>June 2, 2024...League1 Ontario Vaughan Azzurii vs Blue Devils FC game report (by Rocket Robin)

June 2, 2024...League1 Ontario Vaughan Azzurii vs Blue Devils FC game report (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday June 2, 2024 League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game between Vaughan Azzurri
and Blue Devils FC played at North Maple Regional Park in Vaughan at 8:00pm.

Vaughan Azzurri (all navy uniforms, white numbers, red trim)

...........................1 Alessio Carbone
...........16 Jacob Begley...15 Matthew Medeiros...21 Adamo Pantaleo
5 Raheem Rose (cpt)...10 Jeronimo Sabatasso Sola...18 Shawn Noah Shvartshtein...13 Justin Santos
..........9 Reshaun Walkes...8 Christopher Campoli...20 Mateo Caride

Subs:...12 Grant Marcus Wyles (gk)...3 Shayan Amir Soltanzadeh...6 Gabriel Boakye...7 Abdou Raouf Mohamed
...14 Pariss Kaleb Cameron Mitchell...17 Divraj Sandhu...19 Daunte Zidane Tulloch...22 Pedro Aparicio
...25 Francesco Adelmo Panetta
team officials:...head coach Carmine Isacco...assistant coach Jeffrey Valcius, Anthony Daniel Vadori, and Fabio Campoli
...physiotherapist Ancilla Mak...other official Martin Eleuteri

Blue Devils FC (all white uniforms, navy numbers)

.........................26 Michael Roko Markac
..........23 Anthony Ricarado Wright...5 Ahmad Mansour...3 Elijah Antonio Caparello Wanless
2 Matthew Anton Laic...21 Samri Ghouli...10 Brandon Duarte (cpt)...11 Gianluca Spadafora...15 Marcus Reshawn Riviere
....................13 Jacob Ball...12 Mohamed Al Shakman

Subs:...1 Taylor Miskolczi (gk)...6 Adam Czerkawski...7 Mathew Joseph Santos...8 Samer Zouhad Hamade...16 Kyse Majel
...17 James Nathan Lima...22 Ethan Miskolczi...24 Jaedyn Bell Saunders...25 Lee Victor Massunda
team officials:...head coach Duncan Wilde...assistant coaches William McCallum Steele and Andrew Adrian Seuradge
... team manager Kimberly Dawn Ashton...goalkeeper coach Myles Glenn McNamara...athletic trainer Dan Dalla Rosa

Game officials:...referee Melvin Christopher...referee's assistants Liam Tremblay and Nick Vagenas
...fourth official Ryan Schwenger...(red socks and shirts, black shorts)...match commissioner Analia Sordi

First Half:...game starts 6:58pm...Vaughan defends south end.
5 min...BD Spadafora recives how centering pass and 20 yard shot forward is wide left of post.
7 min...BD Riviere heads ball out right side of box to prevent VA Walkes getting to high cross.
7 min...VA Campoli wins cornerkick on run down right.
8 min...VA Santos cornerkick from right is high and bounces wide left for goalkick.
9 min...BD Al Shakman 33 yard freekick from right sideline has VA Rose head away and another VA player clears the rebound
on the follow up play.
10 min...VA Santos cornerkick from right is over to left and VA win another cornerkick.
11 min...VA Campoli cornerkick from left drops in 6 yard box and defender clears.
11 min...VA Begley in box heads away cross from right.
13 min...VA Rose centering pass along 15 yard line from right has VA Walkes roll 15 yard shot into outside right side webbing of net.
14 min...VA Santos 20 yard freekick from right end line is through goalie's hands on leap and out for goalkick!
17 min...VA Shvartshtein flubs clearance at 20 yards but BD players can't gets away shot.
18 min...VA Campoli rush to 35 yard line to get to bouncing through ball fast but shot deflects for cornerkick.
19 min...VA Campoli cornerkick from left is whistled down in box for players bumping each other.
20 min...BD Ball rush down middle from 40 yards and low 22 yard shot is stopped by sliding goalie at 15 yards out for throw-in.
24 min...A VA goalie on a diving header is called back for offside at 8 yards.
29 min...VA Walkes cro to left end line from 20 yards in middle.
29 min...BD Jacob Ball draws Penalty kick when bumped over at 15 yards. Referee Melvin Christopher then gives VA head coach
Carm Isacco a YELLOW card for complaining about the call. Hey two games in a row as he earned one last week against Woodbridge!
30 min...Blue Devils Brandon Duarte GOAL...Duarte blasts low Penalty kick to left corner hitting the back post
as goalie Alessio Carbone slides in middle.
32 min...VA Campoli hits right post with 20 yard lob down middle.
33 min...VA players on give and go play has 7 yard shot blocked by defender on left.
36 min...VA Pantaleo low 22 yard shsot from left after goalie slips has goalie catch low on near post.
38 min...BD Ghouli is injured in collision with VA player.
39 min...VA Rose chips 28 yard freekick over to left in crowd is headed away by defender.
40 min...VA player's 23 yard freekick near left end lline is whistled down in box.
43 min...BD YELLOW card...Miskolczi earns it for something. He was on the bench.
43 min...Vaughan Reshaun Walkes GOAL...VA Jeronimo Sabbatasso Sola sends low cross from left has Walkes slide
to poke 5 yard shot from right over diving goalie Mike Markac.
45 min...BD goalie dives on right to save ball going out on deflection.
46 min...VA YELLOW card...Campoli earns it for diving in the BD box trying to draw Penalty kick as VA Sola sends pass into box.
47 min...half ends 8:45pm.

