CSL 2010 Week 22

[Rocket Robin 2]

Result of the Wednesday September 29th, 2010 CSL game between Serbian White Eagles and St Catharines Wolves played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 8:00pm.

16 min...White Eagles Alex Braletic GOAL...SWE Ramon Bailey chips a flick shot over the defenders on rush to 15 yards on right and ball lands for Braletic to get to it at 5 yard line and he shoots a 12 yarder at a tough angle into the far left corner of the net beyond goalie Claudio Perri.

80 min...White Eagles RED card...Marco Jankovic earns a direct ejection for pulling down Wolves Carlo Arghittu on breakaway at 23 yard up the middle. He was the last man back.

90 min...White Eagles Stefan Vukovic GOAL...SWE Kirie Dimitov rolls pass across from 12 yards on the right and Vukovic kicks 6 yarder over sprawling goalie to middle of net.

94 min...game ends.

Final Score:......Serbian White Eagles..........2...........St Catharines Wolves.............0.............

Attendance was about 100 on this cool night for this rescheduled midweek game. The game should have been played Friday May 21st but the field had not been readied a week and a half after a track meet. Interesting that this stadium was supposed to host a game last night between Toronto Croatia and London City from Sunday May 16th for the same reason. Last night's game was again postponed because of a flooded field (even though this is field turf) and flooded dressing rooms (well they are at basement level of the concrete structure stretching the length of the field).

Milos Kocic earned the shutout for the White Eagles. He had some key saves to make but not among them was right after the Red card to SWE Marco Jankovic. Jankovic didn't wait until Arghittu got to the edge of the box and the resulting Wolves freekick down the middle from 23 yards had Scott MacLennan shot over the now ten players behind the ball and over the bar. Wolves problem the entire season is their inability to score. They have only 17 goals in 22 games.

Best scoring chances were at 33 minutes when Wolves Joe Conte rushed on the left and rolled a pass to Matthew Cain whose 12 yard shot on the left was pushed wide left by the flying goalie Kocic. At 35 minutes SWE Milos Vucinic rushed on the left and crossed from 20 yards away had the charging SWE Milos Scepanovic head a 7 yarder off the left post. At 51 minutes Wolves Joe Conte rushed on the left has his low cross through players in the box and Simon Murphy's low 12 yard shot from the right is saved by the diving goalie. At 76 minutes Stefan Vukovic got to the ball sent behind the defenders up the middle and his 10 yard shot was blocked by the goalie.

This was a key win for the White Eagles who had not won in their most recent eight games (that included six ties during that stretch). With the standings so close among the top five teams, they jump from fifth to a tie for second. Wolves remain at the foot of the table of the thirteen teams.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca

[Rocket Robin 2]

Result of the Friday October 1st, 2010 CSL game between Portugal FC vs London City played at Lamport Stadium at 8:00pm.

4 min...PFC Massimo Mirabelli GOAL...PFC Francesco Capone sends in cross from 25 yards near the right end line. Mirabelli takes a 12 yard midair shot from the left that is into right side of net about 5 feet high beyond goalie Scott Mueller.

23 min...PFC Massimo Mirabelli GOAL...PFC Marko Bedenikovic sends in pass to Mirabelli at 20 yards who dekes City defender Carson Green and pokes 7 yard shot up middle past sliding goalie into middle of net.

29 min...PFC Massimo Mirabelli GOAL...City Thomas Beattie takes 25 yard freekick from the right that PFC defender heads ball away and starts a fast break. Mirabelli is sent a pass just as he's crossing the center line and he rushes down the left wing and takes low 15 yard shot down the middle into the center of the net beyond the sprawling goalie.

52 min...PFC Marko Bedenikovic GOAL...Bedenikovic gets ball through defenders standing static at 30 yards and he runs down the middle and took 20 yard low shot into the left corner of net beyond the diving goalie.

67 min...City Thomas Beattie GOAL...City Youna Samra chips pass from 18 yards through defenders and Beattie kicks 5 yarder between goalie Quillan Roberts and left post.

