UKC Blue Devils (M) v. Halifax City (M)---Preseason

8:30-something: Hi everyone. It's a cool, but not uncomfortable night here at Wickwire Field. Kings' men take on Halifax City in a friendly. It'll be a bit of a touch and go affair round this notebook, since I don't have current rosters for Kings' yet and City are using a combination team best described as experimental. In other words, their coach is playing. Bear with me.

Dal played City on Tuesday and while details are sketchy, the City players tell me it was a pretty one-sided scoreline for Dal. They won't tell me any more than that.

There's a pretty massive rugby practice going on now, although they should be gone soon.

Halifax City are, if possible, taking this even less seriously than Kings', who have already admitted they don't care about this game. City are going to senior men's nationals in November. All in all, that means a couple of players might actually run for a few seconds tonight.

Don't even ask me for teams.

UKC: Viner, Wallingford, Bathe, Rombault, Pate, Parsley, Kovacevic, Keun, possibly Palmer-Dixon, Straathof, and Karkilins.

I have no idea who the City players are.

1min: City will kick off once someone finds a ball to play with. I told you they didn't care too much.

1min: They find a ball and City kick-off.

2min: No clock, so all times are estimates. Corner to City.

3min: After one mulligan corner for City, they manage to force Viner into a save off a header. He throws it straight back to the City attackers, but they go offside.

5min: Kings' work half a chance but City's keeper claims it.

7min: Keun loops miles over from 20 yards. Blah.

10min: Corner to Kings'. City clear.

11min: City #15, who might be Kevin Steeves, breaks down the right side of the box and crosses for #18 who shanks a tap in.

13min: Karkilins gets by somebody who might or might not be Brian Francis and chips a shot over both keeper and goal. Ho-hum.

17min: Kings' look tested so far, which is good practice for them.

19min: Karkilins misses glorious chance number 6582347 by getting free in the D and walloping wide and high. Yawn.

21min: Shot from City #18 is easy for Viner, but at least on target.

27min: Viner whiffs on a City ball, but it bounces away. Lucky guy, there.

28min: Karkilins spins to make space and somehow contrives not to get a shot. City bring off number 15 for 9, 22 for 14, and somebody else for #4.

31min: Karkilins has a shot deflected wide. Closer.

33min: Pate misses a challenge on the left and Viner is forced to palm the cross dangerously out into space. City fail to create a chance from that.

34min: Corner to Kings'. They go offside and it's wasted.

35min: City get a shot. It sails 5 feet over, but it's still a shot.

37min: Wallingford with soem strong defending on the right. He's looked good so far.

38min: Keun is down with a right leg problem. Might be an ankle, might be some cramp. I think there was some contact late, it was kind of behind the play. City remove #8 for #4. Meanwhiel, Keun is carried off by two teamates.

41min: Karkilins... misses! Though it's on target this time. Nice save from the keeper, but he had all the time in the world and sent it straight at him. The corner is cleared off the line. This is a little better.

42min: Keun has been replaced for Kings', but I can't figure out by whom.

44min: City work a chance, but 19 shoots wide after deflecting the ball off a Kings' player.

45min: Parsley breaks down the right, sizes up the keeper, looks far post, and misses. Apparently the keeper got a piece of it, but the corner comes to nothing.

45+min: GOAL!: Karkilins finally scores, riding more than a few challenges before cutting back, turning, and scoring into the low corner. At last! 1-0.

45+min: Wallingford deals particularly well with a cross and starts a counter-attack, which deteriorates pretty quickly.

45+min: Fegan, I think, off for #8, who may be Budreski.

45+min: Parsley and Wallingford work a good chance, but City #14 claers at the last moment.

Half-time: The ref blows for the half. Missed chances abound and it's beena bit sloppy so far.

We're just about back. Kings' have a few changes. Donal is in, MacIntyre is in. #2 is also in, but we don't have the new roster yet, so I have no idea who he is.

City will have made changes, but I'll never be able to find out who.

47min: Sustained City attack, but Kings' survive.

48min: MacIntyre with his first loud--but legal--sliding challenge. Now Karkilins chases a ball into the box, but can't catch it.

50min: Kings' free kick wide right. It's repelled pretty easily. City counter quickly and catch Viner 10yards out of his box, but he manages to boot it away and scamper back.

51min: Budreski with a wild challenge in the midfield. He's somewhat lucky to avoid the yellow for that.

54min: Karkilins finds #2, but #2 skews the shot away from the goal.

55min: MacIntyre loud and boisterous tackle count: 2.

56min: Corner to City after Rombault defends a cross. City play it short and lose possession.

57min: GOAL!: Fegan equalizes against his other team as Kings' try to move forward, lose possession, and gift City a 3-on-2. Fegan loops the shot over Viner, who got a hand on it, but not enough of a hand.

58min: MacIntyre loud a boisterous tackle count: 3.

59min: Donal flubs on a pass back to him and City #22 breaks in. His cross floats behind over the bar, though.

61min: Fegan gets his head on the end of another Blue Devils defensive blunder, but his shot is just over.

63min: Karkilins races the keeper to a loose ball, but the keeper wins the race. Bedruski off for the coach, #15.

64min: Kings' are through on goal, but Karkilins is offside.

65min: 2-on-1 for Kings' in the box, but MacIntyre loses possession somehow. He makes up for ti with a challenge. Loud and boisterous tackle count: 4.

66min: The war of words which has been going on more or less since kick-off ebtween Karkilins and City #14 (probably Brian Francis) results in some shouting and a lecture from the ref. Francis refuses to apologize to Karkilins, who is now taken off for Kovacevic. I can't help but notice Kovacevic is a lot taller than Francis.

68min: Pate clears a tap in away from City's coach as Bedruski (who appears to be back on) sens it across. Nice link-up for City but pate made a phenomenal clearance.

71min: Corner to Kings' is claimed. City #10 replaced by City #19.

73min: GOAL! Bedruskim, who has worried Kings' with his pace all night finally gets his goal. City steal down the left and Fegan picks out Bedruski with a low, hard cross. Bedruski taps it past Viner. Fegan's been pretty deadly tonight.

Full-Time, apparently. Whether I lost track of time spectacularly or the ref blew early we'll never know. Certainly my watch didn't suggest 45 minutes had elapsed since half-time, but I could be wrong. It is conceivable, though, that they just called it, given both teams were looking a bit tired and Kings' play Saturday. Final score is a 2-1 win for Halifax City.