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Result of the Friday August 6th, 2004 CPSL game between Toronto Croatia and Brampton Hitmen at Memorial Park in Streetsville at 8:00pm.
Toronto Croatia (blue socks, white shorts and numbers, red shirts)
.....................1 George Azcurra
............20 Shannon Mashado...5 Antonijo Zupan...14 Joseph Cosentino
17 Andrew Saulez...9 Zvjezdan Kresic...8 Hugo Alstitud...3 Halburto Harris...15 Joseph Lewe
..............10 Leo Laurito...16 Edin Kalic
Subs:...2 Ante Pavlovic (def)...4 Rudy Spajic (mid)...6 Mario Kulis (mid)...11 Velemir Crljen (mid)...18 Orlin Chalmers (mid)...19 Payman Charkhzarin (mid)...22 Sam Eol Masri (mid)
team officials:...head coach Aldo Krajcar...manager Theo Krajacic...officials Josip Cvitanovic and Ivan Cuvalo
Brampton Hitmen (all blue, white numbers, black shoulders)
...................29 Ricardo Isgro
...........19 Sean Roberts...5 Milodrag Akmadzic...15 Angel Velasquez
18 Lovemore Ncube...11 Jonathan Bustamante...13 Phil Ionadi (cpt)...8 Bayette Smith...6 Maximillian Andrada
..............7 Paul Daccobert...9 Hugo Herrera
Subs:...3 Sean Holmes...20 Yusif Jawando...14 Ivan Jurisic...17 Kurt Mella...4 Alex Morrison...22 Nicholas Poku
team officials:...coach Steve Nijjar...assistant coach Parnell Mason...general manager Ruben Toro...official Shawn Jeffers
Game officials:...referee Sylviu Petrescu...referee's assistants Amato De Luca and Paul Bottos...fourth official Lisa McNeil
1st Half:...game starts 8:11pm...all times converted from my wristwatch...TC defend south end on this cool evening.
4 min...BH Ionadi cornerkick from right is over box, BH Akmadzic bounces ball back into box on header but ball cleared.
5 min...BH Herrera 15 yard shot that goalie swats wide right.
5 min...BH Ionadi cornerkick from right that goalie catches in crowd of players.
8 min...BH Daccobert pushes ball from left to BH Ncube whose 20 yard shot is pushed wide left of net.
9 min...BH player's cornerkick from left is short then crossed in from left side line and BH Smith just misses connecting on 3 yarder.
12 min...Hitmen Hugo Herrera GOAL...Hitmen Phil Ionadi cornerkick from right has charging Herrera leaping 5 yard header into right side of net beyond goalie George Azcurra.
15 min...TC Antonijo Zupan GOAL...Zvjezdan Kresic 30 yard freekick into wall of BH players, BH player blasts clearance off player in own wall injuring him. Ball deflects back into Hitmen box and TC player rolls ball forward to Zupan for 7 yard shot over goalie Ricardo Isgro into right side of net.
19 min...TC Saulez 35 yard shot over players and just over bar.
22 min...TC Lewe run on left and crosses through box from end line and cleared.
26 min...TC Laurito run up left and cross blocked by defender who then gives ball back and Laurito takes 7 yard shot just wide right.
30 min...BH Valesquez charges to blast 30 yard shot from left well over net.
32 min...TC Kresic curls 25 yard shot from left that's caught by goalie in crowd of players on right side of net.
34 min...BH Ionadi cornerkick from right has TC defenders block on right edge of box and start TC Kresic on quick breakout.
36 min...BH Ncube 25 yard blast through crowd has goalie bat down ball.
44 min...TC YELLOW card...Kalic for booting ball away after being called offside.
45 min...Hitmen Phil Ionadi GOAL...Ionadi 30 yard shot through crowd of players low and deflected into net by a body from 5 yards.
46 min...half ends 8:57pm.
2nd Half:...game starts 9:15pm... now the weather is windy and cool.
halftime sub:...TC Charkhzarin replaces someone.
46 min...TC Laurito cornerkick from right deflected behind line by defender.
47 min...TC Laurito cornerkick from right has TC Zupan charge to head 5 yarder low but goalie sprawls for save.
