June 7, 2014 League 1 Ontario--Kingston Cataraqui Clippers vs Toronto FC Academy (from League 1 Ontario website)

  
Kingston Cataraqui Clippers 1 - Toronto FC Academy 1
. Sun Jun 8 
Written By: Fletcher, Alex  
 
"Possession means nothing if you don't score."

Michael Stefano's words as head coach of TFC Academy suited the game well, one which TFC Academy controlled 
most of, but only managed to come out of with a 1-1 draw.

Toronto FC Academy started the game off much like their first game, strong possession, good ball movement, 
and using their 4-5-1 formation to control the midfield play by outnumbering the Kingston Cataraqui Clippers' 
4-4-2 setup.

The play was quite physical, and that started early with both teams committing fouls out of frustration 
– Clippers for their lack of play on the ball, and TFC Academy for their lack of ability to penetrate the 
solid Clippers' defense.

In the 19th minute, Clippers gave up a free kick about 35 yards out, right down the middle, a play on which 
Oliver Coren was cautioned, and TFC Academy captain Marco Rodriguez put a low and hard free kick into 
the bottom left corner of the goal, well out of GK Thomas Daechsel's reach. TFC Academy were up 1-0 for 
the second game in a row.

TFC Academy were playing Matt Stowell and Oladapo Afolayan in behind their three attacking midfielders, 
and the two were able to shut down most of the Clippers' attacks 30 yards or more from the TFC goal.

In the 32nd minute, Clippers were forced into their first of three substitutions due to injury, this one 
to Joel Zelt who was replaced by Tommy Hong. Hong's addition added an element of speed along the wings 
for extra penetration, but all of the crosses were cleared up by Elias Roubos and Koosha Nazemi, despite 
being outmatched in size by Clippers' striker Andrew Martin.

As halftime approached, tempers began to boil over as Marcus Godinho was cautioned for TFC Academy 
in the 37th minute for a tackle on Antonios Assaad, and within the minute the Clippers' Robert Lannan was 
cautioned for a similar tackle on the opposite side of the field. Clippers leftback Stephane Emard took 
the fourth caution of the match in the 41st, at which point, referee Scott Decker took a moment 
to speak with the captains of both teams in an effort to calm them down. Halftime arrived soon after 
with TFC Academy holding their 1-0 lead.

TFC Academy made three tactical changes at halftime, using all of their bench players, changing 
Derrick Sequeira out for Molham Babouli in the midfield, Tomasz Balicki for Jordan Piccinin up top, 
and Jodah Daniel for Luca Uccello. Daniel joined Balicki up top as TFC changed their formation 
to a 4-1-3-2 layout, with Afolayan sitting back in the holding position.

The second half started much as the first ended, but Clippers played far more aggressively than 
at any time during the first half, and this aggression began to pay off in the 49th as Dylan Bams 
broke down the right wing on a counter attack before Tarik Robertson was forced into taking a caution 
for a foul that took away a tactical advantage. Over the next ten minutes the fouls continued, leading 
to a tactical change by Clippers, bringing Lannan off for Maxime El-Asmar in the 61st minute. 
The change paid off immediately as a TFC Academy player handled the ball in the area within 
a minute, and a penalty was called.

Coren stepped up to take the kick and put it into the same place as the earlier goal, just out 
of reach of Mark Rogal, to make the score 1-1.

The tied game introduced extra frustration for both teams, as neither could find a way through 
the defence of their opponents and Babouli was cautioned due to a foul out of frustration 
in the 66th. A minute later, Clippers made their second tactical change, bringing Timothy Campos 
on for Coren to add some more size to their strikeforce.

TFC Academy continued to have the majority of possession as the half continued, but their pressing 
forward opened up opportunities for Clippers to get some excellent chances including one from Hong 
on a breakaway in the 71st, hit into the arms of Rogal.

Clippers were forced into two more injury substituions, with Martin coming off in the 75th and 
being replaced by Luke Phye, and Assaad in the 87th to be replaced by Jonathan Zelt, both complaining 
about thigh problems. In between, Dylan Kirk and Afolayan were both cautioned, in the 77th and 
78th, and both teams had golden chances gone awry, with Daniel shooting wide and Rogal making 
an fantastic stop at point-blank range on Bams.

Some more frustration and a final caution, this time to Clippers' Stuart Heath in the 90th, and 
the final whistle sounded with the home crowd being thrilled at the display on hand, applauding 
both teams to finish the game.

TFC's Stefano was not displeased with his young squad, but noted that they would have to understand 
how to keep and retake momentum in situations like they faced at the start of the second half, 
when Clippers came out very aggressively. Eveleigh was pleased with the final result, but disappointed 
that they couldn't find the winner. He felt that if the team could play the rest of the season like 
their second half, they could compete with anyone.

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