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Result and details of the Sunday May 12, 2019 League 1 Ontario game between Durham United FA and FC London
played at Pickering Soccer Centre in Pickering at 1:00pm.

Durham United FA (all black, white numbers)

..................1 Khedar Caesar-Thompson
19 Derrick Amankwa...21 Romaine Watkins...6 Orville Malcolm...5 Mahadi Mahadi
3 Ikenna Nkwocha...11 Liam Salmon...8 Maleik De Freitas...10 Guedei Djimi...7 Mitchell Wong
......................12 Jae Jin Lee

Subs:...0 Kevon Grant (gk)...14 Kevin Lazo...15 Kevin Thibodeau...17 Kariym Constance
...20 Robert Baxter-Dennis...23 Michael Thornton...24 Jonathan Fernandes
team officials:...team head coach Paul Martin...manager Brendan Ford...assistant coach Desmond Humphrey

FC London (white socks and shirts, red shorts, black numbers)

..................1 Anthony Sokalski (cpt)
18 Dominci Szyszka...3 Marko Maletic...4 Bradley Heath...5 Taylor Harris
21 Brian Pistor...17 Chad Gopaul...8 Mohammad Reza Nafar...2 Patrick Melo...7 Ethan Gopaul
......................10 Connor Wilson

Subs:...9 Mike Sneddon...11 Tomas Alvarez...12 Belal Halbouni...16 Ryan Baker
...19 Ben Vyfschaft...22 Ryan Miners
team officials:...team head coach Michael Marcoccia...assistant coaches Phillip Millar and Randy Ribeiro
...therapist Mike Robinson

Game officials:...referee Phil Benevides...referee's assistants Nicolas Piperno and Michael Heuthe
...fourth official Kevin McEleney...(watermelon shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 12:59pm...DUFA defends east end.
4 min...FCL Wilson rolls pass from 30 yards up middle for FCL Chad Gopaul who shoots low 20 yard shot up middle
with goalie diving left to smother.
6 min...FC London Ethan Gopaul GOAL...Gopaul runs from middle to right along 20 yard line sidestepping three defenders
blocking his way into box and cuts low 22 yard shot from right into left corner of net past goalie.
7 min...FCL Wilson gets away on left and takes low 22 yard shot from left sent over to right corner of net but goalie dives to push
it wide of post.
10 min...DUFA De Freitas 35 yard freekick is cleared just inside box.
11 min...DUFA De Freitas cornerkick from right has defender on right flick header out right side of box.
16 min...FCL Nafar 30 yard freekick from left is forward to FCL Melo who then crosses into box which is cleared.
18 min...DUFA De Freitas cornerkick from left is short and DUFA player's cross is blocked starting a fast FCL breakout.
20 min...DUFA Nkwocha flicks short chip into box on right and defende4r clears off a DUFA player for a goalkick.
21 min...DUFA Lee and FCL Pistor crash on edge of FCL box and loose ball is cleared.
25 min...FCL Ethan Gopaul eludes sliding defender on left side of box but rolls ball too far forward and goalie picks up.
26 min...DUFA Djimi rolls ball past defender on edge of box but goalie picks it up.
27 min...FCL sub...Alvarez replaces Pistor.
30 min...FCL Chad Gopaul races down open right wing and centers cross. FCL Wilson shoots 18 yarder down middle well over net.
31 min...DUFA Wong feeds ball from 40 yards on right forward and to center and DUFA Lee takes 15 yard low shot that's blocked
by sprawling goalie. DUFA Wong eventually gets in 25 yard recross that's cleared in box.
33 min...DUFA Wong on 1 on 4 on edge of box keeps ball but has shot blocked.
34 min...DUFA De Freitas 30 yard freekick from slight left is tic tac pass with teammate in front of wall and De Freitas
takes 30 yard shot that's caught by goalie just under bar.
35 min...DUFA Lee midair poke at ball at 20 yards that's caught by goalie.
39 min...DUFA Mahadi makes huge poke check on FCL Ethan Gopaul on run to 10 yards on left side of box preventing shot.
40 min...FCL Szyszka is injured at FCL 30 yard line flipping over his own fallen teammate.
40 min...DUFA De Freitas shots from 30 yards on left tips off defender for cornerkick.
41 min...DUFA De Freitas cornerkick from right squeezes between players but DUFA player at 10 yards is whistled
down for hand ball.
43 min...FCL sub...Baker replaces Szyszka.
43 min...DUFA Wong rusn down right and 25 yard shot is caught by goalie on short side.
44 min...DUFA Watkins shields FCL player from getting to ball at 10 yards for goalie to pick up.
46 min...DUFA Lee spins and gets away 20 yard roller up middle for goalie to grab.
47 min...half ends 1:46pm.

