Three reds and seven yellows in a game that really wasn’t that physical.
That’s how the Capri Insurance Men’s 45+ Soccer League playoff final went down Sunday at Kettle Valley Sports Field in Kelowna.
Brown Benefits of Kelowna completed their undefeated season with a 3-2 shootout victory over second-place Penticton United in a game marked by controversy,
Browns found themselves down to 10 men as Steve Fagan received a red card for an early slide tackle. The teams exchanged chances throughout the half and Penticton lost Mike Beliveau when he was ejected for a tackle on Jim Kruiper shortly before the break.
In the second half, Kelly Sherman sent Tim Austen on a breakaway but keeper Norman Peters tripped Austen before he could score. Peters was then ejected for encroaching on the resulting penalty kick after he made the save.
Sherman scored on the retake to put the Browns ahead. Down to nine men, Penticton showed their class by putting the pressure on the Browns and Mauricio Cepeda levelled the score when he stole the ball and converted. A carbon copy of the first goal, Sherman found Austen again for a breakaway but this time he went bottom corner.
Four minutes from the end, Zeke Pescada intercepted a poor pass in the Browns defense and neatly clipped the ball over stranded Browns’ keeper Gord Regan. In a marathon penalty shootout that went 12 rounds, Chris Young was the hero when he converted his spot shot after Penticton had shot over the bar moments before.