June 1, 2024...League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division...Sigma FC vs Woodbridge Strikers game report (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Saturday June 1, 2024 League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game between Sigma FC
and Woodbridge Strikers played at Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga at 2:00pm.

Sigma FC (blue socks and shirts, black shorts, white numbers)

.............................1 Dino Bontis
3 Santiago Frias...14 Andres Alfonso Delascio Velaasco...4 Simon Riccardo Guardiero...16 Luc Anthony Finelli
..........15 Daniel Stampatori...22 Daniel Firek...8 Faisal Ghaffur (cpt)
...........7 Amir Shirazi...11 Hoce Massunda...18 Ali Amin El Zeir

Subs:...31 Jack Cristini (gk)...2 Kamran Tejumola...5 Kyle Walton...6 Zayne Bruno
...9 Danel Esprit...17 Kadell Thomas...20 Domenico Folino...21 Joshua Miller...23 Andrew Michael Piccolo
team officials:...head coach John Zervos...assistant coach Philip Opassinis...team manager Justin Stoddart
...physiotherapist Leo Ilzuka

Woodbridge Strikers (all white uniforms, blue numbers)

........................1 Dante Mario Ferraro
25 Keegan Wilson...18 Elijah Viet Le...3 Gianluca Condello...27 Sebastian Cochrane
2 Luca Pinto...11 Franz Mella...6 Jacob Spizzirri (cpt)...8 Joe Mac...22 Santino De Bartolo
........................20 Exosse Kadiebue

Subs:...76 Ezequiel Entique Carrasco Ayala (gk)...7 Justin Cicchillo...9 Ronaldo Marshall...10 Ignazio Muccilli
...12 Lluka Vasic...13 Addrian Knights Browne...17 Gregory Damian Moulopoulos...19 Abdul Hamad...21 Anthony Morano
team officials:...head coaches Peter Pinizzotto...assistant coach Fabio Panetta...team manager John Scarlato and Joseph Fini
...physiotherapist David Lisi

Game officials:...referee Hassane Rifai...referee's assistants Ehsaan Khan and Mariusz Buczkowski
...fourth official Nivin Raizada...(red socks and shirts, black shorts)...match commissioner John Ross Scarcelli

First Half:...game starts 2:00pm..Sigma defends south east end with a hazy sun in the west and a breeze from the south west.
The scoreboard was larger than a table top model but they leaned it on a table and for the first half, the fourth official was standing
right in front of it for most of the time. All time in the first half were converted from my wrist watch.
3 min...Sigma Shirazi steals ball off last defender and runs in and takes low 15 yard shot has goalie save on slide.
4 min...Sigma Ghaffur cornerkick from right is over players in box and cleared out left.
5 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Frias earns it for kick on WS De Bartolo as he kicks for ball at center line. De Bartolo needs trainer.
6 min...WS Mella rolls ball from 20 yards through defender but another defender clears.
11 min...WS Mella cornerkick from right is short and cleared on right side.
12 min...WS Pinto receives tap back pass from endline and taps over to WS Mac who shoots low and forward from 18 yards
that goalie smothers at left post.
14 min...WS Kadiebue rolls ball from right end line as he slips and defender clears on edge of 6 yard box.
17 min...Sigma El Zeir and Finelli work a give and go up left side but ball is rolled over end line.
18 min...WS Spizzirri run on left and low cross from WS Kadiebue dives forward and just misses connecting on 6 yard header.
19 min...WS YELLOW card...Kadiebue earns it for late foot check on Sigma El Zeir at WS 30 yard line.
20 min...Sigma Ghaffur 33 yard freekick from left is over players in box andd caught by goalie on right post.
21 min...Woodbridge RED card... Exosse Kadiebue earns his second Yellow card in 3 minutes for complaining about
a goalkick call when the ball rolls over the Sigma end line. He had just picked up a Yellow at 19 min with a late foot-in
on Sigma Ali El Zeir.
22 min...Sigma Massunda cross from 25 yards on far right that's caught by goalie.
23 min...WS Mac run to near right corner flag and cross is caught by goalie in 6 yard box.
24 min...WS player on 1 v 4 rush wins cornerkick on left.
25 min...WS Mac cornerkick from left has Sigma Ghaffur head away ball. Eventually the ball is crossed back in from left
and Sigma Frias is injured in 6 yard box and needs trainer.
28 min...WS Viet Le and Sigma Shirazi duel on run down right and Shirazi can't win Penalty kick call.
29 min...WS Spizzirri run on right and 22 yard cross from 6 yard line is caught by goalie.
34 min...WS Mac on 1 v 2 up middle rolls ball too far forward for goalie top pick up from 28 yards.
36 min...Sigma Ghaffur cornerkic from right has Sigma Velasco head forward in crowd of players in box from 12 yards has
defender kick away.
40 min...Sigma player makes sliding tackle at WS 25 yard line starting a pushing match.
42 min...Sigma El Zeir steps on ball on edge of WS box and tips. WS Pinto is injured on the play.
43 min...Sigma Finelli makes big header on edge of box to clear cross from left.
43 min...WS Mac chips pass forward but over endline for WS player in open.
45 min...WS Gianluca Condello and Franz Mella work a play upfield and a chip into the box hits arm of Sigma Andres Delascio
Velasco. Referee Hassane Rifai awards WS a Penalty kick.
46 min...WS Joe Mac blasts Penalty kick low to slight right and goalie Dino Bontis dives to make a save and a defender
clears the rebound.
47 min...half ends 2:47pm. The sun did come out much of the half and stays out all of halftime break.

