July 15, 2017 League 1 Ontario--Pro Stars FC vs Vaughan Azzurri (by Rocket Robin)

.........................

Result and details of the League 1 Ontario game of July 15, 2017 between
Pro Stars FC and Vaughan Azzurri played at Avondale Stadium in Brampton at 11:30am.

Pro Stars FC (all white, blue numbers)

.....................1 Justin Barrett
2 Briam Lopez...3 Jack Crawford (cpt)...15 Mohamed Alhilo...5 Jacob Rodrigues
4 Uday Arora...17 Luke Kim...8 Owen Carter...18 Navid Rahman
..........9 Kibwe Dyer...10 Adel Rahman

Subs:...22 Ziad Noilaty (gk)...6 Silas Obeng...7 Nathanial McAuley...12 Nassim Kamli
...13 Jonathan Majoris...14 Jeremy Jodah...16 Damani Tenn
team officials:...head coach Indrit Fortuzi...other team officials Gabriel Pop, Danny Costa,
Stiven Mikhail, and Martin Minal

Vaughan Azzurri (all navy, white numbers, red trim)

......................1 Andrew D'Souza
16 Devante Walker...6 Brandon John...2 Jarred Philipps...3 Joseph Amato (cpt)
14 Dante Pavan...23 Joseph Di Chiara...4 Christopher Mannella...10 Alistair Johnston
.............25 Mario Kovacevic...9 Jarek Whiteman

Subs:...12 Liam McQueenie (gk)...5 Kristofer Michael...8 Kai Olguin...11 Ryan Raposo...
13 Andranik Kagramanyan...7 Aidan O'Hara
team officials:...Patrice Gheisar, Wayne Mills, Esteban Clavijo, and Tony De Palma

Game officials:...referee Vladimir Makarov...referee's assistants Jason Thomas and Joshua Smith
...fourth official Melissa Snedden...(watermelon shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 11:34am...PS defends west end on this hot and humid day with a bright sun
in the south.
3 min...VA Mannella cross from 20 yards near left end line has ball chested down and VA Pavan blasts 15 yard
shot down middle off underside of bar and defender clears.
5 min...PS Dyer holds off VA Amato on run down right and shoots 20 yarder just wide right of net.
6 min...VA Pavan cornerkick from right has players in box head ball back and forth until ball is finally cleared.
9 min...PS Arora cross from right has defenders clear.
10 min...VA Johnston 25 yard roller from riight is wide left.
11 min...VA Whiteman cross from 28 yards on left has goalie rush out to catch in front of VA forward at 12 yards.
15 min...VA Jarek Whiteman GOAL...VA player's cornerkick from left is short and another VA player runs
it along end line towards goal and taps out for Whiteman in middle to shoot 10 yarder through crowd of players
into top left side of net.
18 min...VA Di Chiara blasts 30 yard roller from middle wide left of net.
19 min...VA Pavan is given long pass up right and low 25 yard shot is saved by sliding goalie at 10 yards.
Pavan's rebound shot from 15 yards is blocked by defender.
20 min...VA Jarek Whiteman GOAL...Whiteman dribbles down middle fending off checks and he shoots low 15 yarder
into left side of net.
22 min...PS Dyer cross from 12 yards on right has VA Johnston clear.
23 min...PS Rodrigues cornerkick from right has goalie catch at 3 yards in crowd of players.
24 min...VA Whiteman pass to VA Kovacevic who has shot deflected for cornerkick by PS Alhilo.
25 min...PS sub...McAuley replaces Kim.
26 min...VA Dante Pavan GOAL...VA Joseph Amato on left chips pass forward from 40 yards for VA Mario Kovacevic
on left and he crosses from 25 yards to middle where open Pavan rolls 12 yard shot into net.
28 min...PS Dyer 22 yard shot up middle deflects off fallen defender at 18 yards and goalie catches.
29 min...PS Adel Rahman 20 yard shot down middle is caught by goalie.
32 min...VA Whiteman steals ball and chips 35 yard shot from left that hits left post with goalie caught in middle.
32 min...VA Di Chiara on left pass to VA Whiteman has him slip on blocked shot attempt.
34 min...PS McAuley rush down left and his cross from 25 yards near end line is over box.
36 min...PS Adel Rahman cornerkick from left is headed out right side of box.
38 min...PS YELLOW card...Lopez earns it for clip on VA Whiteman at VA 50 yard line on right.
39 min...VA player's 40 yard freekick down middle is over net.
41 min...Joseph De Chiara GOAL...VA Christopher Mannella makes a good hold up play against two defenders
at 22 yards before passing off. VA Jarek Whiteman tangled with another defender on edge of box makes
a backheel pass over to De Chiara in open at 15 yards and he shoots forward into net.
43 min...VA Whiteman on left near end line passes back to VA Manella who runs towards middle and shoots 25 yarder
that hits right post.
45 min...half ends 12:19pm.

