forward at the same time. For only having started the season a few weeks ago, these boys have shown that they can play and play well as a team.”
The Kondors are back in action today, taking on another tough challenge in the Dover Bay Dolphins. With two league wins so far, the Kondors will look to keep their unbeaten streak alive and go for their third straight league win.
