June 13, 2015 League 1 Ontario--Durham United FC vs ANB Futbol (from League 1 Ontario press release)
Durham United F.C. 2 - ANB Futbol 0 . Mon Jun 15 Written By: Staff, League1 Durham midfielder Joseph Roccasalva opened the scoring in the sixth minute, and teammate Justin Gordon closed it out in the fifty-eighth, to give DUFC a valuable 2-0 league win over ANB Futbol. The win puts Durham level on points with ANB (and Sigma F.C.) in third place - although Durham has played one more match than its counterparts. "Credit tonight has to go to the entire squad," said Durham head coach Sanford Carabin. "It was a total team effort tonight. All the players, including our substitutes contributed to this win." Coming off a 2-0 loss to Vaughan Azzurri (May 30), and a 2-2 draw with Sigma F.C. (June 6), Durham needed to regain form quickly - and prove a point to themselves. "Our challenge for tonight was to see if we could rebound from last weeks' disappointment and dictate the pace game against a very disciplined ANB team that likes to possess the ball," confirmed Carabin. "I thought our forward LeRohne [Young], and our midfielders Christian [Moncrieffe], Joe [Roccasalva], and Taylor [Lord] were outstanding tonight, continually pressing the play and, hence - stopping the opposition from playing their normal game." Despite the players being extensively briefed on Durham's strengths, ANB assistant coach Marcelo Almeida confirmed that Durham's fluency in wide areas caused them all sorts of problems. "ANB had trouble on the wings with the pace Durham had," he said. "Coaches warned the players of this, but Durham was still able to penetrate and both goals came from wide play. Additionally, little offense was generated to challenge the Durham GK." Both coaches highlighted individual performances in both sides as worthy of MVP recognition. "[Joseph] Roccasalva (#17 for Durham) was influential in the match, finishing an early opportunity and inspiring his team through a lot of hard work in the mid-field," said Almeida. "[For us], we thought Lucas Gesualdi fought hard, won many 1 v 1 battles on the field, and provided some offensive bursts throughout the game." "ANB is a well balanced team with quality players throughout," said Carabin. "However, I believe the player who had the biggest impact was their #6 - Kristofer Michael. He started at left CB and later moved into the midfield in the second half." "He broke up a lot of our attacking plays, and in the second half was a threat going forward every time he was on the ball. Our midfielders had to work extremely hard to defend against him." Both teams face different challenges in the week upcoming, with ANB lining out for a mid-week L1 Cup fixture vs. league leaders Oakville Blue Devils - Wednesday June 17 at River Oaks Turf, 8:45 p.m. kickoff - before taking on a tough Windsor Stars team on Saturday June 20 at Country Day School, 9 p.m. kickoff. "The team does not have a lot of time to recover as there is a mid-week cup match, and then a league game next weekend again," said Almeida. "The coaches will try to focus on the positive opportunities created in the game, and the players will regenerate their muscles to prepare for the next games." On the other hand, Durham must go to Kia Training Grounds on Sunday June 21 and face a resurgent Toronto FC Academy side, 2:45 p.m. kickoff. "We hope to continue to bring this level of energy and determination through the season," concluded Carabin.
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