August 17, 2014 League 1 Ontario--Vaughan Azzurri vs Durham United FC (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday August 17, 2014 game between Vaughan Azzurri and Durham United FC played at The Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 4:00pm.

Vaughan Azzurri (all navy, white numbers)

...................12 Andrew D'Souza
21 Oliver Spring...20 Henry Moody...30 Daniel Di Biagio...23 Malcolm Loukides
26 Joseph Di Chiara...7 Jonathan Lao...10 Jarek Whiteman...19 Ilya Orlov (cpt)
.............29 Omari Morris...14 Dena Iezady

Subs:...31 Devante Walker (gk)...3 Joseph Amato...6 Paulo Alves...13 Darren Gertiesingh...2 Dasey D'Mello...25 Domenico Gullo
team officials:...team head coach Carmine Isacco...assistant coaches Luca Forno and Patrice Gheisar...therapist Andy Choi

suspended player: Andrea Lombardo

Durham United FC (all yellow, black numbers and stripes on chest)

......................0 Eugene Alves
13 Le Shaun Young...8 Nicholas Goddard (cpt)...21 Hameez Farrell...3 Morey Doner
18 Taylor Lord...17 JOseph Roccasalva...15 Tristan Grant...16 Kyle Crichton
...............20 Le Rohne Young...10 Marintho Dumevski

Subs:...1 Zachary Soroka (gk)...5 Christian Young...6 Davinder Johal...7 Jordon Hargrave...9 David James...14 Nathan Burland
team officials:...team head coach Tony La Ferrara...assistant coach Sanford Carabin...managers Connor Schmitt and Corrado Roccasalva

Game officials:...referee Marie-Soleil Beaudoin...referee's assistants Scott Bowman and Michael Bradley...fourht official Sahab Jamshidi
...teal shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 4:00pm...VA defends north end on this hot and sunny day with a wind from the north.
23 seconds (!)...Vaughan Omari Morris GOAL...VA Daniel Di Biagio in middle sends pass upfield for charging Morris to run up right from 30 yards and shoots low from 18 yards on right that catches the inside of the left corner of net past diving goalie Eugene Alves.
2 min...VA Di Chiara crosses ball from 30 yards on right and VA Iezady can't keep it in play bounces with header from 15 yards on left.
7 min...DUFC Doner can't win freekick on left edge of box when he runs into VA Moody and ball rolls over end line for goalkick.
10 min...VA Lao after run shoots from 20 yards on far left that hits outside webbing of net.
17 min...DUFC Le Rohne Young cross from 25 yards on far left has DUFC Roccasalva pop up header at 6 yards on right end line after goalie misses catch but defenders clear.
19 min...VA Spring chips 60 yarder through players unplayed and goalie catches on bounce.
20 min...VA Morris races up right to get to through ball pass and low cross from 7 yards has defenders clear.
24 min...VA Di Chiara and DUFC Farrell are both injured on multi player tackle from behind on Di Chiara as rushed up middle to DUFC 30 yard line.
26 min...VA Whiteman cross from 25 yards on left is through box unplayed.
27 min...VA Whiteman long dribbling up middle ends with him cutting a 20 yard roller that deflects off defender wide right of net.
28 min...VA Lao cornerkick from right has DUFC Grant head away ball in crowd of players in box at 12 yards.
29 min...VA Iezady cross from 30 yards on far left drifts behind net.
32 min...DUFC Dumevski blasts 35 yarder up middle after freekick is stopped deflects off defenders head and goalie runs wide right to clear.
34 min...VA Di Biagio checks DUFC Le Shaun Young off ball after long run on right to edge of box.
36 min...DUFC goalie rushes left and slides to grab through ball chip on left step ahead of VA player.
36 min...VA Di Chiara gets short pass blasts 25 yarder down middle well high and riht over back fence.
41 min...DUFC Roccasalva low 22 yard freekick around wall and diving goalie smothers on right side of net.
42 min...VA Iezady blasts 25 yarder down middle after eluding defender and shot is well over net wide right.
44 min...VA Lao 30 yard freekick from left has goalie bat down and catch on left post.
47 min...DUFC Le Shaun Young two runs down right. First VA Di Biagio clears cross from box and second rush has VA Lao also clear from box.
47 min...half ends 4:47pm.

Halftime Entertainment: Three tickets are drawn for shootout contest. I saw at least one ticket traded from a mother to a daughter so she could be in the contests. Contestants kicked along the center line into a mini net. A girl went 0 for 3, while a big boy and a little boy went 2 for 3. An overtime went six more shots each before the little boy won. All participants were given the same prizes. The prizes were a Vaughan Soccer Club school bag (made by Inaria) which contained a Vaughan scarf, a Vaughan hat and a Vaughan unnumbered jersey.

