July 4, 2015 League 1 Ontario--Sigma FC vs Sanjaxx Lions (by Rocket Robin)

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Results and details of the Saturday July 4, 2015 League 1 Ontario game between Sigma FC and Sanjaxx Lions played at Hershey Fields in Mississauga at 4:00pm.

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

....................1 Triston Henry
2 Jamal Joseph...3 Dominic Samuel...4 Nolan Holdridge (cpt)...5 Duran Lee
22 Justin Stoddard...20 Christian Samaniego...8 Richmond Laryea...7 Kwame Awuah
...............9 Eji Mrabure...10 Alex Halis

Subs:...12 Arlick Ntabana...15 Kyle Walton...17 Manvir Brar...6 Manny Morgado...14 Jordan Stoddart
...11 Marcel Zajac...31 Joseph Kuta
team officials:...head coach Bobby Smyrniotis...team officials John Zervos, James Haloulos, and Ken Peter

Sanjaxx Lions (white socks and shirts, black numbers and shorts)

.....................1 Matthew Zaikos (cpt)
3 Robert Baxter Dennis...5 Mohamed Diaby...7 Dawit Tekic...18 Antoine Chretien
21 Fabio Vilaca...9 Joshua Bowyer...16 Joseph Ikhuiwu...12 Stefan Nikolic
.................14 Tyler Moretti...6 Jahvar Douglas

Subs:...01 Nicolas Martino (gk)...4 Frantz Bill...17 Joel Anderson...20 Darren Billy...15 Frank Brown
Note: there is no listing for #22 so when he came in at 24 minutes, this may have been the backup goalie with an outfielder's shirt.
team officials:...head coach Patrick Lowe...team officials Nicoletta Bonafede, Gavin Harvey, Devon Porter, and Maureen VanWart

Game officials:...referee Alexis Vaughan...referee's assistants Brian Butler and Marc Henoud...fourth official Scott Bowman
...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 4:00pm...Sigma defends south end. All times are converted from my wristwatch.
7 min...Lions Tekic 40 yard freekick up middle is chipped wide right on bounce ahead of charging Lions players.
8 min...Sigma Awuah gets cross from right and rolls ball into 6 yard box and Lions Diaby kicks ball over net from 5 yards.
9 min...Sigma Awuah cornerkick from right is over players in box.
14 min...Sigma goalie catches high cross on bounce at 15 yards to keep Lions Douglas and Moretti from getting to it.
15 min...Sigma Lee gets ball on left sideline and cross deflected off player for cornerkick.
16 min...Sigma Justin Stoddart cornerkick from left is headed into box off head of Lions player at 10 yards along 6 yard line and ball is headed away.
17 min...Sigma Awuah cross from 20 yards on far left eludes players in box and Sigma Justin Stoddart blasts 7 yard shot from right off underside of bar.
18 min...Sigma Awuah cornerkick from left is low and caught by goalie on left post.
19 min...Lions Moretti is injured at Lions 30 yard line.
22 min...Sigma Lee on left takes short cross from 25 yards to Sigma Halis on left at 10 yards who turns and shoots low that goalie catches.
23 min...Sigma goalie catches popped up header at 15 yards.
24 min...Lions Moretti is injured for second time in 5 minutes.
.........Lions sub...#22 replaces injured Moretti.
26 min...Sigma Awuah high cross from 22 yards on far left is caught on leap by goalie at 6 yards.
28 min...Sigma Mrabure dribbles in from 25 yards on right but pushes ball too far forward and goalie picks up ball at 10 yards.
31 min...Sigma Mrabure flicks 10 yard header up middle on reciving long cross from right and goalie catches.
32 min...Sigma Awuah rolls cross from 15 yards on left and Sigma 10 shoots low weak shot from 12 yards up middle that's caught by goalie.
33 min...Lions Tekic cornerkick from right is partially cleared. Lions Baxter Dennis blasts low 30 yarder from right and goalie catches.
33 min...Sigma Awuah given pass on left and 15 yard shot is wide left of net.
37 min...Lions Tekic cornerkick from right has Lions player get foot up but 7 yard hooked shot is cleared.
38 min...Sigma Awuah 28 yard shot from right is caught by goalie.
40 min...Lions YELLOW card...Ikhuiwu earns it for pulling down player at center line.
41 min...Lions Chretien on crash at Lions 20 yard line has leg injured and needs help off field.
.........Lions YELLOW card...Chretien earns if for his block on last play.
45 min...Sigma Laryea fed through ball between defenders up middle and diving goalie smothers low 10 yard shot at 6 yards.
45 min...Sigma Laryea rolls 20 yard freekick from left into wall and ball is cleared.
46 min...Lions sub...Bill replaces injured Chretien.
46 min...Lions win Penalty kick from referee Alexis Vaughan on knock down just inside Sigma box which injured a Lions player.
48 min...Lions Dawit Tekic GOAL...Tekic blasts Penalty kick to top left corner of net over flying goalie Triston Henry.
49 min...half ends 4:49pm.

