October 18, 2014 League 1 Ontario--Toronto FC Academy vs Sigma FC (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Saturday October 18, 2014 League 1 Ontario game between Toronto FC Academy and Sigma FC played at KIA Training Centre in North York at 9:00am. This was considered a semi-final Cup game.

Toronto FC Academy (all white, black numbers, red sleeves)

.......................1 Felippo Di Bennardo
2 Marcus Godinho...4 Mateo Restrepo...25 Quante Abbott Hill Smith...16 Tarik Roebertson
23 Marcos Andres Nunes...21 Aidan Daniels...20 Luca Uccello...10 Dylan Sacramento...14 Anthony Osorio
.......................9 Molham Babouli (cpt)

Subs:...22 Karmen Saini (gk)...11 Stefan Vukovic...7 Derrick Sequira...8 Marco Rodriguez...15 Mark Anthony Kaye...13 Koosha Nazemi...17 Matt Stowell
team officials:...team head coach Michael Stefano...assistant coach Nikita Komarov...managers Frank Russo and Ryan Young

Sigma FC (blue socks and shirts, black shorts, white numbers)

........................1 Corey Marques
2 Johnny Grant...14 Luca McLean...4 Nolan Holdridge...15 Aaron D'Souza
3 Tevin Wynter...8 Luca Perez...6 Manny Morgado...10 Kwame Amoah...11 Marcel Zajac
........................7 Emery Welshman (cpt)

Subs:...31 Luke Iacobellis (gk)...16 Julian MacDonald...19 Jordan Pereira...9 Jordan Kalonji...17 Jonathan Jebbison...20 Lucas Ferritto...18 Mike Matic
team officials:...head coach Bobby Smymiotis...assistant coach John Zervos...team officials...Kevin Muldoon and Clay Peter

Game officials:...referee Armando Pereira...referee's assistants Jonathan Carter and Jessica Patton...fourth official Fabrizio Stasolla
...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...games starts 9:00am...TFCA defend north end on this very cold morning with a strong gusty wind from the west. As there was no scoreboard, all times are converted from my wristwatch.
4 min...Sigma Johnny Grant GOAL...TFCA player 'cheats' by taking a throw-in 10 yards further downfield than he was told. Referee Armando Pereira awards throw-in to Sigma. Sigma Aaron D'Souza quickly takes it and Sigma player crosses from 40 yards on left over to right side on edge of box and when goalie Filippo Di Bennardo and defender hesitate with ball in between them, Grant rushes forward from right to take ball at 15 yards and kicks low 8 yarder past goalie into left side of net.
7 min...TFCA goalie beats Sigma Welshman to through ball pass at 22 yards.
8 min...TFCA Sacramento freekick from 22 yards on left end line has ball kicked out for TFCA player who chips pass forward and play called offside.
8 min...Sigma Zajac rush on left and cross is bounced in from 22 yards has goalie step forward to catch at 8 yards.
9 min...TFCA Godinho cross from 22 yards on right has defender head ball away from 6 yards on right post. TFCA Babouli blasts 20 yarder from right off underside of the bar and ball is cleared.
13 min...TFCA Babouli is sent through ball up middle and he rushes forward from 35 yards and from 22 yards rolls shot wide right of post.
15 min...Sigma Wynter wins freekick at TFCA 25 yard line wide right on foul that is injures him bad enough to need the trainer.
17 min...Sigma Amoah freekick from right is headed away on left post starting a fast TFCA breakout and ends with TFCA Uccello wins a cornerkick on shot that deflects off defender.
18 min...TFCA Osorio cornerkick from right is caught by goalie.
19 min...Sigma sub:...Pereira replaces injured Wynter.
20 min...TFCA Osorio cornerkick from right has defender head away in box.
26 min...TFCA Sacramento crosss from 22 yards on right has defender pop header over own net.
26 min...TFCA Uccello cornerkick from left has goalie drop overhead catch at 2 yards on right post but ball deflects off a TFCA player for a goalkick.
29 min...TFCA Nunes low 18 yard shot from right has goalie sprawl and make foot save on right post to deflect for a cornerkick.
30 min...Sigma sub...MacDonald replaces Holdridge.
31 min...TFCA Osorio cornerkick from right is over players in box and bounces for throw-in.
32 min...TFCA Restrepo 60 yard chip over players down middle is stopped by goalie.
33 min...Sigma Marcel Zajac GOAL...Jordan Pereira on far right at 25 yards sends short pass to Sigma Emery Welshman who from near right rolls pass at 15 yards over to Zajac who has tap-in down middle from 6 yards into open net as goalie had to guard right post.
34 min...TFCA Sacramento cornerkick from left has goalie palm ball through box in crowd of players to right where play is whistled down.
37 min...Sigma Emery Welshman GOAL...Sigma Julian MacDonald pass from 20 yards and Welshman shoots down middle from near penalty spot into net.
39 min...TFCA Molham Babouli GOAL...TFCA Marcos Andres Nunes freekick from 35 yards on right has ball headed down at 22 yards. Babouli rushes forward and low 15 yard shot from left is into right side of net past goalie Corey Marques.
41 min...TFCA defender makes header at 8 yards to clear pass meant for Sigma Welshman who'd got behind him.
42 min...TFCA Uccello cornerkick from left is caught by goalie on ground. The goalie is then caught by the referee for holding the ball for more than 6 seconds so a freekick in the box is awarded.
43 min...TFCA Babouli freekick blast from 12 yards is deflected in wall of players and ball bounces to left and is then cleared.
45 min...Sigma Zajac heads ball across TFCA box for Sigma Welshman who can't gets away shot from 10 yards when he's surrounded by two defender and TFCA win freekick.
47 min...TFCA Babouli chips 30 yarder down middle is over players and bounces to goalie.
49 min...half ends 9:49pm.