VA players don't bother to go back to the dressing room 300 yards away.

2nd Half:...starts 12:36pm.
49 min...VA sub...O'Hara replaces injured Kovacevic.
50 min...PS Rodrigues rush on left and cross from 30 yards is headed away by defender at 12 yards.
51 min...PS sub...Noilaty replaces Barrett in goal.
53 min...VA Wwalker low cross from 28 yards on far right has VA O'Hara have shot blocked.
53 min...VA sub...Olguin replaces Amato.
58 min...PS sub...Obeng replaces Rodrigues.
59 min...VA sub...McQueenie replaces D'Souza in goal.
61 min...PS goalie beats VA O'Hara to smother ball at 15 yards.
62 min...VA sub...Raposo replaces Pavan.
62 min...PS player's 40 yard freekick from right has PS Crawford head 20 yarder that's stopped.
63 min...VA O'Hara blasts 30 yarder down middle well high and wide right over back fence.
64 min...VA Jarek Whiteman GOAL...VA Chris Mannella taps pass over to Whiteman in middle
and he shoots 15 yarder into low left corner of net.
64 min..PS sub...Jodah replaces Carter.
........PS sub...Majoris replaces Lopez.
65 min...VA sub...Kagramanyan replaces Walker.
66 min...PS goalie out to 22 yards to slide and prevent shot opportunity.
67 min...VA Jarek Whiteman GOAL...VA player taps pass forward up middle for charging Whiteman
to shoot 15 yarder over sliding goalie into left side of net.
70 min...PS Obeng is tapped back pass and his 45 yard shot down middle is well over net.
72 min...VA Aidan O'Hara GOAL...O'Hara 20 yard shot from left is over sprawling goalie at 8 yards
and into right corner of net.
73 min...PS RED card...Jack Crawford earns it. Defender Crawford pulls over VA player from behind
racing up middle at 22 yards. Referee Vladimir Makarov was going to award a freekick since it was
just outside the box and pull out a Yellow card but he put it away. He must have been called to the
sideline because after he talked with assistant Joshua Smith he ran back across the field and pulled
out a Red card. From Smith's angle he could tell Crawford was the last man back.
74 min...VA Mannella 22 yard freekick has goalie punch away at top left corner of net.
75 min...PS goalie outjumps VA O'Hara for big bouncer at 12 yards.
76 min...VA Johnston is injured making check on PS Dyer near VA end line.
77 min...PS player's short cornerkick from left is wasted as shot has defender block cross attempt.
80 min...VA Jarek Whiteman GOAL...VA player dekes goalie at 15 yards but is forced left. PS defender
Mohamed Alhilo slides and saves that player's shot low 12 yard shot. Whiteman gets rebound at 18 yards
on left and shoots over goalie at 6 yards and into right corner of net.
82 min...VA Raposo cross from right end lne finds VA Whiteman who knocks ball down but has ball cleared.
85 min...Pro Stars Adel Rahman GOAL...PS Kibwe Dyer rush down left on 2 on 1 and rolls pass across
field at 30 yards and Rahman shoots low 22 yarder from right to left corner of net beyond diving goalie.
87 min...VA Whiteman 30 yard shot on run in middle is just wide right of net.
88 min...VA Raposo cross from 28 yards on right is through box unplayed.
89 min...VA Jarek Whiteman GOAL...VA Jospeh Di Chiara chips pass from 45 yards on right that finds
VA Aidan O'Hara open at 20 yards in middle. He dekes goalie at 8 yards and hits left post on shot
and Whiteman coming in behind him gets shot between defenders into net.
90 min...VA Ryan Raposo GOAL...Raposo gets pass at 25 yards on right and bends low shot around
diving goalie into left corner of net.
92 min...VA Jarek Whiteman GOAL...VA Ryan Raposo beats charging goalie to rescue ball on right end line.
He crosses from 20 yards along line and Whiteman nods 5 yarder into open net as he and VA Aidan O'Hara
were both waiting on left post.
93 min...game ends before the ensuring PS kickoff.

