August 26, 2018 League 1 Ontario--Woodbridge Strikers vs Sigma FC game review (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday August 26, 2018 League 1 Ontario game between Woodbridge Strikers and Sigma FC
played at Vaughan Grove in Woodbridge at 7:00pm.

Woodbridge Strikers (all blue, white shoulders and numbers)

.........................1 Roberto Stillo
24 Matthrew Strangis...2 Quante Smith...5 Kyle Watson (cpt)...15 Tarik Robertson
23 Mikateko Zwane...7 Michael Krzeminski...6 Joshua Paredes-Procter...20 Julian De Sousa...17 Emmanuel Issac
.........................9 Stefano Voci

Subs:...3 Bruce Cullen...8 Oscar Cordon...10 Christian Cavallini...12 Dante Ruddock
...16 Tyrell Rayne...19 Isaiah Johnston...23 Mikateko Zwane
team officials:...team head coach Peter Pinizzotto...managers John Scarlato and Johnny Stancati...equipment managers
Amedeo Pellegrino and Lyndon Marshall...therapist David Lisi

suspended player: Matthew Santos

Sigma FC (all white, blue numbers)

........................1 Triston Henry
2 Reggie Laryea...4 Jelani Smith...3 Dominic Samuel...5 Kyle Walton
10 Justin Soddart...21 Mansoor Alfazy...8 Giuliano Frano (cpt)...7 Kadell Thomas
...............18 Tristan Borges...19 Charlie Anagho-Ntamark

Subs:...31 Baj Maan (gk)...6 Arlick Ntabana...12 Francis Kwashie...14 David Velastegui
...17 Shane Ricketts...20 Christian Samaniego...22 Andres Delascio
team officials:...team head coaches Philip Opassinis and John Zervos...assistant coach Huived Mahmadi
manager Perry Chadijiioannou...equipment manager Joseph Hanley

Game Officials:...referee Fabrizio Stasolla...referee's assistants Bradley Douborough and Anthony Dinambrio
...fourth official Nick Vagenas...(watermelon shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 7:04pm...WS defends south end on this hot and humid evening with the setting sun in the north west.
2 min...WS Robertson rush down left and cross from 22 yards has defender clear ball from box.
5 min...Sigma Thomas cross from left has WS Watson clear in front of Sigma Anagho-Ntamark waiting for pass at 15 yards.
7 min...WS Voci shoots 25 yards that deflects off defender and rolls to goalie to pick up.
8 min...Sigma player's cornerkick has WS Smith clear from left post for another cornerkick.
8 min...Sigma player's cornerkick from left has ball cleared after ball is worked to edge of box.
9 min...Sigma Samuel gets back to check WS Voci off ball on rusn to near edge of Sigma box.
12 min...Sigma Thomas low cross from left cornerflag has WS Smith stop and clear on left side of box.
13 min...WS Issac run up right and low 20 yard shot in front of defender is in to side mesh of net.
16 min...Sigma sheppards ball over line on left side preventing WS Issac behing able to cross.
17 min...Sigma Borges run down right has shot put behind goalie. Sigma Alfazy sprints to tap ball in but is called offside
at 2 yards. Hmm. Looks like he should have let it go.
19 min...Sigma Anagho-Ntamark cross from right has Sigma Alfazy flick 12 yard header up middle wide left of post.
20 min...Sigma Laryea cross from right has Sigma Alfazy with foot up to tip 10 yarder down middle and the goalie catches under
the bar.
20 min...WS defender's sliding tackle stops Sigma Anagho-Ntamark run at 22 yards.
22 min...WS Issac is injured at Sigma 50 yard line. A water break is called.
24 min...play resumes.
25 min...Sigma Thomas low cross from left has WS Watson slide and check to keep Sigma Anagho-Ntamark off the ball at 10 yards
in middle.
26 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Stoddart earns it for dive on edge of WS box trying to draw freekick.
27 min...WS sub...Cordon replaces injured De Sousa.
28 min...Sigma Thomas rush on left and cross drifts behind net.
29 min...Woodbridge Michael Krzeminski GOAL...WS Stefano Voci sends short through ball pass at 28 yards for
Krzeminski on left and he shoots low 12 yarder to right corner of net past sliding goalie Triston Henry
at 6 yards.
34 min...Sigma Anagho-Ntamark pass is centered to Sigma Frano who passes right to Anagho-Ntamark and his 15 yard shot has goalie
stop and pick up.
35 min...Sigma Thomas wins freekick on edge of box.
36 min...Sigma Borges 22 yard freekick from right has Sigma Frano put foot up but can't connect at 6 yards and ball sails out
for goalkick.
38 min...Sigma Alfazy beats two WS players on run up middle and flicks forward but goalie beats Sigma Borges to catch ball
at 12 yards to prevent shot.
39 min...Sigma Borges low centering pass from right to charging Sigma Frano but first touch at 15 yards rolls over end line
wide right.
40 min...Sigma Smith blasts 40 yarder down middle well over net.
42 min...Sigma Borges 50 yard shot/pass from right drifts wide left for goalkick.
43 min...Sigma Thomas cross from 25 yards on far right is well over players in box. Sigma Laryea recross from left is picked
up by goalie.
43 min...WS Robertson 33 yard chip from left is well over net.
44 min...WS sub...Cullen replaces Zwane.
45 min...Woodbridge RED card...Joshua Paredes-Proctor earns a Yellow card then a Red card from
referee Fabrizio Stasolla. WS Michael Krzeminski was injured on a check from Sigma Dominic Samuel at the
WS 40 yard line but no call was given. Sigma players then rushed up into the WS box and had a shot blocked
and the whistle blown. Krzeminski needed the trainer to help him. Paredes-Proctor then came over
to speak/complain to the referee. He earned his Yellow card for this. A multi-player dust up ensued
as the ref was surrounded. He must have kept yapping as he then earned the Red. The two minutes of added
time turned into six because of the time to sort this out.
51 min...Sigma Frano cross from 25 yards on far right is well over players in WS box.
51 min...half ends 7:54pm. The sun is now behind the clouds.

