waymoresports report on Toronto Lynx vs Charleston Battery.
Lynx drop sixth straight
Jun. 10, 2002. 02:05 PM
From
Canadian Press
Kevin Anderson scored in the 61st minute to help
Charleston stretch its winning streak to six games with a 1-0 victory over
Toronto in the Lynx home opener in A-League soccer action Sunday
afternoon.
Toronto had a marvellous chance to tie the game in injury time
but Milan Kojic's diving header off a fine Robbie Aristodemo cross flashed
wide.
The loss was the sixth in a row for the unlucky Lynx, beaten 1-0 in
overtime in Charleston on Friday night.
The winning goal Sunday came
after Morgan Zeba ran down a long cross at the goalline near the corner flag and
sent it back in. Five-foot-six midfielder Anderson's downward header left
goalkeeper Theo Zagar in a tangle and the Battery were ahead.
There were
fireworks in the 70th minute when Battery defender John Wilson threw a couple of
punches at a prone Shawn Faria. Referee Sonia Denoncourt red-carded the
Charleston player.
The win improved Charleston's record to
9-1-1.
Toronto (1-7-1) deserved a kinder fate Sunday but it has been that
kind of season for the A-League team.
The Lynx were forced to play their
first eight games on the road because their new home, modest Centennial Park
Stadium in suburban Etobicoke, was not available. The team played its first five
seasons at Varsity Stadium but the downtown facility is being
redeveloped.
The road trip produced a 1-6-1 record and a scoring drought.
But five of those losses were by one goal and three came in overtime.
The
Battery, in contrast, arrived in town with a 32-point bulge over the Lynx. The
Battery are the best A-League team money can buy, bolstered this season by
former Canadian international defender Mark Watson, MLS defender Andrew Lewis,
former Irish international Terry Phelan and former MLS star Raul Diaz Arce of El
Salvador.
Lewis, Phelan and Diaz Arce, second in career MLS scoring, were
all on the bench to start Sunday. A-League MVP Paul Conway started up
front.
Charleston also boasts Eric Wynalda, the all-time leading scorer
for the U.S. national team, but the striker suffered season-ending knee damage.
Entering Sunday's game, the Battery had given up just five goals with
goaltender Dusty Hudock posting seven shutouts. In contrast, the offensively
challenged Lynx had scored just eight goals in eight games.
Toronto is
tied with the Calgary Storm and Hampton Roads Mariners at five points, worst in
the 18-team league.
The chasm between Toronto and Charleston in the
standings was evident in the early going as Hudock didn't touch the ball for the
first 12 minutes — and that was only to return a ball to a teammate for a
throw-in.
But the Lynx persevered and manufactured scoring chances off a
pair of rainbow throw-ins by Adrian Serioux. A 29th-minute swerving free kick
from Niki Budalic forced Hudock into action, fisting the ball
away.
Watson, troubled by a pulled groin in recent days, hobbled off in
the 41st minute.
Toronto outshot Charleston 5-1 in the first half
although most were off-target — a trend that continued in the second half.
Notes: Toronto's David DiPlacido celebrated his 100th game in a Lynx
uniform. ... Lynx defender Mauricio Vincello and forward Irasto Knights missed
the game through suspension.
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