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CMISL - Saskatoon v. Winnipeg - March 23 (R)


DoyleG

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Just got back from the Accelerators game. Saskatoon took both game over Winnipeg, 5-2 and 3-2. The Accelerators looked like they were poorly put together most of the first game. The fourth quarter they scored 5 unanswered goals to take the win.

Winnipeg has a very good, very polished team. It was clear which team had private ownership and which team did not. The Alliance had well done uniforms. Coaches had track suits and other clothing. The players seemed to know each other and played well with each other.

The Accelerators on the other hand did not. They looked like a ragtag bunch of players thrown together at the last minute. If it weren't for Nikola Vignjevic who had 3 goals and 3 assists, the Accelerators would have been sunk. The uniforms looked terrible they were faded grey with a poorly printed logo on the front, with black numbers. The coaches did not have any Accelerator clothing. I certainly hope that a local owner steps up and the team gets a proper kit.

As far as the game itself goes, there's a few things that need to be ironed out. First they needed to explain what the 2 minute penalties were for. I'm guessing most people have never seen an indoor game before and as a result were not familiar with the rules. The second thing is they needed to figure out a better system for getting the ball back in play when it went over the glass. So much time was taken in getting the ball back in play. I was also surprised that they shrunk the floor. It was plain to see that the floor was shrunk widthwise by about 10 feet and lengthwise by about 15 feet (one ad on the boards). I'm not sure why they didn't play the normal length of Credit Union Centre's ice.

But overall it seemed the 2,102 in attendance enjoyed the game. By the end of the game the kids were chanting for the Accelerators. It was pretty quiet in the early going though. But I have a feeling that next time around these people will be back.

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quote:Originally posted by Cooks

Reading the Saskatoon recap, I see that Vignjevic was playing for the Accelerators. What's all that about?

I think you're confusing that the word "League" is in it's name with it actually being one lol

As this is the CMISL's "Showcase Season", there is no better way of to "showcase" the league than to feature players like Vignjevic whenever possible. Even a few years removed from professional soccer, he's still easily the most skilled guy out there.

This is kinda like in the old Negro League days when Satchel Paige would go around and play for whatever team needed to draw a big crowd while technically belonging to Kansas City.

Rattee and Vignjevic played for Saskatoon because they figured they might be able to get a few more people out and lend the product a bit more legitimacy. If the league ever gets to the point of becoming legit, I'm sure this sort of arrangement will cease.

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It is interesting that 2102 people showed up at Credit Union Place in Saskatoon on Friday for the game. I would be curious how many tickets have been sold for the game next Sunday at the MTS Centre. Although it would be nice to see 3500-4500 people show up, realistically, you are looking probably at from 2500-3500 people at the Phone Booth.

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I went to the game and I thought it was great. You know, you can pick apart the organization of the team and the league. Kowalchuk has A LOT to do to get his marketing lines sorted. The game itself however, was fun to watch. Fast, flowing, some good players on view and importantly - some home-town players who you really do want to go and watch.

In regards the superstar #6. Great feet, but he put NO effort in once the ball was gone. I think that once you got a good defender on him, he'd basically play himself out of the game. Though his footwork and skill with the ball at his feet was definitely impressive.

The uniforms are utter crap. It has to be said. The logo is weak and the name... I come from England and I could not come up with any kind of realistic chant containing Accelerators. Even the mindless North American "Let's Go {team name}" doesn't work!

I sincerely hope that this league takes off, it can only be good for the cities in which it is played. I just really hope that more thought and preparation are put into marketing the product next time. No-one in Saskatoon other than the soccer community really knew about the league or that we had a team in it! That's ridiculous.

Northey was fun to watch though - but the yellow boots are a tad..... er.... gay.

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quote:Originally posted by cgi bin laden

In regards the superstar #6. Great feet, but he put NO effort in once the ball was gone. I think that once you got a good defender on him, he'd basically play himself out of the game. Though his footwork and skill with the ball at his feet was definitely impressive.

That would be Vignjevic lol

He was like that as a pro too. His first year in Edmonton I'm pretty sure the only time he saw the defensive side of half was after a goal. His second and thrid (abbreviated) season he was better getting back, and occasionally had flashes when one could mistake him for a decent defender... but yeah, he's all about offense that guy. Magic with the ball, but non-existant without.

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