The Delta United Hurricanes upset Vancouver Metro men's soccer league champion Columbus FC-by a narrow 1-0 margin to lay claim to the 100-year old Imperial Cup at Trillium Park in Vancouver last Saturday.
The Hurricanes got off to a flying start and created several excellent goalscoring opportunities in the early stages of the match, but some poor finishing, as well as some excellent goalkeeping on the part of Thomas Lindley kept them off the scoresheet.
Gagan Josan had perhaps the best of the early chances just missing the net with a wicked volley at the second-minute mark after a set up by Oscar Jimenez.
Soon after, Josan set up Amar Mander with a picture-perfect pass. Unfortunately for Delta, goalkeeper Thomas Lindley pulled off a sensational save, tipping the ball over the crossbar.
At about the 10-minute mark, Oscar Jimenez just missed the target on a volley from the edge of the penalty area.
At this point, Columbus managed to get back into the game and started to exert some pressure on the Hurricanes.
Midway through the first half, central defender Luca Bellisomo sent a great through ball to Milad Rahmati, whose subsequent close-range shot was brilliantly saved by veteran goalkeeper Drew Smiley.
The Italians again came close to scoring when Tino Cucca unleashed a long-range drive that barely missed the target. Just before the halftime whistle, Cucca again came very close to opening the score, blasting a shot from well inside the penalty area towards the Delta net. However, Smiley once again stood tall and pulled off yet another remarkable save to keep the game scoreless after 45 minutes of play.
The early part of the second half belonged entirely to Columbus, but excellent goalscoring chances by Nathan Quan and Milad Rahmati went awry.
At the other end of the pitch, the Hurricanes also came close to scoring when Amar Mander missed the net with his shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 75th minute.
Then, just before the final whistle, Delta United was able to score the match's lone goal on a fantastic individual effort by Josan as he pounced on a loose ball well outside the Columbus penalty area, beat a couple of defenders on his way to the box, and eventally blasted an unstoppable left-foot shot to the bottom corner of the net, giving Thomas Lindley no chance.
The entire Delta United team played extremely well, but special mention should be made of Smiley, defenders Gurj Sandhu and Jesse Dhami, midfielders Josan and Harpreet Khakh, and forward Mander for their superlative efforts. Josan was named the match's most valuable player.
For Columbus, midfielder Quan and forward Kazanori Kikuchi performed admirably despite the heart-breaking loss.
This marks the first time that the Delta United Hurricanes have won the coveted Imperial Cup.
