League 1 Ontario 2017--Week 11

[Rocket Robin]

Result and details of the Friday July 7, 2017 League 1 Ontario game between
Durham United FA and Sanjaxx Lions played at the Pickering Soccer Centre
in Pickering at 7:30pm.

86 min...DUFA Stefan Lamanna runs into left side of box and is body checked
by SJ Nick Charles and goes down. Referee Braedon Krampert calls for
a Penalty kick.

87 min...DUFA La Rohne Young GOAL...Young rolls his Penalty kick to left
corner of net just out of reach of diving goalie Tayjon Campbell.

Final Score:.....Durham United FA.....1.....Sanjaxx Lions.....0...

Attendance was about 60. This game had been rescheduled for this
facility a few weeks ago because the city of Pickering had decided
that Kinsmen Park was still not ready (no games have been played there
this season). Tonight it was a good thing as we could hear thunder
at the 7 minute mark which would have stopped the game if it had
been outdoors. The rain could be heard for the rest of the half
pelting off the bubble we were in. With the 'game can't restart
until 30 minutes after the last bolt of lightning' rule it would
have meant a long delay and with the conditions of Kinsmen Park
beside a swamp the field would have been flooded anyway.

This was the third game this week for Sanjaxx. They had lost 2-0
to Woodbridge last Sunday night, tied Master's FA 3-3
on a rescheduled game on Wednesday night, and then played
again tonight. What made it worse is they had only brought
eleven players so they had absolutely no subs to bring in.
This obvious advantage of having a full bench was brought
home when DUFA Vince Sasso was injured near the SJ cornerflag
at 49 minutes. He was treated off the field for a leg injury
and stepped back on at 52 minutes and immediately collapsed.
He said he couldn't continue and was replaced by Kashiff DeJonge.
DUFA would eventually max out their five subs although the one
they made at 90 minutes was just to grind away some of the
four minutes of injury time. Contrast that with Sanjaxx who
at 73 minutes had Samyr Oshin injured when he lost a race
for a through ball with DUFA goalie Ben Cowman who dove
on the ball and Oshin fell over him as he tried to twist away.
Play continued upfield with Cowman's quick pass and then
SJ Kemar Rowe was injured at the other end of the field.
When play was called the trainer treated Rowe and the assistant
coach treated Oshin. Rowe had an eye injury the trainer told
the bench when she came off the field. (I came home and
replayed the Canadian national team subbing their goalie's
for a head injury). The point of course is Sanjaxx had
to keep them in the game or play short.

Ben Cowman earned the shutout for DUFA. He had a few key saves
to make but Sanjaxx has only scored 12 goals in 11 games
so there were more shots high or wide than on target.
Durham have one of the best defensive records only
allowing 9 goals in 11 games so the defense which tonight
included Vince Sasso, Joe Zupo, Cameron Brooks, and
Jonathon Parolini deserve some of the credit. Taylor Lord
is defensive midfielder to add even more stability. He is back
as captain after missing a few games early in the season
because of injury.

Tayjon Campbell was more tested with about three diving saves.
I thought at least DUFA would dominate when Sanjaxx tired
with the three games in six days and no bench but that was
not the case and they had a few chances in the second half
for an upset.

Referee Braedon Krampert gave out only two Yellow cards
(one to each team) at 83 and 84 minutes. DUFA Joe Zupo earned
it for a body check preventing Stefi Nikolic from run up the
middle from center (the same play three minutes later would
give DUFA their Penalty kick—location, location, location).
SJ Mahamat Abdellatif earned his a minute later for
mouthing off.

I was happy that Sanjaxx wore navy numbers on white shirts
and I could see them easier than the usual white numbers
on yellow.

It was a comparable crowd size wise to other's I've seen
here this season. The Gold Cup just started tonight and
Canada played in the first game of the tournament. I was
surprised that the one television in the lobby was tuned
into the baseball game with Blue Jays already losing 9-0.
I looked at my watch and decided that it must have been
halftime in New York too but someone said the complex may
not have more than basic cable. Yeah Canada's game was
only on TSN 5.

DUFA's win improves their record to 6 wins, 3 losses, 2 ties,
for 20 points and a tie for second in the East with
North Toronto Nitros who have a game in hand which they
will play on Sunday in a home game to Windsor.

Sanjaxx record falls to 1 win, 7 losses, 3 ties for 6 points
and are seventh in the eight team Western Conference.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter RocketRobin01
 

[Rocket Robin]

Result and details of the Saturday July 8, 2017 League 1 Ontario game between
Master's FA Saints and Pro Stars FC played at L'Amoreaux Park in Scarborough
at 1:00pm.

29 min...MFA Devonte Brown GOAL...MFA Joey Melo passes ball up middle
from 35 yards to Brown at 25 yards and he lobs 20 yard shot down middle
into top left over flying goalie Jonathan Albanese.

