June 21, 2014 League 1 Ontario--Master's FA Saints vs Sigma FC (from League 1 Ontario website)
Master's FA Saints 0 - Sigma FC 5 . Tue Jun 24 Written By: Rollins, Duane Sigma Academy overcame a sluggish first half to score five goals in thirty-four minutes on route to a 5-0 win over Masters Academy at L'Amoreaux Field Saturday. The game was played in exceptionally hot conditions and both sides struggled to find a rhythm in the first half. The game was stopped on several occasions as players cramped on the hot surface. Sigma head coach Bobby Smyniotis acknowledged the challenges following the game. "The biggest thing is you try and keep your focus," he said. "Maybe we didn't have it (in first half), we kind of followed the tempo. Call it the weather, call it the conditions, but we didn't really have a good, high tempo." However, the coach stressed the importance of getting back to Sigma's style in the second half and playing through the challenges of the weather. With a lot of overlapping play from the full backs, Sigma got on the front foot and forced the issue throughout the second half. The breakthrough came in the fifty-fifth minute when a Masters giveaway found Mark Anthony Gonzalez alone fifteen yards from goal. His quick blast was too much for MFA keeper Shane Lopez and it opened the floodgates for a dominating half hour stretch. Smyniotis gave praise to his players for the way they pushed through. He highlighted the play of right fullback Johnny Grant for helping push the tempo. "He did a lot, and sometimes as a right back people don't notice it," Smyniotis said. Grant pointed to a full team effort as key to the second half performance. "I thought the first half was really slow due to the weather," he said. "We all came out in the second and knew we had to pick up our tempo. There was a good thirty minute stretch at the end of the game when we played really quickly and created a lot of chances." Indeed, the chances came fast. After a Emery Welshman blast off the crossbar forced MFA to give up a corner, Sigma converted off a Giuliano Frano tap in. Then two pieces of great skill highlighted the game. Picking up a loose ball at half, Alex Halis beat four men before drawing Sane Lopez off his line to slot it home in the seventieth minute. Eight minutes later Frano would complete his brace with a beautiful curling free kick from thirty-five yards. In the eighty-ninth minute, substitute Nolan Holdridge would complete the scoring when he converted a three on two counter-attack with a perfect shot to the keeper's far right corner.
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