Calgary Foothills v Seattle Sounders U23

2pm 14 July 2018

USA (& Canada), Premier Development League, Western Conference, Northwest Division
Calgary Foothills 2 Seattle Sounders U23 0 (att 350)

I booked the dates and worked out the itinerary for our Canadian road trip long before any fixtures were available. I got lucky with this, as it had been scheduled for Friday night, ahead of our arrival, before being changed to Saturday afternoon.

The timing may have been convenient, but not the location. To find an available venue up to PDL standards Foothills have moved 30 miles south to the town of Okotoks. We weren't collecting our hire car until after the weekend, and there’s no public transport option.

Fortunately though, the club has a deal with a Calgary pub, the Ship and Anchor, where if you buy a match ticket you get free return bus travel (in one of those iconic yellow north American school buses) and a free pint. We arrived early enough for brunch as well, and to admire the collection of club scarves, including Stockport County and Hartlepool United, that adorn the bar.

It took about 45 minutes to get from central Calgary to the Foothills Composite High School in Okotoks. Large signs declare it is home to the Falcons, presumably one of those bafflingly high profile school sports teams.

The Falcons must pull in the crowds for their gridiron games, as several hundred uncovered seats line one side of the pitch. The opposite side houses the changing rooms, benches and other facilities off limits to spectators.

Behind the goal nearest the entrance is just a wide area of open grass, with some advertising boards enclosing the pitch. The far end has a fenced in ‘beer garden’ where a guy in a Blackpool FC shirt sold me a cold can at half time, and where Foothills’ vocal supporters, known at The Footsoldiers, gathered.

A barbecue was set up next to the beer garden, and as it was Foothills final regular season game, before the playoffs, all ticket holders got a free hot dog and soft drink. Add in a free programme, a four-page foldover, and I can’t recall getting so many added extras for the cost of a match ticket.

On the pitch it wasn’t much of a game to be honest, although the heat won’t have helped the players, nor the long grass although at least the natural surface meant the only visible pitch markings were for soccer.

Foothills have won the division, and followed this game with success in California in the first stage of the playoffs. Second placed Sounders needed a win to have a chance of a wild card playoff spot themselves.

The visitors were marginally the better side in a tight first half but couldn’t maintain that after the break. The turning point was a goalbound Foothills shot that was kept out by a great diving save ... by a Sounders defender with the keeper already beaten.

The offending player was red-carded but the penalty was saved. With a man advantage it wasn’t long before Foothills broke the deadlock. A bad tackle about 15 minutes from the end resulted in a second red for the visitors, and it was a surprise that it took until stoppage time before Foothills doubled their lead.

Not the most exciting of games, but matches abroad are always interesting beyond the match itself and this was no exception. Next year a new Canadian Premier League is due to start, and newly-formed Cavalry FC will represent Calgary. Not sure what that will mean for Foothills, and whether they’ll become a feeder club.

In the meantime I'll be following Foothills' progress in the playoffs from across the Atlantic.