May 19, 2009 CSL TFC Academy vs Trois-Rivieres Attak (from TorontoFC.ca)
Academy team opens with win
TFC beat Trois-Rivieres Attak
05/19/2009 09:17 AM
TorontoFC.ca
TFC Academy's Senior Team opened their 2009 Canadian Soccer League season with a 2-1 win against last year's Championship finalist Trois-Rivieres Attak. TFC had to fight back from behind after Romanian born forward Mircea Ilcu gave Trois-Rivieres a fourth minute lead.
TFC responded well and were level just three minutes later after a long range strike from Ashtone Morgan was parried into the path of striker James Stamopoulos who followed up the play and scored on the rebound.
In the second half, TFC Academy took hold of the match and produced a much improved performance. Several scoring opportunities were created but failed to yield a goal until Ryan McLeod drifted in from the left touchline to meet a cross from James Stamopoulos which resulted in the game winning goal in the 82nd minute.
Trois-Rivieres threw players forward in the last few minutes of the match in an attempt to rescue a point but their cause wasn't helped when forward Guillaume Heroux was sent off just before the final whistle. The TFC Academy defence was resolute and held on for the 2-1 victory.
"We were disappointed with our first half performance as we failed to pass the ball and develop any sort of rhythm to our play," said TFC Academy Senior Team Head Coach Jason Bent. "In the second half we came out determined to move the ball quickly through midfield which opened up several goal scoring opportunities for us. All of our substitutes added something to the match which was pleasing to see. Trois-Rivieres is a good young football team that posed us problems through organization and excellent work rate. It is good to start the new campaign on a positive note which should give us a platform to build on," he said.
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