August 9, 2015 League 1 Ontario Cup--Woodbridge Strikers vs Sigma FC (from League 1 Ontario press release)

  
Woodbridge Strikers 2 - Sigma FC 1
. Mon Aug 10 
Written By: Staff, League1  

In the men's L1 Cup final, Woodbridge Strikers continued to show the defensive prowess that they have become 
known for this season, and combined with strikes by Damian Bygrave (19') and Christian Cavallini (56') the 
Strikers could not be caught by a young Sigma side. Sigma's lone strike was registered by Jordan Kalonji (89').

"I thought in the first fifteen minutes we made a few mistakes by giving the ball away and Matt George had 
to come up with big saves," said Woodbridge head coach, Peter Pinizzotto. "After that the team started to play 
much better by moving the ball and trying to get behind their defenders by using our wide players."

"I thought one of the turning points was Matt George making a big save in the first fifteen minutes," he added. 
"Instead of being down by one we found a way to score through one of the best players in the game, 
defender Darian Bygrave."

Sigma also did not get off to the start they were looking for, and with a large number of new players 
recently drafted into the team - a spell of awkwardness was to be expected.

"Entering the match as a coaching staff we had a lot of work to do as a result of the bulk of the team 
departing midweek for their respective universities," said Sigma head coach, Bobby Smyrniotis. "We had 
to replace six of the starting eleven and our whole bench depth."

"As was evident our first twenty minutes of the match, we were not our best from a possession aspect 
as players were trying to find the movements of each other on the field," he added.

"This is the time period in which we conceded from a very strange play. I believe after the first twenty 
we handled the flow and possession of the match very well and were very good on the day."

Woodbridge's Bygrave found himself in space behind the defence early in the match after making 
a strong supporting run, and the right back made no mistake to give the Strikers an early lead. 
A combination of Woodbridge's defensive organization, and Sigma's inaccurate shooting, eventually led 
to growing pressure on the Sigma team. Christian Cavallini's goal from a penalty with only a half 
hour left clearly pushed the Sigma players into overdrive.

"Sigma was able to score in the last five minutes and put a lot of pressure on the defence trying 
to tie the game," said Pinizzotto. "But GK Matt George - the best player on the day - made at least 
two big saves in injury time for the win."

"I thought it was a very tight first half, and we created four very good chances, but we lacked that 
final finish," said Smyrniotis. "Woodbridge was very well organized and were similar to what they 
have been throughout the season, a very tactically astute team. Going into the second half we were 
very confident that we would turn the game back in our favour and a had a few early chances to do so."

"The guys did a great job after Woodbridge's second goal on a penalty to keep pushing for a goal," 
he concluded.

"Kalonji’s goal late set up an exciting final 5 minutes where we had another two fantastic 
opportunities only to be denied by a very good Woodbridge keeper."

Notwithstanding the result, both coaches were pleased with the quality of the final, and felt 
the win was much deserved. 

"I think it was a good final and very exciting for the supporters in the stands and watching 
online," said Smyrniotis.

"Congratulations to all my players, I am very happy for them," said Pinizzotto.

"They wanted to get the win, and they are a close unit that love playing together."

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