Second Half:...starts 3:04pm.
Halftime sub:...WS Marshall replaces Mella.
48 min...WS De Bartolo receivess centering ball and 20 yard shot from slight right post just under bar and ball is cleared.
49 min...Sigma Massunda bends cross from 25 yards on right high over box. WS Pinto is injured near left cornerflag and needs
trainer. There's no stop in play because he's off the field. The trainer signals for a substitute but Pinto returns to the game
about 3 minutes later.
52 min...WS goalie catches defender's headed pop up in box.
54 min...WS De Bartolo long throw-in from right along 6 yard line has goalie charge out and catch it in crowd of players
and wins freekick call.
56 min...Sigma sub...Esprit replaces Shirazi.
58 min...Sigma Stampatori high cross frfom 22 yards on right has Sigma player pop up header at 12 yards and it lands on top of net.
58 min...WS sub...Muccilli replaces De Bartolo.
59 min...WS Spizzirri is injured at WS 40 yard line and needs trainer.
60 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Firek earns it on delayed call from last play. Play then resumes.
62 min...Sigma Massunda rolls 25 yard shot from right is well wide left.
62 min...WS YELLOW card...Carrasco the back up goalie earns it for berating the fourth official from the bench.
63 min...WS Cochrane high 40 yard cross from left is cleared.
64 min...Sigma Finelli has shot blocked on left side of box then rolls pass right. Sigma Ghaffur flubs one-touch 15 yard shot
that's rolled wide right.
65 min...WS Condello heads long throw-in from right that goalie catches.
65 min...There's a dust up on the edge of the WS box. The referee talks to three players.
68 min...Sigma sub...Bruno replaces Firek.
...........Sigma sub...Thomas replaces El Zeir. Both are done before play resumes.
70 min...Sigma Frias holds off defenders on right side of box and taps ball to Sigma Stampatori who crosses from 5 yard line
high and ball drifts behind net.
71 min...WS Sebastian Cochrane sends in cornerkick from the right that is knocked around in the box and cleared. A WS player
was injured in the 6 yard box and needs the trainer. The referee, a referee's assistant and the fourth official consult on the sideline.
..........Sigma Zayne Bruno earns a YELLOW card for his part on the play. It looks like the officials was jestering an elbowing call.
Since it was in their own box by a defensive player that also meant a Penalty kick be awarded as the frantic WS parents in the stands
were shouting.
75 min...Woodbridge Ronaldo Marshall GOAL...Marshall shoots low to the right under the flying goalie.
78 min...WS Muccilli cornerkick from right. WS Condello heads 18 yarder as he steps back. The goalie palms over the bar.
78 min...WS Muccilli cornkerkick from right has WS Condello chest ball down and goalie picks up wide left of post.
80 min...Sigma sub...Miller replaces Stampatori.
83 min...Sigma Finelli rolls ball forward on right to Sigma Bruno who shoots roller along endline from 15 yards that goalie smothers.
83 min...Sigma Ghaffur cornerkick from right is headed back to him and recross wins cornerkick.
84 min...Sigma Ghaffur cornerkick from right is cleared. The WS goalie is injured on a bump in the box.
87 min...Sigma Finelli cross from right has goalie save to smother wide right of net because of deflection.
89 min...WS sub...Vasic replaces Muccilli.
90 min...Sigma Ghaffur 25 yard freekick from left is cleared in box.
92 min...WS players freekick from right near cornerflag is tapped around to waste time.
94 min...Sigma player wins cornerkick but can't win freekick call.
95 min...Sigmaa Ghaffur cornerkick from left has Sigma Frias head 7 yarder from right wide right.
96 min...Sigma Finelli cross from right endline has goalie catch overhead at 2 yards.
97 min...game ends 3:56pm.