Second Half:...starts 8:12pm.
46 min...WS Cordon is injured at WS 35 yard line breaking out.
48 min...Woodbridge Stefano Voci GOAL...Voci passes forward to WS Michael Krzeminski who shoots 12 yarder
that flying goalie stops. The rebound pops out for trailing Voci who shoots 15 yarder through crowd
of players to top right corner of net.
50 min...Sigma Borges blasts 33 yard freekick into player wall and his rechip bounces wide left unplayed for goalkick.
52 min...Woodbridge Stefano Voci GOAL...WS Michael Krzeminski sprints down middle and passes over to Voci
who shoots low 20 yarder from left into right corner of net.
53 min...Sigma Walton cross from left is over box and low cross from that side has WS Watson clear.
54 min...Sigma Walton low cross from 25 yards on left has flying Sigma Anagho-Ntamark head ball wide left of net
from 8 yards.
57 min...Sigma Walton cornerkick from left is high and over players in box.
58 min...Sigma Borges cross from 35 yards on right has goalie catch wide left of post.
59 min...WS Issac is injured at Sigma 50 yard line and treated off field.
61 min...Sigma Stoddart blasts 25 yard shot through crowd of players wide right of net.
62 min...WS sub...Afrifa-Kodua replaces Issac.
62 min...WS goalie picks up 25 yard shot.
63 min...Sigma sub...Samaniego replaces Alfazy.
.........Sigma sub...Velastegui replaces Stoddart.
64 min...Sigma Frano 28 yard freekick from slight left is chipped to right in charging players and ball is out right
for goalkick.
65 min...WS Smith makes crucial check to break up Sigma play in box.
66 min...Sigma player's cornerkick from right has goalie punch ball off head of Sigma Borges for cornerkick from freekick
is given for collision.
67 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Laryea earns it for behind ball action against WS Krzeminski.
69 min...WS Krzeminski 40 yard freekick from left has goallie beat WS Afrifa-Kodua to ball and win freekick in collision.
72 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Samaniego earns it for body check on WS Krzeminski at Sigma 50 yard line even through ball
was 15 yards downfield and another defender will recover.
73 min...Sigma Walton 30 yard cross from left has defender pop up header and goalie catches.
74 min...Sigma sub...Kwashie replaces Laryea.
75 min...Sigma David Velastegui wins a Penalty kick when he runs across the WS box to the left for
a loose ball and is tripped up.
76 min...Sigma Kyle Walton blasts Penalty kick that diving goalie Roberto Stillo saves on the right post.
Sigma Giuliano Frano blasts the rebound from 8 yards on the right that the goalie also blocks. A third
chance is then set up but the referee whistles down the play and awards a WS freekick before the shot
is taken.
77 min...WS sub...Ruddock replaces Krzeminski.
81 min...WS Voci and Afrifa-Kodua work out short cornerkick from right but they win throw-in on deflection.
82 min...Sigma Kwashie 30 yard cross from right has goalie step forward to catch.
84 min...Sigma Thomas low centering pass from left has Sigma Velastegui shoot 15 yarder down middle just wide left of net.
85 min...Sigma sub...Ricketts replaces Anagho-Ntamark.
86 min...Sigma Frano flicks header on cross from right from 10 yards and wins cornerkick on left.
87 min...Sigma players short cornerkick from left is wasted as WS win whistle for foul.
88 min...Sigma Frano cornerkick from right is low but gets behind first defender but another clears.
90 min...Sigmam Borges chips shot from 40 yards that Sigma Frano flicks 8 yard header weakly for goalie to catch on bounce.
91 min...WS Voci races downfield and falls down at Sigma 40 yard line as play carries upfield. He's carried off by trainer
and Sigma Samuel (probably to hurry things up). Since WS have made their five subs, they now play two men short!
92 min...Sigma Walton cross from left from 40 yards on left has Sigma Smith head ball down from right of box but no Sigma player
is into 6 yard box and defender clears.
93 min...Sigma Thomas race up left anad cross into box has WS goalie and WS Watson both injured in box as Sigma Frano is kept
off ball in middle.
94 min...Sigma players are called offside on right of WS 6 yard box.
94 min...game ends 9:01pm.

