July 7, 2024 League1 Ontario...Vaughan Azzurri vs North Toronto game report (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday July 7, 2024 League1 Ontario Men's Premier game between Vaughan Azzurri and North Toronto
played at North Maple Regional Park in Vaughan at 7:00pm.

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

..........................1 Alessio Carbone
23 Kelvin Ramirez...15 Matthew Medeiros...16 Jacob Begley...21 Adamo Pantaleo
...........25 Daniel Longo...2 Andy Baquero...13 Justin Santos
...........9 Reshaun Walkes...29 Mateo Caride...8 Chris Campoli (cpt)

Sub:...12 Baj Maan (gk)...3 Shawn Shvartshtein...6 Andron Kagramayan...7 Raouf Mohamed
...10 Jeronimo Sabbatasso...17 Trevor Carabin...18 Jahari Lawrence...24 Christian Kyriacou
team officials:...head coach Carm Isacco...assistant coach Anthony Vadori and Jeff Valcius
...team manager Mario Fabiano...physiotherapist Casey D'Mello...other official Martine Eleuteri

North Toronto (red socks and shirts, black shorts, white numbers)

..................................1 Kevon Grant
..............3 Sam Rankin...5 Noah Pickering...2 Conrad Czarnecki
11 Jaylen Drummond...20 Anthony Aromatario...13 Tadija Vukas (cpt)...8 Matthew Perovic...22Akiem Vallous
.................7 Luca Di Marco...10 Fadi Salback

Subs:...12 Alex Lin (gk)...4 Brandon Barone...6 Luca Porfiris...14 Filip Arbutina
...16 Jjamie Benayon-Abraham...17 Ricardo Gonzalez...18 Leo Shrimpton
team officials:...head coach Marko Milanovic...assistant coachess Filip Prostran annd Kevin Lemonnier
...team manager Daniel Barillari...goalkeeper coach Anthony Greco...athletic trainer Cassandra Booton

Game officials:...referee Kevin McEleney...referee's assistants Daniel Jacob and Petros Vasilos
...fourth official Melvin Christopher...(teal socks and shirts, black shorts)

First Half:...game starts 6:58pm...Vaughan defends north end on this hot and humid evening with a bright sun in the north west
and a nice breeze from the west.
4 min...NT Drummond shot from 25 yards on right spins off defender and goalie flies wide right to catch preventing cornerkick.
4 min...VA Campoli blasts low 28 yarder up middle that goalie catches.
5 min...VA Caride is checked off ball at 20 yards. VA Santos receives ball and 12 yard shot is saved and deflects up off defender
and goalie catches.
9 min...VA Baquero cornerkick from right has defender clear. Defenders also clear high cross from right.
10 min...VA Baquero is injured at NT 50 yard line.
15 min...NT Di Marco 33 yard freekick from far left has NT Salback pop up header in crowd of players and wins cornerkick.
16 min...NT Di Marco high cornerkick from right hass NT player on left end line head ball across box but defender clears to start
fast break out.
17 min...NT Vukas is injured clearing ball out of bounds on center line.
Players take a water break as NT Vukas is treated.
18 min...Vaughan Chris Campoli GOAL...VA Andy Baquero cuts over from right to middle and has shot blocked
but Campoli gets loose ball and blasts 18 yarder forward into top right corner of net beyond reach
of goalie Kevon Grant.
21 min...VA Baquero cornerkick from left has defender clear away.
21 min...NT Perovic runs up middle but can't get away shot at 18 yards.
23 min...It's now the official water break!
25 min...play resumes.
27 min...VA Pantaleo controls ball at 28 yards on slight left and passes forward. VA Caride shoots 12 yarder from far left that
hits outside of right post deflecting for goalkick.
29 min...NT Di Marco cornerkick from right is low and charging NT Aromatario has 12 yarder up middle deflect wide left off leg
of defender.
30 min...NT Di Marco cornerkick from right has NT Czarnecki head 10 yarder in crowd of players that goalie catches under bar.
32 min...NT goalie wins freekick when VA Baquero freekick from 30 yards on left has goalie catch but bobbles in crowd of players.
33 min...VA YELLLOW card...Caride earns it for jostling goalie before he can play freekick.
34 min...NT Di Marco cornerkick from right is over everyone and NT Drummond has 30 yard shot on left is blocked.
38 min...VA Longo chips 20 yarder from right which goalie catches overhead at top left corner staring into sun.
39 min...VA Baquero high cornerkick from right has VA Begley in crowd of players pop header well over bar.
41 min...NT YELLOW card...Aromatario earns for tackle on VA Walkes at NT 20 yard line.
42 min...VA Baquero 30 yard freekick up middle is caught by goalie.
44 min...NT Di Marco cross from right is cleared in box.
44 min...NT Aromatario has siding 7 yard shot from right is tipped wide right by defender on near post.
45 min...NT player's high cornerkick from right has defender clear.
48 min...NT Drummond 20 yard shot from slight right is wide right.
48 min...half ends 7:46pm.

Halftime: The Vaughan subs warm up, the North Toronto players all go back to the locker room.

