September 9, 2018 League 1 Ontario--Toronto Skillz vs Aurora FC game review (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday September 9, 2018 League 1 Ontario game between Toronto Skillz Academy and Aurora FC
played at Birchmount Stadium in Scarborough at 5:00pm.

Toronto Skillz (red socks and shirts, black shorts, white numbers)

.......................1 Peter Katsaras
22 Payman Mohammadzadeh...5 Zamri Mohammad...24 Tim Mahabir...19 Mohamad Abdallah
10 Wadohi Fadul...30 Anfl Ekhlas...25 Vithunan Sivakumar...21 Michael Jashan
...............17 Kareem Marzouk...16 Rinat Kassimgereyev

Subs:...0 Francis Okotete (gk)...8 Mikael Khalam...11 Ahash Parthipan...--Felix Mua Ngha
...34 Trevor Hill
team officials:...asssistant coaches Ian Cummins and Jake Doodnath...manager Wais Azizi
...equipment manager Justin Howell...therapist Monique Wojcik

*listed on game sheet as suspended...Mackenzy Kropa and Danial Khalili

Aurora FC (yellow socks and number, black shorts and shirts)

......................1 Benjamin Kleiser
3 Morey Doner...4 Casey Collis...5 Michael Nitchov...2 Petro Vasilos
8 Mike D'Angelo...6 Abbas Ajibade...9 Miximillian Ferrari...10 Parmpreet Singh
..............7 Karamvir Mehmi...13 Matthew McGrouther

Subs:...12 Sunny Dhaliwal (gk)...11 Isaac Bradbury...14 Hashmatullah Sultanpoory...15 Michael Globocki
...16 Scott McGrfouther...18 Jordale Byers
team officials:...team head coach Derek O'Keeffe...assistant coach Ali Sozeri...manager Mike Scanlon
...therapist Milad Mohib

*listed on game sheet as suspended...Dylan Rennie

Game officials:...referee Timothy Wong...referee's assistants Kim Lee and Jerome Watts
...fourth official Anthony DiMambro...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

First half:...game starts 5:00pm...Skillz defends north end on this cool and windy late afternoon. There's a strong
gusty wind from the south.
22 seconds!...AFC Maximillian Ferrari GOAL...AFC Matthew McGrouther intercepts short crossfield pass between two
TS defenders at 40 yards and taps pass over to Ferrari who steps forward to 30 yards and blasts shot up middle
into left side of net beyond diving goalie Peter Katsaras.
3 min...AFC Matthew McGrouther steals ball off TS Mohammad on left at 20 yard line and his 15 yard shot is deflected for cornerkick.
4 min...AFC Singh cornerkick from left is high and AFC player at 6 yards on right and pops header wide right.
7 min...AFC Ferrari low cross near right end line is cleared by defender.
10 min...AFC Singh is part of quick cornerkick from left is crosses into box and cleared and AFC D'Angelo blasts 25 yarder down
middle over net.
12 min...TS Fadul taps pass from middle to TS Kassimgereyev who blasts 25 yaard roller well wide left.
18 min...TS Abdallah 25 yard freekick from far right has TS Kassimgereyev dive and miss header at 5 yards and ball bounces just
wide left of post.
20 min...TS player's 25 yard shot from left is over net.
22 min...TS Abdallah cross from 30 yards on left has TS Fadul leap at 10 yards in middle but miss knocking ball down.
23 min...TS Jashan 25 yard midair shot from left bwtween players and wide right.
24 min...TS Sivakumar on run on left rolls ball forward to charging TS Fadul and he has 15 yard shot deflected wide left
by sliding goalie who stops him point blank.
26 min...TS Kassimgereyev low cross upfield from 40 yards has defender deflect behind end line to prevent TS Fadul get
it at 8 yards but goalkick is awarded.
29 min...TS Ekhlas can't win Penalty kick on fall on left of box.
29 min...TS Ekhlas 25 yard defender kick at same time and ball deflects well wide left of net.
30 min...TS Jashan cornerkick from left is over players in box and wide right for goalkick.
32 min...TS Abdallah 20 yard shot from right has goalie fly forweard to punch ball away instead of catch.
33 min...Skillz Anfal Ekhlas GOAL...Ekhas 30 yard freekick from left hits a player's knee high in the AFC wall
and deflects into right side of net with goalie Benjamin Kleiser frozen in middle.
34 min...AFC Mehmi run on right and cross into box from 20 yards but retreating defender heads 5 yarder wide left
to prevent AFC Matthew McGrouther having tap-in on post.
34 min...AFC Ferrari recovers partially cleared cornerkick from left and blasts 25 yarderr that goalie palms over net.
35 min...AFC Singh cornerkick from left is knocked around but AFC Mehemi runs it over end line on right.
39 min...TS Kassimgereyev rolls through ball pass from 35 yards but goalie beats TS Sivakumar to smother at 15 yards.
40 min...AFC Ferrari run on right and cross through box is unplayed with no AFC players far enough forward.
42 min...TS Ekhlas cornerkick from right has ball fall behind players and TS Jashan has 12 yard shot blasts over net.
43 min...TS Sivakumar knocks ball down and spins and rolls 15 yarder on left that goalie smothers on near post.
44 min...TS Jashan ad TS Ekhlas have play that Jashan shoot just off target.
44 min...AFC Doner concedes cornerkick on cross from right with ball flying towards goal.
45 min...TS player's 20 yard shot from far left deflefts off defender and rolls to goalie on near post.
45 min...half ends with no time added.