2nd Half:...starts 5:05pm.
47 min...Sigma Laryea run to left endline and rolls ball back for Sigma Awuah who has 10 yard shot tip off defender and spin for cornerkick.
48 min...Sigma Justin Stoddart cornerkick from left has Sigma Samuel pop up ball and ball is partially cleared and cross to right has Sigma Halis blast midair 20 yard shot but along 6 yard line and ball deflects off chest of Sigma player and fly wide left for goalkick.
49 min...Sigma Laryea is given through ball on left and tips ball off diving goalie that deflects for cornerkick. The Lions goalie is injured at 15 yards on left and needs the trainer for a mouth injury.
53 min...Sigma Justin Stoddart cornerkick from left has ball popped up and Sigma Lee heads 5 yarder from right post that goalie catches on right post.
56 min...Lions YELLOW card...Vilaca earns it for tug at Lions player at 35 yards.
57 min...Sigma 40 yard freekick from left has Lions Bowyer gets in way of Sigma Samuel blast from 12 yards on right.
57 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Samuel earns it for something.
58 min...Sigma Justin Stoddart ends Sigma pressure with 22 yard shot from right that goalie picks up on right post.
58 min...Sigma sub...Zajac replaces Mrabure.
.........Sigma sub...Jordan Stoddart replaces Justin Stoddart (one brother replaces the other!). 59 min...Sigma player's 25 yard freekick from left has defender clear on right side of box.
60 min...Sigma players work out a short cornerkick from the left and eventual cross is headed away from box.
61 min...Sigma Lee rush down left and crosses to middle and Sigma Zajac slides and deflects 12 yard shot up middle well over net.
62 min...Sigma Richmond Laryea makes long run up left and is pulled down by Lions Dawit Tekic in box. Tekic earns Yellow card and the referee awards a Penalty kick.
.........Lions YELLOW card...Tekic earns it on last play.
65 min...Sigma Alex Halis GOAL...Halis blasts Penalty kick to right corner of net past diving goalie Matthew Zaikos.
66 min...Sigma Holdridge flicks 10 yard header wide left on Sigma Halis 30 yard freekick from right.
67 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Laryea earns it for pull down of player at Lions 20 yard line.
68 min...Sigma Awuah is fed pass up left and his low cross from 20 yards is deflected by two Lions then cleared.
69 min...Sigma Samaniego boots low 35 yarder up middle between crowd of players and just wide left of post.
72 min...Sigma Awuah cornerkick from right has ball cleared on edge of box on left.
73 min...Sigma Samaniego cornerkick from left has Sigma 3 head ball from 5 yards that's blocked and Sigma Jordan Stoddart then heads 6 yarder that's tipped just over bar for cornerkick.
74 min...Sigma player's cornerkick from left has Sigma player blast ball high and wide left.
76 min...Lions Bowyer beats Sigma Jordan Stoddart to head away cross from left at 6 yards.
78 min...Lions goalie punches out cross from 22 yards on left in crowd of players.
79 min...Sigma sub...Walton replaces Lee.
79 min...Sigma Samaniego 25 yard freekick from far right is through box and out left for throw-in.
80 min...Sigma sub...Morgado replaces Samaniego.
80 min...Sigma Walton low shot from far left has deflection off player for cornerkick.
81 min...Sigma player's cornerkick from left has defender pop up header and goalie catch.
81 min...Lions player's 50 yard shot up m iddle has goalie catch under bar.
82 min...Lions Frantz Bill trips Marcel Zajic in Lions box after Sigma had botched a 2 on 1 rush but Bill lunges for ball through Zajic and the referee awards another Penalty kick.
83 min...Sigma Jordan Stoddart blasts Penalty kick off bar so hard that ball bounces down and out of box.
85 min...Sigma head coach Bobby Smyrniotis is sent off for continually harrasing fourth official.
86 min...Sigma Kwame Awuah GOAL...Sigma Richard Laryea passes from left over to Awuah who rolls 15 yard shot up middle and into left corner of net past diving goalie.
87 min...Lions Diaby 40 yard freekick up middle bounces to goalie.
88 min...Lions YELLOW card...Tekic earns it for tripping player at Sigma 50 yard line.
91 min...Sigma Halis beats Lions Tekic for ball at Sigma 50 yard line and breaks down right side and takes 10 yard shot that sliding goalie stops on right post.
92 min...Sigma sub...Brar replaces Halis.
93 min...Lions goalie 55 yard freekick from right has defender clear on edge of box with header. Lions Tekic chips 35 yard shot that leaping goalie catches at 10 yards.
94 min...game ends 5:54pm.

