On paper it looked like a mismatch with the anemic Toronto offence having scored but three goals in five games versus the Wildfire’s twelve in seven, but it was the Lynx who would draw first blood when in the 16th minute, after Terry St. Louis had been pulled down in the box by Wildfire defender Chaka Daley, Franco Spadafina clinically slotted the penalty past Worcester keeper Anthony Latronica.

Toronto continued to pressure  the Wildfire but Terry St. Louis missed the only other good scoring opportunity of the first half when he fired a sitter over the bar from 12 yards out.

Worcester’s only opportunity of the opening frame occurred in the 24th minute when Greg Lalas floated a free-kick into the Lynx box directly to the head of Gary Crompton who’s attempt at goal was easily handled by keeper Hubert Busby Jr.

The second half got off to a fiery start when in the 50th minute, Crompton tripped up Lynx striker Elvis Thomas just outside the Wildfire box and in the process earned his second yellow card of the match and was sent off.  On the subsequent free-kick, Nikola Vignjevic’s excellent cross was headed home by Thomas for his second goal of the season.

Only two minutes later, Worcester defender Paul Kelly pulled the Wildfire within one when he drilled a free-kick around the Lynx wall and into the bottom left corner of the goal just beyond the reach of a fully extended Busby.

Moments later, the Lynx regained their two goal lead on a spectacular individual effort by Vignjevic who made some dazzling moves to gain space from the Worcester defence and then blasted a 25 yard curling shot just inside the far post for his second goal of 1998.  Lynx coach Peter Pinizzotto commented, “I was after him since he was in Rochester and Cleveland.  He showed some class today. It was a world cup goal as far as I’m concerned.”

Vignjevic had little to say, only “maybe a little lucky but that’s OK.”

Toronto would close the scoring in the 65th minute after Terry St. Louis was for the second time in the match, fouled in the box.  Also for the second time in the match, Franco Spadafina converted the spot kick to make the final score Toronto 4 - Worcester 1.

In post-match comments, Lynx defender Rick Titus commented on the spectacular game of former Rochester Raging Rhino Nikola Vignjevic, “He plays brilliantly.  He’s our stabilizing force in the middle because he has a great touch.  He’s everything.....great shot, good vision, we look for him all the time”.

The Lynx were effectively able to shred the Wildfire defence.  Elvis Thomas commented “We always knew our team could play the short game and knock the ball around.  It took us five games to get going but now we’re a lot more confident, we believe in each other.  It’s looking good right now for us.”

Pinizzotto was full of praise for his squad, “The team played very well and that’s what the fans need, goals. In Connecticut we had a lot of breakaways but just had bad luck. Playing five games on the road doesn’t help either.  We had a good week of training and the results showed today.”

Other Match Notes:

The pre-match ceremonies were attended by the four surviving members of Hungary’s Magnificent Magyars, the side that went four and a half years and 39 matches without a loss until the finals of the 1954 World Cup when Germany defeated the Hungarians in Berne.  Centre forward Nandor Hidegkuti, right back Jeno Buzansky, keeper Gyula Grosics and their captain, the legendary Ferenc Puskas received a pro-longed ovation from the large Varsity crowd as well as the Lynx and Wildfire players.

Canada's other A-League clubs also recorded wins yesterday both by way of the shoot-out. The Impact won their home opener over Hampton Roads after the two teams battled to a 2-2 overtime tie. Montreal is now 5-0 on the season but three of their wins have come from the shoot-out.

In Vancouver the 86ers picked up an important point as they beat divisional rivals the Orange County Zodiac after the teams had played to a 1-1 draw.

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