May 18, 2024...league1 Ontario Alliance United vs Burlington SC game report (by Rocket Robin)

May 18, 2024...League1 Ontario...Alliance United vs Burlington SC game report (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Saturday May 18, 2024 League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game between Alliance United
and Burlington SC played at Centennial College Field in Scarborough at 6:15pm.

Alliance United (all orange uniforms, black numbers)

......................1 Lucas Birnstingl
2 Shon Siegelwachs...8 Mehdi Essoussi...3 Toby Richardson...7 Nirun Sivananthan (cpt)
21 Andrea Schifano...6 Ekweueme Paul...18 Pablo Hempelmann Perez...15 Jadon Lashley
................10 Dusasn Kovacevic...9 Atchuthan Sivananthan

Subs:...0 Ahrvin Raveendran (gk)...4 Nikola Stakic...12 Antonio Tripodi...13 Farrell Francis
...14 Belele Kingsley...17 Volodymyr Kharyton...19 Quinton Chung...22 Michael Maslanka
team officials:...head coach Ilya Orlov...assistant coaches Eric Nelson, Edin Kozica, and Cormac Rea
...physiotherapis Daniel Dalla Rosa...other official Goran Stakic

Burlington SC (yellow socks and shirts, blue shorts and numbers)

.........................1 Erik Hermanns
13 Andra Neptune...19 Joseph Achille Nagnonhou...3 Luka Frankovich...92 Kameel Durhan
.............16 Antoni Pyziak...6 Simon Triantafillou...26 Keani Fairbanks
............8 Yordn Rumenov Stoyonov...9 Augustus Oku...10 Mauro Lulli (cpt)

Subs:...33 Obrad Bejatovic (gk)...4 Joseph Willingham-Murphy...7 Lucas Matthew Raposo...12 Romario Rojay Badchkam
...15 Leaford A Allen...17 Matheus Mello...18 Daniel Austen Jodah...21 Shruthik Sivakumar...24 Abdo Wilchrist
team officials:...head coach Darren Tilley...assistant coaches Neil Wilson and Julio Enrique Garcia
...team manager Oubaida Ikharbine...goalkeeper coach Michael Andra Neptune...physiotherapist Dana Flatt

Game officials:...referee Kim Lee...referee's assistants Petros Vasilow and Daniel Jacob
...fourth official Amanda Kwan...(teal socks and shirts, black shorts)

First Half:...game starts 6:14pm...Allied defends north end. There's a blindingly bright sun in the north west.
1 min, 40 sec...Burlington Augustus Oku GOAL...Oku gets to high bouncing ball up the middle and with AU goalie
Lucas Birnstingl calling for his defenders to clear the ball but AU Toby Richardson lets it bounce by him
and Oku gets to it at 15 yards on the slight right and chips goalie standing at 8 yards into the left corner of the net.
2 min...Fairbanks low cross from far right has defender clear at 15 yards in center of box.
5 min...Burl defender pops header back to goalie from 20 yards to break up rush.
7 min...Burl Neptune low pass from right end line has Burl Stoyonov 7 yard end line shot forward behind endline.
10 min...Burlington Mauro Lulli GOAL...Lulli takes a low 12 yard shot from the left into the right corner of the net.
11 min...AU Perez is called offside receiving pass at 5 yards on left.
12 min...AU Kovacevic low 35 yard shot from right has goalie dive at 15 yards to smother.
13 min...AU Nirun Sivananthaan pops header on cross from right over net and back fence from 20 yards.
15 min...Burlington Mauro Lulli GOAL...AU Shon Siegelwachs is hesitant to head ball back to goalie
and Lulli gets to it at 15 yards on left and sends low shot into right side of net.
16 min...AU Perez 40 yard freekick from left has retreating defender head ball away in 6 yard box.
18 min...Burl pressure broken up by offside call on cross to right.
19 min...Burl Oku can't draw Penalty kick on fall on right side of box Oku wins cornerkick 20 seconds later.
20 min...Burlington Joseph Achille Nagnonhou GOAL...Burl Antoni Pyziak cornerkick from right is high
and Burl Mauro Lulli pops header from left in 6 yard box across to Nagnonhou who heads 5 yarder forward
and downward into right side of net.
21 min...AU Perez cornerkick from left has defender head ball away. AU Shifano blasts low clearance rebound from 25 yards
stopped by defenders and cleared.
23 min...Burl Neptune low cross from right near end line is cleared in box.
26 min...Burl Pyziak cornerkick from right is short to Burl Triantafillou who chips 25 yarder from right that goalie catches.
28 min...Burl goalie cornerkick from 80 yards up middle bounces to AU goalie.
31 min...Alliance Shon Siegelwachs GOAL...Siegelwachs low 22 yard shot from right is between players
and past diving goalie Erick Hermanns.
35 min...AU Kovaevic on 1 on 1 rush can't get around Burl Nagnonhou to get shot on edge of 18 yard box.
38 min...AU Perez 50 yard freekick from left has Burl Nagnonhou head away at 10 yards that starts fast break out.
40 min...Burl Fairbanks cornerkick from left has goalie catch on leap in crowd of players.
42 min...Burl goalie runs to right side of box to catch cross.
43 min...Burl Fairbanks cornerkick from left is low and AU player shanks clearance on near post for another cornerkick.
43 min...Burl Fairbanks high cornerkick from left has leaping goalie palm through right side of box for defender to clear.
44 min...Burl Neptune low throw-in has defender miss and goaie catches on bounce.
45 min...AU Perez cornerkick from right out to AU Schifano who has 28 yarder up middle stopped on edge of box by defender.
49 min...Alliance Nirun Sivananthan GOAL...AU Pablo Hempelmann Perez sends high cornerkick
from left over to right side and Sivananthan at 7 yards in crowd of players on leap heads ball down
and ball bounces into right side of net with goalie frozen in center of net.
49 min...half ends 7:03pm with no time to restart after goal.

