June 28, 2018 USL Toronto FC II--Toronto FC II vs FC Cincinnati game review (from uslsoccer.com)

  
Toronto Shows Mettle in Draw with Cincinnati
By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 06/28/18, 8:29AM EDT 

Hamilton lit up familiar stage in impressive fightback against Eastern leaders

TORONTO – While Wednesday night was Toronto FC II’s first game in its history at Lamport Stadium 
in the south of the city, the game had the feeling of a homecoming for some members of the club’s squad.

“This stadium is very nostalgic because as a 10-year-old boy watching my brother play for the Academy 
when he was on the first Academy team and then eventually I played my first game for the senior Academy 
here back in the CSL days,” said Toronto forward Jordan Hamilton. “It feels good to be back at Lamport. 
A lot of groundwork was put in here from me and my family, so it’s nice to play here.”

Whether it was the familiar surroundings, a new sense of confidence that the side has been working 
on building, or a combination of the two, the Reds made their debut at their home for much of the 
remaining 2018 season a memorable one as Hamilton’s outstanding goal with 15 minutes to go earned 
a 3-3 draw against Eastern Conference-leader FC Cincinnati, providing another twist into the race 
for first place in the conference standings.

It had certainly looked as though FCC was on its way to a comfortable victory at halftime. 
While U.S. U19 international Ayo Akinola had leveled for Toronto in the 28th minute after Nazmi Albadawi 
had opened the scoring for FCC after just seven minutes, the visitors scored twice in quick succession 
through Emery Welshman and Emmanuel Ledesma – his team-leading eighth goal of the season – to take 
a two-goal lead at the break.

But while Cincinnati held an 11-5 advantage in shots in the first half, the roles were reversed after 
the break. Toronto became the aggressor and outshot its visitors 10-1 in the second half. 
Goals by Robert Boskovic with 20 minutes to go and Hamilton’s remarkable volleyed finish five minutes 
later leveled the score, and the hosts almost grabbed their first victory of the season as Hamilton 
hit the left post in the 86th minute with a flicked header off a back-post corner delivered from 
the right by Ryan Telfer.
 
Toronto forward Jordan Hamilton's equalizer with 15 minutes to go came in familiar territory at the 
city's historic Lamport Stadium.

After suffering eight consecutive defeats prior to Wednesday night, finding a level of belief that 
the side can compete with the top teams in the Eastern Conference has been the key for Head Coach 
Michael Rabasca since his appointment on June 4.

“I think our team is good enough,” said Rabasca, who claimed his first point as the club’s coach 
in the draw. “I think that’s what we were trying at halftime, but they weren’t playing with 
confidence, near the aggression or courage that we like to see. So, with young players to instil 
in them and show them where those moments do come from, it’s our job, an important piece.

“I feel like the goals we gave up were us just not believing in ourselves. Once we can erase those 
individual mistakes then I think we can get the three points instead of a draw. I feel like 
we were the better team.”

And while Toronto is still looking for its first victory this season, after Wednesday night’s 
performance the feeling within the group is that moment may not be too far away.

“There is a belief now in the team that [Rabasca] instilled and maybe wasn’t there before with 
the younger guys,” said Hamilton. “We are going in every game now with a plan, with an intention 
of playing hard and being hard to play against, and I think it’s working. You can see the fight 
in the guys compared to the past years and it’s a refreshing feeling.”

Toronto FC II     FC Cincinnati  
3                 3
4-1-2-1-2         4-2-3-1
June 27, 2018 7:00 PM 

Referee Fabrizio Stasolla  Venue Lamport Stadium  Attendance 288

Toronto FC II        
30 Angoitia GK
48 Campbell DF             87' Yellow card  
38 Bjornethun DF           45' Yellow card, 45' subbed out
52 Dunn-Johnson DF
49 Boskovic DF             70' GOAL
27 Fraser MF (C)  
45 Uccello MF   
56 Johnson MF
37 Waja MF                 71' subbed out
20 Akinola FW              28' GOAL, 78' subbed out  
22 Hamilton FW             75' GOAL  

Substitutes
90 Olatunji GK   
59 Okello Ayo 
61 Romeo 
55 Daniels 
54 Telfer                   45' subbed in   
42 Yeates                   71' subbed in   
64 Hundal                   78' subbed in  

Manager  Rabasca

FC Cincinnati
 1 Newton GK
 2 Bahner DF
23 Smith DF
29 Barrett DF
21 Keinan DF (C) 
13 Lahoud MF
 7 Cicerone MF               83' subbed out  
16 Richie Ryan MF            64' subbed out  
 5 Albadawi MF                7' GOAL      
45 Ledesma MF                40' GOAL  
10 Welshman FW               38' GOAL, 73' subbed out  

Substitutes
18 Richey GK 
32 Hoyte
 3 Lasso 
19 Bone                      64' subbed in   
20 McLaughlin                83' subbed in  
92 Haber    
11 Konig                     73' subbed in  

Manager  Koch

TFC                              FCC  
 53.2%    Possession              46.8%     
 41.3%    Duels success rate      58.7%
 40.7%    Aerial duels won        59.3%    
 10       Interceptions           17        
  0       Offsides                 3   
  3       Corners                  2    
500       Passes                 442      
 62       Long passes             77   
 83.4%    Passing accuracy        79.2%   
 73.9%    Passing acc in opp half 67.8% 
 20       Crosses                 16      
 25.0%    Crossing accuracy       12.5%  
  3       Goals                    3   
 15       Shots                   12        
  4       Shots on target          5    
  5       Blocked shots            4   
  9       Shots outside the box    5    
  6       Shots inside the box     7   
 26.7%    Shooting accuracy       41.7%
 13       Tackles                 16    
 61.5%    Tackles success rate    75.0%   
 23       Clearances              19   
 17       Fouls conceded          11
  2       Yellow cards             0   
  0       Red cards                0

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