Final Score:.....Sigma FC....2.....Sanjaxx Lions......1......

Attendance was about 50 on this hot day with a warm sun in the west.

This game was very rough with lots of stoppages for tackle and knockdowns then added delays with players cheating by taking freekicks or throw-ins 10 yards further upfield then the incident then having to have them retaken. Both teams were guilty. Sigma head coach Bobby Smymiotis was ordered to leave right after the Sigma failed penalty attempt for what looked like continueing to harass the fourth official. There were five Yellow cards that I counted—four to Lions players.

I'd expected Sigma would have put this game away early based on the records of the two teams but they kept missing chances with shots off target or saves made by goalie Matthew Zaikos or the defenders on key blocks. Much of the game was played in the Lions half of the field. Sigma must have had at least a dozen cornerkicks and tried long, short, low, high, worked out, quickly taken ones—anything that would give them a better opportunity to score.

Lions had brought only five subs and one was an extra goalie. They had to make two substitutions in the first half because of injuries. The league allows five subs per team per game. The Lions also did not bring a trainer so they had to ask for the help of the Sigma trainer who drew double duty patching up players from both teams.

Best non-scoring chances were at 17 minutes when Sigma Kwame Awuah crossed from 20 yards on the far left which eluded a few players and Sigma Justin Stoddart blasted a 7 yard shot from the right off the underside of the bar. 48 minutes (2nd half) has Justin Stoddart take a cornerkick from the left and Sigma Dominic Samuel pop up a ball that was then partially cleared and a cross to the right had Sigma Alex Halis blast a midair 10 yard shot along the 6 yard line and the ball deflected off the chest of another Sigma player and bounce wide left of the post. The next minute had Sigma Richmond Laryea given a through ball on the left and he tipped the ball off the diving goalie that deflected for a cornerkick. The Lions goalie was injured and needed a trainer for his mouth injury. 73 minutes had Sigma Christian Samaniego take a cornerkick from the left that Sigma Samuel headed from 6 yards that was blocked and Sigma Jordan Stoddart then headed from 6 yards that was tipped just over the bar for a cornerkick.

Sigma's record improves to 5 wins, 3 ties, 2 losses for 18 points and jumps from 5th to 3rd place (including other league results until the end of the day). Lions record falls to 1 win, 0 ties, 10 losses for 3 points and remains in 11th place in the 12 team league.

I now had two hours to drive through the north end of the city and out the east side to Pickering and catch another League 1 Ontario game.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

Sigma FC starters