71 min...PFC Joseph Del Priore GOAL...PFC John Louis Perruzza gets give and go on right at 30 yards and he rushes to 15 yards on 2 on 1 and rolls pass to left for Del Priore to kick 10 yarder that flying goalie gets hand to at 5 yards but momentum of shot carries the ball into the net.

Final Score:.......Portugal FC..........5.............London City..........1..........

Attendance was about 40 on this cold night. The crowd picked up to about 100 with the later permit holders showing up in the second half. The game was delayed by almost half an hour because City players were delayed on Highway 401 because of an accident. The City players had only a brief warm up before the game was started. Their manager Ryan Gauss after the game admitted a team can't play in this calibre league without a proper warm up. Also he cleared up that their game against Toronto Croatia that had to be postponed Tuesday night for the second time this year had them called to turn their bus back somewhere between Kitchener and Milton instead of getting all the way to Toronto and finding that both the field and the dressing rooms were flooded. He is waiting for the league to decide if that game will have to be played but with the collapse of Toronto Croatia for the last playoff spot, that could be a very important game for placement or qualifying at all.

Massimo Mirabelli scored a hattrick in the first half, almost had two more, and was subbed off at 56 minutes.

Mike Silva started the game in net for PFC and stayed until 56 minutes when the team was in the midst of emptying their bench as the game was in hand. Both goalies had a few important stops to preserve the win. Both teams had a few offside calls go against them. PFC did a lot better job of breaking through offside traps or just disorganization of the City defenders.

Fans were reminded that Portugal FC would have at least one playoff game (true as first round in home and away) but the opponent, time and location are still to be announced. No rush to buy tickets yet!

Referee Silviu Petrescu did not give out a card in this wide open game. I see from the MLS schedule that he will be the fourth official in the New York Red Bulls game tomorrow. What a difference between the two leagues!

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca

[Rocket Robin 2]

Result of the Saturday October 2nd, 2010 CSL game between North York Astros and Hamilton Croatia played at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York at 3:45pm.

34 min...Hamilton Jamie Dodds GOAL...HC Tom Bilic from 40 yards on the left sends in a high pass to edge of box and Dodds on right side of box pokes 10 yard mid-air shot over goalie Lucas Birnstirgl at 5 yards into center of net.

Final Score:.....North York Astros.......0...........Hamilton Croatia...........1.............

Attendance was about 60 on this cold and damp afternoon. This was the final game for the Astros this season as they will not make the playoffs but this stadium may be used again as there are a few dates open if Toronto area teams

can't find a place to play during the rest of the month.

Melford James earned the shutout for Hamilton although he needed help at 76 minutes when Astros Julio Alegre deked the goalie along the right end line and when Alegre recovered the ball when they both went down his 5 yard shot was blocked by a defender guarding the right post. He palmed a few sure fire goals just over the bar on jumps he had to make.

'Neutral' observer John Pacione (although he is an official to York Region Shooters who are trying to stay ahead of Hamilton Croatia to finish first in the league) was at field level and said Jamie Dodds was offside when he received the pass for the lone goal. However he also said Aidan O'Keefe sent in the pass while Dodds after the game said it was Tom Bilic who got the assist.

Hamilton Croatia didn't look good today. Momentum is so important just before the playoffs start. There timing was off with a lot of offsides and passes to no one or guys who gave up their runs. It also helped that Astros goalie Lucas Birnstirgl was brilliant. Andrew Leggett was a surprise starter for Hamilton. Preston 'Showtime' Corporal was penned in as the starter but he arrived after the game had already started and wasn't put in until subbed at 63 minutes for Jerko Grubisic.

Astros looked good and high marks for them not just phoning in their performance knowing for more than a month that they wouldn't be seeing post season action. Some of their late subs had played a Reserve league game earlier in the day.

Steve Sendrovich was the referee and gave out a few Yellow cards for some hard tackles later in the game.

