Hamilton Spectator: Thunder Rolling into Montreal
& Ottawa with Confidence
July 24, 2002
Hamilton Thunder rolling into Montreal and Ottawa with
confidence
Hamilton Thunder head east later this week for a gruelling
Canadian Professional Soccer League doubleheader against two powerhouse
opponents.
They visit Montreal Dynamites on Saturday, then face last
year's league champions, the Ottawa wizards, in the nation's capital on
Sunday.
"The trip will be hard, but we are going with confidence and the
necessary respect into the weekend," says Thunder head coach Marko
Maschke.
"Montreal and Ottawa are two really strong teams. Both of them
are very physically teams, with a lot of good individual players. We have to be
fresh and focused on both days.
"It is also a very new experience for all
of us, playing back-to-back against these two teams. We have no experience with
them, but they also don't have any with us. Their only advantage is that they
will play home."
Maschke, who will take 24 players on the road, is
confident the weekend will be a success. "If we can continue to play like we did
against the Olympians and London, I am confident we will get the
points."
He was referring to Hamilton's last two games. On Friday night,
the Thunder broke London City's six-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory.
Prior to that, Hamilton had beaten Mississauga Olympians in a hard-fought 1-0
match.
In London, the Thunder overcame a 1-0 half-time deficit with goals
by Mark Wagenaar on a header and Miles O'Connor on a shot that was deflected by
a London defender. Ian Bennett nailed the ball from in front of the net in the
83rd minute for what would prove to be the game-winner, and O'Connor scored an
insurance goal on a breakaway in the 87th minute.
The Thunder improved
their record to 4-2-1, and have moved into third place in the CPSL Western
Conference.
The team is feeling the bite of the injury bug, however. Top
goal-scorer Jerry Cipriani continues to suffer from a pulled hamstring, while
midfielder John Sozio is treating a foot injury. Defenders Fabian Pagani and
Andrew Seuradge are both fighting the flu.
In addition, midfielder
Ricardo Marquez is suspended for the Montreal game after his third yellow
card.
At the same time, four top Thunder prospects are returning to the
team after a stint with Calgary in the A-League. Matthew O'Connor, Orlin
Chalmers and Salvatore Borgh are due back tomorrow while goalkeeper Wojtek
Zarzycki is staying out west a week longer to play his sixth game with the
Storm.
"We are very happy that we got the opportunity to send the players
to Calgary," Maschke says.
"This was an important experience for their
individual development. Some of them will return to the A-league sooner or
later. All of them proved themselves."
The Thunder's next home game is
July 31 at Brian Timmis Stadium, the first leg of the opening round of the
league cup against St. Catharines Roma Wolves. Game time is 8:30 p.m.
.
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