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Result of the Sunday July 9, 2006 USL game between Toronto Lynx and Charleston Battery played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 6:00pm.
Toronto Lynx (yellow socks and shirts, black shorts, names, and thin numbers)
..................................22 Theo Zagar
14 Cameron Medwin...6 Andres Arango...3 Rick Titus...12 Marko Bedenikovic
20 Robbie Aristodemo...4 Joe Mattacchione (cpt)...13 Jamie Dodds...9 David DiPlacido
....................8 Kevin Jeffrey...2 Damien Pottinger
Subs:...1 Richard Goddard (gk)...10 Ryan Anstey (fwd)...15 Matthew Palleschi (fwd)...19 Jeremy Shepherd (fwd)...21 Osni Neto (mid)...23 Gordon Chin (mid)
team officials:...head coach Duncan Wilde...assistant coaches Billy Steele, Joe Mattacchione, Theo Zagar...medical co-ordinator Dr Robert Gringmuth...trainer Matt Daher...equipment manager Jim Healy
Charleston Battery (red socks and shirts, black shorts, white names and numbers)
.................................30 Keith Wiggans
20 Anthony Catalano...4 Tim Karalexis...18 Brandon Curran...14 Ben Hollingsworth
17 Armando Romero...10 Lazo Alavanja (cpt)...22 Troy Lesesne...24 Jordi Hughes
......................23 Luke Vercollone...11 Ian Fuller
Subs:...1 Dusty Hudock (gk)...5 Mark Watson (def)...8 Omar Daley (mid)...9 Gavin Glinton (def)...25 Lawrence Smith (fwd)
team officials:... head coach Mike Anhaeuser
Game officials:...referee Isaac Raymond...referee's assistants Denise Robinson and Michael Roecken...fourth official Vito Curalli (powder blue shirts, black shorts and socks)
1st Half:...game starts 6:07pm...Lynx defend south end on this hot evening with the wind from the south and at various times, sunny and overcast and back.
1 min...Lynx Aristodemo cornerkick from left rolled out and Lynx DiPlacido blocks it on edge of box but can't get away shot.
2 min...Lynx Aristodemo rush on right crosses in and CB Catalano heads away.
3 min...Lynx Dodds cornerkick from left is knocked back to Lynx Dodds who crosses back but ball cleared.
6 min...Lynx DiPlacido with back to net is checked off ball in CB edge of box.
8 min...Lynx Jeffrey passes ball to Lynx Pottinger stubs 7 yard shot from right that rolls easily to CB goalie.
15 min...CB Alavanja 30 yard freekick up middle is bounced low to goalie.
17 min...Lynx Aristodemo sliding tackle checks ball off CB forward on left side of box.
18 min...Lynx Pottinger cross from right has Lynx Dodds called back on whistle for leaping over defender.
20 min...Lynx DiPlacido long 45 yard run up left ends with freekick awarded because of sliding defender.
21 min...Lynx Dodds 25 yard freekick from left corner has leaping defender clear.
22 min...Lynx Pottinger taps off to Lynx Jeffrey just inside CB box and Jeffrey 12 yard shot is just wide.
23 min...Lynx DiPlacido injured in center circle.
24 min...Lynx Arango chests through ball back to own goalie to break up CB pass.
25 min...Lynx sub...Palleschi replaces injured DiPlacido who hasn't returned to game.
25 min...Lynx Dodds injured on sideline in CB end.
26 min...Lynx Mattacchione 40 yard freekick from left side line has CB defender in box partially clear ball away and Lynx Jeffrey blast 28 yarder well over net.
28 min...CB Fuller 40 yard cross from left sideline just a step ahead of CB Vercollone and ball is wide right.
29 min...CB Vercollone run up middle pushes ball too far forward and goalie clears.
30 min...Lynx Jeffrey low cross from 25 yards on left easily bounces to goalie.
31 min...Lynx goalie catches long throw-in from CB Hollingsworth from left.
32 min...Lynx Arango rush up middle and chip from 25 yards through to goalie for easy catch.
33 min...CB Fuller gets long pass on left but cross deflected out of play for throw-in.
34 min...CB Fuller cross from left has CB Vercollone 10 yard shot midair on right has flying goalie push wide left of net.
