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Result of the Sunday October 16, 2011 CSL game between Toronto Croatia and Mississauga Eagles FC played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 7:00pm.
Toronto Croatia (blue socks, white shorts and numbers, red shirts)
.................13 Antonio Ilic
7 Halburto Harris...4 Sven Arapovic...3 Josip Keren...15 Ainsley Deer
.........14 Augustin DeMedina...23 Tonci Pirija (cpt)...8 Hayden Fitzwilliams
.........22 Daniel Niksic...11 Marin Vucemilovic Grgic...10 Tihomir Maletic
Subs:...1 Sandi Matika (gk)...5 Jonatan Bustamante (mid)...6 Mario Kulis (def)...9 Hugo Herrera (fwd)...18 Bozenko Lesina (fwd)
...19 Niko Pesa (fwd)...21 Nicholas Goddard (def)
team officials:...head coach Velimir Crljan...assistant coach Miodrag Akmadzic...manager Ivan Kulis...assistant manager Perica Arapovic
...physio Michael Robinson
Mississauga Eagles FC (all white, green numbers)
..................12 Melford James Jr
16 Thomas Szcczotka...5 Thierry Mangwa-Batoman...13 Antoine Paul...26 Kwesi Klass
7 Matthew Macri...23 Jose Melo (cpt)...10 Damian Scott...4 Ivan Juric
............9 Shawn Brown...3 Tristan Scott
Subs:...22 Christopher Prouting (gk)...8 Jose De Sousa (mid)...11 Darragh Roe (mid)...14 Bryan Miranda (fwd)...17 Mohammad Habibzi (def)
...19 Brandon Wellington (def)...40 Andrew Samuels (fwd)
team officials:...head coach Josef Komlodi...assistant coach Paul Dhillion...goalkeeping coach Bogdan Brasoveanu...asssistant manager Alex Szczotka
...physio Peter Kim
Game officials:...referee Yusri Rudolf...assistant referees Andrew Wiles and Nelson Da Silva...fourth official Mike Antonio Izzo...(all black uniforms, neon yellow trim)
1st Half:...game starts 7:03pm...TC defend south end. A misty rain had just stopped and the weather was cold.
2 min...TC Vucemilovic Grgic 20 yard shot from right has goalie dive forward to catch ball in front of TC Maletic at 3 yards.
3 min...TC Marin Vucemilovic Grgic GOAL...TC Tonci Pirija long pass from 45 yards on left finds charging Vucemilovic Grgic at 25 yards and takes
18 yard shot into left side of net beyond flying goalie Melford James Jr.
6 min...TC Niksic rush on right has cross into box but MEFC defender kicks ball behind end line to prevent TC Vucemilovic Grgic
getting 5 yard shot.
8 min...TC player's cornerkick from right has goalie get hand to overhead and earn freekick when he was pushed.
9 min...MEFC Melo 40 yard freekick from right is headed away on edge of box.
12 min...MEFC sub...Habibzi replaces Mangwa-Batomen.
13 min...TC YELLOW card...goalie Ilic earns it for trip up of MEFC Brown on rush just outside box.
14 min...MEFC Melo 20 yard freekick down middle just misses top right corner of net.
19 min...TC Maletic cornerkick from right has goalie catch and drop but falls on ball at 3 yards.
23 min...TC Vucemilovic Grgic cornerkick from left has TC player not able to turn header at 4 yards and ball is through box.
26 min...MEFC Brown at 30 yards passes forward on right to charging MEFC Juric who crosses through 6 yard box unplayed from 5 yards on right.
29 min...MEFC Tristan Scott 22 yard shot from left is just over net.
30 min...TC Hayden Fitzwilliams GOAL...TC Tihomir Maletic 20 yard freekick from right on sharp angle has Fitzwilliams in middle flick header from
5 yards into top left corner of net.
33 min...MEFC YELLOW card...Tristan Scott earns it for knocking down TC Maletic on sideline. TC Maletic offside goal at 3 yards is called back.
35 min...MEFC Juric 30 yard freekick from left has MEFC Damian Scott head 12 yarder that bounces wide right.
