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Premiership Men Ready To Defend Title
2014-05-15
Halifax City’s Mat Houston, right, strikes the ball while being defended by Halifax Dunbrack’s Vasili Garnonis during action in the NSSL Eastlink Premiership men’s soccer championship last year.
Defending league champions positive despite loss of 11 players from last season’s roster.
Not many teams that win seven league titles in less than a decade can fly under the radar.
But Ken Wharton expects his Halifax City Cushman & Wakefield men’s soccer squad to do just that in the coming NSSL Eastlink Premiership season.
“I think people will look at us and say we won’t be very good and that’s a good thing for us,” the City head coach said in an interview on Wednesday.
“We are a changed team and I understand why people would say that. I have already heard people from different clubs saying we won’t be involved this year. That’s good for us. It’s definitely better to fly under the radar. We’ll surprise a few people.”
The two-time defending senior league champions — winners of seven of the last nine men’s banners — are without 11 players from last season’s team that went 13-1-3.
Among the notables gone are Jonathan Hammond, Shane Rajaraman and City’s top three scorers: Luke Corey, Dylan Sheehan and Mat Budreski.
“We still got players who were with us in the past,” Wharton said, “but some of the older lads couldn’t make the commitment this season. They’re married now, some of them have kids. So it’s difficult to continue the commitment of going away for games, this and that. It’s understandable. But we can still develop another team here.
“It’s definitely a different team from last year. But that doesn’t mean it will be a bad team. We look OK but it’s still early in the day. It’s difficult to judge them. We should get a better look once we get a few games in.”
City, which shaded Halifax Dunbrack 2-1 in extra time in the 2013 final, will begin its title defence at home Saturday as the men’s Premiership opens with a doubleheader at Dal’s Wickwire Field.
Following the league opener between Suburban FC and South Shore Bella Dental Osprey City at 2 p.m., City will face Valley United Kings Arms at Wickwire.
A pair of exhibition games were played Wednesday night. Western Halifax FC Durty Nelly’s, new to the eight-team circuit, faced Halifax Dunbrack in Bedford while Dartmouth United Golden Goal hosted Halifax County at Harbour East. Those teams kick off its regular-season schedule on Sunday.