It appears the incident involving (now former) Hamilton Croatia player/captain Antonio Zupan has been resolved. Zupan was arrested for assault after punching referee Gianni Facchini in the mouth. The referee insisted on pressing charges.

On the court date, neither the referee nor the arresting officer showed up so Zupan had charges against him dropped. The league has suspended Zupan for one year. I was not at that game and heard only rumours about it and was criticized for reporting it without a lot of facts but I might as well continue by listening to more information from the same sources who let me know of the original incident.

This was the only game in the league today. Hamilton's win flips them over Milltown FC into third place by one point however Milltown has two games left and Hamilton has one.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca

[sundog]

in response to the above post....

antonio zupan never punched the referee in the mouth, so tell your source to make sure he or she has their facts straight before you post them on the internet...

also, he was NEVER arrested...charges were filed but there was never an arrest made....

if you have any questions regarding my post, feel free to pm me and i will be happy to email you

[Hammer]

Hey RR

you call yourself a reporter, Hamilton Croatia - N.Y. Astros , this has got to be the worst game report I have ever read it is PATHETIC, if this is the way you are going to report on games stay at home, the league and it's members are doing a great job making the CSL more professional, we don't need amateur reporters like you writing a load of crap. I was at the game and yes it wasn't one of Hamilton Croatia best performance they where going through the motions, to state the Astros looked good, get with the program they where terrible. Did you not watch the first 45 minutes? Croatia hit the post, the bar and the Astros keeper made some excellent saves and kept his team in the game (is he a new keeper as I have never seen him before!) otherwise Croatia should have gone in at the half 4-0 up, Croatia dominated the play. Astros to their credit did play a lot better in the second half and did not give up. Yes the 60 fans, thank god the 58 fans from Hamilton that made the trip otherwise what a poor representation for the home team 2 fans!

For some reason you decided to add to your game report something that is totally irrelevant to the game which I can not understand the reasoning behind this, only to tarnish Hamilton Croatia, very unprofessional of you and again somewhat pathetic and embarressing on you as a so called reporter. You state "former player" he is still signed and registered with Hamilton Croatia therefore he is not a former player but current player under suspension. When you write a report find out the facts before you go live, FYI: the league did not suspend AZ for a year the CSA did, and as Sundog stated he was NEVER arrested. Don't come on here and write untruthful information about someone, you clearly DO NOT know the full facts, you state you where criticized in the past for writing about the incident without correct information, clearly you don't learn from your mistakes. Soccer does not need people like you.

[rdroze]

Canadian soccer needs a lot more people like RR.

[mlatimudan]

Hey Rocket,keep doing what you doing! I like it.

[L.T.]

Keep it up RR...

[Ossington63]

Rocket Robin, thank you for the reporting and the updates.

Much appreciated.

[jpg75]

Mirabelli with another hat trick!? Excellent.

[Rocket Robin 2]

Result of the Sunday October 3rd, 2010 CSL between TFC Academy and York Region Shooters played at Lamport Stadium in Toronto at 2:00pm.

21 min...Shooters Alex Trujillo GOAL...YRS Aundrae Rollins takes 35 yard freekick from right that has a defender head down the ball in the box and Trujillo stops ball and shoots in a 15 yarder down the middle into the right corner of the net past goalie Angelo Cavalluzzo. (TFCA players complained about Trujillo stopping the ball with his hand but the goal was not overturned).

Final Score:......TFC Academy........0..........York Region Shooters........1...........

Attendance was about 80 on this cold, overcast afternoon.

I was thinking this game would be a tie because the wind would help TFCA running to the south but instead their passes were too far forward and rolled over the end line on the field turf and the freekicks sailed too far. Actually it was the Shooters who had the closest chance at 85 minutes when Jason DeThomasis took a 28 yard freekick blast up the middle that hit the bar. TFCA subs Jonathan Lao and Keven Aleman shared in the second half freekicks.

Camilo Benzi earned the shutout for the Shooters and had a few saves to make in the second half. Shooters dominated the first half with most of the play being in the TFCA end.