36 min...TC Maletic cornerkick from right is kicked high and over to TC Deer who blasts 30 yard shot wide of top left corner.
37 min...TC Pirija in middle takes 35 yard shot through crowd wide right of net.
41 min...TC Niksic rolls cross from 15 yards on right end line has TC Maletic kick 6 yarder rolled just wide right of net.
43 min...TC Hayden Fitzwilliams GOAL...TC Marin Vucemilovic Grgic on 2 on 1 rush keeps ball and shoots 12 yarder from right that forward-diving goalie
gets a piece of and the ball pops up and over to Fitzwilliams who heads 5 yarder into middle of open net.
46 min...half ends 7:49pm.
2nd Half:...starts 8:05pm.
halftime subs:...MEFC De Sousa replaces Macri.
................MEFC Roe replaces Tristan Scott.
46 min...TC Fitzwilliams 15 yard shot along left end line is caught by goalie on left post.
48 min...MEFC defender almost puts 25 yard roller into own net.
48 min...MEFC Melo 20 yard shot from right is deflected wide right for cornerkick.
49 min...MEFC player's cornerkick from right is headed out of box on left.
50 min...TC sub...Matika replaces Ilic in goal.
51 min...MEFC Juric gets cross pass from left and blasts 10 yarder down middle well over net.
53 min...TC sub...Lesina replaces Fitzwilliams.
56 min...TC Lesina break away on left and 18 yard shot is stopped by sliding goalie at 15 yards.
57 min...TC Vucemilovic Grgic cornerkick from left is well over box.
59 min...TC sub...Herrera replaces Vucemilovic Grgic.
63 min...MEFC Roe 28 yard shot up middle is caught by goalie.
64 min...TC sub...Bustamante replaces DeMedina.
65 min...TC Bozenko Lesina GOAL...TC Marin Vucemilovic Grgic gets back ball on give and go into MEFC box and backheels ball from left at 8 yards for
Lesina to take 8 yard roller up middle under diving goalie into middle of net.
67 min...MEFC goalie dives right to stop TC Lesina from getting to ball at 12 yards.
68 min...MEFC sub...Samuels replaces Juric.
69 min...MEFC Melo 30 yard freekick blast down middle is blocked in charging player wall.
70 min...TC sub...Pesa replaces Arapovic.
70 min...MEFC Melo cornerkick from right bounces through box out right side.
72 min...TC YELLOW card...Tristan Scott earns it for sliding tackle at TC 35 yards.
73 min...MEFC Melo 35 yard freekick chip from middle has offside flag for two MEFC players on right waiting to head ball.
75 min...MEFC Roe slides at 8 yards to end MEFC 50 yard charge up middle and flubs shot that pokes for goalie to dive back for.
76 min...TC YELLOW card...Herrera earns it for not giving 10 yards on 40 yard freekick in 2 man wall.
78 min...TC Deer gets back to prevent MEFC Samuels getting 12 yard shot.
78 min...MEFC Melo cornerkick from right has leaping MEFC 10 head ball from right over player in box.
80 min...MEFC Joey Melo GOAL...Melo 25 yard freekick up middle is over player wall and into top right corner of net with goalie Sandi Matika
not moving.
81 min...MEFC Melo pokes ball away from defender goalie mix up at 25 yards and ball rolls.
82 min...MEFC sub...Wellington replaces Damian Scott.
85 min...TC Maletic 25 yard freekick from right is caught by goalie.
86 min...MEFC De Sousa blasts 25 yarder down middle over net.
87 min...TC Herrera rolls pass on left to TC Pesa but ball is picked up by goalie.
88 min...TC YELLOW card...TC Maletic earns it for sliding tackle on MEFC Paul at 40 yards injurying him. (he was lucky it wasn't a Red card).
91 min...MEFC De Sousa rolls cross from 15 yard on left into box and MEFC Roe backheel tips roller wide right from 5 yards.
end 91:55 min.
Final Score:......Toronto Croatia.........4..........Mississauga Eagles FC.........1..........
