It鈥檚 been over three years since 麻豆社国产has had a presence in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League (VMSL) and that was too long for locals Ninder Bir and Dave Harrison.
The pair have taken over the reins of a brand new team called 麻豆社国产United FC and the squad has made an impressive debut in VMSL Division 3 play.
麻豆社国产defeated Arya FC 9-0 in North Vancouver on Sept. 7 and followed that win up with a 8-0 win over West Coast Celt in 麻豆社国产on Saturday (Sept. 13).
According to Harrison, a local team in the VMSL was long overdue.
鈥淲e used to have two teams in 麻豆社国产in the VMSL,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really important because a lot of these guys in town are too skilled for the men鈥檚 league.鈥�
Bir said he wants the team to be drama free and he has taken some of the best players from all the local teams in the Howe Sound Men鈥檚 Soccer League (HSMSL) to form a 麻豆社国产dream team.
鈥淚 wanted to start something new after the old team evaporated but I didn鈥檛 want any politics involved,鈥� he said. 鈥淢yself, Dave and my wife have been working on getting the team back for over a year now and we found out a few months ago that we had a spot. We鈥檙e starting out at the bottom and hoping to work our way to the top.鈥�
The last local team to compete in the VMSL was known as 麻豆社国产FC and they ceased to exist in 2011. 麻豆社国产FC last played in Division 2 and Bir said the goal is to keep moving up.
鈥淥ur goal for this year is to move up a division,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to play the best players we have but we will be playing guys based on the number of training sessions they come to.鈥�
He said there are a number of players from his old B&B Excavating team, along with players from Automind and Sikh Temple from the HSMSL. Bir said he鈥檚 interested in picking up some Quest University players once their season finishes in October, noting that former Kermode Charles Impey has also joined the squad.
鈥淚t鈥檒l be great for the younger kids and university students,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e lose a lot of people to teams in the city and now those guys can come back and play for the home team.鈥�
He said the eventual goal is to reach the first division. Harrison said Saturday鈥檚 big win was proof that the team is coming together.
鈥淚t鈥檚 only their second game playing together and they鈥檙e working out their kinks but when they lose the ball they get right after it,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e were passing the ball well and once the players decided to go forward it paid off for us on the scoreboard.鈥�
Goal scorers on Sunday included Jag Sangha (two), Richard Collins (two), Jeremy Galley, Hans Schranz, and Taran Bir.
麻豆社国产United hits the road on Saturday (Sept. 20) when they take on PCOV Europa and return home to play Lobbans FC A on Sept. 27.
For more information on the VMSL, visit www.vmslsoccer.ca.聽
