Fusion Folds to England’s Burnley

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Nick Green

As one would expect in a game between a newly-promoted EPL team and the Ventura County Fusion, which play in the fourth tier of American soccer.

Quite a different atmosphere than the one 90 minutes or so away in Pasadena, but no doubt considerably cooler at Buena High in Ventura.

Thanks to loyal 100 Percent Soccer reader Evan Z from Camarillo for sharing some of the pics he shot during the game.

Game story.

The view from England.

Evan Z

Nick,

Very gracious to post my photo. The game between Burnley FC and VC Fusion was great. It was the first time for me watching an EPL team live.

Announced attendance was 3,289. Parking was free. In the second half, my young son and I had to put on light sweaters because the cool ocean breeze brought the temperature down into the mid-60′s. After the game, the players met the fans and signed autographs for all who asked. Yes, quite a difference from the match at the Rose Bowl.

Although the final score was 5-nil, the game wasn’t boring. Credit to Burnley Goalgeekper Brian Jensen (from Denmark). He was a HUGE guy; looked like 6’5 and stopped every Fusion shot on goal.

Nick replies: No, thank you; blogs only work with audience participation. And even though I only lived in Ventura three years or so when I worked for the now-vanished LA Times beach bureau there, you made me homesick!
http://www.theassociationblog.com Craig

My wife and I had a great time at the game. It’s not too often that a team from arguably the biggest soccer league in the world drops by and plays a friendly at a local high school. Like Evan said, parking was free and the cool ocean breeze was an excellent escape from the brutal heatwave (I work in the SF Valley) the past few weeks. The best moment was overhearing two of the Burnley players mention, “wow it gets pretty cool when the sun goes down here.”

The Fusion gave a good fight and actually had a several chances to score early in the match. Eventually Burnley took over and won easily.

BTW – A total bargain for $10! And after experiencing the crazy traffic at the AC Milan-Galaxy game, it was nice to simply drive up, walk in, sit anywhere and relax.