June 23, 2024...League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division...Blue Devils FC vs Sigma FC game report (by Rocket Robin)

Result and details of the Sunday June 23, 2024 League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game between Blue Devils FC
and Sigma FC played at Sheridan College in Oakville at 4:00pm.

I will be posting pictures, logos, and more of a play-by-play about this game someday .

47 min...Sigma Kevaughn Tavernier GOAL...Tavernier steals defender's tapped pass at 8 yards and shoots up middle around goalie Taylor Miskolczi banking low shot off right post and into net.

60 min...Sigma Kevaughn Tavernier GOAL...Sigma Daniel Firek sends pass downfield and Sigma Noah Mehta crosses from right between players and charging Tavernier blasts shot from 6 yards on left into right side of net.

77 min...A Blue Devils cross comes in from the right and as BD Adam Czerkawski jumps for it to try for the header, Sigma goalie Dino Bontis also leaps and punches for ball but connects with Czerkawski's head as the ball hits the outside of the right post and deflects out of play. Referee Liam Tremblay awards Blue Devils a Penalty kick.

78 min...Blue Devils Mohamed Al Shakman GOAL...Al Shakman blasts Penalty kick low and down the middle and goalie dives over it.

Final Score:......Blue Devils FC.......1.........Sigma FC.......2......

Attendance was about 70 people on this warm and sunny but very windy day which effected any ball sent into the air. It was gusting in from the NorthWest which was the alignment of this stadium. Blue Devils had to run into it during the first half and the wind was just as intense when it was Sigma turn in the second. Corner flags were continuously blowing over on the stand-side of the field. A pregame decision was made not to put up the sign boards and so rather than let them just lay on the ground with their metal frames acting as a danger to any player stepping out of bounds, the motorized cart was brought in for the grounds crew to take them all away. On my way in the canopy tent placed near the entrance gate started to levitate before it was eventually weighted down.

This was the first time I've been to Oakville this season (exactly 50km but a nice midday drive). Besides today being the only Men's Premier Division game in the GTA, the stadium is canopied so there's all-season shelter from the rain which has been a problem for the area all this week.

Blue Devils were missing their captain Brandon Duarte today and I wonder what his presence would have added to their midfield. I confirmed after the game with a coach it was Yellow card accumulation and the L1 Canada app confirmed he has five Yellows. If there was a game that you thought the team could do without him it was this one as Sigma had only scored five goals before today in eight league games.

Referee Liam Tremblay gave out only two Yellow cards (both to Sigma players) including one for time wasting. It was a pretty cleanly played game although there were a few trainer-needed-on-the-field injuries.

Both team's goalie's had to be sharp and played well catching crosses in the winds during both halfs. Easy to believe this could have been a 5-5 game if more shots were put on target.

By the time I got home, the other games of today were ended, even the game Scrosoppi vs Vaughan game which was postponed from last night because of the storms. With all the weekend games being over, the standings will stay static until next weekend. Three of the five Wednesday games were not played because of the weather so some teams have now played two less games than others.

Blue Devils record falls to 3 wins, 3 ties, 4 losses for 12 points which puts them in sixth place. This is the second game in a row that Blue Devils have been beaten 2-1. Guelph United lost four games in a row by that score until breaking that by losing 2-0 on Wednesday night in a road game against ProStars FC then winning 4-1 today against ProStars in Guelph.

Sigma's record improves to 2 wins, 1 tie, 6 losses for 7 points. They pull into eleventh place, one from the bottom with Hamilton United only able to earn a tie yesterday. Their second win in a row after last weekend's 2-1 win. Maybe it was Sigma's 5-0 win in their L1 Cup match against a second tier opponent that has shaken up their goal scoring?

The two bottom places have relegation implications with the twelfth team instantly going down to the second tier 'Championship Division' and the second from the bottom having a post season match with the second best of the second tier with them staying up if they win. Sigma has another challenge besides the slow start because their NCAA players weren't here to start the season as those players will be expected to return to school for preseason training/conditioning by early August so points have to be earned now.

I didn't realize Sigma were wearing and orange shirts/black shorts for their road matches this season (other years it was always all white with blue numbers). That would give them another similarity to their affiliation with CPL Forge FC who were playing at the same time just down the QEW highway in Hamilton and winning 2-1 scoring the first two goals then hanging on. We were living that script right here!

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

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