Second Half: starts 7:19pm...It's still warm and sunny.
Halftime subs:...Burl Raposo replaces Fairbanks.
.................AU Stakic replaces Paul.
45 min...Burl Oku run up middle shoots roller around defender from 22 yards but goalie smothers ball in middle of box.
46 min...AU Stakic taps in 5 yard centered ball but play is called offside.
47 min...Burl Nagnonhou and Burl goalie botch up point blank back pass. AU and called for hand ball but play is cleared.
48 min...Burl YELLOW card...Lulli earns it for not giving 10 yards on AU Stakic quick freekick near center line sideline.
50 min...AU Stakic cornerkick from right has ball partially cleared and AU Schifano blast stopped by defenders at 15 yards.
51 min...Burl Lulli shot from 12 yards on left just wide right.
52 min...Burl sub...Willingham-Murphy replaces Durhan.
.............Burl sub...Allen replaces Stoyonov.
53 min...Burl Pyziak cornerkick from left is high and has Burl Lulli head 10 yarder from right and defenders clear.
54 min...AU YELLOW card...Lashley earns it at Burl 30 yard line.
56 min...AU sub...Maslanka replaces Lashley.
57 min...Burl Pyziak 30 yard chip from slight left is caught by goalie.
57 min...AU Maslanka rush up right and high cross finds charging AU Nirun Sivananthan at 6 yards on left not quite
able to turn header.
58 min...AU YELLOW card...Siegelwachs earns it for holding Burl Frankovich at center line preventing break.
60 min...AU Essoussi 33 yard freekick from right has defender head away.
62 min...Burl Nagnonhou is injured on edge of Burl box with leg cramp and needs trainer eventually. He needs help to limp
behind the goal line.
64 min...Burl sub...Wilchrist replaces injured Nagnonhou.
64 min...AU Siegelwachs cuts high cross near right cornerflag around Burl Lulli and goalie catches on left post.
65 min...Burl Pyziak 40 yard shot down middle is well high and wide left of net.
67 min...AU Atchuthan Sivananthan 20 yard shot from right is wide left.
68 min...Burl YELLOW card...Allen earns it for bumping with AU goalie in AU box.
70 min...AU Atchuthan Sivananthan cross along right end line is caught by goalie.
72 min...AU sub...Kingsley replaces injured Atchuthan Sivananthan.
72 min...AU YELLOW card...Essoussi earns it for something.
74 min...Burl Lulli has to leave field as victim of being hit in the mouth with hand.
74 min...AU Essoussi stops BU Lulli getting to high header on edge of box with goalie also out to make play.
76 min...Alliance Michael Maslanka GOAL...AU Mehdi Essoussi sends freekick up middle on low blast
from 25 yards between players and diving goalie blocks at 3 yards in middle of goal but gives up big
rebound which Maslanka taps in 8 yarder from right into open right side of net.
77 min...Burl Oku ends Burl pressure after freekick by shanking 22 yard kick well high and wide right. Burl Pyziak
is injured on play and needs trainer.
78 min...AU Kingsley low cross near corner flag has goalie dive to block.
79 min...Burl sub...Sivakumar replaces Pyziak.
............Burl sub...Jodah replaces Oku.
............Burl sub...Raposo replaces Lulli. Raposo becomes captain.
80 min...AU Stakic 28 yard freekick from left has wall block as was a second. A third chip was ruled offside.
82 min...AU Kovacevic heads ball across box but ball is cleared.
83 min...Burl Jodah cornerkick from right has Burl Allen hook ball overhead.
84 min...AU sub...Chung replaces Siegelwachs.
84 min...Burl Frankovich cuts 20 yard roller up middle that goalie smothers.
85 min...Burl YELLOW card...Sivakumar earns it for late tackle on AU Kingsley at AU 50 yard line. Burl wins freekick.
..........Burl YELLOW card...Triantafillou earns it for complaining or time wasting.
88 min...Burl Allen taps ball off and Burl Lulli blasts 15 yarder off defender and goalie catches ball just under bar.
89 min...Burlington Lucas Matthew Raposo GOAL...Burl Shruthik Sivankumar in center taps ball
from 25 yards over to Raposo on left and he shoots 12 yarder past sprawling goalie into right side of net.
92 min...AU players can't draw two Penalty kicks on same play!
93 min...AU YELLOW card...Stakic earns it for something.
.............AU YELLOW card...Maslanka earns it for something. (possible both for trying to get a Penalty call).
94 min...Burl goalie is out to 12 yards to smother ball.
95 min...AU Essoussi must leave field with a bloody elbow.
95 min...Alliance Pablo Hempelmann Perez GOAL...A Burl defender blasts a clearance from 2 yards that
hits Perez in the shin at 12 yards and deflects back into left side of net.
96 min...AU Stakic cornerkick from right is cleared.
97 min...Burlington Lucas Matthew Raposo GOAL...Raposo gets to ball at 40 yards and rounds goalie
to roll 25 yarder into open net.
98 min...AU Richardson heads ball from left across box.
98 min...game ends 8:12pm.