2nd Half:...starts 10:05am.
halftime subs:...TFCA Kaye replaces Osorio.
45 min...TFCA Kaye leans into 12 yard header and sends it over Sigma net.
46 mnin...Sigma Morgado clears low cross into box from right.
48 min...TFCA Kaye rush on left and eludes sliding defender in box and his 10 yard shot is pushed forward by goalie.
49 min...TFCA Uccello can't get to pass on left post just over his head from right.
50 min...Sigma Welshman rush on right and low 22 yard cdross is through 6 yard box and Sigma Zajac is just a step behind this pass at 4 yards.
51 min...Sigma MacDonald low 25 yard freekick from right has Sigma player on left roll 8 yard shot wide right of post.
52 min...Sigma McLean 50 yard freekick from right is headed away on left edge of box.
55 min...TFCA Uccello rush on right holods up at 18 yards and he shoots over net.
56 min...TFCA Babouli taps centering pass from left and TFCA Uccello shoots 20 yarder over bar.
57 min...TFCA sub...Vukovic replaces Uccello.
59 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Perez earns it for tug on TFCA Sacramento at Sigma 35 yard line.
60 min...Sigma sub...Ferritto replaces Zajac.
61 min...TFCA Robertson 40 yard freekick from left is over to right just past players on post and ball flies for goalkick.
62 min...Sigma sub...Kalonji replaces Amoah.
64 min...TFCA goalie catches bouncer just a step ahead of Sigma Ferritto at 15 yards.
65 min...TFCA Kaye kicks cross from 25 yards on left has defender clear with kick at 10 yards.
67 min...Sigma Pereira cornerkick from left has defenders partially clear. Sigma McLean chips 20 yarder down middle that goalie catches just under bar.
69 min...TFCA Nunes cross from left is over players in box.
69 min...Sigma Welshman eludes defender and rolls 20 yarder from left which is partially tipped and rolls just wide right of post just two steps ahead of Sigma Ferritto.
70 min...Sigma Pereira cornerkick from right has Sigma Welshman turn and shoot 12 yarder over net.
71 min...TFCA Daniels is forced off the field to change his blood stained shirt.
72 min...TFCA sub... Rodriguez replaces Daniels.
74 min...Sigma Morgado 22 yard roller between players and goalie bobbles but then picks up.
75 min...Sigma Luca McLean GOAL...Sigma Jordan Pereira cornerkick from right has McLean in crowd of players head 3 yarder to underside of bar on top right corner of net.
77 min...Sigma MacDonald 35 yard freekick from right has ball cleared in box.
78 min...Sigma RED card...Luca Perez earns his second Yellow card for a sliding tackle on TFCA Dylan Sacramento at Sigma 40 yard line. (Perez had earned his first at 59 minutes for a foul also on Sacramento).
79 min...TFCA Rodriguez 40 yard freekick on left has defender clear from near edge of box.
80 min...TFCA Robertson cross from 25 yards is through players and caught by goalie.
81 min...TFCA Nunes cross from 20 yards on far left has TFCA Kaye jump and deflect 7 yard shot wide right from right.
82 min...TFCA Nunes cross from 25 yards on left has TFCA Kaye duck and head 10 yarder that goalie sprawls and catches one step ahead of TFCA Vukovic.
83 min...TFCA Rodriguez 22 yard freekick from right is over net.
85 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Ferritto earns it for not giving 10 yards on a freekick at 55 yard line.
86 min...Sigma players run out short cornerkick from left to waste time.
87 min...TFCA Babouli chip from 25 yards to TFCA Kaye but ball bounces over end line.
88 min...Sigma sub...Matic replaces Pereira.
89 min...TFCA Babouli turns and shoots 15 yarder over net.
89 min...Sigma McLean 55 yard freekick blows wide left of net.
90 min...TFCA Nunes and TFCA Sacramento work out short cornerkick from left and Nunes blasts 18 yarder well wide right of net.
91 min...TFCA Babouli cornerkick from right has shot tipped for cornerkick.
91 min...TFCA Babouli cornerkick from right is low and defenders clear.
93 min...game ends 10:53pm.