Second Half:...starts 2:03pm.
halftime subs:...DUFA Thornton replaces Wong.
.................DUFA Lazo replaces De Freitas.
45 min...FCL Wilson 22 yard shot spins off defender up middle but rolls wide right of post.
46 min...FCL Nafar gets away shot after cornerkick pass around.
47 min...DUFA Thornton cross from left end line has DUFA Nkwocha blast 12 yarder well over net on right.
48 min...FCL Nafar has shot blocked at 8 yards by defender.
51 min...FCL Ethan Gopaul rush on 2 on 1 and rolls pass to FCL Wilson who rolls ball wide left from 7 yards of open net.
53 min...FC London Connor Wilson GOAL...Wilson recovers DU goalie Khedar Caesar-Thompson's poor clearance
at 25 yards and turns and fires 22 yarder down middle over sprawling goalie into middle of net.
55 min...FCL Ethan Gopaul is squeezed off shot by goalie and two defenders.
56 min...DUFA YELLOW card...Salmon earns it for flipping FCL player on rush down left.
57 min...FCL Nafar 20 yard freekick from left into player wall. Nafar gets low rebound between players but goalie
smothers shot.
58 min...DUFA sub...Constance replaces Nkwocha.
61 min...FCL Wilson 18 yard shot on right is off defender and spins to goalie.
63 min...FCL Baker rolls 25 yard through ball too far for goalie to pick up.
66 min...DUFA Thornton cross from 25 yards on far right has ball tipped and goalie flies to left to grab near post.
67 min...FCL sub...Vyfschaft replaces Chad Gopaul.
67 min...FCL Baker throw-in from left between defender and charging FCL Alvarez shoots over net.
69 min...Durham United Liam Salmon GOAL...DU Romaine Watkins 45 yard freekick on left is knocked around
on left side of box and Salmon blasts 15 yarder into top right corner of net past goalie Anthony Sokalski.
72 min...DUFA Salmon cornerkick from right is short and wasted when worked out with DUFA Thornton as they never
get it into FCL box.
72 min...FCL goalie outjumps DUFA Malcolm to high ball at 8 yards to catch.
73 min...DUFA player 20 yard shot from far left has goalie dive on near post to catch.
73 min...FCL Alvarez 25 yard shot down middle is between players and over net.
74 min...FCL Wilson is injured at DUFA 50 yard line.
78 min...FCL Ethan Gopaul 25 yard shot is blocked on edge of box.
78 min...FCL Maletic is injured at FCL 22 yard line.
79 min...DUFA Amankwa bends 30 yard shot from right well high and left of net.
80 min...DUFA Watkins 75 yard freekick from right is cleared on left side of box.
81 min...FCL YELLOW card...Maletic earns it for pushing over a DUFA player on center line.
82 min...DUFA Djimi chips ball from 30 yards on right and DUFA Lazo one-touches 10 yard scoop just over bar down middle.
84 min...FC London RED card...Marko Maletic earns his second Yellow card within three minutes for a tackle
on a DUFA player at FCL 25 yard line.
86 min...DUFA Thornton 25 yard freekick is into wall of players and cleared. DUFA player chips ball into box and another
DUFA player gets 10 yard shot up middle that goalie palms over bar.
87 min...FCL sub...Halbouni replaces Wilson.
87 min...DUFA player's cornerkick from right is caught by goalie.
90 min...DUFA Djimi 30 yard freekick from right has goalie bat ball left. DUFA Salmon flubs shot from 12 yards on left wide left
of the net. The goalie is injured on the play and needs trainer.
92 min...DUFA Thornton run on right into box has defender poke ball away from behind.
94 min...FCL sub...Sneddon replaces Heath who had just been injured. Players waste time repairing cornerflag.
95 min...FCL Nafar blasts 8 yarder after low cronerkick from right that's stopped point blank by goalie.
96 min...DUFA Watkins finishes sustained DUFA pressure with 30 yard skyball down middle well over net.
97 min...game ends 2:55pm.