Final Score:....Woodbridge Strikers.......3........Sigma FC.......0........

Attendance was about 80 with fans packing the stands of their secondary field turf field after the game
changed venues from their main grass field. Because of all the rain in the last few days it looked
like the grass hadn't been mowed and had grown to a few inches. This had happened earlier in the year
and Woodbridge had a big victory against Vaughan Azzurri playing here. Interested fans had to turn
their heads to see the operating scoreboard behind them on the main field. A water break was called
in the first half (conveniently as there was an injury on the field) as the humidity still hadn't
lifted by the early evening.

This was a stunning result in that it was the first loss for Sigma in league play this season. I'd
never have expected they would have a man advantage for the entire second half and actually concede
two more goals early in that second half before they desperately opened up to press until the end
of the game.

Sigma made a few mistakes for those 'what if' game-changing moments. 17 minutes had Sigma Triston Borges
receive a chipped pass and he ran down the right wing and beat a retreating defender and rolled
a 10 yard shot on the right that the goalie sprawling forward on the near post completely missed
and another retreating defender couldn't get to and Mansoor Alfazy who'd sprinted forward pounded
in the ball from 2 yards but was flagged offside! He should have let that ball roll over on its own.
Not scoring that penalty at 76 minutes nor the rebound was Sigma's last chance to turn the game around.
Even at 94 minutes on the last play of the game there were multiple Sigma players called offside
on the right side of the WS 6 yard box with WS down to nine men as Voci had been injured and helped
off the field and they'd used all five of their subs...You knew it just wasn't Sigma's day.

26 minutes had Sigma Justin Stoddart draw a Yellow card for diving on the edge of the WS box and
expecting a Penalty or at least a freekick. An Oscar performance! But better yet was an early
Woodbridge substitution a minute later when midfielder Oscar Cordon came into the game. I hadn't
seen him since the beginning of the season when he was just a spectator. (He'd been a Strikers
mainstay since 2016 after TFC Academy then the MLS team and later with Woodbridge in 2014 and then
the murky CSL league. Tonight was only his second game of the season and the first time I'd seen
him play. His debut was on August 12th in a 3-0 loss to Alliance United so today the scoreline
was reversed.

The win improves Woodbridge's record to 8 wins, 3 losses, and 3 ties for 27 points for fifth place.
They make the playoffs with tonight's victory. It opens up a six point gap between them and
the sixth place team and a nine point gap on the playoff line of the ninth place team.
(TFC III will not take part).

Woodbridge is in a tie for third place in the fewest goals allowed with 16. This season after having
Quillan Roberts win Goaltender of the Year in 2017 and Matt George win the same in 2016,
the Strikers have platooned Robert Stillo and Tyrone Williams almost equally. It's unlikely they
will retain this award for the third year in a row but a good defence is valued come playoff time.
Something new for the historically defensively conservative Strikers this year is they are second
in goalscoring with 42 markers (TFC III leads with 48). Emmanuel Issac is fifth in scoring
with 9 goals while four Strikers are tied down the list at fifteenth with 4 goals each
in a well balanced attack.

Sigma's record falls to 10 wins, 1 loss, 2 ties for 32 points. They are second in the league.
This would have been their chance to leapfrog TFC III who had won hours earlier to take over first.
TFC III hold a one point lead but have only one game left to play while Sigma still has three
so it's probably just a matter of time until Sigma take over.

Sigma still has a league best defence of only allowing 7 goals this season in league play (yes three
of those were conceded today) by Triston Henry who's played every minute of every game. They've
taken over from Woodbridge this season as the tightest defence.

Sigma now only lead the 'goals against' category by one goal over Oakville Blue Devils who have
Matt George (although he hasn't played since the beginning of July) and Lucas Birnstingl who now
rides four shutouts in a row and has certainly improved his stock since playing in the shooting
gallery that was last year's Toronto Skillz team.

A real jawdropper for me personally is just a few hours before I was telling TFC III head coach
Danny Dichio on the occasion of their last home game (in an all Canadian league) how I'd watched
TFC Academy's first game back in 2008 and what caught my eye in a later review is that their
backup goalie for that game was Birnstingl! I also found a reference that Jordan Hamilton
dropped when he was being interviewed after a TFC II game at Varsity Stadium about his brother
as Jarret Hamilton subbed in that game. All I need to find out is actor Kevin Bacon was in the
stands and I think I'll be waiting for spontaneous human combustion to take place.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01

Woodbridge Strikers starters