The winds blew north in round one of the battle of Okotoks.
Holy Trinity Academy netted three first-half goals to cruise to a 4-1 triumph over the Foothills Falcons in the Foothills Athletic Council senior boys soccer Okotoks derby on May 4 at Kinsmen Park.
“We’ve been practicing keeping possession, spreading the field so we can use the whole width and length of the field,” said Knights striker Sebastian Nowak. “Instead of chasing the ball all the time we slow it down, make them open and chase after the ball and tire them out.”
The Knights did their best to weaken the spirit of the opposition with a brilliant beginning.
Less than one minute after kick-off, Nowak was sprung forward and executed a perfect chip over Falcons keeper JD Douglas.
“That set the pace for the game,” Nowak said. “It got us the lead and we just went from there.”
HTA would double its advantage in short order when Nowak switched to playmaker in tip-toeing his way down the sideline before feeding midfielder Mark Eadie for a tap-in.
Midfielder Nick Wielgus then curled one into the back of the net from the edge of the box to make it a three-goal lead at halftime.
The Knights stayed on the attack after the restart and could have easily added to the scoreline if not for the presence of Douglas.
The shot-stopper was in unbelievable form in turning aside Nowak on the doorstep and seconds later using a diving effort to turn aside winger David Bowers.
“I just saw him look over to the top right area,” Douglas said of the massive save. “You just hope you can save it. It’s kind of awkward when they’re running towards you and other than that it’s about the whole mental state in goal.
“We fought harder and had a better second half.”
The floodgates finally opened up when the fleet-footed Bowers broke free on a two-on-one break and feathered a cross-crease pass for winger Julian Jenkins to slide into the back of the net.
Someone forgot to tell the Falcons the game was over.
Using the momentum of a series of courageous saves from its last line of defence, the Falcons finally kicked their offence into second gear. Less than a minute after being denied by the cross-bar on a shot from distance Foothills made the breakthrough when captain David Kent-Canalejo stuck his shot off the far post and in.
“We should have kept the game more calm. We kind of panicked a little bit,” Nowak said. “We sped up the game which didn’t turn out the way we wanted and we had a goal conceded.”
The Knights improved to 1-1 on the season with the victory after dropping their season opener to the Canmore Crusaders by a 6-2 count earlier in the week.
“This gives us a feeling about where we’re able to play,” Bowers said. “On the top of the table for those bigger games against teams like Canmore.”
The Knights get back on the pitch on May 11 for a home date versus the Strathmore Spartans at 4:30 p.m. at Riverside Park. Meanwhile, the Falcons are in High River to meet the Mustangs at the same date and time.
The second incarnation of the Okotoks derby goes May 18 at Riverside Park at 4:30 p.m.