53 min...MFA Joey Melo GOAL...Melo blasts 22 yard freekick from left into
top right corner of net.

68 min...PS RED card...George Owusu earns his second Yellow card
within 16 minutes for a body check tackle at PS 40 yard line as players played
a loose ball. 

Final Score:....Master's FA Saints.....2...Pro Stars FC......0....

Attendance was about 40 on this mild and sunny early afternoon wth a strong
crossfield wind from the west.  A young Master's boys team had just beaten
the DeRo Academy before the L1O teams took the field for warm ups. 
Dwayne De Rosario was coaching his own academy team.  I'm sure there's some
'insert big star name here' Academy where the namesake only shows up at the
year end dinner.  Of course when kids' teams play because of parents and
families there's always triple the attendance but few stayed for
the adults' game. 

Daniel Gosciniak earned the shutout for Master's.  He had a few stops to make
but mostly the defenders covered the box for him and ProStars forwards
shot off target. 

Jonathan Albanese had much more to do in net for Pro Stars including a second
half injury time save where MFA Jose De Sousa blasted a low 20 yarder that
the sliding goalie saved at 12 yards off his face.  He needed treatment for
a bloody nose and the referee decided that was a good time to blow the
whistle to end the game. 

Referee Alexis Vaughan gave out only three Yellow cards (two to Pro Stars
and they were both to the same player).   Master's had far more scoring
chances but kept Pro Stars in the game as they didn't put them away. 
72 minutes was Pro Stars best chance of the game when Adel Rahman received
a cross from the right end line at 10 yards in the middle and he blasted
a shot off the underside of the bar and a defender cleared.

Master's team from a brief scan of year of birth from the game sheets averaged
five years older than Pro Stars.  Master's is another team with mature
twenty-something players that in my opinion are just waiting to move to the
CanPrem league when it starts as soon as next year. 

Master's win improves their record to 4 wins, 5 losses, 2 ties for 14 points
and are fifth of eight teams in the Eastern Conference.

Pro Stars loss moves their record to 0 wins, 9 losses, 1 tie for 1 point
and are eighth in the West.  This was actually a better defensive effort
than their average.  Including today's totals, they've allowed 40 goals
against in their ten games.

I don't go out to L1O games if they are the same day as TFC and TFC II games
but I wanted to see Pro Stars today.  This is the second time this season
I've seen this Brampton area team.  This means that in the league's eleventh
week of the season I've seen all sixteen men's teams at least twice in the
twenty-four games I've attended.  What next?  Well I'm not that far off
being able to say 'seen every team three times'. 

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01
 

[Rocket Robin]

Result and details of the Sunday July 9, 2017 League 1 Ontario game between
Toronto Skillz and Oakville Blue Devils played at L'Amoreaux Park #1
in Scarborough at 12:00pm.

21 min...OBD Anthony Novak GOAL...OBD Connor McNamara sends pass
in from 45 yards on left that finds Novak at 20 yards on left and
he cuts to goal and rolls 10 yarder into net past goalie Lucas Birnstingl.

43 min...OBD Matt Santos GOAL...OBD Anthony Novak pass from left
at 28 yards finds Santos in middle and his one-touch low shot
from 10 yards is under goalie into center of net.

47 min...OBD Anthony Novak GOAL...OBD Al James cross from 25 yards
on far left has Novak leap at 5 yards on right post and kick in shot
from 5 yards.

49 min...OBD Anthony Novak GOAL...OBD Khody Ellis run on right and
he rolls centering pass and Novak is pulled over by TS Nicholas Goddard
at 15 yards but gets up and blasts 10 yarder down middle into
roof of net.

63 min...OBD Logan Podrebarac GOAL...OBD Anthony Novak rolls pass
over from middle to Podrebarac and he shoots low 10 yarder from
left into right corner of net.

85 min...TS RED card...Andre Simmond earns it for
a body check/head butt in center circle.

Finals Score:.....Toronto Skillz......0.....Oakville Blue Devils.....5...

Attendance eventually climbed to about 60 on this mild early
afternoon with a hazy sun until it clouded up in the second half.

This is not the regular home of Toronto Skillz but since it is
the second weekend of the Robbie Tournament at Birchmount Stadium
they moved the game to this field. I was here yesterday afternoon
to watch Master's FA Saints beat Pro Stars FC 2-0 as it
is Master's home field.

This is the third time I've seen each team this season but Skillz
first 'home' game and Blue Devils first road game. Skillz had
a record of ten games, ten losses but both of their games I've seen
they only lost by one goal. Last week though they lost 8-0 on a trip
to play FC London. Oakville is at the opposite end of results with
them dueling for first place in the other conference but we are
in the cross over part of the schedule.

