CSL 2011--Week 10

[Rocket Robin]

Result of the Friday July 8, 2011 CSL game between SC Toronto and Serbian White Eagles played at Lamport Stadium in Toronto at 8:00pm.

64 min...White Eagles Milos Scepanovic GOAL...SWE Alex Braletic near right sideline at 40 yards makes a diagonal run to 25 yards in middle and passes back to a SWE player who turns and passes left to Scepanovic who from 18 yards on left controls ball as defender runs by him, and he shoots 12 yard roller to right side of goal just inside post beyond goalie Sotiri Varlokostas who was standing at 5 yards waiting for some kind of blast. Scepanovic drew a Yellow card for pulling off his shirt and running over to the crowd.

70 min...SCT Jarek Whiteman GOAL...SCT Adrian Pena takes quick freekick after he was tripped at SWE 45 yard line and chips ball forward up middle to charging Whiteman who splits defence before he gets to ball and steers ball by sprawling goalie Stefan Avramovic at 15 yards on run and kicks 6 yard shot into the open net.

Final Score:.........SC Toronto..........1..........Serbian White Eagles..........1.......

Attendance was about 400 people for this game on this hot, humid, overcast evening. The crowd was a lot larger than last week's game as there were children and parents from SCT's youth teams. SWE has a crowd that follows their team around. Tonight's game was broadcast live on Rogers Community Channel.

First real scoring chance was not into first half injury time when SWE Kevin Souter took a 28 yard freekick from the left that had the goalie bobble in a crowd of players and a defender behind him cleared it from the line. At 57 minutes SCT Whiteman stole the ball from SWE Darryl Gomez at 40 yards and blasted a 30 yard shot down the middle that the goalie tipped over the net. Soon after the resulting cornerkick was cleared, an SCT player crossed the ball from 30 yards near the right sideline and SCT Adrian Pena one-touched a midair shot from 7 yards on the left that the flying goalie pushed wide right of the net. After the SWE goal, at 67 minutes SCT Adrian Pena took a 30 yard freekick from the right that had the charging SCT Gerard Ladiyou partly trip over his own shot and roll a 6 yarder that was smothered by the goalie. At 76 minutes Brennan McNicoll took a cornerkick from the left and SCT Pena took an 12 yard blast from the right that the flying goalie batted down. At 79 minutes SCT Pena took a 22 yard freekick from the left that had the diving goalie push wide right of the net. At 93 minutes SWE Salvin Lammie turned and rolled a 7 yard shot from the left into the webbing of the net.

The game ended at 95 minutes because of the injuries and the high number of cards given out in this rough game. I counted seven Yellow cards in total given out by referee Hassane Rifai.

A tie was a fair result for tonight's games as both teams had about an equal number of chances. This was the first tie of the year for SCT who now hold a 7-1-1 record. White Eagles are 4-1-4. For goals for and against, SCT are 23 for and 8 against in nine games, White Eagles have 9 for and 5 against in nine games—not an offensive juggernaut but a very tight defence.

SC Toronto had a chance to take over first place tonight with a win but for one point settle with pulling into a tie with York Region for second place. White Eagles point lets them climb to a tie with Brampton City for fifth.

Scott Cliff is now the back up goalie for SC Toronto. He was acquired from Mississauga Eagles FC earlier this year. Cliff played for Milltown FC last year but all their players (and Hamilton Croatia players too) became free agents in the eyes of the CSL when those two teams did not return to the league this season.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca

[Rocket Robin]

Result of the Saturday July 9, 2011 CSL game between TFC Academy vs Toronto Croatia played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 2:00pm.

33 min...TC goalie Antonio Ilic grabs at foot of TFCA Stefan Vukovic as he ran by him at 10 yards for a shot on goal. Referee Steve Senderovich gives Ilic a Yellow card and awards a Penalty shot.

34 min...TFCA Stefan Vukovic GOAL...Vukovic takes a low Penalty kick to the left that the diving goalie blocks. Vukovic gets the rebound back at almost the same spot he took the shot but a bit to his left. With the defenders slow to react he has time to take a low 10 yard shot to the now empty right side of the net.

63 min...TFCA Sergio Camargo GOAL...Camargo rushes up the middle and avoids passing to the offside TFCA Omari Morris who wisely freezes. Camargo keeps rushing and takes a shot into the open net from 8 yards as he'd ran past the goalie standing at 12 yards.

Final Score:........TFC Academy.............2................Toronto Croatia..............0..............

Attendance was about 60 people on this hot and humid afternoon. This game was played at Centennial Stadium which is the home stadium of Toronto Croatia and Serbian White Eagles. I expect the game was NOT scheduled in the downtown Toronto core to avoid traffic problems with the Molson Indy at the CNE grounds. Lamport Stadium is not on the exhibition grounds but is very close by. I was caught in a different traffic jam crossing east to west for lane repairs and missed the first four minutes of the game.

Chad Bush earned the shutout for TFCA and had to make a few stops to earn the win.

