June 2, 2018 League 1 Ontario--Sigma FC vs FC London (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Saturday June 2, 2018 League 1 Ontario game between Sigma FC and FC London played at Hershey Centre 1 in Mississauga at 4:00pm.

Sigma FC (blue socks and shirts, black short, white numbers)

.......................1 Triston Henry
2 Malcolm Duncan...4 Reggie Laryea...3 Dominci Samuel...15 Duran Lee
........10 Hilli Goldhar...8 Giuliano Frano (cpt)...6 Gaisal Ghaffur
.........7 Kadell Thomas...17 Tajon Buchanan...11 Marcel Zajac

Subs:...Luke Iacobellis (gk)...5 Kyle Walton...12 Dionysis Stergiotis...16 Simon Triantafillou
...20 Mansoor Alfazy...21 Jostin Stoddart...22 Marcus Lees
team officials:...team head coaches Bobby Smymiotis and John Zervos...assistant coaches David Igreja
...manager Perry Chadjiioannou...equipment manager Joseph Hanley...therapist Kiran Persad

FC London (white socks and shorts, red shorts, black numbers)

......................1 Anthony Sokalski
5 Parker Seymour...21 Marko Maletic...3 Aaron Schneebeli...17 Stephen Al-Sayed
15 Randy Ribeiro (cpt)...16 Patrick Melo...13 Jeremy Arnold...23 Connor Wilson...8 Mohammad Reza Nafar
......................10 James Pucci

Subs:...22 Connor Dalton (gk)...2 Max Marsh...6 Sean Fawsitt...11 Michael Bitel
...12 Belal Halbouni...19 bejamin Vyfschaft...20 Chad Gopaul
team officials:...team head coach Michael Marcoccia...assistant coaches Eduard Schmidt and Phillip Millar
...therapist Laura Snoek

Game officials:...referee Braeden Krampert...referee's assistants John Vlahos and Jessica Patton
...fourth official Lukaez Kowalewski...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 3:58pm...Sigma defends east end on this warm day with a bright sun in the west
and a wind from the south.
1 min...Sigma Samuel bumps FCL Seymour off ball on run to edge of Sigma box on right and goalie picks up ball.
4 min...FCL Pucci freekick from 30 yards on left has goalie drift over to right to palm ball away from top corner.
8 min...Sigma Thomas run down right side but pushes ball over end line before he can cross.
11 min...Sigma Samuel at 60 yard line on left hits pass to charging Sigma Thomas at 35 yard line on right
and he dekes around goalie but fires 15 yarder into right side webbinf of net.
12 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Laryea earns it for tackle on FCL Nafar in middle near edge of box.
14 min...Sigma Marcel Zajac GOAL...FCL James Pucci blasts 20 yard freekick down middle into a chest in
player wall. Pucci blasts rebound into wall below knees that is also blocked and rebound for quick break.
Sigma Kadell Thomas gets break on right after recovering the rebound and charges from 70 yards to 25 yards
where he sends a low centering pass to the trailing Zajac who shoots a 20 yarder into the net past goalie
Anthony Sokalski.
15 min...Sigma Lee blasts 22 yard freekick up middle over player wall and just over bar.
16 min...FCL YELLOW card...Arnold earns it for pulling down Sigma Duncan at Sigma 45 yard line.
18 min...A Sigma goal is waved off from 5 yard line on sharp angle shot into far left corner because the pass was offside.
19 min...FCL Arnold turns and lofts 25 yard shot from left just wide left of net.
22 min...FL Pucci 30 yard freekici up middle low and bounces for goalie to smother.
23 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Goldhar eanrs it for sliding tackle at FCL 50 yard line after he pass ball away to FCL Al-Sayed.
25 min...Sigma Zajac recovers poor backpass at 12 yards and turns and fires with goalie sprawling to middle to save at 5 yards.
The rebound is worked back to Zajac and his next shot is blocked. The whistle is then blown when worked in again.
27 min...Sigma Zajac bends 25 yard freekick from far left that drifts over net.
29 min...Sigma Goldhar recovers cross in middle at 18 yards and rolls pass back and Sigma Ghaffur blasts low 25 yarder
up middle that goalie dives to save on right.
31 min...FCL Melo is injured at Sigma 40 yard line and needs trainer.
33 min...Sigma Buchanan runs down right and crosses to find Sigma Zajac but defender heads ball away.
34 min...FCL goalie runs out to 22 yards to beat Sigma Zajac to through ball pass to middle.
35 min...Sigma Goldhar cornerkick from right has Sigma Ghaffur duck at 15 yards on right to flick header over net.
36 min...Sigmam Duncan cuts in from right but cross is blocked.
38 min...FCL Pucci 25 yard freekick from far right is through 6 yard box unplayed.
39 min...FCL Nafar is checked off top left of Sigma box by two defenders and ball is cleared.
41 min...FCL sub...Bitel replaces Melo.
41 min...Sigma Goldhar cornerkick from right si through boxx and they win cornerkick on left.
41 min...Sigma Zajac cornerkick from left has FCL Schneebeli head ball through box for a throw-in.
42 min...Sigma Goldhar cornerkick from right wins throw-in on left.
44 min...FCL Arnold rolls ball from 20 yards in Sigma end but FCL Seymour doesn't run in to make play.
45 min...FCL Pucci is injured in collision with Sigma goalie charging to punch away ball at 15 yards. Pucci needs
trainer. The play had the offside flag raised before the collision.
49 min...Kadell Thomas GOAL...Sigma Giuliano Frano recovers poor pass at FCL 25 yard line
and quick pass to Thomas is forward and to left and he steps forward and rolls a 10 yard shot
under the sliding goalie at 6 yards into the left side of net.
50 min...half ends 4:480m.

Halftime Entertainment: the new World Cup song is played on the sound system before the game and at halftime.

2nd Half:...starts 5:04pm.
49 min...FCL Nafar makes good deke up right and rolls ball from edge of 6 yard box unplayed and defender clears.
52 min...Sigma Lee rolls pass too far forward for Sigma Zajac to control and ball rolls over left end line.
52 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Zajac earns it for not giving 10 yards on a freekick at the FCL 40 yard line.
54 min...Sigma Zajac pass to Sigma Ghaffur in middle after taking quick freekick and Ghaffur shoots 18 yarder
well over net.
55 min...Sigma Ghaffur on right side of FCL box loses ball over endline.
56 min...FCL sub...Vyfschaft replaces Arnold.
57 min...FCL Pucci 22 yard freekick on right edge of box is high and wide left of net.
58 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Lee earns it for dissent (?).
58 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Ghaffur earns it for retaliation tackle on right sideline after Sigma Duncan is knocked over.
61 min...FCL YELLOW card...Bitel earns it for sliding tackle on Sigma Duncan at FCL 50 yards.
61 min...FCL sub...Halbouni replaces Ribeiro.
Sigma have been caught offside at least twice in the last few minutes.
63 min...Sigma Buchanan can't control high cross from left while all alone on right.
64 min...FCL Pucci only tips 22 yarder from left that rolls to goalie maybe fearing offside.
65 min...FCL goalie runs ouit to 20 yards to intercept through ball pass into two Sigma players.
66 min...FCL Pucci can't win call on 1 on 5 rush into right side of Sigma box.
66 min...Sigma sub...Lees replaces Thomas.
.........Sigma sub...Walton replaces Lee.
66 min...Fourth official Lukaez Kowalewski comes in to referee the rest of the game.
69 min...Sigma Ghaffur cross from 15 yards on right has Sigma player just miss leaping goalie.
70 min...FCL sub...Gopaul replaces Pucci.
.........Sigma sub...Stoddart replaces Goldhar.
72 min...FCL Halbouni rolls pass forward for FCL Vyfschaft but goalie is out to 12 yards to dive
and smother to break it up.
73 min...FCL Vyfschaft leaps to connect on high centering cross at 15 yards but kicks it backwards!
75 min...FCL Gopaul run on left pgets away cross on end line but ball is cleared.
76 min...Sigma sub...Alfazy replaes Ghaffur.
76 min...Sigma Frano rolls pass up middle that sliding FCL Al-Sayed knocks over own net.
77 min...Sigma Zajac cornerkick from left has FCL players start fast break.
77 min...Sigma Lees long run up left and his cross through 6 yard box is unplayed.
78 min...Sigma Frano chips 35 yarder up middle bounces to goalie as no players run for it.
80 min...FCL Al-Sayed is injured in FCL box as Sigma Buchanan gets by him on step over but may have
stepped on him. The trainer is needed.
83 min...FCL sub...Marsh replaces Maletic.
84 min...FCL Wilson is tepped pass and his low 28 yard shot up middle is wide left.
86 min...Sigma player's 30 yard freekick from left. Sigma Stoddart blasts 20 yarder diown middle
wide right of net.
87 min...Sigma Tajon Buchanan GOAL...Sigma Marcel Zajac beats FCL Max Marsh on right and cuts
in low cross that Buchanan blasts 8 yarder up middle into right side of net.
87 min...Sigma sub...Stergiotis replaces Zajac.
95 min...Sigma Stergiotis rolls 20 yard shot from right wide left of net.
95 min...game ends 5:54pm.

