September 25, 2017 League 1 Ontario--Match Recap: Oakville Blue Devils vs FC London (from League 1 Ontario)

Match Recap: Oakville Blue Devils 2 - 1 FC London
09/25/2017, 11:00pm EDT
By League1 Ontario staff

Taylor McNamara (1') got the Oakville Blue Devils off to the start they have been used 
to with a very early goal, while Khody Ellis (40') added an insurance marker before the 
half-time in a must-win match for the Blue Devils as they look to stave off Sigma FC 
in the race for first place in the west.

But nothing was easy for the men's west division leaders in Matchweek 22 as FC London 
stormed back with a goal from Matthew Albert (74'), signalling a tense late period that 
threatened the result, but the Blue Devils hung on to get the 2-1 win.

"Another difficult game today, which we thoroughly expected once we saw their gamesheet," 
said Oakville head coach, Duncan Wilde. "They came today a lot stronger I think than 
they have been in previous weeks, which surprised us a little bit. Credit to them, 
they put on a good game." 

"I thought we started really well and deserved our early lead before backing off 
a little bit. I think both teams struggled in the heat. It must have been close 
to forty degrees in the middle of the field and that took its toll mid-way through 
the second half. We thought it was important to get to the sixty-five, seventieth 
minute in front, because we knew that both teams would need their bench and 
it proved to be so." 

"I thought we could have scored three or four in the second half, but we were 
very good value second half. We're pleased with the points, it puts us three points 
closer, and another week closer to the end of the season."

London again showed a quality crop of youth mixed in with their established senior 
quality, and gave Oakville a hard time for much of the match with their workrate 
and stamina. 

"Overall you saw again today that we played with many young players and overall 
if you looked at the difference in physical size between the two teams, Oakville 
is clearly superior in this," said FC London assistant coach, Eddie Schmidt.

"Oakville played a style that focused on long balls and second balls and with 
that I thought we did exceptionally well today. It was also our plan to force 
a certain type of long ball that is not as dangerous for us, because when they 
can overload our box this is where they are the best team." 

"If you remove the Windsor game from Oakville's record, you can see that after 
the seventy-fifth minute, which is sixty per cent of the playing time, Oakville 
has scored over thirty per cent of their goals," he explained. 

"It shows that usually Oakville is the team that can stay until the end. Today 
I think we showed with our physical preparation that we were making them struggle 
in this period and this for me is a success." 

Oakville Blue Devils will next play Sanjaxx Lions on October 1 
at Monarch Park, Toronto. 

FC London will next play Windsor TFC Stars on October 1 
at University of Windsor, Windsor. 

back to 2017 League 1 Ontario Men's index

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