By JOHN F. MOLINARO -- SLAM! Sports
TORONTO - The Toronto
Lynx kicked off their 2001 A-League campaign tonight by defeating Northern
Conference rivals Montreal Impact 1-0 on the strength of a goal from Croatian
striker Kristian Grzetic in the 62nd minute.
Grzetic made a darting run
into Montreal's box, splitting two defenders and effortlessly one-timing a
gorgeous, cross-field pass from Etobicoke native Robbie Arristodemo into the
back of the net past Montreal goalkeeper Jim Larkin.
"It was a
deflection in the middle that came out wide," Arristodemo described to SLAM!
Sports in a post-game interview. "I had got the ball and I took one of their
players on one-on-one and I got a quick step on him and just crossed it in and
Kristian got a toe on it. It was a great goal."
For Grzetic, who was
making his A-League debut after playing his club soccer last year for N.K. Zadar
in the Croatian League, the thrill of scoring his first goal for the Lynx was a
big relief.
"It was nice to score my first goal because the pressure is
now off," admitted Grzetic. "(Hopefully) the goals will come a lot easier now
and the most important thing is that we won."
Arristodemo made his
professional soccer debut tonight after being heavily courted by the club in the
off-season stemming from his appearances on the Canadian Olympic and World Cup
National teams. Needless to say, he was relieved when the referee blew the final
whistle.
"I'm glad it's over. I had a lot of friends and family in the
crowd. There was a lot of added pressure, a lot of expectations on me before the
season. I just took it in stride. I'm just glad I did will and the Lynx pulled
out a win."
Ten minutes from time Grzetic had a chance to make it 2-0
when he won the ball in midfield from two Montreal defenders and made a dashing
run into Montreal's box and chipped the ball past the goalkeeper, only to hit
the goal post.
"It was bad luck. I would have been happier if I had
scored. We won the game and that's the best result," said Grzetic.
Anything but free flowing, the action on the field was characterized by
its tight defensive marking from Toronto's trio of defenders, stingy ball
control in mid-field by both sides and the overly physical play of Montreal.
Seven yellow cards were issued to Montreal by referee Zoran Kristo, including a
red card to defender Nevio Pizzolitto in the 87 minute for a reckless challenge
on Lynx defender Adrian Serioux.
The physical play of Montreal, now 0-3
for the season, caught Arristodemo by surprise.
"I was a little bit
surprised. They weren't as disciplined as I thought they would be because they
have a lot of veteran players. It was one of those gut-check wins that you grind
out. It wasn't pretty on either side. It was a great win. I feel good and ready
to move on."
The Lynx next play defending A-League champions Rochester
Raging Rhinos at home next Sunday.
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