September 23, 2018 League 1 Ontario--Sanjaxx Lions vs Alliance United game review (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday September 23, 2018 League 1 Ontario game between Sanjaxx Lions and Alliance United
played at Monarch Park Stadium in Toronto at 2:00pm.

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

..............................1 Tayjon Campbell
13 Nicholas Charles...11 Nathaniel Rodney-Scarlett...5 Demario Phillips...17 Kemar Rowe (cpt)...14 Atif Hammud Ali
.............12 Stean Nikolic...2 Saul Campos...6 Shamar Nero
....................8 Kariym Constance...7 Kimoni Bailey

Subs:...31 Rodolfo Aguiar (gk)...3 Thomas Ang...9 Ehsan Hirji...10 Cristian Alves
...15 Tajani Fairclough...16 Dieu Merci Yuma...20 Christian Ciccarelli...22 Nicholas Bruce (one of these players couldn't have
been on the bench)
team officials:...team head coach Laza Lowe...assistant coach Devon Porter and Remberto Luna

Alliance United (all white, black numbers)

...........................1 Mark Rogal
11 Russell Rodrigues...5 David Colelli...10 Jesse Assing (cpt)...3 Devon Bowyer
9 Bogdan Poliakhov...13 Farrell Francis...15 Connor McFall...17 Daniel Da Silva...7 Nirunthan Sivananthan
......................20 Steven Furlano

Subs:...30 Tristan Martino (gk)...4 Dante Lyte...6 Lukas MacNaughton...12 Vasyl Matviishyn
...14 Oswald Adu...16 Djimi Guedei
team officials:...team head coach Ilya Orlov...assistant coaches Denys Rylskyi, Julian Carr, and Roman Rashchuk

Game officials:...referee Filip Dujic...referee's assistants Marc Henoud and Mike Stacey
...fourth official John O'Hara...(watermelon shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 2:00pm...Sanjaxx defend west end on this warm day with a bright sun in the south and no real wind.
1 min...AU Furlano run on right and eludes sliding goalie on edge of box. He crosses in from 15 yards near end line
and defender heads ball away.
5 min...SJ Phillips wins freekick when AU Da Silva pulls him down on edge of AU box.
5 min...SJ Phillips blasts 18 yard freekick down middle low into player wall. SJ Nikolic blasts rebound from 22 yards
that's a roller and just wide right of post.
7 min...AU Da Silva beats defender to ball down left despite being bumped and cross from 18 yards along end line has defender
head away.
9 min...AU McFall blasts 30 yard roller forward and just wide left of post.
10 min...AU goalie eludes check attempt of SJ Bailey to clear ball from box.
12 min...SJ Charles 30 yard shot/cross from right is caught by goalie at 8 yards on left in front of charging players.
15 min...AU Furlano 40 yard freekick into three man wall and doesn't make box. AU Sivananthan eventual cross from 35 yards
on left is stopped.
16 min...SJ Bailey suffers head injury at SJ 45 yard line.
17 min...AU Furlano 45 yard freekick from right has goalie leap to catch at 12 yards on left.
17 min...AU Furlano chips 30 yard with goalie on line and he retreats and flies backwards to palm ball away at 5 yards.
18 min...SJ Ali head ball away cornerkick sent in from right at 10 yards, AU McFall blasts 25 yarder over net.
19 min...SJ Phillips 35 yard freekick from left is caught by leaping goalie in crowd of players.
20 min...SJ Nikolic can't get away shot on run along 22 yard line and rolls pass back and SJ Campos blasts 25 yard shot
well over net.
22 min...SJ Rodney-Scarlett 35 yard freekick has defender head away on edge of box.
24 min...SJ Rodney-Scarlett stands up to charging AU Furlano to keep him from shot on run to 15 yards on right.
25 min...SJ Bailey low pass forward to SJ Constance forward and to middle but can't get clear shot.
27 min...SJ Rodney-Scarlett 40 yard cross from left has AU Bowyer hook away ball for cornerkick.
29 min...AU Sivananthan leaps to head 15 yarder wide right on cross from right.
31 min...AU Assing chips 50 yarder that AU Furlano pops up header at 20 yards that goalie catches at 8 yards.
33 min...AU Da Silva low 35 yard shot up middle after receiving pass from right has goalie have enough time to dive left
to stop on post and smother rebound.
36 min...SJ Contance has ball poked away before he can get away 10 yard shot up middle.
37 min...AU Furlano low cross from 20 yards on left has AU Poliakhov shoot 8 yarder up middle that goalie palms over net.
37 min...AU Furlano cornerkick from right is over players and ends with AU Sivananthan winning cornerkick on left.
38 min...AU Furlano cornerkick from left is knocked around in box and cleared.
39 min...AU Francis cross from 28 yards on left has AU Poliakhov make diving header from 10 yards wide right of post.
40 min...AU Boddan Poliakhov GOAL...AU Jesse Assing at 70 yards on left rolls short centering pass to AU Connor McFall
who sends long high cross from 65 yards down middle that finds Poliakhov running down right sideline at 20 yard line
and he cuts back then continues running down sideline beating defender and cross attempt near right end line is blocked
by that retreating defender and it looks like ball would roll for a goalkick but Poliakhov slides to poke ball along
end line from 8 yards and ball rolls between line and goalie Tayjon Campbell who was bending over to pick it up
at 4 yards and continues across goalmouth to hit inside of left post. Another defender retreats to clear it away.
Referee's assistant Marc Henoud on right side runs up line towards center and referee Filip Dujic looks towards his
action and whistles to award goal.
42 min...AU Furlano 45 yard freekick down middle has AU Assing shoot skyball from 10 yards on left over box.
44 min...SJ Hammud Ali takes long throw-in from left is cleared from AU box.
46 min...SJ Charles long run up right sideline eluding guys but rolls ball into box unplayed because no SJ players run for it.
46 min...half ends 2:46pm.