2nd Half:...starts 5:04pm.
halftime sub:...VA D'Mello replaces Loukides.
46 min...VA Lao cornerkick from right has nearest defender DUFC Crichton clear away.
47 min...DUFC Lord on run rolls pass forward up middle from 25 yards and goalie charges forward to pick up ball.
47 min...DUFC Roccasalva 35 yard chip from right has goalie pick up on bounce.
49 min...Vaughan Joseph Di Chiara GOAL...VA Omari Morris rolls pass from 40 yard line on left to Di Chiara who runs through defenders up middle to get to ball at 30 yards and his 18 yard low shot down the middle is past goalie who leans to right and ball is just to left of him.
51 min...VA Di Chiara 22 yard cross from left has DUFC Goddard chest down at 12 yards and clear.
52 min...DUFC Le Shaun Young throw-in from right has DUFC Roccasalva flick header from 12 yards from right that goalie catches on right post.
55 min...DUFC Lord has ball bounce to him at 20 yards up middle and goalie makes sliding save.
56 min...VA Lao in alone at 25 yards and goalie makes point bland save in middle and then stops VA Di Chiara rebound blast from 8 yards on left.
57 min...DUFC YELLOW card...Le Shaun Young earns it for knock over on left just outside DUFC box.
58 min...VA Lao 22 yard freekick from far left is over players in box and out right side of box.
58 min...VA sub...Gertiesingh replaces Morris.
..............VA sub...Alves replaces Orlov.
59 min...VA Gertiesingh rush on left and rolls cross from 25 yards that defender clears for throw-in.
60 min...Vaughan Dena Iezady GOAL...Iezady rushes on left to get to through ball pass at 30 yards sent in by VA Darren Gertiesingh and he cuts towards goal and shoots 15 yarder from left under sprawling goalie.
63 min...DUFC sub...James replaces Crichton.
64 min...VA Iezady shoots loose ball from 30 yards that goalie stops.
65 min...DUFC sub...Christian Young replaces Farrell.
65 min...DUFC Le Shaun Young rushes back to kick ball away from VA Gertiesingh at 25 yards.
66 min...DUFC defender clears off VA Alves at 15 yards and ball deflects off him and flies just wide left of post.
67 min...Vaughan Jarek Whiteman GOAL...Whiteman gets through ball pass from VA Darren Gertiesingh and runs up middle and takes shot from 18 yards that deflects off diving goalie at 10 yards and flies into top right corner of net.
68 min...VA sub...Amato replaces Lao.
72 min...VA Gertiesingh dekes defender and chips cross from 20 yards from left and VA Whiteman leaps but just can't turn 3 yard header on right post.
74 min...DUFC Roccasalva at 12 yards can't get to DUFC Grant's chip from 28 yards and goalie catches on bounce.
76 min...DUFC YELLOW card...Le Rohne Young earns it for push on center on center line.
78 min...DUFC sub...Johal replaces Lord.
79 min...VA Moody outjumps DUFC Le Rohne Young to head away chipped cross to 8 yards and makes clearance.
81 min...DUFC Le Rohne Young long run up left but defender pokes ball from him on left edge of box.
83 min...Vaughan Henry Moody is squeezed between two defenders of DUFC while trying to make through ball header in box knocking all three players down. Referee Marie-Soleil Beaudoin awards Vaughan a Penalty kick.
84 min...Vaughan Joseph Di Chiara GOAL...Di Chiara blasts Penalty kick into top right corner as goalie crumples in middle.
86 min...VA YELLOW card...Spring earns it when DUFC Dumevski is tripped up after long dribbling run and wins freekick on edge of box. Dumevski is injured on play.
89 min...DUFC James chips 20 yard freekick from left just over net.
91 min...DUFC James rush down left almost overrunning ball and defender leaps to clear cross.
91 min...game ends 5:50pm.

Final Score:....Vaughan Azzurri....5....Durham United FC....0...

Attendance was about 80 on this hot late afternoon with a bright sun in the west and a light wind from the north.

Omari Morris sets the League 1 Ontario record for the fastest goal by scoring at 23 seconds. A tweeter for the League asked me for the time after the game. I had looked up at the scoreboard when they scored. Lucky for me the scoreboard was running as in the second half noone restarted the clock for the first four minutes then manually advanced the timer by about two minutes. This will become important League folklore because just a few hours earlier a first minute goal was scored in the Cataraqui Clippers vs Windsor Stars match.

After the goal the teams settled down although Vaughan had an advantage in chances for the rest of the first half. In the second half DUFC tired as they'd played a close game on Friday night being upset by Masters FA. Head coach Tony La Ferrara used 8 starters from that game although not the same goalie and not their best forward David James (he came in as a sub at 63 minutes).

Vaughan found success four times on pushing through balls for their strikers to charge forward for turning around the DUFC defenders. They tried many other times and had a defender get back in time or shoot off target or have the goalie save. They were called on surprising few offsides.

Referee Marie-Soleil Beaudoin gave out just three Yellow cards that I noticed—two to DUFC and all in the second half—in a game that wasn't noticeably rough.

Two minutes after the Vaughan Penalty kick goal, DUFC Marintho Dumevski was tripped up by Oliver Spring who drew a Yellow card and Dumevski was injured and needed treatment at about the 15 yard line. Beaudoin ruled that the foul took place just outside the box and David James put the subsequent freekick over the net. Dumevski had fallen forward so it looked like the right call. 66 minutes had a DUFC defender blast away a clearance from his own box except the ball bounced off VA Paulo Alves at 18 yards and deflected just wide left of the post.

Thinking that playing the Friday game was an easy excuse for why DUFC fizzled in the second half I raised the point with Azzurri head coach Carmine Isacco and he said many on his team had also played Friday night in an OUA game then had a practice yesterday. (!!???) Yes...as I've mentioned in earlier posts many on this roster are also play for York University which Isacco also coaches. It must have been a preseason game when I looked at their site. Still three tough losses for DUFC in the last eight days.

The win keeps Vaughan in 3rd place with a record of 7 wins, 1 tie, 2 losses. Toronto FC Academy had won just a few hours earlier to stay 2 points ahead of them and pull into a tie with Sigma FC for 1st place. Both Vaughan and TFCA have two games in hand on Sigma.

DUFC stay in 6th place with a record of 2 wins, 4 ties, and 5 losses.

This was the third 'home' game I've seen Vaughan play this year—all at different venues—York University, St Joan of Arc CHS, and now here. Partly to blame must be the late organization of the league setting up and not getting all the fields and times they wanted. Next home game for Vaughan is Wednesday August 27th at 9:00pm (Yikes) at The Ontario Soccer Centre. Good luck getting ball girls/boys out (which means adding their parents too as spectators) for that game.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

Vaughan Azzurri starters