September 14, 2014 League 1 Ontario--Toronto FC Academy vs ANB Futbol (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday September 14, 2014 League 1 Ontario game between Toronto FC Academy and ANB Futbol played at The KIA Training Centre in Downsview at 4:00pm.

Toronto FC Academy (all black, silver numbers, red trim)

....................22 Filippu Di Bennardo (cpt)
2 Gabriel Boakye...4 Nikola Stakic...20 Liam Fraser...13 Koosha Nazemi
..........8 Aidan Daniels...7 Derrick Sequeira...16 Tarik Robertson
.........19 Tomasz Balicki...11 Stefan Vukovic...17 Matt Stowell

Subs:...1 Karman Saini (gk)...10 Alexander Pena...6 Chris Mannella...23 Jordan Montoya...24 Patrick Boyle...21 Steven Furlano...9 Molham Babouli
team officials:...team head coach Michael Stefano...assistant coach Nikita Komarov...manager Frank Russo and Ryan Young

ANB Futbol (all white, blue numbers)

.................1 Ali Ghazanfari
16 Raheem Edwards...2 Shiquan Lowe...13 Jacob Sookal...14 David Bertolo
46 Michael Calder...21 Lucas Gesualdi...11 Mansoor Afzaly...7 Jahsua Mills
............9 Jason Mills (cpt)...8 Belrum Vartanian

Subs:...99 Amir Hossin Jomehri (gk)...6 Patrice Walker...10 Peter Quattrociocchi...18 Alexander Profiti...22 Anthony Smith
...4 Patricio Gonzalez...87 Mario Tenorio
team officials:...team head cfoach Bassam Naim...assistant coach Wayne Mills...managers Marcelo Almeida and Tania Pedron...therapist Matthew Sposito

Game officials:...referee Marie-Soleil Beaudoin...referee's assistants Niquita Amirkhanian and Anas Aouni...fourth official Brian Cheung
...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)...Note: Aouni was the fourth official for both yesterday's Masters vs Durham United and Sigma vs Toronto FC Academy games.

1st Half:...game starts 4:08pm...TFCA defends west end. Since I was behind the tabletop scoreboard, all times are converted from my wristwatch.
2 min...ANB goalie beats TFCA Balicki to smother ball wide right of net.
3 min...ANB Vartanian rush on right and sharp angle 15 yard shot is pushed to left by diving goalie and defender clears.
5 min...TFCA Aidan Daniels GOAL...Daniel steals ball from a defender and takes low 18 yard shot on left into the right corner of the net.
6 min...ANB Jahsua Mills rush on left and low cross from 25 yards near end line has TFCA Stakic slide and concede cornerkick.
6 min...ANB Jahsua Mills cornerkick from left is high and over crowd of players in box.
11 min...ANB Jason Mills rush from right blasts 20 yard shot down middle that goalie palms over net.
12 min...ANB Jahsua Mills cornerkick from left has goalie catch in crowd of players near right post.
13 min...TFCA Sequeira rush on left and cross from 22 yards along end line is over leaping TFCA Balicki at 6 yards.
14 min...TFCA Sequeira 35 yard blast up middle between players and wide left of goal.
15 min...ANB Gesualdi cornerkick from right has goalie swat down and defenders clear.
20 min...TFCA Vukovic gets two chances when he receives cross from left up middle but can't connect and goalie dives at 12 yards to smother.
24 min...ANB Jason Mills and ANB Vartanian on 2 on 1 after falter but TFCA Nazemi breaks it up at 20 yards up middle.
24 min...ANB Afzaly rush up right wing and 22 yard cross to middle has ANB Vartanian duck and heads 12 yarder wide left of post.
27 min...TFCA Balicki can't draw Penalty kick when he falls on push stepping forward at 8 yards on right.
29 min...TFCA Stowell passes forward to TFCA Vukovic who holds off ANB Bertolo and shoots 15 yard deflection into outside right webbing of net.
30 min...TFCA players work out short cornerkick from right and ball is crossed over box and a TFCA player let's it gets past him and TFCA Fraser blasts 18 yarder from left wide right of post.
34 min...TFCA sub...Fulano replaces limping Robertson.
35 min...ANB Afzaly pass forward has TFCA Boakye prevent ANB Edwards from getting away 15 yard shot.
35 min...ANB YELLOW card...Edwards earns it for pushing over TFCA player at TFCA 25 yards.
40 min...ANB Vartanian has 12 yard shot from right blocked.
46 min...half ends 4:54pm.

There was no halftime entertainment today. Maybe all the prizes were given out to the attendees of the TFC season ticket holders barbecue a few hours earlier?

2nd Half:...starts 5:11pm.
halftime subs:...TFCA Babouli replaces Balicki.
.........TFCA Mannella replaces Stakic.
.........ANB Quattrociocchi replaces Bertolo.
46 min...ANB Jahsua Mills gets by sliding TFCA Nazemi on deflection and goalie slides out to clear at 10 yards on left.
48 min...ANB YELLOW card...Gesualdi for trip on TFCA Vukovic at 25 yards in middle after Vukovic stole ball from him.
49 min...TFCA Molham Babouli GOAL...Babouli blasts 25 yard freekick over player wall and it hits the underside of the top left corner of the net and ball deflects over to the rightside webbing inside the net.
51 min...ANB Jahsua Mills 35 yard freekick from left is partially cleare and ANB player's chip from 22 yards down middle is caught by goalie under bar.
52 min...TFCA YELLOW card...Daniels earns it for tackle at ANB 25 yard line.
54 min...TFCA Aidan Daniels GOAL...TFCA Gabriel Boakye sends in low cross from 22 yards on left and Daniels blasts 20 yarder down middle to center of net just under bar.
56 min...TFCA Molham Babouli GOAL...TFCA Stefan Vukovic passes cross from 28 yards on left to Babouli who chips 20 yard shot from slight right into left side of net.
58 min...ANB Jahsua Mills cornerkick from left is partially cleared and ANB Afzaly blasts 25 yarder high and wide right of goal.
59 min...ANB sub...Smith replaces Gesualdi.
60 min...TFC Vukovic cross from right near end line has TFCA player dummy and TFCA Babouli blast 20 yard shot that deflects off defender wide left of net.
61 min...TFCA players work out short cornerkick and ball is crosses over box between two TFCA players.
63 min...ANB Vartanian rush up right and 15 yard blast has sprawling goalie push ball wide right of post.
64 min...ANB Jahsua Mills cornerkick from right is headed away at 5 yards by defender.
65 min...TFCA Babouli on left taps ball forward to TFCA Boakye who pokes 15 yard shot that's smothered by sliding goalie.
66 min...TFCA sub...Boyle replaces Stowell.
68 min...ANB YELLOW card...Jahsua Mills earns it for tackle.
69 min...TFCA Stefan Vukovic GOAL...TFCA Aidan Daniels passes from 40 yards forward to Vukovic and he chips 22 yard shot after run up left over goalie Ali Ghazanfari at 10 yards and ball lands in right corner of net.
70 min...TFCA Furlano is squeezed off 12 yard shot by sliding defender.
71 min...ANB Vartanian 20 yard blast has goalie push ball wide left.
71 min...ANB Jahsua Mills cornerkick from left has defenders clear.
72 min...ANB Jahsua Mills cross from 22 yards on left has defender clear.
73 min...TFCA sub...Pena replaces Daniels.
75 min...ANB Jahsua Mills 30 yard freekick from right is cleared from box.
77 min...ANB YELLOW card...Smith ears it for sliding tckle on TFCA Fraser.
79 min...TFCA player crosses from right and TFCA Babouli header from 15 yards is wide across box to left.
81 min...ANB RED card...Michael Calder earns two Yellows within 30 seconds. He pushed a TFCA player after a whistle awarding TFCA a freekick at ANB 40 yard line. Then before play resumed he said "f****n woman, man" to referee Marie-Soleil Beaudoin.
82 min...ANB sub...Tenorio replaces Afzaly.
84 min...TFCA Molham Babouli pushes over ANB Jahsua Mills running in left side of TFCA box. Penalty kick awarded.
85 min...ANB Belrum Vartanian GOAL...Vartanian blasts Penalty kick shot low to left corner of net just out of reach of diving goalie Filippu Di Bennardo.
86 min...ANB YELLOW card...Jason Mills earns it for tackle on TFCA Bazemi.
87 min...TFCA Molham Babouli is squeezed between two defenders, one sliding on right side of box and is rewarded with Penalty kick call.
88 min...TFCA Molham Babouli GOAL...Babouli blasts Penalty kick to left corner of net 4 feet up with goalie Ali Ghazanfari frozen in center of net.
90 min...TFCA Vukovic receives pass on left from TFCA Sequeira and chips 20 yarder just wide right of post.
91 min...ANB Jahsua Mills rush on left and 22 yard cross has ANB Jason Mills charge and one-touch 10 yard shot wide right of net.
91 min...game ends 5:56pm.