Second Half:...starts 3:02pm.
halftime sub:...SJ Yuma replaces Constance.
46 min...AU Poliakhov 50 yard shot from right is caught by goalie.
47 min...SJ Yuma is checked off ball in AU box when he's left all alone on a 1 v 4 rush.
48 min...SJ Yuma on 2 on 2 with SJ Nikolic shoots 15 yarder into outside right mesh of net.
49 min...SJ Nikolic cornerkick from right has goalie leap and palm ball over box for throw-in.
50 min...AU Furlano 40 yard low freekick is between players and caught by goalie on bounce.
51 min...SJ sub...Bruce replaces Nero.
52 min...AU sub...Matviishyn replaces Da Silva.
.........AU sub...Adu replaces Poliakhov.
54 min...AU Furlano bashes his way through defenders and 10 yard shot from far left is blocked by diving goalie at 6 yards
and defender clears.
55 min...SJ Nikolic runs up left and rolls ball through 6 yard box unplayed.
57 min...SJ Hammud Ali at center line on left sideline places pass perfect for charging SJ Yuma. Yuma runs to 20 yards
and low shot is stopped by sliding goalie at 15 yards.
58 min...AU Furlano 18 yard shot from right sideline is into outside mesh of net. SJ Rowe is badly injured in leg and needs
trainer in endzone.
59 min...SJ sub...Fairclough replaces Campos.
60 min...SJ Hammud Ali rush down left after pass from SJ Yuma. Hammud Ali crosses from 22 yard sideline has SJ Fairclough
flick header with back turned at 10 yards across box for SJ Yuma but goalie steps forward to catch.
61 min...SJ Fairclough run down right and rolls 22 yarder just wide left of post.
64 min...AU Furlano bases into SJ box on left and wins cornerkick on left off defender he was trying to deke.
64 min...AU Furlano high cornerkick from left has AU player on far right shoot 15 yarder along right but behind net.
68 min...SJ Yuma can't win Penalty kick call when trying to volley his way behind defender.
69 min...SJ Phillips threads pass forward to put two SJ players through at 25 yards but goalie cut to clear ball before
they can clear. AU Francis is injured. SJ Bruce is also injured.
71 min...AU sub...MacNaughton replaces Francis.
72 min...AU Adu cross from 30 yards on right has goalie cross behind charging AU player at 10 yards.
73 min...AU YELLOW card...Furlano earns it for tackle injurying SJ Bruce at SJ 45 yard line.
74 min...SJ Nikolic receives 60 yard freekick on right post and 10 yard shot wins cornerkick with goalie pushing ball wide.
75 min...AU Furlano is checked off ball on run into box on left has SJ Rowe injured while stopping him.
77 min...AU Furlano has shot on net by having ball deflect off him at 22 yards.
78 min...SJ Nikolic run down left and cross is behind SJ Yuma and eventually SJ Phillips shoots 22 yarder over crowd of players
and well over net.
79 min...AU sub...Guedei replaces Sivananthan.
81 min...AU Assing makes big blocke just inside AU box to break up rush and SJ Nikolic 35 yard shot up middle is over net.
83 min...AU MacNaughton give and go with AU Adu has MacNaughton blast 10 yarder up middle well over net.
84 min...AU YELLOW card...Guedei earns it for bashing into SJ goalie catching cross on left post sent in from right injurying him.
86 min...SJ goalie charges forward to smother ball ahead of AU Furlano.
87 min...SJ sub...Hirji replaces Fairclough.
88 min...SJ player's 30 yard shot from right is wide left of net.
89 min...AU MacNaughton wins freekick on edge of box when knocked over.
90 min...AU Furlano blasts 18 yard freekick down middle that goalie bats away.
91 min...AU player's work out short cornerkick but waste it even as a time-wasting play.
92 min...SJ sub...Ciccarelli replaces Bruce.
.........AU sub...Lyte replaces Furlano.
92 min...SJ Phillips blasts 28 yard freekick from left off head in player wall.
94 min...game ends 3:51pm.

Final Score:.....Sanjaxx Lions........0..........Alliance United.......1........