Final Score:....Sigma FC.......0..........Woodbridge Strikers........1.........

Attendance grew to about 120 on this warm and sunny afternoon. I was timing the skies above and the airplanes were taking off from Pearson airport and flying across our field at 2 minute-or-less intervals.

The club has invested in a new larger scoreboard which needs a table to lean on—not like last year's model that sat on the table but couldn't be read across the field without binoculars. Today's couldn't be seen though as the fourth official stood directly in front of the count up section. All times, including airplane takeoff frequencies were converted from my wristwatch.

This game got rough at times with a few dust-ups between multiple players. Referee Hassane Rifai gave out three Yellow cards to each team. Interesting the Woodbridge ones were two to Exosse Kadiebue and the other to backup goalie Ezequiel Carrasco for something he said from the bench (he didn't play this game).

This game was not what I was expecting. I have followed this referee from the top leagues before L1O started in 2014. Most games he lets a lot go with just a few words to calm the players down without a card. I was thinking that being a man up would finally be the break that Sigma needed to score just their third goal in six regular season games and pick up their first win. No luck! Even their Round of 16 L1O Cup game against second tier BVB 1A Waterloo on Tuesday at Tim Horton's Field was postponed because of storms and will be played this Tuesday instead. When I interviewed head coach John Zervos three weeks ago, he was still waiting for his NCAA players to join the lineup now that their schooling has finished for the summer but it looks like they will take a few games to fit in.

My thinking also had Woodbridge at best hold on for their league leading fourth tie of the season and lose more points to the front runners. Nope! As their head coach Peter Pinizzotto answered in my interview last week, they had eight ties last year—the most in the league.

Woodbridge had to change their strategy. It was a forward that was sent off so their backline of Keegan Wilson, Elijah Viet Le, Gianluca Condello, and Sebastian Cochrane withstood the onslaught blocking a lot of shots and forcing any that did get through to be off target or catchable crosses. Their offence was disabled and relied mostly on counterattacks.

Woodbridge decided to not start their two goal scorers from Sunday night's big tie result against long time rivals Vaughan Azzurri but brought Ronaldo Marshall in a halftime and Ignazio Muccilli at 58 minutes.

Dante Ferraro earned the shutout for Woodbridge with a few key saves including a few leaps for crosses into the 6 yard box.

Dino Bontis made a save on one of the Penalty kick chances which is not a surprise to me as he has played for Canada at the CONCACAF U-20 championships in 2022 and three games for CPL Forge FC that same year and he will turn age 20 in a few months.

There were four of the six Men's Premier Division fixtures played today with the other two tomorrow. With today's results now in, Sigma's record falls to 0 wins, 1 tie, 5 losses for 1 point and they are twelfth (last) in the standings. Looks like it may be a three team duel for relegation.

The win improves undefeated Woodbridge's record to 3 wins, 3 ties, 0 losses for 12 points. That moves them into third place (two more L1O results tomorrow though). Remember last year in the two year weighted standings to decide the two tier split, they finished one spot below twelfth and were destined for the 'Championship Division' but for the folding of Electric City FC they stay to play top division soccer with a newly renovated stadium.

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

Sigma FC starters