Final Score:......Toronto FC Academy.......6.....ANB Futbol......1....

Attendance was about 80 on cold afternoon with mostly clouds but the sun coming out for some patches of the game. Today's attendance was about the same as their average but a disgrace overall as there must have been almost a thousand season ticket fans of Toronto FC (MLS) at their annual barbecue that ended only two hours earlier. The MCs of the TFC party didn't 'sell' the game—just giving a few plugs with a monotone "There will be an Academy game on our field at 4:00pm" instead of "SEE STARS OF THE FUTURE TODAY (blah blah blah)!" with the enthusiasm of a monster truck event. The game couldn't have been moved up any closer to the 2:00pm end of the barbecue because the playing field was covered in tents and blow-up exhibitions for fans—the same things they have outside BMO Field for kids to kick a ball or try the newest brand of juice etc. from companies. It took an hour to clear the field and then 45 minutes to let the players warm up.

Molham Babouli scored his league leading 19th, 20th, and 21st goal of the season today. That was for half a game's work as he was subbed on to start the second half. Stefan Vukovic took some ribbing from teammates after the game for missing another goal. He had a chance in second half injury time and chipped a 20 yard shot just wide right of the post—almost identical to his first goal. Aidan Daniels had two goals. He's a player I don't remember seeing before (today was my tenth TFCA game this season). I think eight of the eighteen I don't remember seeing before.

TFCA are in the middle of a four games in eight day period thanks to including a rescheduled game dropped into the middle of the week. Their depth is being tested to keep their undefeated season going but with players like Daniels, they may pull it off.

Referee Marie-Soleil Beaudoin gave out eight cards that I counted. Seven were to ANB and five of those were after TFCA had blown the game open. TFCA head coach Michael Stefano would have liked more cards mainly for unsportsmanlike conduct for things like kicking the ball at his players after the whistle. "Sympathy call!" he yelled when ANB were awarded their Penalty kick.

ANB did more than just 'hold on' for the first half. Brothers Jason and Jahsua Mills had a few chances each (third brother Brandon was not in the today's lineup) and there was always a last defender to cover any TFCA rushes and passes. I did get the feeling that TFCA would turn it on in the second half as soon as I saw Babouli come into the game AND Vukovic stay in the game (I'd never seen them on the field at the same time). They and their midfielders immediately started to shred the ANB defence.

Coach Stefano said that next season there WILL NOT be a USL-Pro team run by TFC. Maybe the year after. He has said there will be a spot for all of this year's players...important because their junior academy will be moving up some players to this senior team.

League 1 Ontario chair Dino Rossi Jr was at the game doing the PA announcements so I was able to ask him some questions after the game. This time I forgot to ask him if any team had signed their first 'professional player'.
-Replies to his applications for a woman's division have been quite promising (in very preliminary stages) with possibly five teams so far showing interest—and many of those are teams that have men's team in this league. There will be more men's teams next year. There may eventually be promotion/relegation if there are enough teams ("Good"--I told him making reference to the two tiers of teams that have developed already with TFCA gaining 6-1 and 8-2 blow out wins this season).
-He's not bothered that there is no mainstream media coverage of the league. The Toronto Star still published the outlaw league CSL standings each week. "Who reads newspapers anyway?" was his reply then said that publication promises to make space next season.
-The lack of attendance doesn't bother him neither. Attendance was not going to be what finances this league. We both agreed that message board forum folks sit at their keyboards with a map of Canada making plans for teams based on population centers and crowds of 2000+ fans. I say just ask them "how many games have you attended?"

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I did catch the last hour of the TFC Season Ticket Holders Barbecue because-well I am a season ticket holder. I missed the speech/pep talk by general manager Tim Bezbatchenko. Injured players Andrew Wiedeman, Steven Caldwell, and Bright Dike were at a table signing autographs. I noticed a wall I remembered last year with pictures of each TFC coach/executive that now is completely empty. TFCA head coach Michael Stefano had told me a week ago that except for Greg Vanney moving up from the Academy to be TFC's new head coach, all the other Academy coach positions are so far unchanged.
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Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

Toronto FC Academy starters