Referee Hassane Rifai gave out a few Yellow cards to keep the game under control. Both teams had offside problems and a few goals called back.

Both teams had a chance of finishing in the top four places with today's result. TFCA's loss today has them falling to sixth place and their season of 24 games is over. Shooters stay in first overall and control their destiny [later results for the day leaves them tied with Serbian White Eagles but that team finished their 24th game this season while Shooters have one more game to play. Since the first tiebreaker is most wins--Shooters lead 13 wins to 12]. Milltown with one game to go is the only other team that can still finish first.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca

[Rocket Robin 2]

Result of the Sunday October 3rd, 2010 CSL game between Toronto Croatia and Brampton Lions played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 8:15pm.

12 min...Lions Kevin Omokua GOAL...Omokua gets pass on left at 30 yards and runs down left side and cuts in on TC defender Sven Arapovic to get shot from 18 yards on tough angle into right side of net.

64 min...Lions Daniel Nascimento GOAL...Nascimento takes a 30 yard freekick from the left that bends into the top left side of the net beyond goalie Sandi Matika.

68 min...Lions goalie Roy Blanche is called for tackle on TC Ivan Sgela running into right side of the box to get ball past him. Referee Johnny Fachini give Blanche a Yellow card and awards TC a Penalty kick.

69 min...Croatia Tihomir Maletic GOAL...Maletic blasts Penalty kick into left side of net as goalie flies right.

91 min...Croatia Halburto Harris 50 yard freekick cross from right has goalie punch ball forward from left in crowd of players and TC Boris Tomac cross from inside of box hits hand of defender at 6 yards. The referee calls another Penalty kick.

92 min...Croatia Tihomir Maletic GOAL...Maletic blasts Penalty kick to left and goalie gets had to it but only tips ball into top of the net.

99.25 min...game ends. Maletic and Blanche had crashed together inside the box with the goalie flipping over him at 8 yards and both players were injured. The game ticked away from 83 minutes to 88 minutes before play could be resumed.

That was only one of many injuries...plus no ball boys and a lot of Lions timewasting with the lead and so the extra time was valid.

Attendance was about 90 on this cold night with a majority of Toronto Croatia fans.

Before Maletic's goals he had been having a rough night. He was the leading scorer in the league with 13 goals up to tonight. At 16 minutes TC Ivan Zgela stole the ball off a defender at 35 yards and rolls a pass to Maletic in the middle who rolled a 15 yard shot wide right of the post. At 29 minutes both he and Zgela missed chances to a low ball crossed through the box. Both teams were called on a lot of offsides. Maletic with 15 goals now is 3 goals ahead for the scoring title.

Tonight's game was the most important game of the year for both teams. Lions had climbed to within a game of a playoff spot going 7 wins, 3 losses, 6 ties since a horrible 0-6-1 start to the season. Toronto Croatia had been staggered badly trying to make up a lot of games in hand. They had been 2-5-1 in their last 8 games and that included to a win they were awarded for a partially played game many weeks earlier that the league decided in their favour.

The tie clinches the 8th and final playoff spot for Toronto Croatia and keeps them one point ahead of the Lions who have now played all 24 of their games. They also pass the idle Montreal Impact Academy who finished their schedule last week. It was possible that Toronto Croatia could have lost this game and then won one of their two remaining games to then pass the Lions for that last spot but now that's not necessary.

It just happens that Toronto Croatia's last game of the season (after a Wednesday night game against London City) will be Friday against York Region Shooters (currently in first place) which will likely be their first round playoff opponent in a two-game quarterfinal.

That completes seven games in six days for me. Tuesday's TFC vs Real Salt Lake CONCACAF game, Wednesday Serbian White Eagles vs St Catharines, Thursday Canada vs China international, Friday Portugal FC vs London, Saturday North York vs Hamilton Croatia, and Sunday TFC Academy vs York Region Shooters in the afternoon and then this game. It always seems to happen twice a year but I couldn't keep this pace going for long and keep my day job.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca