July 29, 2019 League 1 Ontario--Summary of Friday and Saturday Games (from League 1 Ontario website)
North Miss, Pro Stars, London Stay In Playoff Hunt While Sigma Solidify Position 07/29/2019, 3:45pm EDT By League1 Ontario staff North Miss, Pro Stars and FC London managed key results in Matchweek 13 to stay in the playoffs hunt, while Sigma FC solidified their post-season status with a one-sided result over Durham United FA. .................................................................................................... North Mississauga SC hung on to defeat Darby FC 1-0 on Friday night in a neck-and-neck match that left the victors with a one point cushion in seventh place - the penultimate playoff position. The match opened with great intensity as both teams came into the match level on points, and just barely holding onto playoff spots. Any points earned would greatly improve their playoff hopes with only two matches remaining in the regular season. NMSC came out the gates strong, trying to capitalize on drawn fouls in attacking areas but unable to get a clean look at goal. In the 15th minute, NMSC defender Proctor was booked for committing a foul in the visitor's penalty area, which led to a Darby penalty kick. However, NMSC keeper Maloney miraculously went on to save the well-placed penalty in the 16th minute and kept the game level for his side. Darby midfielders Winkle and Crosby were pivotal for their team as they seemed to be all over the pitch in terms of creating chances, and maintaining the tempo in possession. The teams would go into the halftime break at 0-0 but the second half was much of the same intensity. In the 62nd minute, an NMSC header would go off the crossbar and out as things seemed to be favouring the west-end club. The game would finally be unlocked when NMSC midfielder A.Rahman (71') sent a thumping header into the back of the net after a brilliant counter-attack. After scoring the go-ahead goal, the visitors seemed content to contain Darby until the clock ran out. Darby would play some beautiful football in the last 20 minutes, stringing together delightful combinations and getting plenty of chances to equalize, but in the end were unable to do so. North Mississauga SC would just barely come out of the battle with the three points, and they will need to continue form to keep in the eight-team playoff zone as four teams below are within three points. North Mississauga will next play Windsor TFC on August 9 (8 p.m.) at Paramount Fine Foods Centre, Mississauga. Darby FC will next play OSU Force on August 9 (8 p.m.) at Whitby Soccer Centre, Whitby. (Robin Chawla) ..................................................................................................... FC London defeated Windsor TFC 6-2 in Friday action in London, Ontario. The goals for FC London came from only three players: Chad Gopaul (4'), Mohammad Nafar (7’, 19') and Connor Wilson (45’, 67’, 85’). Windsor TFC’s goals came from Tanner Pager (6') and Leonardo Fereirra DaSilva (60'). The game had a deluge of three goals in the first ten minutes. FC London's Chad Gopaul (4') had the opening goal, heading in a cross from his teammate. Less than two minutes later, Windsor TFC's Tanner Page (6') tied up the match. However, FC London's Mohammad Nafar (7') wasted no time in scoring to put FC London ahead. For the next ten minutes, both sides kept equal possession in the neutral third of the pitch until Nafar (19') got his second goal of the match after he sped past Windsor's defence. Both teams went on to have good chances, but were unable to finish. Also, their keeper, Sokalski, made a wonderful save to keep Windsor TFC from scoring. In the last minute of play in the first half, Wilson (45') was able to increase FC London's lead after he tipped the ball past Windsor TFC's keeper. In the second half, Windsor TFC's DaSilva (60') was able to get the second and final goal of the match for his team. He took a beautiful shot that just went past the keeper. FC London's next two goals came from Wilson (67',85'). The first of these came when there was a two on one with Windsor TFC's keeper. The second came from a well-converted penalty. The clear key player for FC London was Connor Wilson, who got a hat-trick this game. The key player for Windsor was Tanner Page, who played solidly in the centre of the pitch, scoring the first goal for Windsor. Windsor TFC will next play North Mississauga SC on August 9 (8 p.m.) at Paramount Fine Foods Centre, Mississauga. FC London will next play Aurora FC on August 11 (6 p.m.) at Stewart Burnett Park, Aurora. (Kristina Brooks) ..................................................................................................... Despite giving up a lead at the start of the second half, Sigma FC made the most of their chances to finish in a 4-1 win over Durham United FA on Saturday afternoon at Paramount Fine Foods Field, Mississauga. Both teams played quite well despite the fierce heat and a strong wind blowing across the field throughout the match. Sigma had a number of chances early on. The first good chance