Second Half:...starts 9:01pm.
Halftime subs:...BD Massunda replaces Aal Shakman.
...................BD Hamade replaces Ghouli.
...................BD Miskolczi replaces Markac in goal.
...................BD Czerkawski replaces Mansour.
45 min...BD goalie dives forward to get hand to low cross from right.
46 min...Blue Devils Brandon Duarte GOAL...A BD player rolls a shot from 12 yards on left that the goalie slides to save
on the near post.. Duarte steps around defender VA Matthew Medeiros who stood still expecting goalie would crawl
to smother the rebound. Duarte pokes 5 yard rebound into right side of the net.
48 min...BD player is injured just outside.
49 min...BD Hamade 22 yard freekick from right has VA Begley head ball away from middle of box.
50 min...VA Walkes low centering pass from right over to VA Campoli and one-touches low 15 yarder up middle that goalie smothers.
51 min...VA goalie picks up through ball at 7 yards before BD Riviere can get to it.
53 min...Vaughan Mateo Caride GOAL...A VA player's shot spins off a defender at 15 yards and pops high.
When ball drops, Caride shoots 15 yard roller into right corner of net past goalie Taylor Miskolczi.
55 min...BD Hamade 35 yard freekick from left is high and is wide right for goalkick.
58 min...VA Santos crosses from right between players. VA Campoli chips 18 yarder down middle is just over net.
59 min...VA sub...Sandhu replaces Shvartshtein.
............VA sub...Mohamed replaces Santos.
60 min...BD YELLOW card...Ball earns it for trip from behind on VA Medeiros after Medeiros stripped him off ball at VA 15 yard line.
64 min...BD Hamade blasts partial clearance towards net.
64 min...BD sub...Lima replaces Wanless.
66 min...VA sub...Mitchell replaces Caride.
69 min...BD Ball is injured when he ran into VA Begley who was jumping for ball at VA 40 yard line.
70 min...VA Walkes mid volley of pass on right to center has goalie beat VA Mohamed to ball.
71 min...VA Boakye replaces Sola.
72 min...BD Spadafora pops header from 10 yards on right has VA goalie catch at 4 yards.
73 min...BD Hamade blasts 33 yarder down middle well high and wide right.
74 min...BD YELLOW card...Spadafora earns it for trip on VA Rose at VA 40 yard line.
75 min...VA Campoli 40 yard freekick from right has defender head away on edge of box.
75 min...VA YELLOW card...Walkes earns it for dive in BD box playing for Penalty kick call.
............VA YELLOW card...assistant coach Vadori earns it for complaining on the last call.
77 min...BD Riviere draws freekick on edge of box in collision with defender.
78 min...BD Duarte low freekick from 20 yards hits player wall and deflects wide left for cornerkick.
78 min...BD player's cornerkick from left has defender clear.
79 min...VA Campoli has balal poked aay by defender on left side of box.
80 min...VA Campoli chips 22 yard freekick from goalie punches away on leap in crowd of players in box. VA Begley
is injured on play and needs trainer.
83 min...VA Campoli on right can't get away shot on right.
84 min...VA sub...Aparicio replaces injured VA Begley who hadn't returned.
84 min...BD YELLOW card...Duarte earns it for complaining to referee about foul call against him at center line.
85 min...VA Mohamed getss to bouncer up middle but knocks it wide left from 12 yards.
86 min...BD YELLOW card...Lima earns it for kicking ball away after VA called freekick.
87 min...BD YELLOW card...goalkeeping coach McNamara earns it on the bench for complaining on the call.
88 min...BD goalie dives on loose ball on right side of box in crowd.
89 min...VA Mitchell cornerkick from left has defender on near post chest down and clear.
93 min...BD Hamade freekick from 25 yards on left has leaping BD player heads wide right from 5 yards.
94 min...The VA goalie has to save three shots in a row including a point blank shot.
95 min...BD Duarte is injured behind the end line and needs trainer but he's off field so the game can continue.
95 min...game ends 9:51pm.

