Cup. Noun. Definition 1: A decorative cup-shaped vessel awarded as a prize or trophy. Definition 2: An athletic supporter having a protective reinforcement of rigid plastic or metal. Definition 3: Either of the two parts of a brassiere that fit over the breasts.

All three definitions of cup came into play on a clear, chilly Thursday night when Coveside and Freybe met in a first round Cup (the decorative vessel type of cup) game on Griffin turf. Spurred on by our vociferous athletic supporters (some of whom were well into their cups), we squeaked out a 1-0 victory over Freybe and proceeded on to Mosquito Creek where some team members worked to gain access to the third definition of cup.

As we gathered pre-game the talk was of our goaltending situation. There was no Cloudy and no Vinny, so Speers donned the gloves, with assurances from Bernie that Richie would soon arrive and take over. The same assurances were repeated 10 minutes in, 20 minutes in, and at half-time, but Davie stayed in net all game and had a stormer. It turns out Richie was busy sneaking into Cam’s house and waking up his kids (more on that later).

We started with our no-longer-AWOL sweeper Fergie, Dave H, Randy A, and Ed at the back, Cam, Andy, Roddy Breakaway, and Martin in the middle, and Mike and Rob Paul at the front. Tim, Randy J, and Gino (who was really firing on all four cylinders this night) were among those coming off the bench. Eamon unfortunately was called in to work, as apparently there was a shooting at a New Westminster Tim Horton’s and every cop in the Lower Mainland rushed in to secure the crime scene. And Al Roberts couldn’t make it either: “Chili and Steel Magnolias” night at the fire hall.

Unlike the weekend’s game against Nordic, we came out strong. The passing was good, the communication was good, and we had things well under control. Roddy was causing all sorts of problems for Freybe down the right hand side, and his work led to an early goal. Rod took the ball somewhere around midfield and set off towards the net. The Freybe defenders kept coming at him one by one like the bad guys in a kung fu movie, and he kept stepping around them and taking on the next one. After he beat five of them, he slid a short pass to Mike into the right side of the penalty area. Mike spotted Rob Paul at the back post, slid across a hard pass, and Rob had a simple tap-in for a 1-0 lead (although to hear Rob describe it, you’d think he crashed a shot off the bar from 18 yards).

We continued our strong play for much of the first half, and this frustrated Freybe’s mustached forward so much that he picked up a yellow card for talking to the ref. He also called Roddy “mini-me” later in the game, which was a very unfair thing to say as Rod is quite a handsome fellow and this guy had been hit a few times with the ugly stick.

An excellent chance came Mike’s way when a sublime chip from Randy Johal freed Mike. We were so stunned that he was so open that no-one told Mike how much time he had: he could have trapped the ball, taken a look, scratched his arse, sold a few pots, and then put the ball in the net. But no-one said anything and Mike’s first time volley went high.

Freybe’s best chance came from a free kick at the edge of the box. A hard, low shot would have found the corner if not for an excellent save by Speers, who tipped the shot around the post. Thanks to that save we went in to the half with a 1-0 lead.

Bernie gave his usual first-class half-time talk: first-class in the sense that his verbal skills were comparable to immigrants taking their first English class.

As we came out for the second half, we hoped to play as well as we had against Nordic in that second half. Unfortunately, the opposite happened. This game was like a photo negative of Nordic: this time we played well in the first half and shite in the second. We were tiring in the middle of the park, we weren’t covering back when Freybe defenders made runs, and we were losing our marks too often in our defensive zone. As a result, Freybe had some good chances to score. Ugly guy had the best of them with a free header that he put over the bar and a clear breakaway that he shot straight to Speers. A terrific shot from Red just skimmed off the top of the bar. But in spite of having a ton of possession, Freybe could not find the telling pass or shot.

And we were breaking well on the counterattack. A neat move saw Martin with a clear shot on goal but he put his effort high and wide. Rod had a hard shot stopped by the Freybe keeper. Your scribe had a well-struck free kick that just scraped over the bar. (OK, the bar in question was the top one in the fence behind the net, but why get hung up over details?) Our free-kick taking on this night was, well, less than stellar.

There was also a first in the second half: substitution due to babysitter. Cam’s babysitter was having trouble getting Cam’s little one to sleep. Cam told her to put on a tape of a Celtic game and came back on the field.

As time ticked on our play grew scrappier as we grew more tired (when Freybe are a fitter team than you are, some warning bells should be sounding). A cross into the box was flicked over the oncoming Speers’s head by ugly forward (Dave later explained that someone popped out from behind a grassy knoll and grabbed his arm), but Cam was on the goal line to clear the ball and avert the danger.

When the ref told us that only three minutes remained, we were confident that victory was imminent. But apparently our ref’s three minutes contained more than 180 seconds. About 7 minutes later, though, the final whistle did go to mark a 1-0 Coveside victory. A draw would probably have been a fairer result, but who can fight the forces of football Karma?

The beer and laughs after the game started at the pitch, and they were marred only by an absolutely plastered Graham spilling Andy’s beer by head-butting it. Graham also gave an enlightening talk on the vital role of the thumb in the process of tossing salad (I think it was some kind of culinary reference).

We later moved on to Mosquito Creek. With a holiday the next day, the bar was more crowded than usual. It was like Wild Kingdom. And while we did miss Al Robert’s presence at the karaoke mike, we greatly enjoyed the sight of a leather-vested middle-aged white guy REALLY getting into his cover of Eminem.

We met up with Amar, Vinnie, and Cormac, who was celebrating his promotion to Captain (worryingly, in the book of revelations this is the 5th sign of the apocalypse). Cormac informed me that if I ever addressed him as Captain Ward he would kill me, which of course ensured that I would call him Captain Cormac in this match report. I encourage you all to say “Captain, my Captain” to Cormac next time you see him.

No games this weekend, so our next opportunity for football, beers, and laughs comes next Wednesday at and after practice. See you there.