35 min...CB cornerkick has CB Vercollone twist but miss ball at 12 yards.
36 min...Lynx Dodds cross from left has Lynx Palleschi leaping kick just over net.
36 min...Lynx Mattacchione picks up giveaway and sends 35 yard shot over CB net.
38 min...CB Lesesne rush up left and cross has defender concede cornerkick.
39 min...CB Karalexis knocks down CB cornerkick from left but defender clears.
40 min...CB Alavanja 45 yard freekick from right is going wide left but Lynx Titus knocks ball wide for cornerkick.
41 min...CB Hollingsworth gets shot after cornerkick from left and point blank shot and Hollingsworth 7 yard low rebound has goalie block while down and crawl to pick on left post.
41 min...Lynx Dodds 30 yard shot on left is bent wide.
42 min...Lynx Jeffrey 22 yard shot has ball deflected off defender and rolls to goalie.
47 min...half ends 6:54pm.
2nd Half:...starts 7:11pm.
46 min...Lynx Palleschi two blasts are both blocked on edge of CB box, Lynx Jeffrey jab at ball pushed to goalie for easy catch.
47 min...Lynx Medwin heads away CB player's long 40 yard shot into box.
48 min...Lynx Medwin 40 yard cross from right has Lynx Dodds leap and heads 8 yarder caught by goalie in sun.
49 min...Lynx Medwin 40 yard cross from right has Lynx Pottinger kick 5 yarder which goalie squeezes between left goalpost but it rolls behind his back along end line.
The Lynx may have picked up on the fact that the CB goalie was shading his eyes from the sun so they crossed in from the right.
49 min...CB Romero 10 yard shot has sliding goalie smother ball.
52 min...Lynx Jeffrey gets Lynx Aristodemo's ball down right and Jeffrey's 30 yard blast is well high wide left.
53 min...CB Fuller heads 8 yarder wide left on long 50 yard freekick.
53 min...Lynx Jeffrey rolls weak 25 yard shot up middle for goalie.
54 min...CB Hughes weak 22 yard roller up middle wide left.
56 min...CB sub...Smith replaces Fuller.
57 min...Lynx Bedenikovic 45 yard ball into box from left is easily caught by goalie.
59 min...Lynx Dodds rush up left and bends cross that has Lynx Aristodemo slid to cross back in from right but ball cleared.
60 min...Lynx sub...Shepherd replaces Medwin.
60 min...Lynx Dodds 35 yard shot popped well over net.
61 min...Lynx Palleschi cross low from right has Lynx Pottinger fan on shot from 8 yards.
63 min...Lynx Palleshi cuts over from right but blasts 20 yarder well wide left of net.
64 min...CB sub...Daley replaces Vercollone.
67 min...Lynx Pottinger hooks ball back to Lynx Palleschi but back to net so runs it out of box.
67 min...Lynx sub...Neto replaces Pottinger.
68 min...Lynx Jeffrey cross from right is bent behind line on left.
69 min...CB Daley 40 yard shot from right is well wide left.
69 min...CB Smith not able to get away shot on edge of box.
70 min...Lynx Shepherd keeps ball in on sliding save on CB end line as defender waits for ball to roll over end line but defender does end up clearing.
71 min...Lynx sub...Chin replaces Mattacchione. (Aristodemo is given the captain's armband).
72 min...Lynx Palleschi centers to Lynx Neto and rush from 45 yards pushes ball forward for Lynx Dodds who sends 20 yard shot just wide right.
73 min...Lynx Jamie Dodds GOAL...Lynx Matthew Palleschi in center 10 yards out blast shot off bar. Lynx Osni Neto scissor kick blocked from 15 yards on left. Dodds recovers and his low 10 yard shot on left is into net between sitting goalie Keith Wiggans and the left post.
74 min...CB sub...Glinton replaces Lesesne.
75 min...CB Daley cornerkick from right has ball drift behind net.
76 min...CB goalie bats ball away from charging Lynx Neto.
77 min...Lynx Aristodemo blocked rebound shot after CB Glinton shot has goalie make sliding save from 8 yards.
79 min...Lynx Aristodemo throw-in from right has Lynx Jeffrey cross over box.
80 min...CB Glinton gets to bouncer and one touch blasts 15 yarder from right well over net.