(Toronto Croatia wins two game Quarterfinal 8-1)
Attendance was about 170 fans on this cold night. There had been a light rain that stopped before the game and there was not much of a wind nor tier of stadium lights blowing out at 80 minutes unlike last night at this stadium. The field turf was wet but didn't effect the gameplay. The lights were back on which meant 14 more lights lit up the north end between the 30 and 50 yard lines.
The result was not really in doubt as Toronto Croatia held a 4-0 lead from the first game in this two game playoff. I had originally been told that the Quarterfinals would be 'wins' no matter what the score and if both teams won a game each, there would be a 30 minute mini game. I only found out about the playoff format AFTER the first game had been played. MEFC general manager Susan Rossiter said before today's game that she and the coaches of the team did not know about the format until she called the league the day after last week's game. CSL League Administrator Pino Jazbec said all the teams knew about the rules before the playoffs started. I only noticed the rules spelled out on the league website this week. I have a screen capture on my own website which doesn't mention anything about either format.
TC started the game with Antonio Ilic in net but subbed Sandi Matika at 50 minutes to give him some playing time. Matika had been out of action with a back injury. I hadn't seen him play in months.
Both teams maxed their subs before by the 82 minute mark (five players each this year). Croatia took off goalscorers Hayden Fitzwilliams at 53 minutes (replacing him with Bozenko Lesina) and Marin Vucemilovic Grgic at 59 minutes. All the Croatia fans held their breath when at 88 minutes Tihomir Maletic made a sliding tackle on Antoine Paul at the MEFC 40 yards injurying Paul's ankle. It seemed an unthinking play in the middle of nowhere after Paul had already passed away the ball. Referee Yusri Rudolph had to put up with MEFC goalie Melford James Jr getting in his face and was surrounded by players on both teams so he got Maletic at least 30 yards away from everyone and then slowly took a Yellow card. Maletic had 17 goals during the regular season and would be a huge loss if he'd missed the semi-final through suspension. I don't think I've ever heard a set of fans cheer a Yellow card for their own player! Croatia had also escaped a possible ejection at 13 minutes when goalie Antonio Ilic tripped MEFC Shawn Brown on a rush just outside the box and only drew a Yellow card and freekick.
Best non-scoring chances were at 2 minutes when TC Grgic took a 20 yard shot from the right that had the goalie dive forward to catch in front of Tihomir Maletic waiting at 3 yards for a tap-in. 14 minutes had MEFC Joey Melo take a 20 yard freekick down the middle that just missed the top right corner. 41 minutes had TC Daniel Niksic roll a cross from 15 yards on the right end line that Maletic kicked a 6 yard roller just wide right of the net. 56 minutes had TC Bozenko Lesina on a breakaway on the left take an 18 yard shot that was stopped by the sliding goalie at 15 yards. 75 minutes had an MEFC player's long 50 yard rush up middle and pass forward to MEFC Darragh Roe slide at 8 yards but flub on his poke attempt and the goalie had time to dive back to save it from rolling into the net. 91 minutes had MEFC Jose De Sousa roll a ball cross from 15 yards on left into the box and Roe tipped the ball with his foot wide right from 5 yards.
Croatia now becomes the top seed in the semi-final and will host the York Region Shooters next weekend. Capital City won this afternoon and will host Serbian White Eagles in the other match. The day and time of the game is unknown. If the league wants this game broadcast in Toronto on Rogers Community channel they will have to play on Friday night. The TC president wants to play on Sunday evening which Rogers can't do because they have to send their trucks to a hockey game. If the game is not on Friday night, Rogers will rerun the three-hour Friday quarterfinal between SC Toronto and York Region which was the “game of the year” for excitement. Decision will have to be made tomorrow!
Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
MEFC starters
Toronto Croatia starters
Captains TC Tonci Pirija and MEFC Jose Melo at coin flip.
MEFC Jose Melo (23) and MEFC Tristan Scott (3) at kick off.
TC cornerkick.
MEFC Damian Scott (10) and Jose Melo (23) line up freekick.
TC Hayden Fitzwilliams jumps against MEFC opponents.
MEFC Damian Scott (10) and Jose Melo (23) line up another freekick.
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