Attendance was about 30 on this warm day with a bright sun in the south and no wind blowing.

This game could be said to be the single most important match of the year. It decided the fate of three teams fighting
for the last two places of making the playoffs. A win by Sanjaxx would have had Sanjaxx, Alliance, and Darby finishing
with identical 6 wins, 7 losses, 3 ties for 21 points. The tie breaker was not GF/GA ratios but head-to-head records
(thanks L1O commissioner Dino Rossi sitting beside me in the stands for the reminder). Darby would have been first
of the three because they beat both teams earlier this season—both by 1-0 scores. I later realized I'd been at both
those games! Sanjaxx would have got that last spot if they'd won today.

Sanjaxx had five positive results in their previous seven games. A big factor for their turnaround was the recent
acquisition of Dieu Merci Yuma (age 22) who had scored six goals in six games since joining the team. Before the game
I was asking around about how he ended up with Sanjaxx after returning from Europe playing for Sedan in the French
National 2 League. He was born in DR Congo but came to Canada when he was young. Sanjaxx defender Nicholas Charles's
mother who doubled up as ticket taker today listed off a roll call of teams that her son and teammate Yuma played for
while growing up in Scarborough. Big blow for Sanjaxx is he wasn't a starter today as he was late in arriving so came
in to start the second half. He immediately made an impact when at 47 minutes he was finally checked off the ball
in the AU box when left all alone on a 1 on 4 rush. Next minute he led a 2 on 2 rush with SJ Stefan Nikolic and shot
a 15 yarder into the right mesh of the net just wide of the short side. After that most times he was passed to he was
surrounded by two or three players covering him. This led to teammates being open but the old problems
of Sanjaxx—only 8 (non Yuma) goals in 16 league games continued to haunt them with off target shots. Sanjaxx has always
had a quality defence giving up only 26 league goals all season (with 10 of them in a blowout against Oakville)
but their goal scoring was poor.

I've been reading the Alliance linescores over the weeks and have seen Steven Furlano roll up 5 goals in his last 3 games
up to today. It took me two minutes to figure out why. There he was upfront as the lone forward. I've always seen him
take all the freekicks and cornerkicks and be more of a winger earlier this season. At the Toronto Skillz vs FC London
game across town later in the day he head coach (obviously scouring for Alliance's playoff opponent FCL) and L1O commissioner
Dino Rossi were talking about Furlano and the genius move of moving him up to forward. He'd played through the TFC Academy
as a defender—I'd watched him captain that team those years. I went to watch Alliance play Sigma FC on September 9
and Furlano was suspended by the league for accumulating he fifth Yellow card the game before on the road in Ottawa
against OSUF. Today he picked up a Yellow card in the second half...well why not? That's just a consequence
of his aggressive play.

Mark Rogal earned the shutout for Alliance with a few key saves.

Alliance finish their inaugural L1O season with a record of 7 wins, 6 losses, 3 ties for 24 points and finish seventh
in the seventeen team league. They take the sixth spot in post season play.

Best scoring chances were at 1 minute when AU Furlano ran on the right and eluded the sliding goalie on the edge of the box.
He crossed in from 15 yards near the end line and a defender headed away. 33 minutes had Daniel Da Silva take a low 35 yard
shot up the middle and the goalie had enough time to dive left to make the stop on the post and smother the rebound.
37 minutes had Furlano send a low cross from 20 yards on the left and AU Bogdan Poliakhov shoot an 8 yarder up the middle
that goalie goalie palmed over the net. 47 and 48 minutes had those Yuma chances noted above. 57 minutes had Atif Hamud Ali
at the center line on the left sideline placed a perfect pass for the charging Yuma who ran to 20 yards and his low shot was
stopped by the sliding goalie at 15 yards. 60 minutes had SJ Ali rush down the left and cross from the 22 yard sideline
and SJ Tajani Fairclough flick a header with his back turned for Yuma but the goalie speed forward to catch. 83 minutes had
AU Lukas MacNaughton on a give and go with AU Oswald Adu finish with MacNaughton blasting a 10 yarder up the middle but well
over the net. 90 minutes had Furlano blast an 18 yard freekick down the middle that the goalie was able to bat away.

While in the stands I asked Rossi about the L1O players who'd gone out to Halifax for the new Canadian Premier League trials
(four of them passed and are guaranteed invites to training camps). Halifax is the first city of seven and they will roll
on to Hamilton and Toronto in the weeks to come. He said he gave his blessing for any player who wanted to try out but said
it was up to them. He said that trials aren't always a reliable indicator of finding the best players. I had an example
of watching TFC tryouts in November 2006 with media types who had signed up and were ruining it for serious trialists.
Rossi had an example of an MLS combine where Sigma's Kyle Bekker and Emery Welshman were randomly paired together and played
fantastic because they knew each other's moves. They'd been previously scouted as maybe second of third rounders but played
so well that TFC maybe panicked and chose them both in the first round.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01

Sanjaxx Lions starters (Nathaniel Rodney-Scarlett missed the anthem)