Best non scoring chances were at 6 minutes when TC Tonci Pirija took a 25 yard freekick from the right and TC Sven Arapovic nodded a 7 yard header wide left of the post. One minute later TFCA Tyler Pasher sent in a 25 yard cross from the right that had TFCA Michael Wagenknecht kick a 7 yard shot over the net. In first half injury time TFCA Camargo was given a through ball pass up the middle and he took a 20 yard chip over the goalie but also over the net. At 75 minutes TFCA Vukovic had his arm grabbed by the goalie on the right but he tapped a pass between the goalie and a defender miscue over to TFCA Tristan Jackman who took a bicycle kick from 7 yards that went wide right of the net. At 92 minutes TC Arapovic took a long throw-in from the right and TC Niko Pesa headed a centering pass and TC Hugo Herrera headed a 6 yarder that the goalie palmed over the net on about the only TC shot of the entire second half.

Toronto Croatia didn't look good at all. I noticed a few of their regulars were missing. CSL League administrator Pino Jazbec answered me after the game that five players stayed for an extra week's vacation in Croatia after Toronto Croatia won the international tournament in that country. Star player Tihomir Maletic was one of the five players who stayed behind. TC coach today was Miodrag Akmadzic rather than Velimir Crljen.

TFC Academy certainly deserved to win today. They have at last had their players away at the U-17 World Cup return to the lineup. MLS players Matt Gold as a midfield starter until 84 minutes and striker Keith Makubuya who subbed in at 80 minutes were the only players 'slumming it' by playing in this game. Makubuya was a graduate of the Academy last year while Gold was an MLS draft pick and was a college player before this year. After the game a punchline to a joke told by one of the the players while they wound down was to say to Gold they'd be to his wine and cheese party later...as Gold is already 23 while most of the TFCA players would be too young to be the legal drinking age.

(in Ontario that's age 19).

Best players I thought were forwards Stefan Vukovic like I say most games and Omari Morris who has the build and speed of the MLS team's Joao Plata.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca

[zeelaw]

Ademolu signed in Windsor eh

[Rocket Robin]

Result of the Sunday July 10, 2011 CSL game between Mississauga Eagles FC and Brampton City United played at Hershey Fields in Mississauga at 8:00pm.

25 min...BCU RED card...Goalie Roy Blanche earns a direct ejection from referee Michael Anthony Izzo for getting trapped out of his box and tripping MEFC Tristan Scott at 28 yards. Back up goalie Kodzo Awitor comes into the game replacing forward Jeremy Shepherd.

43 min...MEFC Shawn Brown GOAL...A BCU defender is stripped off the ball at 20 yards on the left by two players and Brown holds off BCU Cameron Medwin and shoots 15 yarder that hits the underside of the center of the cross bar.

53 min...BCU Kevin Omokhua GOAL...BCU Richard West sends in pass from 30 yards upfield for Omokhua at 20 yards and he blasts 15 yarder over sliding goalie Melford James Jr into the right side of the net.

67 min...MEFC Dave Simpson GOAL...MEFC Jose De Sousa blasts 25 yard shot that Simpson gets foot to to deflect to left side of net.

76 min...MEFC Shawn Brown GOAL...MEFC Gabe Gala crosses pass from 25 yards on right and Brown shoots 8 yard shot past goalie and BCU defender Kevin McIntosh standing on the goal line.

Final Score:........Mississauga Eagles FC...........3.........Brampton City United.........1..........

Attendance was about 300 people on this hot humid evening. The game was broadcast by Rogers Community channel for the local area. Toronto residents get Friday night games and west of the city they get Sunday afternoon or evening games. Households can't see both.

BCU tried hard but they couldn't hold off the Eagles playing short handed the two thirds of the game. They did equalize near the opening of the second half but then the Eagles scored to take the lead and pulled away. BCU had an extra goalie in their lineup for this game (not just Kodzo Awitor but also Jacob Matthews). They couldn't have known that this would happen could they? Blanche's style over the years has always been to come out of the box and play almost like a sweeper. Awitor came out of the box a few times too to break up MEFC plays.

Best non-scoring chances were mostly by two goal scorer Shawn Brown himself. At 3 minutes Brown crossed from 20 yards along the right end line and MEFC Tristan Scott charged in to head a 5 yarder well over the net. 31 minutes had BCU David Velastagui on a rush on the left take an 18 yard shot that the goalie sprawls to save and a defender clear from the box. The start of the second half had MEFC Kwesi Klass rush to get a freekick pass on the left wing and send in a low cross that had Brown slide and almost sit on the ball at 5 yards near the left post and the goalie was able to pick it up. 52 minutes had MEFC Jose Melo rush on the right and get around the goalie at 18 yards and roll the ball towards the left post but it was just wide and Scott missed a 3 yard tap-in. At 58 minutes Brown headed a 10 yarder over the net when he received a freekick cross from the right. At 78 minutes BCU Cameron Medwin sent a 50 yard chip up the middle into the MEFC box and BCU Daniel Nascimento who had just entered the game and running into position shot a 15 yarder that the sliding goalie blocked at 6 yards.

Mississauga moves up to a tie for 5th with Brampton and have game in hand. Serbian White Eagles also have 16 points like these two teams but have two and three games in hand on them.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca