June 16, 2018 League 1 Ontario--Sanjaxx Lions vs Darby FC game review (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Saturday June 16, 2018 League 1 Ontario game between Sanjaxx Lions and Darby FC
played at Monarch Park in Toronto at 2:00pm.

Sanjaxx Lions (yellow socks and shirts, navy shorts and numbers)

....................1 Tayjon Campbell
2 Saul Campos...13 Nicholas Charles...17 Kemar Rowe (cpt)...16 Martin Goralski
4 Rohan Mowatt...12 Stefan Nikolic...18 Joel Anderson...9 Andrew Gordon
..............10 Timoth Cordova...23 Morgan Copeland

Subs:...3 Thomas Ang...8 Christian Alves...11 Nathaniel Rodney-Scarlett...14 Daniel Abreu
...15 Leonardo rescenzi...19 James Perot...20 Ahmad Al Jarah
team officials:...team head coach Laza Lowe...assistant coaches Devon Porter, Ramon McIntosh, Remberto Luna
manager Nicoletta Bonafede

Darby FC (navy socks, shorts and numbers, white shirts)

.....................1 Matt Zaikos
6 Gaejon Mikle-Ryan...5 Raphael Reynolds...15 Cameron Brooks (cpt)...16 Michael Diriennzo
23 Mackenzie Roach...10 Kashiff De Jonge...8 Adrian Gallo...3 Vincenzo Sasso
...........9 Le Rohne Young...14 Marcellus Paul

Subs:...2 Tajmir Ashraq...4 Jonathan Parolini...7 Jemuel Paul...11 Hayden Clarke
17 Dylan Campbell...18 La'El Daniel...21 David Reilly
team officials:...team head coach David Thorburn...assistant coaches Billy Pachis, Eugene Alves, and Sanford Carabin

Game officials:...referee Alexis Vaughan...referee's assistants Lukasz Kowalewski and Bradley Doubrough
...fourth official Nick Vagenas...(watermelon shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 2:01pm...Sanjaxx defends West end on this hot and humid afternoon with a bright sun
from the south west.
1 min...Darby Marcellus Paul runs down left and 25 yard shot is wide left.
5 min...Darby De Jonge rolls 25 yarder down middle just wide right of post.
6 min...Darby goalie comes out to left side of box to head away ball before Sanjaxx Copeland can get to it.
7 min...Darby Brooks 40 yard freekick dowm middle is sent well over net with players waiting on left.
8 min...Darby Marcellus Paul run on left and cross from 15 yards near end line has Sanjaxx Rowe chest down ball and clear
at 6 yards.
9 min...Darby Diriennzo recovers partially cleared ball and rolls 40 yarder between players wide left of net.
12 min...Darby Sasso is down injured at Darby 35 yard line and needs trainer.
17 min...Darby Mikle-Ryan flubs 8 yard shot from right and defender clears.
17 min...Darby Roach shot from 15 yards on far right has goalie make overhead catch on right edge of 6 yard box.
18 min...Sanjaxx goalie's 75 yard freekick from left bounces to Darby goalie.
19 min...Darby Diriennzo gets pass behind defence on left but they catch him at 25 yard line.
20 min...Sanjaxx Mowatt is injured in collision with Darby Marcellus Paul at Sanjaxx 30 yard line.
22 min...Sanjaxx Gordon blasts 25 yard shot from left that goalie bats down.
22 min...Sanjaxx Gordon cornnerkick from left is cleared by defender.
23 min...Darby Marcellus Paul run down to left end line but falls over making cross which flies behind net.
24 min...Sanjaxx Cordova 25 yard low shot through crowd of players is wide right of net.
24 min...Darby Sasso run on left and cross from 20 yard line is over to Darby DeJonge who shoots low 20 yarder down middle
and goalie dives right to save on post.
.......Darby Sasso is injured on that play and needs trainer. Referee orders a water break.
27 min...Sanjaxx Copeland dekes one defender and wins cornerkick on left with cross from left.
28 min...Sanjaxx Gordon cornerkick from right is partially cleared and Sanjaxx wins another cornerkick on right.
29 min...Sanjaxx Nikolic cornerkick from right side is cleared and Sanjaxx Anderson shoots low 35 yarder up middle through
players but wide right.
31 min...Sanjaxx Cordova and Copeland on give and go player on right but Copeland rolls cross too far for Cordova cutting
across box.
32 min...Sanjaxx Campos catches Darby Roach on run down on right side preventing cross into box.
33 min...Darby De Jonge shoots low 15 yarder up middle as he falls over and diving goalie pushes ball wide right of post.
34 min...Darby Sasso cornerkick from right is cleared to right for a throw-in.
35 min...Sanjaxx Rowe is injured and needs trainer at Sanjaxx 30 yard line (an improvised water break happens while he's
being treated).
39 min...Sanjaxx sub...Perot replaces innjured Rowe. Anderson becomes the captain.
41 min...Darby Reynolds passes forward on left to Darby Sasso who rescues on left end line and crosses through box unplayed.
42 min...Sanjaxx YELLOW card...Copeland earns it for tackle at Sanjaxx 45 yard line.
43 min...Sanjaxx Campos chips pass from 45 yards on right is over Sanjaxx Copeland at 25 yards in middle and ball bounces
to goalie.
46 min...Darby Gallo ends Darby pressure with 12 yard bicycle kick wide left after series of popped up ball after Darby Brooks
freekick from 30 yards on left is into box.
48 min...Darby Kashiff DeJonge wins Penalty kick when he's pushed down on right in box by Sanjaxx Nicholas Charles while running
away from goal.
49 min...Darby Le Rohne Young GOAL...Young stutter steps and blasts Penalty kick into top center of net over sprawling goalie
Tayjon Campbell in middle of net.
50 min...half ends 2:51pm.

Second Half:...starts 3:07pm.
45 min...Darby Brooks cornerkick from right is partially cleared and defender pokes ball away preventing Darby blast at 22 yards
up middle.
48 min...Darby Gallo blasts 33 yarder up middle between players but well over net.
52 min...Sanjaxx YELLOW card...Perot earns it for grabbing arm of Darby Young on run to edge of box.
53 min...Darby Young 22 yard freekick up middle is low and through wall and caught by goalie.
54 min...Sanjaxx sub...Alves replaces Mowatt.
.........Darby sub...Jemuel Paul replaces Roach.
.........Darby sub...Parolini replaces Gallo.
.........Sanjaxx sub...Crescenzi replaces Cordova.
60 min...Darby Marcellus Paul rush on left and cross from 20 yards has goalie palm ball through box overhead from left post.
Sanjaxx player gets back into box to clear.
61 min...Sanjaxx Perot bends 20 yard cross from left that goalie catches.
62 min...Darby Jemuel Paul rush down right on break and goalie slides at 15 yards to make stop on low 18 yard shot.
63 min...Darby sub...Clarke replaces Marcellus Paul.
67 min...Sanjaxx Nikolic low 40 yard freekick from slight right bounces wide right of goal.
68 min...Darby Diriennzo low cross from 22 yards on right is cleared from box by defender.
69 min...Sanjaxx YELLOW card...Alves earns it for tackle on Darby Sasso injurying him and he needs trainer. The teams use this
time for a water break.
71 min...Darby sub...Ashraq replaces injured Sasso.
.........Sanjaxx RED card...A Sanjaxx official on their bench is ejected from the game for dissent. Referee Vaughan has a difficult
time gettting him out of the field as he thought just sitting on the players bench was going to be enough.
75 min...Darby Jemuel Paul run on right and taps for Darby player to shoots low 15 yarder just wide right of post.
78 min...Sanjaxx Nikolic 25 yard shot up middle is caught by goalie flying to right post.
80 min...Darby Diriennzo chips 25 yard shot from right that goalie catches.
81 min...Sanjaxx Copeland cross from 18 yards along left end line is caught by goalie.
82 min...Sanjaxx Anderson is injured at Sanjaxx 40 yard line. Darby can't win Penalty kick in tangle with Sanjaxx goalie.
84 min...Darby Reynolds 22 yard freekick from left is just wide left of net.
87 min...Darby long goalkick has Darby Young make backwards head flick from 22 yards that's bounced to Sanjaxx goalie.
89 min...Darby Jemuel Paul from right cuts to middle and low 18 yard shot is smothered by goalie.
91 min...Darby sub...Daniel replaces Young.
92 min...Darby Parolini 40 yard shot up middle is over bar.
93 min...Darby Jemuel Paul rolls through ball up left to Darby De Jonge whose 10 yard shot is saved by sprawling goalie
who pushes ball wide of post.
94 min...Darby player's cornerkick on left is tapped around to waste time.
95 min...Sanjaxx RED card...Saul Campos is ejected for dissent away from the play. It may have started off as just a Yellow
but that was upgraded when he wouldn't stop.
96 min...game ends 3:58pm.

Final Score:....Sanjaxx Lions......0......Darby FC......1.........

Attendance was about 30 on this hot and humid day with a bright sun in the south west. Certainly the crowd size was quite
a contrast to the 4100 who overflowed the stands and onto the track for the special Toronto FC II school day game last month.
That team though averages only a little over 100 fans playing at BMO Field.

The weather was brutally hot. While I don't know if formal water breaks were scheduled, it was just that when injuries conveniently
happened and required a trainer, referee Vaughan invited the players to take a water break while the player was being treated.

The Lions have a good defence allowing only seven goals in six games but their problem is on offence which has only scored
three times in league games. Sanjaxx is tied for fourteenth in the league.

I was looking for more from the Lions this game. They had just come off holding Sigma FC to a 0-0 tie on a road trip
to Mississauga. These were the first points that Sigma had dropped this season and at the time had scored more goals than
the other teams in the league while playing fewer games. Another almost flawless defensive performance (you can't expect
any Penalty kick can be saved) but it's the offence that has problems without a good striker.

Darby is new to the men's league. They've had a women's team in the L1O Women's division for a few years now. Their record
improves to 2-2-1 and move up to eleventh in the league with them playing less games than most other teams.

I had tried to see Darby twice before but games were cancelled and rescheduled. May 5th looked good for a home game
but their indoor domed stadium was damaged by a wind storm the night before. My own home had a tree branch fall in my back yard
and took out my two clotheslines and telephone/internet line connections. Rough weekend! I found another game to go to
that date. One month later and their facility still wasn't ready...it was not the roof but some stadium lights had fallen onto
the field. They flipped their game to a road game on a different day so I missed them again. Ah but today I caught them
so that means that now I've seen all seventeen L1O men's teams play this season and it's only Week 8! I missed Week 3 after
having eye surgery and with slow healing, there was a day or so when I didn't think I'd be able to read nor drive again.

The Darby lineup and coaching staff aren't strange to me—I recognized about ten guys from last year's Durham United team.
I asked one of their coaches, Sanford Carabin, and he said Durham folded their men's team. It was nice to see they landed
on their feet at Darby—same municipality. Durham kept their women's team. Sanjaxx folded their L1O women's team.
Well that's minor league soccer!

The sound system was not working properly today. We could only hear O Canada coming out the sound system inside their club house
and that continued through the game for announcements.

91 minute substitute for Darby was La'El Daniel. He played for Sanjaxx in 2016 and played for the Eritean National team and is
a '1997'. He was a nominee for 2017 Goal of the Year while playing for North Toronto Nitros under the name 'Lael Daniels'.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter RocketRobin01

Sanjaxx Lions starters