50 min...TC Zupan steps through middle avoiding tackle and 15 yard shot is blocked by goalie. Another TC player shoots 7 yard rebound wide right.
51 min...BH player takes 20 yard rebound shot from right that's well over net.
53 min...BH Bustamante injured in center circle.
55 min...BH Andrada short freekick from 20 yards on left is cleared.
60 min...BH goalie catches high 40 yard shot from wide left.
66 min...TC Antonijo Zupan GOAL...TC Avjezdan Kresic takes 50 yard freekick (after first waving his teammates to charge into Hitmen box) and leaping Zupan heads ball bouncing in from 5 yards.
68 min...TC Charkhzarin rush down right wing gets by defender but pushes ball behind end line.
69 min...TC Kresic 40 yard freekick from left into crowd in box and TC player hooks ball from right back into box but cleared.
71 min...BH sub...Jurisic replaces Daccobert.
72 min...BH Bustamante 45 yard freekick has goalie punch ball up and behind line.
73 min...BH Bustamante cornerkick from right is well over players in box.
74 min...BH Andrada 20 yard low shot caught by goalie.
75 min...BH Herrera steps through players into box but tumbles over goalie without getting shot.
75 min...TC goalie catches 20 yard cross from right.
76 min...TC Kresic 50 yard freekick has TC player head ball back and another TC player blast 20 yard shot that deflects over net for cornerkick.
78 min...BH player's 15 yard shot punched wide right by goalie.
79 min...BH player's cornerkick from right blocked when BH player slides shot in box.
81 min...BH sub...Jawando replaces Bustamante.
82 min...TC sub...Crljen replaces Lewe.
83 min...TC Cosentino 55 yard freekick from left is caught by goalie in crowd of players.
86 min...BH Ionadi and TC Crljen crash hear center line. TC Crljen is injured.
86 min...BH sub...Morrison replaces Velasquez.
87 min...TC Laurito rush and 20 yard shot saved by goalie.
88 min...BH players work ball into box but play called offside.
89 min...TC Harris boots 40 yard shot into box and goalie catches ball on bounce.
90 min...BH Ionadi 30 yard freekick bent wide right but defender clears ball.
91 min...BH YELLOW card...Herrera for pushing player.
92 min...BH Ionadi 30 yard freekick from left is pushed forward by BH player who crosses wide right.
94 min...game ends 10:04pm.
Final Score:............Toronto Croatia...............2.................Brampton Hitmen...................2............
Attendance was about 120 on this rather cool evening.
Both teams had control of the game for extended periods of the game with Toronto Croatia having a hard time clearing from their own end until the first goal. Many of the passes and dribbling were compromised by the pock marked grass which was certainly a contrast from what some of the game officials experienced while refereeing the international games at the Skydome last weekend.
Angel Velasquez from Deportivo Cruz Azul was the only one of the three Mexicans that played tonight. He was a solid defender but many of his passes were intercepted. Antonijo Zupan played well for Toronto Croatia going on quite a few dribbling runs and getting his head to some of the crosses into the Hitmen box. Both goaltenders had some good saves tonight or the score would have been much higher.
The Hitmen don't win but end a four or five game losing streak. Hitmen captain Phil Ionadi said the team's trouble is they can't to score goals. On Wednesday he said the Wolves got first half goals and they fell apart arguing eventually losing to St Catharines 4-0 for only that team's second win of the year. There was a bit of arguing tonight too but mainly whether the Hitmen should have to chase into the forest to retrieve the balls that went out of bounds on the west side of the field or wait until the referee would finally signal the fourth official to part with a spare ball. Someone like me wearing long pants and a coat wasn't bothered by the branches and undergrowth but I wouldn't have enjoyed it wearing just shorts and spikes on my shoes.
The game was good natured but tough with Hitmen coach Steve Nijjar kidding Croatia Velemir Crljen while he was waiting to sub on in the second half that he was still under suspension. The end of the 2003 season with Crljen trying to duck a suspension as a player by continuing his duties as coach resulted in the CPSL overturning a playoff game and giving Crljen a half year suspension. Steve Nijjar's reaction to seeing him last year resulted in the league suspending Nijjar for the opening games of 2004.
Rocket Robin
robin@eol.ca
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