81 min...CB Alavanja 50 yard freekick from right has goalie catch in crowd of players.
82 min...Lynx Jeffrey runs to left and crosses through CB box but Lynx player had overrun ball.
84 min...Lynx YELLOW card...Dodds for jumping to block shot and swatting ball so it wouldn't hit him in face.
84 min...CB Alavanja 30 yard freekick up middle is blasted well over wall.
85 min...CB Daley cross from right has goalie catch in box.
87 min...Lynx Shepherd crosses shot from right near conrer flag well wide left for throw-in.
88 min...Lynx Neto 20 yard roller has goalie smother on left post.
90 min...Lynx Palleschi cross from right deflects off defender but cleared.
90 min...Lynx goalie punches out CB Alavanja 55 yard freekick from right in crowd of players in box.
91 min...Lynx Jeffrey holds off two defenders at left corner flag.
93 min...CB Alavanja 45 yard freekick from right has CB Smith 20 yard header popped over net.
93 min...game ends 7:59pm.
Final Score:..............Toronto Lynx............1..........Charleston Battery............0.........
Attendance was announced as 1835 but I would be surprised if there were more than 650 here. There might have been half that at the beginning of the game. I left home with the World Cup final just finishing up at 90 minutes so I missed the extra time and penalty kicks. By the time I got to the game, some fans had found out in the parking lot that Italy had won. Tonight was Carib Night but the entertainment wasn't here for the pregame show but there were some dancers from the Caribbean Dance Theatre at halftime.
The Lynx had no shots on net in the first half while their goalie Theo Zagar had to make four saves...three really tough ones. At 34 minutes, CB Luke Vercollone had a mid-air 10 yard shot on right after receiving a cross from Ian Fuller on the left; Zagar flew to the left to push the ball wide. At 41 minutes CB Ben Hollingsworth gets shot after cornerkick from left and his point blank shot is saved by Zagar and his 7 yard low rebound shot has goalie block while still down and he crawled to pick up ball on left post.
The Lynx turned it around in the second half to lead with a final shot total of 16 to 8. Their goal was just one minute after Palleschi had centered to Neto and he rushed up the middle from 45 yards and pushed ball forward to Dodds whose 20 yard shot was just wide right. Palleschi was an early sub when he came on at 25 minutes when David DiPlacido was injured. Neto came in at 67 minutes to replace Damien Pottinger who’d had a few chances up until then.
Battery had a few chances near the end especially at 80 minutes gets to a bouncer and one-touch blasts 15 yarder from right well over the net. One minute later Zagar caught a long freekick from Lazo Alavanja in a crowd of players in the box. Alavanja blasted a 30 yard freekick up the middle well over net at 84 minutes. One last injury time chance had Alavanja send in a 45 yard freekick from the right and Lawrence Smith pop up a header over the net from 20 yards. Between those times, the Lynx had more chances to score and kept the ball in the Battery half of the field for much of the second half. Kevin Jeffrey put on a time wasting exhibition at the end by holding off two Battery defenders near the corner flag for near 20 seconds and winning a throw-in in injury time.
Charleston Battery had played the night before in Rochester and beat the Raging Rhinos 2-1. They only had five subs dressed to choose from. The Lynx only other win this year was on Wednesday against Vancouver Whitecaps with them also having to play Rochester two days earlier. Maybe those games helped make the opposition tired during the second half but the Lynx have had some tough road trips this year. The Lynx beat the fourth place team tonight although they themselves remain in twelfth/last place. The standings are bunched up near the top but on any given night they’ve proved it twice that they can beat the league’s top-table clubs.
The Lynx next game is Tuesday with a road game against the Montreal Impact. Their next home game is actually against the CSL team Serbian White Eagles Friday the 14th for the Canada Open Cup game run by the CSL. The White Eagles-Lynx game was ‘drawn’ to boost the CSL league profile as they are undefeated and have the biggest attendance of the Toronto area teams. The game wasn’t announced over the PA system but the White Eagles owner came up to the press box and got the game plugged a few times on the Rogers Community channel broadcast. Game time is 7:30pm.
I heard at the game that defender Chris Williams is trying out for some teams in Norway.
Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
Battery starters
Lynx starters
Lynx huddle before the second half
Lawrence Smith replaces Ian Fuller for the Battery
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