The game was played mostly in the Skillz end but it wasn't until
the second goal just before halftime that the game was broken open.
Oakville doubling their lead in the first five minutes of the second
half and the game was really over. Oakville cycled through their
bench and by 64 minutes had made their maximum of five subs.

Matt George earned the shutout for Oakville without haviug much
to do except catch a cross and a few bouncers from long range.

Nicholas Goddard was a last minute switch to start for Skillz
in defence and a good choice as he broke up a great many OBD plays
or it could have been double digits in the first half. I've been
watching him since at least 2009 when he played for
Toronto Croatia—a team mate of now referee Braedan Krampert.

Things got ugly at 83 minutes when OBD Al James was head butted
on a check on the sideline in front of the fourth official's table
right in front of me. The OBD bench jumped up to appeal for a card.
James was on his knees with his head in the ground with him turned
away from me. A team official looked at him and asked for the
Skillz trainer. The diagnosis got worse the longer time went on.
A possible concussion, a deep cut facial laceration, a requirement
that he'd need stitches, and then the trainer asked the league's
game official to use his walkie-talkie to call the announcer's tent
for them to call for an ambulance. Skillz players infuriated the
OBD players and bench with questions like "Is he alright?" and
making excuses that their player was only age 16. The Skillz head
coach Leslie Fitzpatrick had subbed himself into the game
at 74 minutes and that made it awkward for him to give orders
during the dust up. The trainer asked that all the players from
both teams back off to give him more room. There was no card given
out on the play. Just seconds after play resumed at 85 minutes,
a Skillz player checked an OBD player in the center circle on what
looked like another head butt. Referee Michael Stenbring brought
out a straight Red card and the player left the field. Stenbring
came over to the fourth official and said to radio over that there
would be no added time and the game ended promptly at 90 minutes.
Oakville was mostly playing keep-away for the last part
of the game anyway.

*Now I had marked down that it was Adam Waithe who had given Al James
the body check. I then wrote that is was Andre Simmond who was given
the Red card. The OBD bench had called out that "it's the same guy"
who made the check when play resumed and that made it easy for the
referee to give the make up call and prevent a riot. This got
me confused as I know what I wrote. The league website doesn't help
because it lists both Skillz players getting Red cards but also
lists Anthony Novak as scoring the first four goals. Their twitter
account says the same thing. I straightened up the confusion for
myself by asking the OBD coaching staff for who scored. Easy enough!
A google search reveals that Adam Waithe is age 19 (I couldn't find
an answer for Andre Simmond) so maybe it was Simmond all along
or maybe Skillz just (by deliberately underestimating his age) using
age as an excuse. If there were two Red cards given out it wouldn't
explain why OBD was so upset claiming the first incident the player
got away with it. I will see if the league site makes a correction
as I don't want to hang the Skillz players out to dry by listing the
wrong one (their video of the entire game will be posted in a few days
so I may be able to squint and see if I can see who is was). Stenbring
gave out two Yellow cards (both to Skillz—L1O software can't record
a card to a goalie!) and the one Red that I saw.

If I can clear this up I can easily clear up my own web page, edit
message boards and for those web sites I don't control, I can add
a message to one of my L1O reports next week--all going well.

Al James is a skilled defender who I've watched since at least
the 2011 PDL Toronto Lynx season. Another vet is Skillz goalie
Lucas Birnstingl who I have at least listed as on the bench of some
games I watched of the first Toronto FC Academy CSL team that
started back in 2008!

I waited a few minutes after the game near the exit wondering where
the ambulance was. It had driven through an open soccer field via
the parking lot and they opened a gate in the fence on the west
side—good thing they got some city staff to unlock it before the
game started—their idea earlier so it was easier to fetch balls
sent over the sideline fence and it made it easy to get James
out quickly.

Toronto Skillz record falls to 0 wins, 11 losses, 0 ties for 0 points
and are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. After two blowouts
in a row, this may cause increased trouble for the league on the
discipline front.

Oakville's record improves to 9 wins, 2 losses, 0 ties for 27 points
and are in second place two points behind undefeated Sigma FC
in the West.

Hey today was my twenty-fifth L10 game this season and the season
is just past half over. Silver game, can I make gold this year?
Lots of TFC and TFC II games in the way.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01
 

[Rocket Robin]

July 9, 2017 League 1 Ontario--Toronto Skillz vs Oakville Blue Devils

Follow up:....Playing back the end of the game from YouTube and I can see referee Michael Stenbring gave out a Red card to Skillz Adam Waithe at 83 minutes and then Andre Simmond at 85 minutes. I can see myself turned to look at OBD Al James being treated for his injury and didn't catch the first Red card and just relied on the comments from the OBD bench. The L1O website did correct the goalscorers by late Monday.