Nanaimo United had been red hot, but cooled off at the wrong time.
The city’s Div. 1 Vancouver Island Soccer League team lost 2-1 to Bays United on Saturday in Victoria, and is eliminated from Jackson Cup playdowns.
“You could put a lot of blame on a lot of different things, but I think they just weren’t as sharp as they normally are and I don’t know why,” said Allan Jorgensen, club president.
The game was 0-0 at halftime, Bays scored twice, then Nanaimo got a goal from Thomas Anderson to get close.
“We pressured and pressured and pressured and it just didn’t go in for us…” Jorgensen said. “We really had the play after we got our goal but it was kind of late in the game.”
Cup play was Nanaimo United’s last chance to earn its way into provincials, because the team fell one point short of the necessary fourth-place standing in league play.
“It was a fantastic year,” Jorgensen said. “They played some very good soccer. We’re pretty happy with that, I think the guys are pretty happy and we’ll see the majority of them back.”
SOCCER TALK … Nanaimo’s U21 men won their George Smith Cup semifinal game Friday at Merle Logan Field, 2-1 against Gordon Head Gold. Look for more on the U21 men in an upcoming issue.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