Final Score:...Durham United FA......1.....FC London.......2.....

Attendance reached about 70 by the second half. It s an unusual time to start the game for the team's first home game of the season.
The Pickering Soccer Centre means it was an indoor game but the weather was miserable cold and there was a misty rain. Their games
later in the season will be at Kinsmen Park a few km away. Today was also Mother's Day. Their L1O women's team was out of town.

Referee Phil Benevides gave out five Yellow cards (although I didn't notice that many) with three to FCL including two to the same
player so he was sent off. This was a very rough game with a lot of hard checking especially by Durham injuring a few players.
The rough stuff didn't end after the game although I didn't see it. I was getting ready to conduct an interview with Durham head coach
Paul Martin when he and the game officials were called away with “They've gotten into the locker room”. I was expecting the police
to be called but the scuffle was broken up. The locker rooms are right beside each other. I'd overheard that the FCL players would
stay on the field for a few extra minutes but I suppose all the Durham players weren't in their locker room yet.

FCL fought hard to get the insurance goal early in the second half but then DUFA scored to close in and that left them twenty minutes
to try to tie. That opened the game up for rushes for both teams.

Best non-scoring chances were at 7 minutes just one minute after the first goal and an almost identically placed shot had
FCL Connor Wilson get away on the left and took a low 22 yard shot to the right corner of the goal but the goalie dove to push it wide
of the post. 31 minutes had DUFA Maleik De Freitas feed a ball at 40 yards on the right forward and to center and DUFA Joe Jin Lee
took a 15 yard low shot that was blocked by the sprawling goalie. De Freitas eventually was able to recross and that was cleared
in the box. 34 minutes had De Freitas take a 30 yard freekick from the slight left in a tic tock pass with a teammate in front of the
FCL wall tapping it back to him and his shot was caught just under the bar. 51 minutes had FCL Ethan Gopaul rush in on a 2 on 1
and rolled a pass to Wilson who rolled his shot in front of the open net wide left of the post from 7 yards. (good thing for him
he scored two minutes later). 66 minutes had DUFA Michael Thornton cross from 25 yards on the far right and the ball was tipped
and the goalie flew to the left to grab it near the post. 82 minutes DUFA Guedei Djimi chipped a ball from 30 yards on the right
and DUFA Kevin Lazo one-touched a 10 yard scoop down the middle just over the bar. 86 minutes had DUFA Thornton take a 25 yard
freekick into the player wall and the ball was cleared. Another DUFA player chipped the ball into the box and another player took
a 10 yard shot up the middle that was palmed over the bar by the goalie. 96 minutes had DUFA Romaine Watkins end a sustained period
of pressure with a 30 yard skyball down the middle well over the net.

I'd noticed last week I had a new Twitter follower named Paul Martin (not the former Canadian Prime Minister). He said
he played for the last year of the Durham Storm of the CPSL in 2005 then lived in Windsor for the years after that before now
returning to the Durham area. The Storm had a very poor record. That same year his current assistant coach Desmond Humphrey
was winning the CPSL MVP Award playing for Vaughan Shooters!

Durham open their season with two losses but they've lost both games by one goal. I rated their opponents Oakville Blue Devils
and FC London as my pre season favourites to battle to finish first (after assuming Vaughan Azzurri and Sigma FC are weakened
by players moving to CPL teams). Next Friday they host Unionville-Milliken SC on Friday night and that game is certainly
winnable with the U-M roster also being almost completely turned over from last season.

