Aeros win MMSL season finale - Portage la Prairie

Aeros win MMSL season finale


By Brian Bowman
For The Daily Graphic
Friday September 01, 2006

Portage la Prairie — Southport Aeros season could be summed up in two ways.
Overall, it was one they would like to forget. But if they could bottle up their play in the final two games and save that for next season, this team’s future looks bright.
Southport (3-11-2) won its second game in a row to end the regular season, dumping first-place Blue Blazers (8-3-3) by a 4-2 count in Manitoba Major Soccer League Second Division action last night at Southport Recreation Centre soccer pitch.
“It was a moral victory for us to beat the top team in the league,” said Aeros head coach Mitch Walker after the game.
Southport played Black Group’s top team hard all season, earning a 1-1 tie with them on July 26.
But the Aeros struggled the rest of the way, compiling a 1-11-1 record after opening the campaign with a 1-1 tie against Selkirk.
That sour taste just got a little sweeter with a pair of season-ending victories.
“The guys always showed a certain level of talent, but mental lapses throughout the season cost us,” emphasized Walker.
Southport finished dead last in the six-team Black Group of Second Division and will miss this month’s playoffs. But, fortunately for the Aeros, the two worst teams in the division which would usually be relegated to Third Division will not face that ignominious fate this time around.
That is because with the new realignment of MMSL divisions scheduled for next year, Second Division will operate with 18 teams in 2007.
The four non-playoff teams from First Division will be relegated to Second Division for next year, while the top two teams in Second Division move up to First Division.
Also joining Second Division next year will be the two group winners and the two runners-up from Third Division.
In the future, the top two teams in Second Division will move up to First Division, while the two last-place teams in First Division will move down to Second Division.
Meanwhile, three teams will move up from Third Division each year, with the three worst finishers in Second Division moving down to Third Division.
Dylan Wiebe, who had a strong game up front for Aeros last night, said the team will be confident heading into next season.
“We kind of fell apart this season. We were inconsistent,” said Wiebe, 21, who is in his fourth year in the league. “But we definitely showed a lot of character winning the last two games.”
Part of the problem was the youthfulness of the Aeros’ lineup. But with another year under their belts, this team should be fine playing in a league where talented, older players are often matched up against those still in high school.
“With the age difference, guys get pushed around,” said Wiebe. “There’s a big difference between high school and men’s league.”
Southport showed that growing maturity during last night’s victory in what was, at times, a chippy affair with Blue Blazers. The Aeros were strong in going after the ball all night, and when push came to shove, the local side weren’t afraid to trade elbows with the visitors.
And Aeros used that physical play to their advantage, jumping out to a 2-0 first-half lead on goals by Duane Chaves, his eighth and ninth of the season.
Jordan McAllister made it 3-0 about five minutes into the second half on a beautiful header, before Illya Torres scored on a penalty kick after Matt Robinson was taken down in the box by Southport’s Cam Scott.
Tony Bryson put the Aeros up 4-1 before Jamal Torres added a late goal for the Blazers.
Southport took advantage of the Blazers playing a man short for the entire game due to only 10 players and their goalkeeper showing up to start the contest, and then two men short after Illya Torres received a red card later in the second half.
“We didn’t go back on our heels and let them come to us,” said Walker, adding players like McAllister and Nick St. Goddard will be more of a force next season.
“We fought for the ball and got more possession of it and we had more scoring chances (as a result). The last couple of games we started going for the ball.”