was through a cross by Simon Triantafillou that was headed just wide by Goldhar. Immediately after that, Leaford Allen fought off several defenders but the final ball to his teammate was cleared away by a Durham defender. Durham keeper Andreas Elineas was also called into action, making a diving save to keep the game scoreless at the half-hour mark. The action was not entirely one way as Sigma keeper Baj Maan was similarly required to step up and make a tricky save on a low cross that nearly connected with the onrushing Durham striker, Guedei Djimi. The deadlock was finally broken as Sigma's Allen crossed the ball to an open Justin Stoddart (45'), who swept the ball to his left and right by a helpless Elineas. Durham made one change at the break, with immediate impact as Malikh Pereira-Charity (47') dribbled into the area and shot past Maan. Another Durham chance shortly afterwards required Maan to make a save at the top of the box and suggested that perhaps Sigma were rattled by the goal against. The Sigma lead was soon restored with a play that again began with Allen getting the ball, fighting off his defender, and crossing the ball - this time to Hilli Goldhar (58'). With the lead again restored, Sigma visibly settled on the ball and played to retain possession and the result through much of the remaining half hour. The home side still found openings though, with Allen (83') getting on the scoreboard himself beating Elineas low into the far side, and Hilli Goldhar (90' + 1') added to his total with a second goal in the dying minutes. With the win, Sigma FC improve to 7-3-3 (24 points), and are now nearly certain to finish in the eight-team playoff zone. They currently sit fourth, but with a number of teams very close behind, Sigma will need to finish the season strong to keep a good seeding. Durham United fall to 2-9-2 (eight points) and sit well outside the playoff zone in 14th spot. Sigma FC will next play Toronto Skillz on August 10 (4 p.m.) at Paramount Fine Foods Field, Mississauga. Durham United FA will next play Woodbridge Strikers on August 9 (8 p.m.) at Kinsmen Park, Pickering. (Daniel Evans) ......................................................................................................... Unionville-Milliken SC and Pro Stars FC both entered Saturday evening's fixture at Mount Joy with hopes of sneaking into the League1 playoff spots as both teams had won their previous game and were only separated by three points in the standings. After a hard-fought battle, Hassan Abdulmumini (77') scored the game's only goal against his former club and allowed Pro Stars to stay in the hunt for the post-season. Both teams began the game in a 4-3-3 formation with one holding midfielder. Pro Stars stayed very compact and deep when out of possession, allowing Unionville to play out of their own half. On occasion, both Powell (Unionville) and Ewart (Pro Stars) dropped deep from their striker positions to get on the ball and create a numerical advantage in midfield. Ewart and Edwards were able to connect a few passes on the counter-attack, but Unionville's defenders coped well with that threat in the first half. Flynn was often involved in the build-up play for Unionville, and the hosts got their best chance of the game in the 28th minute, when Powell was played in-behind. Unfortunately, the striker’s shot was hit directly at goalkeeper Campanico. The Pro Stars keeper was forced into another great save in the 34th minute, when Flynn was allowed time and space to shoot from distance. The half ended scoreless, but not before Powell had another great opportunity saved by Campanico from close range. Pro Stars began the second half strongly, with Ewart and Abdulmumini finding gaps in Unionville's midfield. The visitors thought they had put Abdulmumini through on goal at the hour mark, but the offside flag came to Unionville's aid. Unionville’s keeper Carbone made an incredible save in the 64th minute, diving to stop a ball from point-blank range and redirect it over the crossbar. Pro Stars continued to have the lion's share of chances, as Dylan Micallef made a great run through the half-space and put in a dangerous cross five minutes later. UMSC finally broke under the pressure in the 77th minute. Some chaos in the box and a shot off the post ended with Abdulmumini reacting quickest to finish from close range. Abdulmumini gave a muted celebration, as a sign of respect for the club he played for last season. Unionville pushed numbers forward to try and salvage a draw, but Pro Stars remained steady at the back to seal the victory. Pro Stars (5-6-2) will continue their hunt for a playoff spot with only two matches left in their regular season. Pro Stars FC will next play Vaughan Azzurri on August 11 (8 p.m.) at North Maple Regional Park, Vaughan. With the defeat, Unionville-Milliken SC (3-7-2) is officially eliminated from playoff qualification and sits in 1th spot. Unionville Milliken SC will next play Masters FA on August 10 (7 p.m.) at Mt. Joy Turf, Markham. (Aria Popel)
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