CSL 2013--Week 11

[Rocket Robin]

Result and details of the Saturday July 13, 2013 CSL game

between Toronto Croatia and Astros Vasas played at Lamport

Stadium at 8:00pm.

17 min...Astros Joey Melo rolls ball from middle at 25 yards

to Astros Tristan Watson and TC Halburto Harris knocks him

over at 15 yards and both fall over. Referee Armando Pereira

signals for a Penalty kick.

17 min...Astros Tristan Watson GOAL...Watson rolls Penalty

kick to left corner of net as goalie Antonio Ilic slumps

in middle.

26 min...Astros Karoly Czak GOAL...Astros Kurt Ramsey takes

freekick from 35 yards that finds Tristan Watson on left

at 10 yards and he runs to end line and cuts in along line

and rolls ball into 6 yard box for sliding Czak to kick

4 yarder down middle into roof of net.

38 min...Astros Tristan Watson GOAL...TC goalie Antonio

Ilic rolls goalkick forward to TC Josip Keran and Watson

steals ball off him at 25 yards, run in and roll 12 yard

shot past sprawling goalie.

45 min...TC Tihomir Maletic cornerkick from right has play

called down for Astros hand ball in box with a TC player

waiting for a tap-in on the left post.

46 min (1st Half)...Sven Arapovic GOAL...Arapovic rolls

Penalty kick to right corner of net too far over for

diving goalie Laszlo Barna.

59 min...TC Roberto Galle GOAL...TC Halburto Harris short

pass from right at 25 yards back to TC Petar Mingon has

him cross to Galle on left and he blasts 8 yard midair shot

into short left corner of net over flying goalie.

69 min...Astros RED card...Tristan Watson earns his second

Yellow card for tackle on TC Sven Arapovic at Astros 50 yard

line. (his first Yellow was at 48 minutes).

84 min...TC Roberto Galle GOAL...TC Kresimir Prgomet shoots

from 12 yards that goalie stopped at 4 yards and Galle boots

in 7 yarder on sharp angle from left to far corner of right

of goal.

Final Score:.....Toronto Croatia........3............

Astros Vasas FC...........3...............

Attendance was about 100 on this originally scheduled

to be played tomorrow night at Centennial Stadium but

rescheduled for tonight because of the flood damage to

that facility.

This is a surprising result for a number of reasons.

Astros and only scored 5 goals in 10 games until

tonight while Croatia had only allowed 6 goals in

8 goals up to this match. On the other side, Astros

had let in 20 goals while Croatia had scored 19.

Croatia pressed the entire second half and almost pulled

out the win after coming back from three goals down.

Astros were holding on with players down with injuries

or exhaustion near the end. Roberto Galle was a key

substitution for Croatia at halftime running up the wing

and scoring twice and almost scoring a winner two minutes

from time. He was a member of the TFC Academy

as recently as last season and played in the MLS

Toronto FC friendly game against Liverpool.

Referee Armando Pereira gave out six cards in total

that I noticed--five to the Astros but two of them were

for discipline reasons. Not giving 10 yards on a free

kick from the center line and complaining about a freekick

awarded when you weren't even the player who made the

tackle that caused the referee to make the call is just

dumb. (pulling your jersey off celebrating a goal I think

is the dumbest--but that didn't happen tonight). Triston

Watson's first Yellow was for almost the exact same play

and position as the second that got him ejected.

Best non-scoring chances were at 14 minutes when TC Kresimir

Prgomet was fed a through ball up the middle and rolled

an 18 yard shot just wide right of the post. 39 minutes

had TC Tihomir Maletic fed a breakaway at 15 yards and his

low 7 yard shot was stopped point blank by the sliding

goalie. 44 minutes had Prgomet on right near end line tap

a pass back to TC Petar Mingon who blasted a 12 yard shot

that the goalie pushed wide right of the post. 53 minutes

had Prgomet tap a pass in the box and TC Mladen Bajamic

slid and shot an 8 yarder over the net. 88 minutes had

TC Robert Galle head a 10 yarder from the left that the goalie

flew to the right side of the net to catch.

Astros achieve two positive results in a row for the first

time in a few seasons. Their play has improved with the

in-season additions of Joey Melo and Tristan Watson finally

giving them some offensive punch. Croatia stays undefeated

so far this year.

Croatia's record goes to 6 wins, 0 losses, and 3 ties.

Astros record is now 2 wins, 7 losses, and 2 ties.

From league updates for a game in Windsor that had a one

hour head start, we heard that Kingston (the first place

team) was held to a tie by Windsor so maintain a one

point lead on Croatia but has played two more games.

Croatia was going to play Serbian White Eagles on Friday

night (one of the few attendance draws for each team)

at Centennial Stadium (counting as a home team for the

White Eagles) but the stadium may not reopen for four

weeks or longer. The Astros game would have been

a home game for Croatia at Centennial on Sunday.

Lamport Stadium is in downtown Toronto. I haven't been

here since last year. SC Toronto played in the CSL

until this season and called this stadium home.

TFC Academy who were also in the CSL moved away the year

before when their facility was built at Downsview Park.

I almost always come here by public transit and was

thinking this week that was smart because of the Indy

car race across the tracks at the Exhibition Grounds

that contain BMO Field but either there was enough places

to park on the grounds or the race was over for the day

as the parking lots near the stadium were about empty.

Rocket Robin

robing@eol.ca

[Rocket Robin]

pictures and line ups from that game:

http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports13/13csl052.htm