Final Score:...Vaughan Azzurri.......2.......Blue Devils FC........2...........

Attendance started off slow but was about 150 by halftime. For the first time this year I saw the canopies had been installed. What that is is an umbrella-looking structure, one at each end of the stands that could provide shelter for some if it rained. It wasn't up at the start of the season as I'd heard was the fear they'd be damaged in the wind. My weather app said there'd be 8% chance of rain and it was true it didn't rain until sometime in the night.

This game will be remembered for it's Yellow card totals with ten given out (four to Vaughan). That included coaching staff with Vaughan receiving two and one to Blue Devils. Lots of whistles too which not just one fan said was killing the momentum of the game with so many restarts.

A very exciting game with a few extra cheers of 'goal' which turned out to be premature as the ball had hit the outside webbing of the net. The game ended in a flurry as Blue Devils had all the pressure in the four minutes of added time including three chances in like 10 seconds which was too fast for me to write down but the Vaughan goalie smothered a rebound to end it. Brandon Duarte was injured at the end too but was behind the Vaughan end line so the game was quickly restarted after the trainer was signalled on.

The result improves Vaughan's record to 3 wins, 3 ties, 0 losses for 12 points. That puts them in a tie for third place with Woodbridge but Vaughan is ranked fourth because of a lesser goal differential.

Blue Devils improve to 2 wins, 2 ties, 2 losses for 8 points. They are sixth of the twelve teams in this division.

Maybe I should stop saying 'their record improves' when a team plays to a tie because both teams lose ground this weeked to front running Burlington who improve to a 6-0-0 record and pull away to a five point lead over second place Scrosoppi FC who have one game in hand because this evening's home game against Alliance United was postponed. Could it be Milton had the storm that we didn't have?

A few hours earlier here in Women's Premier Division play, Vaughan beat Blue Devils 1-0. Makes a long day for the DJ and some club officials including Carm Isacco who also coaches Vaughan's womens team.

Should Vaughan thank Oakville for something? Well roundabout maybe as Golf Canada had most of the North Maple Regional Park reserved for a potential golf course in the event that Glen Abbey GC was sold for condominium development but the Oakville city council decided to protect their land. Golf Canada decided they were no longer interested in NMRP and now Vaughan Soccer Club has the ability to expand from their two fields and move their clubhouse to this site. Also sports like cricket and pickle ball are building on this land and the locals hiking along the path beside our field will throw a stray ball back.

My post game interview with Blue Devils FC head coach Duncan Wilde (5 minutes, 30 seconds)
Your thoughts on tonight's game?
How important is it to get off to a good start and the problems of losing points?
How good is your youth team system of always being able to find replacements?
How important is the revised L1O League Cup competition?
Do you have a favourite of the Manchester teams?
Is Blue Devils somewhat of a salute to the Red Devils?
What role does club president Steven Caldwell (TSN broadcaster) play in your team?

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

Vaughan Azzurri starters