In a game that could be considered an instant classic, the defending champions of the Howe Sound Men鈥檚 Soccer League were finally dethroned.
One of the longest games in league history saw Sikh Temple overcome arch-rival B&B Excavating 4-3 after a shootout that went six shooters deep.
鈥淲e came out a little slow, but then regrouped,鈥� said Temple鈥檚 Mohammed Habib, who scored a hat trick and also scored in the shootout. 鈥淭his is the first time we鈥檝e won the league and we鈥檝e always come in second place to these guys [B&B]. They have a good team but we wanted it this time and we deserved it.鈥�
The first half saw B&B control the play with quick passes and superior ball movement. B&B鈥檚 Russell Adams rang a shot off the crossbar at the 25-minute mark and Jag Sangha sailed a shot just over the net five minutes later during a flurry of scoring chances.
B&B got on the board at the 34-minute mark when Gary O鈥橬eil tallied, but Habib scored nine minutes later to tie the game. Late in the first half, Sangha grabbed the lead back for B&B with a bouncing shot from just outside the box. The first half ended with B&B up 2-1 and dominating the possession game.
鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 figure them out in the first half,鈥� said Temple goalkeeper Austin Owomero. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 hold down the midfield and guys weren鈥檛 staying on their man.鈥�
But the second half was a different story as Habib scored on a penalty kick at the 70-minute mark after a handball was called on B&B. He gave Temple its first lead at the 87-minute mark. However, the champions wouldn鈥檛 go away quietly as Richard Collins scored on a penalty kick in extra time to send the game into overtime.
The two overtime periods solved nothing and the 2014 champions were finally crowned after six shooters apiece. Habib said it was a memorable game and a nice way for Temple to cap a successful season.
鈥淚t was a tough game and both teams played really well,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t could have gone either way.鈥�
He said the team didn鈥檛 lose its cool despite having been outplayed in the first half.
鈥淲e just wanted to keep our heads up because anything can happen in close games like this,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e just wanted to keep focused and keep our confidence up.鈥�
Owomero admitted that it felt nice to finally defeat B&B.
鈥淲henever we play these guys we go head to head and it鈥檚 pretty intense,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a rivalry between us and the games are always fun.鈥�
With the cancellation of 麻豆社国产Soccerfest this year, the HSMSL title is the biggest local soccer championship and Habib said it felt great to capture the crown in 2014.
鈥淭his means the world to us,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 be playing with a better group of guys 鈥� this is everything for us. We鈥檙e really going to enjoy this one.鈥澛�
