Sun September 4, 2016 League 1 Ontario--Toronto FC Academy vs Sanjaxx Lions (from League 1 Ontario website)

High Flying Junior Reds Win 8-2 Over Sanjaxx Lions
09/08/2016, 5:30pm EDT
By League1 Ontario staff

With their second eight goal haul in two matches, Toronto FC Academy ultimately steamrolled 
Sanjaxx Lions 8-2 after goals from Malik Smith (4'), Ethan Bekford (42', 48'), 
Cyrus Rollocks (67', 72'), Dante Campbell (73'), Reshon Philipp (80') 
and Steven Furlano (86'). 

"I think the second half showed that, even though we were up in the first half, 
I just think our tempo and movement was a lot better and we were in sync with 
each other," said Toronto FC Academy head coach, Stuart Neely. 

"I thought the boys did a good job in the second half in dealing with the opposition." 

Sanjaxx's Eric Kayenga (70') potted a goal for the Lions mid-way through the 
second half, but it was too late for Sanjaxx to get back into the contest after 
remaining in a defensive posture for much of the early going. 

"We just wanted to keep the ball in play and defend well, but individually and 
as a group it just didn't work out," said Sanjaxx head coach, Laza Lowe. 

"Both teams were playing in the same environment so the weather conditions had 
nothing to do with it. We did what we had to do to survive the game, and that's 
what it is."

Toronto FC Academy's attacking displays of late have seen huge return in the 
goals for column, and head coach Neely spoke to some of the training the team 
is doing in mid-week preparation.

"One of the things we had worked on over the week was adjusting our backline 
to allow our midfield to be a bit more tighter, especially on the weaker side 
of the pitch, which allowed us to get numbers forward just a little bit quicker 
than we normally do," he explained. 

"We tried not to play on the full width of the pitch, but keep it a bit narrower 
and be a bit more direct with our combination play," Neely added. 

"We struggled with it in the first twenty-five minutes but then we started 
to find our groove and we began to do bits and pieces of what we worked 
on in training."

"However, it wasn't enough so we brought on three subs at half-time and those 
three subs brought new energy, new focus, and a real appetite to get things 
done as we had worked on over the course of the week." 

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