A typically hard fought, defensive minded, low-scoring VISL match-up... not!

Sooke Celtic kept up its winning ways Friday night at The Log with one of those laughers that sports teams come across every once in a while.

The good thing for the hosts is that they were on the winning end of a 10-0 shellacking.

The experience was an opportunity for the visiting Bays United (BUFC) squad to pay some dues, and be the better for it in the long run.

For Celtic it was a situation where just about everything they kicked or headed turned to goal. They had their way and to go into too much detail could be seen as excessive to a certain degree.

One thing Celtic is not, is swept up in the memory with a lot of swelled heads. They know the game was an anomaly, BUFC’s winless record is a good clue to that, and they will take the win and move on.

“I remember one game up in Port Alberni we won 10-1,” said player/coach Sean Ebbs-Canavan of the closest game he could remember that most closely resembled the November 28 rout.

The Celtic gang knew it was a relatively young and inexperienced team visiting The Log on that night, but they played the game the way all good teams do... flat out.

Whatever sort of empathy one group of athletes has for another, the field of play is not the place to show it.

“You just have to keep it moving, the way you’d play if it was Gorge or Nanaimo and keep that state-of-mind going into any kind of game,” said player/coach Sean Ebbs-Canavan, “or you can find yourself lapsing and ending up on the wrong end of something... a tie or something that wouldn’t be good enough.”

“It was a beautiful night for soccer,” he said of the calm, mild evening. It was actually a bit of a surprise the game was played at all considering the saturated pitch.

It was also a night to pad the stats – a classic case of men against boys as the visitors never had a chance.

Celtic started in high gear and never let up, it was 7-0 before the first half had elapsed. A highlight from the Sooke point of view was a first half cannon off the foot of Elton Clemence from about 40 yards out – an arcing missile that was just one of the disappointments for the Bays U. keeper and his mates.

Clemence had three altogether, to go along with a pair from Steve Scott and singles from Mike Moon, Mike McKay, Pete McKay, Dale Aune Jr. and Daniel Bergerud.

The towering Stankov brothers, Nic and Bob, were at their intimidating and impermeable best.

Next up for the surging Celtic is a pair of road games in Gordon Head on the next two weekends, versus the Blue and Gold squads, respectively. The next home date is set for Friday, January 16 at 7 p.m. against Cowichan.