Final Score:...Sigma FC......3......FC London......0......

Attendance was about 100 on this hot and sunny day. There was an airplane fly over to land at nearby
Pearson airport to the east every two minutes. Some of them flew quite low drowning out the
announcements.

Triston Henry earned the shutout for Sigma. He didn't have much to do but was aggressive in a few step ups
forward to clear any through ball passes. The defence of Malcolm Duncan, Reggie Laryea, Dominic Samuel,
and Duran Lee just kept the FCL players outside the box. Duncan and Lee were often upfield doubling
up as wingers on runs up the sidelines.

Both teams used their maximum five subs and, something you don't see every day, fourth official
Lukaez Kowalewski had to replace Braeden Krampert at 66 minutes (same time as two Sigma subs)
for an achilles injury. Seven Yellow cards were given out (five to Sigma) and all by Krampert. The game
wasn't particularly rough but scary moments happened to FCL players. 45 minutes had Sigma goalie
Triston Henry charge to the edge of the box to fist away a cross and he connected to James Pucci
possibly in the face. 80 minutes had a collision of the two #17s as Sigma's Tajon Buchanan deked around
FCL defender Stephen Al-Sayed inside the FCL box on the right and looked like he stepped on the
fallen Al-Sayed possibly on the face. The trainer was needed in both incidents.

While the game wasn't out of reach until that third goal, FCL were very limited in any kind of offensive threat.
Their passes were rolled too far forward and defenders and/or goalie could clear or cover. The second goal
was a killer coming on practically the last kick just before halftime. A Sigma 'goal' at 18 minutes was
waved off for an offside call at the 5 yard line. Sigma was also called offside a few other times
and didn't always make runs as they thought they'd be called for it.

One example of FCL's offensive problems was at 73 minutes when Benjamin Vyfschaft leapt to connect on a high
centering cross at 15 yards and did kick but it actually was away from the net. This was probably
as frustrating as a minute earlier when FCL Belal Halbouni rolled a pass forward for Vyfschaft but
the goalie was out to 12 yards to dive and smother the ball before he could connect.

Aaron Schneebeli looked the best defender on FCL. He was one of the players called up to the 'L1O All Stars'
for their pre-season game against Ottawa Fury back in March.

The win moves Sigma up to third place in the standings with a 3-0-0 record. They've outscored their
opponents 15 to 1. They have started under the radar in the league by having the only bye in the first week
of the seventeen team league. Then their first scheduled game in Week 2 against Darby FC was postponed
because the roof of the Whitby Soccer Centre was heavily damaged by the windstorms the GTA had that weekend.
(Yeah a tree branch in my own backyard crashed down and knocked down my two clotheslines and my land line
phone/internet service in that storm). So two weeks and no points could lull teams into not paying
attention to Sigma. This was the feeling I had when TFC in the MLS had games postponed and openings
in their schedule in their CCL pursuit but have now frittered them away.

A Sigma official told me before the game that they were looking at the importance of this game because
FC London took points away from them in both their fixtures in 2017. Yeah 0-0 in a game here almost
a year ago and 2-2 on September 8th in London. This season each team plays each other only once
and then an extended group playoff of the best eight starting the end of September. After the game
I talked to Sigma head coach Bobby Smymiotis about the past history of having a good start. No game
in first week is fine as they wait for players to return from NCCA schools. Then ring off nine wins
in a row but slow down in August when the first team players go back to school. “Yes” Smymiotis said
“and that will happen again this year”. Also I said they'll be players joining the new Canadian Premier
League next year. Smymiotis is looking forward to it to move guys on and said there are guys on the team
that wouldn't even be here (ie on Sigma) if the league was already operating.

Sigma provided the MLS with their 2015 Rookie of the Year Cyle Larin and then midfielder Richie Laryea
(both claimed different years by Orlando City SC). Younger brother Reggie Laryea is playing in the Sigma
defence and looked good but doesn't make the headlines at that position.

FC London's record falls to 2 wins, 1 loss, 1 tie to put them all alone in fifth place.

Both teams won last weekend's games in L1O Cup competition. They will also play each other
on Friday June 22nd here at Hershey Centre in the quarterfinals! One game like the English FA Cup
but drawn like a tennis bracket so your opponents right through the final are known.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01

Sigma FC starters