FC London wins to even their record at 1-1-0. Last week they played at nearby Whitby Soccer Centre which is also a domed facility
against Darby FC. Today they were here early and got a full opening warm up which was a problem last week—no traffic on the roads
through Toronto on a Sunday morning. An early lead also helped them out today. One other difference is last week's captain
Randy Ribeiro was walking in a cast and a pair of crutches but listed as an assistant coach so he could sit on the bench.
He answered my question that he is NOT related to the Windsor TFC midfielder Andrew Ribeiro.

This season is a return to L1O action for the Durham United FA Men's team after taking a year off. The L1O Women's team won the
championship last season. The 2017 roster and coaching staff scattered to other teams. I searched my own archives after the game
and found seven of the eighteen on the roster with L1O experience and only three in L1O last season.

[OK goalie's Kevon Grant Alliance 2018 and Khedar Caesar-Thompson Toronto Skillz 2016, field players Orville Malcolm
Masters FA 2016, Maleik De Freitas Masters FA 2018, Mitchell Wong Toronto Skillz 2017, Derrick Amankwa Windsor 2018,
and Robert Baxter-Dennis Sanjaxx 2015.]

One other thing about Pickering Soccer Centre that maybe I couldn't remember from two years ago is they have a protective netting
hanging from the ceiling and down to dragging on the ground on both sides of the field. I suppose the city would want that
to prevent any headlines and lawsuits of what Kaku of MLS New York Red Bulls did a few weekends ago of getting angry and kicking
a ball into the crowd injuring a fan. Fine, there were children here but I'm not sure about the non-stands side. The ball boys were
placed behind the net and weren't really involved. The netting really messed up the focus of my camera so I found an opening where
a cable wire stretched on the other side of the field and watched the second half from there. It was more a hardship for the guy
filming the game for the league. (the camcorder on a pole technology that L1O currently uses). The referee insisted before the game
that his tripod was too close to the sideline but he was being squashed by the netting. During the break between halfs he came
to scout the other side of the field which had more space between the net and the sideline but didn't have enough time to dismantle
and move his equipment before the second half. This is another place where OneSoccer and their eight different camera angles aren't
going to be able to set up because there isn't enough room. I'd expect next year we'll be lucky enough to see at most
a 'Game of the Week' and maybe a highlights package.

I was thanking the L1O staff after the game for giving me gamesheets for each team when as if on cue “In My Blood” started playing.
I said “Hey Shawn Mendes, he's from this city (ie Pickering)” to blank stares. Geez he's only age 20. What do young people listen
to today? I've been hyping Greta Van Fleet on the other side of the musical spectrum for over a year and get the same reaction.

I left the facility and found that it was now raining harder. I had plenty of time to get to Aurora to see their home opener and see
their revised roster but I turned off when halfway there and headed home. Nowhere to hide up there with the dressing rooms
about 400 yards from the field.

I don't really have enough time to report on four games a weekend. This week will be tough as I have a midweek game with
Vaughan Azzurri hosting CPL HFX Wanderers Wednesday night.

Aurora beat Woodbridge 2-1 and are one of only three of the sixteen teams with a 2-0-0 record joining Oakville Blue Devils
and Alliance United.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01

Durham United FA starters

FC London starters

FC London Connor Wilson (10) takes first half kickoff.

It's no use taking pictures until I can cross the field.

Durham United Kevin Lazo (14) and Jae Jin Lee (12) take second half kickoff.

midfield action

FCL players on another rush.

FC London Mohammad Rez Nafar (8) rushes into box.

FC London Mohammad Reza Nafar (8) blasts freekick.

Durham United FA Romaine Watkins (21) lines up long freekick.

The dressing rooms are too close together.

Here is the sound file:

MP3 file...Durham United FA head coach Paul Martin...7 min 58 sec
Thank you Durham head coach Paul Martin for coming back to conduct the interview after this jarring incident.
Martin talks about today's game, the resurrection of this team, and the network of the youth teams that will
supply players to the L1O team.

back to League 1 Ontario index

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