Sat June 11, 2016 League 1 Ontario--Vaughan Azzurri vs Master's Futbol (from League 1 Ontario website)

Vaughan Azzurri Holds On To Beat Masters FA Saints 4-3 
06/11/2016, 11:00pm EDT
By League1 Ontario staff

The Vaughan Azzurri men's side survived a late surge by Master's FA Saints 
to win 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at McNaughton Park in Maple, ON.   
With the win, the Azzurri move into first spot in the Eastern Division, 
at least temporarily, pending Sunday's results. 

Vaughan got off to a bright start with Maro Kovacevic (7') 
and Jonathan Lao (10', 44') putting three on the board for the hosts 
in first half, before Jarred Phillips (51') made it four just after 
the break.

But Masters were not out of it.  New signing Allando Matheson pulled 
one back in the 43rd minute and then goals by Camarri Johnson (75') 
and half-time substitute Darryn Commisiong (77') made it a tense 
final 15 minutes for all involved.

"I have told these guys we are a very good group of players but 
we actually can prepare to be great," said Masters technical director, 
Junior Groves. 

"We're going to erase this [event] because although it was a near 
draw, we actually could have won the game based on the number 
of chances and possession we had."

Vaughan head coach Carmine Isacco could have reasonably expected the 
result was out of sight when Phillips made it 4-1 early in the 
second half, and a stream of substitutions suggested the home side 
were looking to finish out the day with everyone getting a slice 
of action. 

"I need to trust players, so it may be a reflection on my coaching, 
which is in turn a reflection on them, their mental preparation, 
and their ability to adapt to situations quickly," he said.  

"They shouldn't have came back into the match, it should have been 
five or six for us. We need to be more professional with our 
approach to everything, and that starts with me."

Groves lamented the late start his side got to the match, but 
focused on the reasons why his team is consistently coming into 
matches a little flat.

"Too many goals allowed today" he said. "And I know why the 
inconsistency is happening. It's our training regimen as related 
to the player's employment elsewhere. Some of these players have 
to look after families."

"So now I've just said to them if we're going to be this good 
why not just be great?" 

"It just takes that little bit more commitment. I'm not going 
to go home happy or pleased. They can be better. We should have 
done what we did in the latter part of the game right from 
the kickoff. They got early goals and it's because we gave 
them up. When we scored, we worked for it. We can be great 
when we work."

With two goals on the day, Vaughan's Jonathan Lao had reason 
to be happy, but the midfielder was also bothered by the 
late collapse.

"We knew it wasn't going to be easy, we tried to play our 
style of play and hopefully not let in a lot of goals," 
he said.  

"It was a tough one today. I think we're a little too 
complacent. Regardless of the score, we can't be complacent 
like that."

The Azzurri are back in action on June 19 (7 p.m.) when 
they travel to Terry Fox Stadium in Brampton, where they 
will square off against Pro Stars FC.

Masters FA Saints will also cross over to play 
a Western Conference opponent when they host the reigning 
title holders Oakville Blue Devils on June 18 (9 p.m.) 
at L'Amoreaux Sports Complex in Scarborough.

back to 2016 League 1 Ontario Men's index

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