Estrella de Chile held league-leading Columbus FC to a 1-1 draw in a very physical and emotional 90 minutes of play at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex-West last Friday.
Despite the fact that the 'Italians' had most of the possession in the early going, it was the Chileans that almost took the lead at the 17th minute mark when a well-executed free-kick by Ducivan DeSousa was re-directed towards the Columbus goal by Brian Dottin, forcing goalkeeper Thomas Lindley to make a great save.
The ensuing rebound was picked up by central defender Narcisse Tchoumi whose subsequent shot was cleared off the goalline by midfielder Ylya Malek.
Shortly thereafter, Estrella de Chile once again came close to scoring when Admir Salihovic - after beating a couple of Columbus defenders down the left flank - crossed the ball onto the path of Dottin inside the penalty area.
Dottin skillfully controlled the ball and proceeded to blast it towards the Columbus goal, only to have Lindley pull off yet another wonderful save.
A few minutes later, Columbus took the lead when veteran Tiernan King - after receiving a great pass from Blair Robertson - was fouled inside the Chilean penalty area by Marlon Palomo, resulting in a penalty kick being awarded to the 'Italiand'.
King stepped up to the plate and easily converted the spot shot in clinical fashion.
A few minutes later, King almost scored his second goal of the match as he was set up by Steve DeBlasio before blasting a shot towards the Chilean goal, a shot that was consequently saved by goalkeeper Diego Oliveira in brilliant fashion.
The second half turned out to be a rather chippy affair as both teams found it difficult to concentrate on the 'real' game of soccer. At about the 75th minute mark, Estrella de Chile equalized when Tchoumi and DeSousa combined to set up Salihovic whose subsequent close-range shot gave Lindley no chance whatsoever.
Shortly thereafter, Estrella de Chile appeared to have taken the lead, but Murtada Almatrood's apparent goal was nullified because of an offside infraction.
Late in the game, Chile's Stedman Espinoza was sent off for having received his second caution of the match.
At this point, things got even uglier as both coaches-Chile's Claudio Ramirez and Columbus' Carmine D'Onofrio - were expelled from the game for having participated in a physical confrontation.
Estrella de Chile's Tchoumi and Oliveira played extremely well throughout the match, while midfielders Ricardo Alvarado and DeSousa also performed admirably. For Columbus, Malek - as well as defenders Mike Gomes and Jimmy Thompson - also deserve special mention for their excellent performances.
As a result of the tie, Columbus FC remains in first place, with a 11-4-1 record, while Estrella de Chile is still in fourth place, with 27 points out of 16 matches.
This Friday, Chile takes on ICST Pegasus at Burnaby Lake-West, field 3, beginning at 8 p.m.
