Premier Division Weekly Report
The Great Divide
Nicholas Sakellis
Special Correspondent for WOSL
London, Ontario - When one looks upon the Western Ontario Soccer
League's premier division standings, one could draw the conclusion that
the division is playing host to a cluster of different groups. At the
top of the table, a team such as Marconi seems to be on its own island.
Boasting an impressive and perfect 11-0-0 record, the Clarke Road club
are in fine form with the bulk of their season games coming in September
due to their Ontario Cup responsibilities and advancements. A perfect
18-0-0 record does not seem unrealistic.
Reading down the table; Jagiellonia (9-1-1), AEK Olympians (6-4-3),
Tillsonburg (6-3-6), and Croatia (6-2-6) seem to be flip-flopping quite a
bit as the season has progressed. With 8 points separating Jagiellonia
(28 pts) and the Croatians (20 pts), this cluster of competitive teams
have made the bulk of the drama during the 2016 season. There is
expected movement still to come from these 4 clubs as games become
scarce and the season draws to a close. At the moment, Jagiellonia look
to be a potential 2nd place lock. It will come down to the Olympians,
Tillsonburg, and Croatians to battle for their top 3 rights.
Crossing over the 5th position boarder and diving into the lower half of
the table, it looks as though positions 6 through 10 are in a similar
light to positions 2 through 5. A cluster of competitive teams striving
to keep their premier hopes alive and rid themselves of relegation has
encompassed the English (3-5-6), Portuguese (3-3-8), Sarnia (3-2-7), St.
Thomas (3-1-7), and Chatham (2-3-8). The bottom line for all teams in
this cluster are wins (preferably between each other). Draws do them
little good and consecutive losses plunge them further into the
relegation zone. Teams 7 through 10 (Portuguese, St. Thomas, Sarnia, and
Chatham) have much work to do in the latter stages of the season. If
the English can string together a positive run of form over their
remaining 4 fixtures, they should book their 2017 seat at the premier
table.
Key Match Picks (Aug. 22 - 28)
Saturday, August 27
St. Thomas vs English, 4:30 pm, Athletic Park 1
- a win for St. Thomas would improve their chances of staying up and bring them within a point of the English
- the English host the highest number of draws (5) in the premier division
- previous match result: English 2 - 1 St. Thomas on June 11th
AEK Olympians vs Tillsonburg, 7:30 pm, Hellenic Community Centre
- the Olympians won by a whisker during divisional play on June 10th by the slim score of 1 - 0 in Tillsonburg
- Tillsonburg emerged victorious by a score of 2 - 0 to eliminate the Olympians from the WOSL Premier Cup on July 17th
- The Olympians have two games in hand over Tillsonburg who will be looking to seek an away win to climb above .500
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