Final Score:......Alliance United........4........Burlington SC.........6..........

Attendance was about 60 on this warm day with a bright sun in the north west. No chance of rain during game time. We are going to move into the season of referee scheduled water breaks within the next few weeks. There were some wasps hovering around from the wooded area nearby.

Referee Kim Lee started off with letting a lot of things go and just issueing warnings. That continued into the second half with her first Yellow card at 48 minutes for a Burlington player not giving 10 yards and a deliberately quickly taken Allied freekick. She ended up giving out nine Yellows including what I suspect was for two Allied players diving in the box trying to draw a Penalty kick on the same play. Burlington had tried something similar at 19 minutes with the game already 3-0 but a minute later they scored again from a cornerkick.

This game started out fast with Burlington pressing and were up 4-0 within the first 20 minutes. Alliance head coach Ilya Orlov advised his defenders to kick the ball out of bounds or upfield quickly rather than having them be checked off the ball while trying to dribble it upfield. That advice seemed to settle those players down.

Burlington only entered League1 Ontario in 2022, the year they celebrated their sixtieth year of formation. They started with four wins in their first year finishing 17th then last year they finished in a four way tie for 4th and combined in the weighted system for 10th and passed the 12 team cutoff for a Premier Division spot. Hey three years! Head coach Darren Tilley started with the team in 2023.

Years ago players like Ryan Raposo (younger brother of Lukas) had to come over to Vaughan and Simon Triantafillou played for Sigma (in Mississauga) to play at the top level in the province but now Burlington can keep local players and attract others to play here.

Mauro Lulli played for Scrosoppi last season. I remember him coming into the game at around 60 minutes when I watched him last season but I suspect being a starter would be a good reason for him coming over to Burlington.

Both goalies previous played with Blue Devils over the years.

Before this game, another game was being played here. It wasn't the Alliance Women's team but the Alliance Men's L2 team. I was still in the parking lot and saw some orange coloured jerseys run up the field and a huge cheer go up. It was Alliance scoring a goal in the 94th minute to ice a 3-1 win against Sudbury Cyclones. That team brought a bus to transport their players. I asked a team official about travel. It will take four hours to drive back to Sudbury (hmm 400 km north, thanks Google). I can understand why their road games are scheduled for mid afternoon.

I said the only Sudbury player I ever heard of was Brian Ashton who played for Toronto Lynx for many years (1998-2004). The two of them said Ashton was coaching up in Sudbury. Looks like his Lynx career just missed crossing that of Burlington head coach Darren Tilley who was a star in the Lynx first season in 1997. Tilley moved on midseason to fellow A-League team Montreal Impact then played later for Rochester Raging Rhinos.

By the time I got home all the other games were over or ending. There were five Men's Premier games today. Burlington's record improves to 4 wins, 0 ties, 0 losses for 12 points. Scrosoppi were held to a 1-1 tie at home to Woodbridge Strikers for their first slip up of the year and a record of 3 wins, 1 tie, 0 losses for 10 points. Vaughan Azzurri also won tonight and won 1-0 at home against Hamilton United for an identical record as Scrosoppi. Scrosoppi won the regular season title last year which only won them a fan sponsored trophy.

Looks like the L1O Cup Final may not be between the two best teams as Scrosoppi will be hosting Burlington next week in the Round of 16. This was the only game that had still not been publicly announced as to when it will be played. Assistant coach Neil Wilson does know time and date but I didn't want to get him in trouble. Expect the Cup Final to be played after the end of the regular season. Remember no playoffs so this will be the biggest single game of the year. First place winner gets the L1O Championship trophy and the L1O spot in the 2025 Canadian Championship.

Alliance's record falls to 2 wins, 1 tie, 1 loss for 7 points leaving them all alone in fifth spot in the twelve team division.

Burlington assistant coach Neil Wilson

Interview with Burlington SC assistant coach Neil Wilson (7 min, 38 sec) 
Your thoughts on tonight's game? 
How important is it for your club to have such early success with no playoffs this year?
How did the team go from zero to so good within three years?
How is the team doing now that you are playing within the city limits? 
How do you see your rivalry with Scrosoppi with your first game being the League1 Cup?
How important is it to have local Burlington players able to play in their home town? 
How did you come back to be part of Burlington in L1O?

Rocket Robin
robin.glover.1958@gmail.com
X @RocketRobin01

Allied United starters