Second Half:...starts 6:01pm.
46 min...TS YELLOW card...Kassimgereyev earns it for sliding tackle on AFC Doner at AFC 50 yard line near sideline.
53 min...TS Ekhlas cornerkick from right has charging TS Kassimgereyev pop 10 yard header over net down middle.
55 min...Skillz Vithunan Sivakumar GOAL...TS Kareem Marzouk gets fed a long low pass up the right at 25 yards.
He runs forward to 6 yards and centers pass and Sivakumar blasts 8 yarder up middle into left side of net.
57 min...TS Abdallah pass forward on right to TS Marzouk who sends in cross just steps forward of TS players and ball
flies left for goalkick.
58 min...AFC sub...Bradbury replaces D'Angelo.
60 min...AFC sub...Byers replaces Mehmi.
64 min...AFC Vasilos is injured on edge of AFC box.
64 min...TS players work out short cornerkick and cross has AFC Nitchov head away ball in middle of box.
65 min...TS Abdallah after working out short cornerkick from left has his cross drifts behind net.
66 min...TS sub...Hill replaces Kassimgereyev.
67 min...TS Jashan freekick from 22 yards on left has goalie punch ball away upward on right side of box.
68 min...AFC sub...Globocki replaces Vasilos.
69 min...TS Mahabir rush on right and rolls cross through 6 yard box a step ahead of sliding TS Sivakumar.
70 min...TS Jashan bends cross from 35 yards on left has goalie out to 15 yards to punch ball away to prevent
TS players getting to tap-in chance.
71 min...Skillz Wadohi Fadul GOAL...TS Michael Jashan sends low pass from left to Fadul and he blasts 28 yarder
up middle into low left corner of net.
72 min...AFC Singh cornerkick from right has AFC player head ball away from net at 4 yards in crowd of players
and no AFC player puts ball back into box.
73 min...AFC sub...Sultanpoory replaces Matthew McGrouther.
74 min...TS Kareem Marzouk wins Penalty kick call from referee Timothy Wong when the ball bounces over
AFC Michael Nitchov at 30 yards on right wing and he retreats to pull down Marzouk who was running to middle
just inside box.
75 min...Skillz Payman Mohammadzadeh GOAL...Mohammadzadeh blasts Penalty kick to right side of net beyond
flying goalie.
78 min...AFC Doner receives pass from AFC Sultanpoory and shoots 15 yarder from far left that goalie bats away
on left post.
79 min...AFC goalie out to 22 yards to kick away through ball.
79 min...AFC YELLOW card...Doner earns it for complaining about TS behind awarded freekick. "How is that not a foul?"
he said.
80 min...TS sub...Parthipan replaces Marzouk.
........AFC sub...Scott McGrouther replaces Nitchov.
84 min...TS Sivakumar is caught on run alone down middle but wins freekick.
85 min...Skillz Vithunan Sivakumar GOAL...TS Zamir Mohammad low 22 yard freekick around player wall and goalie
dives to make the save on right post. Sivakumar slides to shoot 7 yard rebound around the fallen goalie into
left corner of empty net as defenders were frozen in place.
92 min...TS Abdallah weaves down middle and 25 yard shot is just wide left of net.
92 min...game ends 6:48pm.

Final Score:...Toronto Skillz.......5.......Aurora FC........1.......

Attendance was about 35 on this cool and windy evening with the most vocal of the crowd being AFC parents
(with these few fans I'd expect everyone had a friend or relative on the team or was a ball kid's parents).
The rain would hold off until overnight and then rained almost every minute of Monday.

A great comeback for Skillz this game after conceding in the first minute. There would have been times earlier
this season when spirits would be down and the game could have reached almost double digits.

Skillz were greatly aided by the wind which was blowing from the south. I know I said it was from the east
when I was at the Sanjaxx game an hour earlier but even though this was only a few km away, it's even closer
to Lake Ontario so weather can be different in two part of the city. They held their own in the first half
and I thought the advantage would be huge in the second half when they defended the south end.

By now I'd heard through tweets that Canada had beaten the US Virgin Islands 8-0 but the second half of this
game I expected was similar as Aurora rarely got out of their own end. It was sad to hear AFC goalie
Benjamin Kleiser yelling out “C'mon guys, we've only got 20 minutes to go” to encourage his team then another
and another goal went in.

I only counted two AFC chances in the second half. 72 minutes had Parmpreet Singh take a cornerkick that
had an AFC player at 4 yards in a crowd of players head away to enable an AFC player to blast a shot into
the box but that play was never finished. 78 minutes had AFC Morey Doner receive a pass from
Hashamatullah Sultanpoory and shoots a 15 yarder from the far left that the goalie batted away on the
near post.

Such a contrast in the weather from one week ago. We've skipped a month weather wise. The Vaughan Azzurri
vs OSUF match was moved to the indoor field of the Ontario Soccer Centre. I wonder if that was so fans
could rubberneck at any screens streaming the Canada game.

The game ended at 6:48pm. Another group of men were assembling in two end of the stands. There'd be a CSL
game at 8:00pm between Scarborough SC and Serbian White Eagles. There are handful of players that play
in both leagues. Of course there's plenty of players who play for their schools. I received a tweet that
Filipe Vilela scored two goals Sunday afternoon for his school George Brown College in their game against
Conestoga. That was after scoring Saturday night at the 28 second mark for the Oakville Blue Devils
in their L1O match against North Mississauga. Hmm what's this weekend with it's first minute goals?

The result improves Toronto Skillz record to 4 wins, 9 losses, 2 ties for 14 points. They climb to eleventh
place thanks to being undefeated in their last four games but don't have a chance at catching Alliance
at 18 points because they have only one game left.

Aurora's record falls to 2 wins, 9 losses, 3 ties for 9 points. They do have two games to play but were
already out a few weeks ago. They actually dropped a position over the weekend and are now sixteenth
in the seventeen team league.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter RocketRobin01

Toronto Skillz starters