July 20, 2014 League 1 Ontario--Vaughan Azzurri vs Toronto FC Academy (from League 1 Ontario)

  
Vaughan Azzurri 3 - Toronto FC Academy 4
. Tue Jul 22 
Written By: Rollins, Duane  

It was an exciting back-and-forth contest that kept approx 300 fans that braved the rainy weather 
engaged from start to finish

From the opening kick-off, TFCA looked to build from the back and attack, while Vaughan appeared 
content to play a counter game. In the initial going it proved to be an effective strategy for 
the Azzurri. 

After TFCA had enjoyed almost all the ball for the first eight minutes a seemingly harmless play 
down the right flank was pounced on by Andrea Lombardo.

The big forward used his size advantage to perfection, overwhelming the TFCA fullback and 
sending a perfect cross into former TFCA product Jonathan Lao. He would make no mistake against 
his former club, hammering the ball into the waiting net for a 1-0 Vaughan lead in the 
ninth minute. 

Eleven minutes later Lombardo was at it again. Another soft pass was pounced on for the turnover. 
Sending a looping cross towards the left side if the eighteen, Lombardo picked out a streaking 
Dena Iezady who finished off a single touch.

With only two real chances, Vaughan had charged ahead 2-0 in twenty minutes and TFCA's undefeated 
6-3-0 record was in jeopardy.

However, head coach Michael Stefano stressed that his young players never panicked. 

"These are young professionals," he said following the game. "Sometimes you have a slow start 
and you have to know how to react in a positive way.

"We never got away from our game plan... we play the way we know how to play."

The way TFCA knows to play is by playing from the back and utilizing the skill of the central 
midfielders to create space, and send crisp passes to space.

That's exactly what happened in the thirty-third minute. Marco Rodriquez perfectly weighted 
a pass to Marcos Anthony Nunes, who made a perfect run behind the left full back. From there 
Nunes held composure to force the keeper to ground and finished in the open net.

It was 2-1 and the comeback was on. 

Three minutes later it was complete. This time it was Mark Anthony Kaye that worked the midfield 
magic, looping a skilled thirty-yard pass to the feet of a charging Nunes. In alone, he made 
no mistake and the game was tied. 

It would be one of the goals of the year that would give TFCA the lead. With both teams seemingly 
looking to get to the break on even terms, Dylan Sacramento looped a ball towards the Vaughan 
back line. It appeared to be an easy clearance for the defender, but suddenly league leading 
scorer Molham Babouli found another gear. With a burst of speed no-one in the stadium could 
anticipate, he managed to he get his head to the ball and perfectly lob the helpless goalkeeper.

Even the Vaughan fans had to applaud this fantastic piece of skill that put TFCA up 3-2 heading 
into the break.

Just four minutes into the re-start TFCA got the insurance goal. Sacramento went on a thirty-yard 
run to the touch line, and was able to direct an unopposed pass to Nunes, who fired home for his 
hat-trick. It was a great finish, but once again it was the midfield that was the driving force 
for the Young Reds.

From there the game became cagey with TFCA happy to use possession to kill the clock. A breakdown 
in the seventy-fourth minute gave Vaughan a free kick on the edge of the box. Lao would convert 
on the ensuing scramble to make it 4-3, but that was as close as it would get.

The game's last fifteen minutes were a chippy affair, with several cards flashed. Included in that 
discipline count was Vaughan head coach Carmine Isacco, who was shown red for arguing with 
the referee.

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