U.B.C. Metropolitan F.C. 0 - 0 Gastown F.C.

In the 1963 U.S. Chess Championship, Grandmaster Larry Melvyn Evans found himself in a bit of a pickle in a game against fellow GM Sammy Reshevsky. Realizing he needed to do something, he pulled off an epic desperado which earned himself a share of the points when both agreed to a stalemate, one of the most famous in history.

Playing football away at U.B.C. in a crucial six-pointer on Sunday evening, Gastown F.C. having failed to find any real rhythm, lost a key member of their side to injury as Evans did his queen. While G.F.C. didn't sacrifice midfielder Ryan Willms, his departure midway through the second half meant that there would only be one result on the night, although not in as spectacular of a fashion.

Gastown lined up in their familiar 4-4-2 formation with Ramy Benguena starting up front in place of Lex Lum being the only change to the side that started against Strathcona the week prior. Meanwhile, UBC's front pairing were the familiar faces of Chris Turner and Cesar de la Fuente, both of whom once donned the famous Burgundy and Blanche of Gastown.

The change up front almost paid dividends right away for Gastown as they should have been up inside of five minutes for the second straight game when R. Willms's long throw-in on the right caught UBC off guard and played Benguena in perfectly. His finish wasn't equal to the throw though, and in on his own his low shot was too close to keeper, Daniel Ralston who saved well with his right leg.

After the early scare, U.B.C. settled down and their marking improved. Gastown saw a good spell of possession but frontman Nic Mottin found life difficult up front as he was tightly marked all evening and didn't get much support from wide areas or the linesman's flag - the Frenchman left furious after a series of contentious offside decisions went against him. Other than the early Benguena chance, Gastown's only opportunities came from a handful of set plays as the tackles were flying in often and hard.

At the other end, defender Shane Poulsen had his hands full with the pace of Turner. U.B.C.'s play in the first half mostly revolved around knocking the ball upfield for de la Fuente who's clever flicks and layoffs looked to play Turner into space for him to exploit with his speed. The tactic didn't amount to much though as Poulsen, despite being Hallowe'en hungover, matched his work rate while Gastown's other centre half Takafumi Ogasahara helped out with his intelligent interceptions all evening. A lucky bounce and electric pace allowed Turner through on Whelan's goal, however a mis-hit finish saw the ball bobble past the keeper and against the upright; de la Fuente was unable to control the bouncing rebound 3 yards from goal.

With things level at halftime, both teams seemed desperate to get that all-important first goal and the opening few minutes of the second half was played at a furious pace. U.B.C. attacking through the flanks looking to stretch the Gastown side which they did well but the final ball to open them up never came. Gastown looked for their opening through recent stalwart Shin Tsukaji who had swapped with Taylor Willms on the left hand side. His quick feet weren't as effective as usual though and he was thwarted in each attempt.

As legs grew a bit tired and frustration set in, there were a number of fouls and throw-ins and the game became very stop-start. Gastown looked to try and change that and midfielders Parrott and Willms began to press higher up the field. The experiment didn't go so well though as they U.B.C. found space behind the G.F.C. midfield and put pressure on a now shaky looking back line as Paulsen (his hangover getting the better of him) had been replaced by McVeigh while Valk filled in for Amin as a makeshift right back.

The experiment in high pressure ended when Willms, looking to block Sam Gregory's clearance high up the pitch, landed awkwardly on his right knee. In visible agony, it didn't look as though he'd be able to continue which proved the case as he was stretchered off and departed in an ambulance. The GFC squad still doesn't know when their talismanic midfielder will pull on the shirt again, but our fingers are crossed for a speedy recovery.

Soon afterwards came U.B.C.'s best chance of the game. Shifting the ball to the left where they'd be having success against the forward thinking Ruprah and the out of position Valk, UBC found their way to the byline and squared back for a shot from Steve Mah which beat keeper Whelan but not the alert T. Willms who was on the goal line to clear.

After this, Parrott and Chris Karu on for the injured Willms looked to lock things down in midfield. Rather than push forwards in search of late glory, they patrolled in front of McVeigh and Ogasahara making sure they wouldn't concede late either.

Frustration at the lack of a breakthrough began to set in on a few members of both teams as tired legs started to lunge in late and lazily as the game wore down. Ruprah took liberties to some shirt pulling and a bit of extracurricular shoving after a whistle caught the attention of Mr. Referee. A few minutes later Ruprah rose hard for a 50/50 ball in the air which he won but couldn't stop his momentum and his shoulder hit the head of his opponent flooring him. Having just been spoken to, the referee deemed it violent conduct and Ruprah was shown a straight red. Whilst a card was probably warranted, the sending off was harsh considering the lack of bookings been shown in the game despite some players stacking up double digit fouls for sliding in too hard and far too late.

Although there wasn't much time for U.B.C. to capitalize on their man advantage, they didn't have any luck as they tried to play through the middle of the park. Ogasahara though looked as though he'd spent the week training with West Brom though as he stepped in and dealt with everything that came near the top of the box in Hodgson-esque fashion.

The final whistle blew with both sides feeling a bit aggrieved at not taking all three points. A lack of a winner meant that elsewhere the win of Ajyal Tigers sent them joint top with Gastown on 19 pts while UBC still sit one point adrift.

Iron Man of the Match: Taka Ogasahara.

Gastown F.C. Form Guide: W-W-W-L-W-D