Toronto Sun: Questionable Call Lifts Lynx
by Winnipeg Fury
Questionable call lifts Lynx
Vignjevic's penalty kick
gives Toronto semi-final opener
By MIKE KOREEN -- Toronto
Sun
Manuel Orellana may have been the most popular man at Varsity
Stadium last night.
A questionable foul call by the referee gave
the Toronto Lynx the golden opportunity
they needed to defeat the Richmond
Kickers 1-0 in Game 1 of their two-game A-League
Eastern Conference
semi-final total-goals series.
Game 2 is tomorrow in Richmond,
Va., at 7 p.m.
After Kickers forward Marco Ferruzzi made contact
with Nikola Vignjevic in the penalty
area during the 36th minute last night,
the Lynx midfielder fell and was awarded a penalty
kick.
Seconds later Vignjevic delighted the crowd of 1,989 by putting
the ball past Kickers
'keeper Michael McGinty.
"I was pulled at
the back of my jersey and I lost my step," Vignjevic said.
While
there is no doubt contact was made, the merit of the call was open to debate.
Ferruzzi was in disbelief after the whistle. He waved his finger
at Vignjevic, who was
slow to get up after the foul.
"Toronto
has a reputation at home for getting penalties called," Kickers coach
Leigh
Cowlishaw said. "The referee shouldn't determine the outcome of the
game, but he did."
Most of the action was in midfield as both
teams took few risks. McGinty made three
saves while Lynx netminder Theo
Zagar stopped four shots.
Although Zagar wasn't busy, Toronto's
most valuable player this season was sharp
when tested. His best save came
with three minutes remaining when he stopped a tricky
deflected shot off the
foot of Ferruzzi.
"(Zagar) played well, but it should have been a
0-0 game," Cowlishaw said. "It's a good
result for us going home."
The Lynx, who didn't win a playoff game in their first three years
in the league, have
recorded two consecutive post-season upsets.
But to win their third in a row tomorrow, the Lynx (13-11-4 during
the season) will
need to overcome fatigue.
The Kickers (20-7-1)
have opted to fly to Richmond today, while Lynx owners Bruno
and Nicole
Hartrell will send their team on a 12-hour bus trek.
"It's a sore
point with some of the players," Lynx midfielder Adrian Serioux said.
"We
wish (the owners) would understand that is hard on the players. We'll
just have to
overcome it."
Meanwhile, in Game 1 of the other
Eastern Conference semi-final last night, the
Rochester Raging Rhinos beat
the Charleston Battery 2-0.
Posted on Sep 16 2000, 3:32 AM
from IP address 205.200.28.77
"Back to Lynx menu">
.
.