from London Free Press: City Boots Astros
Saturday June 1st, 2002.
City boots Astros
By Steve Green -- London Free
Press
Taking over as the starting goalkeeper for a soccer team that
allowed almost 3¾ goals a game last year might qualify as a questionable
decision, but Altin Rucaj is sure it's the right one for him.
London
City's 3-1 Canadian Professional Soccer League win last night over the North
York Astros at Cove Road field lowered his goals-against average to 2.00, a
major confidence booster in the young season.
"This really means a
lot,'' said Rucaj, who was five minutes away from a shutout when Dejan Gluscevic
scored on a header at the far post. "This is what we really need.
"My
defence was extremely good tonight -- the best. To-night they shut them down and
that helped me a lot.
"I felt a lot more comfortable with the team
tonight.''
The 23-year-old from Albania will play a major role in
whether City can drastically reduce its goals-against total, a big reason for
its last-place finish in 2001.
Rucaj played the last several seasons
in the Western Ontario Soccer League's Premier Division with Croatia and
Strathroy Portuguese. But he attended several City games last season at Cove
Road, so he knew what he was getting into by replacing Scott Mueller, who had
tried to find a playing job in Europe.
"I've got the pressure on me.
Everyone makes mistakes but when a goalie makes a mistake, it counts . . . .
"The game here is a lot faster than it is in the Premier Division, but
I've wanted to play for City for the last couple of years. I saw a lot of those
games last year and I'd try to put myself in Scott's position.
"There
was a lot of effort on the team -- you could see it, you could feel it -- but
nothing was happening."
His move to City mirrored that of his move to
Strathroy Portuguese, in that he feels he has to prove himself to a team with
many new faces, although having fellow Albanians like Gentjan Dervishi, Erald
Popa and Luan Jonuzi on the roster has helped.
"Harry (City manager
Harry Gauss) brought me into this team. He has confidence in me and he trusts
me,'' Rucaj said.
"Now I've got to work hard for him and the team.''
Gauss said Rucaj's work ethic is a major asset.
"He came out
to some practice sessions last year and we liked what we saw. The thing was I
wanted a No. 1 who really wanted to be here, and we felt he was the kind of
player who would make that transition more comfortably.
"He's an
intelligent young man and he's a student of the position.''
Dervishi
scored two well-taken goals -- on a 25-yard rocket of a free kick in the 17th
minute and a precise shot high to the far post in the 83rd.
He was
also involved in City's second goal in the 32nd minute as he swung a free kick
wide to Steve Flatt, who squared it for Sandro Costantin, who had an empty net.
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