Final Score:.....Pro Stars........1......Vaughan Azzurri........11.....

Attendance was about 40 on this hot and humid day. The game was 
played at 'Avondale Stadium'--a location I'd known for years 
as Victoria Park in Brampton. The James F McCurry Victoria Park Arena—
the hockey arena was heavily damaged in a fire over a year ago and 
is still not in use. The story I heard is it frazzled a lot of the 
electrical elements/controls in the stadium. I looked before the game 
started and the regular field has no grass on it, it looks like it's 
been recently graded to re-sod. Thankfully the newly installed 
washrooms and dressing rooms are untouched. The game was played 
on what I knew was a practice field in past years but with a crowd 
of this size the few rows of seats were more than enough.  The grass 
looked great, It gave me a flashback to when I used to play golf. 
I saw City of Brampton trucks in the parking lot with their logo 
'Garden City'.  Very appropriate.  

Well the game was somewhat like what I saw a week ago when Oakville 
dominated Toronto Skillz but that turned ugly with a bunch 
of ejections at only 5-0 and Oakville playing keep away. This game 
played out cooly. Vaughan cycled through their bench by 65 minutes 
including their goalie sub. I suppose the one player they could have 
subbed off was Jarek Whiteman but he played on. It's hard to get 
upset when young Ryan Raposo gets into the game and scores and has 
his parents cheering. For guys like him and fellow '1999er' 
Aidan O'Hara, it is a chance to play for the main squad and show 
what they can do.

The bigger L1O clubs are stockpiling guys who are waiting to make 
the jump to the new Canadian Premier league. That's the reason 
I see 27 year old Whiteman still with Vaughan and ex TFC first 
teamer Chris Mannella finding a place on the team this year. 
I talked with John Zervos a team official with Sigma FC where I was 
later in the afternoon and he said the club will be just as happy 
when these players move on as it will make space for their younger 
players to move up the chain. (more details in a separate report 
on their game). Teams like Pro Stars will be better when these 
better teams peel off their older players to this new Canadian 
league and it can go back to teenagers against teenagers.

A lot of people don't like uneven games like this yet every two 
weeks over 7000 are in downtown Toronto watching the new pro rugby 
team 'Wolfpack' beat some third division English club teams by never 
less than 60 points and it has extensive media coverage. Do you 
go to watch the Harlem Globetrotters more than once a year?

Vaughan had just played Wednesday night in a League 1 Cup match 
semi-final on the road to Durham United that went to Penalty kicks 
which Vaughan eventually won and today didn't look any worse 
for wear. Officially today the spot on their roster for head coach 
was left blank but suspended Carmine Isacco was in the stands 
watching with the crowd like that player from French Guiana—nothing 
for him to worry about. Wednesday's clinching Penalty kick taker 
Thomas Sklublak wasn't on the roster (Sklublak scored six goals 
in an early round Cup game this season) and Isacco answered 
my question that all of the three Mills brothers were at an event. 
I'm going to assume having watched the guys on this roster for 
a few years now, the number that are still at school 
at York University is less than in other year and they will 
be hurt less when that school schedule starts.

Pro Stars split there goaltending between Justin Barrett and 
Zlad Noilaty. Neither was their first choice as I was at their 
game last week when goalie Jonathan Albanese deep in injury time 
slid to make a save in a reasonable 2-0 loss to Master's FA 
and took the shot in his face. I received a bunch of retweets 
during the week where he asked if there was some kind of mask 
he could wear as he'd broken his nose!  A later tweet had him 
outfitted with something but I didn't notice him at the game today.

Referee Vladimir Makarov gave out just one Yellow and one Red 
(both to Pro Stars) that I counted in a game that never got rough.

The sound system wasn't working for much of the game and goals 
and subs were not being announced. I usually do a better job 
of filling in assists by asking the goal scorers but they were 
so many I'll try to play back the game when it's posted on the 
league site in a few days for my own site report. I had so many 
markings in my notes I wouldn't even be sure what to ask Whiteman. 
He must now hold the record for most goals in a game in this fourth 
season league.  He was one of the first to leave and they gave 
him the cooler to lug back to the change-room about 300 yards away. 
Some reward!

Pro Stars record falls to 0 wins, 10 losses, 1 tie for 1 point and 
eighth (ie last) place in the Western Conference.

Vaughan has their record improve to 7 wins, 3 losses, 1 tie 
for 22 points and they jump from fourth to second in the East 
although those other teams will play later this weekend.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter RocketRobin01

Pro Stars FC starters