May 3, 2015 League 1 Ontario--Vaughan Azzurri vs Toronto FC Academy (from League 1 Ontario website)
Vaughan Azzurri 3 - Toronto FC Academy 1 . Mon May 4 Written By: Staff, League1 The experience, strength and physicality of Vaughan Azzurri proved to be too much for the visiting 2014 League1 Ontario champions, Toronto F.C. Academy, as Vaughan (5' Mario Kovacevic, 26' Joey Cicchillo) posted two first-half goals to open a comfortable lead. Toronto's Cyrus Rollocks appeared to catalyze a TFCA comeback with his goal in the 52', but Vaughan's Cicchillo closed the door in the 60', ensuring a 3-1 win for Vaughan. "I was very unhappy with first twelve minutes of the game," said TFCA head coach, Stuart Neely, "but content with second half. We have to start better in order to compete in the league." '[Our] biggest challenges were to manage the tempo and pace of the game and defend the youthful energy and exuberance," said Vaughan head coach Carmine Isacco. Both coaches pointed to the imposing presence of Vaughan striker Mario Kovacevic as one of the deciding factors of the match. "Mario Kocacevic scored the first out by out muscling the back four," explained Isacco. "Their best player was their central striker, Mario Kovacevic, who kept them in possession and caused us problems," said Neely. Neely singled out the TFCA captain as his side's MVP. "MVP was Stevie Furlano," he said. "He was an inspiration to our players and worked hard defensively and in attacking - both sides of the ball." Isacco pointed to goalkeeper Brogan Engbers as the stand-out TFCA player, and defensive midfielder Liam Fraser, as "solid" for the Junior Reds. Vaughan midfielder Matt Stinson received his second caution in the '82 for unsportsmanlike behaviour, leaving the Azzurri to see out the final stages in a match that wasn't overly chippy. Isacco also highlighted the performances of defenders Henry Moody, Mathieu Laurent, and Joseph Amato as crucial to his side's success. Both coaches found positives and negatives in the performance. "Biggest challenges for the team at this stage were that we were a young team playing against an older experienced side and they caused us problems," said Neely. "The key moments were the first twelve minutes when we coughed up two goals, and the third one was a giveaway. Outside of that, we played much better in the second half as a team. "We have to go back to the drawing board and get ourselves sharper and ready for next game, and play at a high tempo to play against more physically stronger teams. Outside of that we are very happy with how the game went today." "We will need to be better prepared physically and tactically to compete against a more experienced Windsor team," said Isacco. Lineups TFC Academy Brogan Engbers (GK), Leonard Sohn (Andrew Dias 45'), Nikola Stakic, Steven Furlano, Tristan Borges, Richie Ennin, Aidan Daniels (Thomas Mickoski 79'), Robert Boskovic (Kladi Cela 45'), Cyrus Rollocks (Gabriel Boakye 70'), Liam Fraser (Nicholas Osorio 65'), Reshon Phillips Vaughan Azzurri Dayne St. Clair (GK), Casey D'Mello, Joseph Amato, Arthur Casupanan (Edward Lay 68'), Tyrone Downes (Dayonn Harris 65'), Dena Iezady (Kyle Crichton 45'), Mario Kovacevic (Malcolm Loukidis 87'), Joey Cicchilio (Daniel Gogarty 90'), Matt Stinson, Mathieu Laurent, Henry Moody
back to 2015 League 1 Ontario Men's index
.
.