Final Score:......Toronto FC Academy.......1......Sigma FC.......4.....

Attendance was about 40 on this bitterly cold and windy morning. I think almost half that number were Sigma fans who stayed to see the team celebrate. The game was really cutrate because today there was no soundsystem nor scoreboard clock. The officials tent had not been secured when set up an hour before game time and it started to blow onto the field and some chairs were knocked over until the sandbags were secured.

Weather was a factor in the game with balls hanging in the wind or blowing out of play. A neutral gusty crossfield wind in the first half changed direction to blow from the north against the TFCA squad trying to rally back in the game. Conditions were worse than the Toronto FC vs Montreal Impact game at BMO Field just a few hours later.

Referee Armando Pereira gave out only three Yellow cards which were all in the second half and all to Sigma players. Because two of them were to Luca Perez, Sigma played short from 78 minutes.

Best non-scoring chances were at 9 minutes when TFCA Marcus Godinho crossed from 22 yards on the right and a defender headed away from 6 yards on the right post. TFCA Babouli got to the partial clearance and blasted a 20 yard shot from the right off the underside of the bar and the ball was cleared. 26 minutes had TFCA Luca Uccello take a cornerkick from the left that had the goalie drop an overhead catch at 2 yards on the right post but the ball then deflected off a TFCA player beside him for a goalkick. 43 minutes had Babouli blast a freekick from only 12 yards (the Sigma goalie was called for taking more than 6 seconds to get rid of the ball) into the wall of players and the ball deflected left and was cleared.

Sigma advance to the Cup Final tomorrow at BMO Field at 2:30pm (free admission). They probably had a stronger team in June and July when their college alumni were back from school playing for them. Sigma await the winner of the Vaughan Azzurri vs Durham United FC game tonight at 7:00pm at McNaughton Turf Field in Maple. Both semi-final games had to be postponed from Thurday night because the lightning/rain/ wind/flooding made the scheduled fields unplayable.

TFCA lose for the first time this season in Cup or league play. I did get to see the dream pairing at forward of Molham Babouli and Stefan Vukovic when Vukovic subbed in at 57 minutes to increase TFCA firepower. Again the weather was a factor along with the Sigma defenders breaking up passes and blocking shots.

I feel League 1 officials were crossing their fingers for TFCA to advance to tomorrow's final at BMO Field to attract a bigger crowd—TFC supporter groups who don't leave the downtown area had mused about attending. Now they won't come out to watch even with free admission. Sigma scorer Emery Welshman can show his teammates around tomorrow as he was on the TFC MLS club last season. TFC (MLS) midfielder Kyle Bekker was also drafted last year and is also a Sigma FC program grad.

Now getting there may be difficult as not only is part of the Yonge subway closed this weekend (for about the fifth weekend with a TFC game scheduled this season) but tomorrow there will be a marathon held that will clog up the downtown streets well into the afternoon.

The TFC Academy players were introduced before the MLS game today as being the League Champions, undefeated in league play, midfielder Chris Mannella being signed by the pro team, and with the league's leading scorer Molham Babouli at 25 goals. All that is technically true and only needs to be updated as Babouli now has 26 goals because the league is counting league and cup goals as well as goals against the disbanded Internacional de Toronto team whose records were otherwise erased in midseason.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

Toronto FC Academy starters