June 3, 20016 PDL Toronto FC Academy--Toronto FC Academy vs Cincinnati Dutch Lions (from cdlfc.com)
CDL TAKE LOSS IN FINAL MINUTES June 4, 2016, Ric Campbell Uncategorized Toronto, Canada (June 3, 2016) – The Cincinnati Dutch Lions fought an uphill battle most of the match and thought they would end up with at least a point, but a late winner in the 88th minute gave Toronto FC Academy a thrilling 3-2 win. Scott Lamont provided a brace for the visitors, but it wasn’t enough. With a nice day and a 4:00pm kickoff, the Lions were excited to face their hosts after beating them 2-0 last week and looking to move up in the standings. At the same time, they knew that a strong effort was going to be needed to garner a victory. The first leg of this Canadian road trip was played at the Kia training facility in Toronto. Both teams started the match aggressively and were fighting hard for every ball. The high pressure pace led to an opening goal for TFC as they took the early lead 1-0. The Lions were not impacted by the goal and continued to pressure the ball and look for their own openings. A foul on the left flank gave CDL FC their first set piece and Martyn Sayer made the best of it. His shot cleared the wall and was initially saved by the TFC keeper, but he could not hold onto the ball. Scott Lamont was rushing the goal area and was able to get his foot on the rebound and fire it home. The 1-1 scoreline stood through halftime. “I liked the way the lads responded to the early goal. They kept playing hard, working for each other and created chances. We had a couple corner kicks and then the set piece was hit well by Martyn and Scotty was there to finish it up. Excellent soccer…,” said Head Coach Terry Nicholl. The second half started similar to the first with both teams putting pressure on the ball all over the pitch. Outside back Nick Merhaut was able to get down the flank and knock a cross into a very crowded penalty box. After a scramble, the ball dropped to the left of Jack Clark and he was able to snap off a quick shot for goal. Unfortunately, the Assistant Referee had his flag up and the goal was called off for offside. This bit of misfortunate seemed to impact the Lions as TFC took control of the match with better possession and numerous shots on goal. The pace of the match started to take a bit of the legs from the visitors. With just under 20 minutes to play, the home squad hit pay dirt with a fine goal coming down the right side. The 2-1 lead seemed to be enough as time was winding down. The Lions seemed a bit weary, but some additional magic was in store. With less than 8 minutes remaining a superb goal was created from the roommate Scottish connection of Kurtis Roberts and Scott Lamont. Roberts won the ball just inside midfield, took a dribble and hit a perfect through ball. Lamont timed his run and was in free on the keeper. He lifted his shot over the onrushing goalie, it hit the underside of the crossbar and rolled in……2-2 score. “The pass from Kurtis was exactly where it needed to be, I was able to get a great first touch and was hoping the shot would slide under the bar. I was really thinking we had stolen a point late, but it wasn’t to be. I liked our teamwork and battling for 90+ minutes. It will give us confidence for later in the season. We need to rebound for Sunday’s match,” said Lamont. The final minutes of the match were enhanced by the final substitutes for the home squad. The fresher legs seemed to give them a lift and in the waning moments, TFC got a cracker of a finish as a brilliant shot from the edge of the box gave them the 3-2 win and their first win of the season. The Lions travel to K-W United for a Sunday evening affair at Wilfrid Laurier University. K-W sit atop the league standings, so another strong outing will be needed to get a result from this road trip. CDL will return home for a Wednesday mid-day 3:00pm kickoff at the Mason Multi Purpose stadium. The will be hosting the Dayton Dutch Lions FC.