Second Half:...starts 8:02pm...The temperature is cooler but still hot. The sun soon disappears behind the clouds.
46 min...VA Walkes throw-in from right when passed back to him he sends high cross over box and VA Santos has 7 yard shot
from left that goalie makes point blank stop on near post.
48 min...NT Perovic iss injured at VA 20 yard line and needs trainer.
50 min...VA Walkes runs diagonal to middle from right and blasts 25 yarder well over net and back fence.
52 min...NT Di Marco shoots 20 yarder from left is well high and wide right.
56 min...NT sub...Benayon-Abraham replaces Perovic.
57 min...VA YELLOW card...Walkes earns it for hand to face at VA 30 yard line.
58 min...NT waste a freekick play not getting ball into box.
59 min...NT YELLOW card...Drummond earns it for knock down at NT 45 yard line.
60 min...NT Salback 20 yard shot has goalie fly to right to push ball wide of post.
61 min...VA goalie smothers ball into box at 8 yards.
63 min...Vaughan Reshaun Walkes GOAL...VA Mateo Caride taps pass forward up right sideline at 40 yards
and Walkes cuts towards centre and sends 25 yarder down middle into right corner of net beyond diving goalie.
63 min...NT sub...Gonzalez replaces Czarnecki.
65 min...NT Drummond hits bar on 15 yard shot from slight left. VA goalie eventually catches high cross from right.
67 min...NT sub...Abdi replaces Rankin.
68 min...VA sub...Lawrence replaces Walkes.
............VA sub...Sabbatasso replaces Baquero.
69 min...NT sub...Arbutina replaces Salback.
71 min...A water break is called.
...........VA sub...Mohamed replaces Caride.
73 min...play resumes.
73 min...NT Drummond chips cross from 25 yards on left that defender heads away in center at 15 yards.
73 min...NT goalie iss out of box to boot away ball that VA Mohamed was dueling with NT Pickering on run.
75 min...NT Drummond crosss near left corner flag has leaping NT Abdi head down on right side of box but defender clears.
76 min...VA Kelvin Ramirez brings down NT player running in from right towards the center along
the 3 yard line. Referee Kevin McEleney awards NT a Penalty kick.
77 min...North Toronto Fadi Salback GOAL...Salback blasts Penalty kick low and to left side as goalie
Alessio Carbone dives to right.
78 min...Vaughan Raouf Mohamed GOAL...Mohamed on short run down middle suddenly stops and blasts midair
shot from 25 yards between defenders to top left side of net.
79 min...NT Arbutina blasts 30 yard freekick from right that leaping VA Mohamed headas away but play was whistled down
to award VA freekick.
80 min...VA sub...Kyriacou replaces Santos.
............VA sub...Carabin replaces Campoli.
81 min...VA Mohamed runs downfield for high through ball but shot is deflected wide by NT Gonzalez.
81 min...VA Lawrence cornerkick from right is whistled down in box.
87 min...NT player sends high cross from right but over end line in front of two NT players alone on left.
87 min...VA sub...Shvartshtein replaces Longo.
88 min...NT sub...Barone replaces Pickering.
89 min...NT Villous chips pass forward on lelft and NT Abdi flubs 10 yard shot from left tipping ball wide left.
91 min...VA Lawrence dribbles along 25 yard line from right and rolls pass wide.
92 min...NT defender and NT goalie awkwardly beat VA Mohamed to getting to ball for shot.
93 min...NT Drummond rolls pass forward up left for NT Villous who turns at 15 yards and runs to near end line. VA Shvartshtein
slides to deflects 6 yard shot wide left.
93 min...NT Drummond cornerkick from left has VA player head ball back to him and his recross is headed away out right side.
95 min...game ends 8:52pm.

Final Score:.....Vaughan Azzurri.........3.......North Toronto.........1.......

Attendance started off slow but reached about 180 by halftime. This had to be the game I've attended that was the hottest day of the year (and July as only started!). It started at 7:00pm which was one hour earlier than their home game times up until now. It means the games are over before it gets dark but also risks that the temperature will still be hot. The schedulers have no more pairing up Vaughan's Women's team home games into double headers with the men and with the women playing midweek home games or home games while the Men aren't playing, they can have evening games too until their season wraps up on the first weekend in August (one month before the men). Good thing as today would have been unbearable for any team playing at 4:00pm.

Referee Kevin McEleney scheduled a water break in each half but the teams squeezed out one more at only 17 minutes while a North Toronto player was being treated by a trainer for an injury.

McEleney gave out four Yellow cards, two to each team and all for contact in a game with a lot of tough checks.

There wasn't really a turning point in this game but Raouf Mohamed's goal one minute after North Toronto closed to within one was huge as it turned off so quickly any thoughts of a comeback. North Toronto had three more fair chances to score after that goal. Mohamed had at least two other chances to score again for Vaughan.

North Toronto had almost responded right after Vaughan's second goal with Jaylen Drummond hitting the bar on a shot from 15 yards at 65 minutes.

The win pulls the Azzurri into a tie for first place (and one game in hand) with Woodbridge Strikers who were playing a home game, at exactly the same time as ours, against ProStars FC and were upset 1-0. There are six of the twelve teams all within five points of first place. With no playoffs for the first time, all the glory will be given to who will be in first after the Labour Day weekend. Azzurri's record improves to 6 wins, 5 ties, 1 loss for 23 points.

North Toronto's record falls to 3 wins, 4 ties, 5 losses for 13 points. That puts them in a tie for eighth place with five teams now within four points and trying to avoid eleventh, the second possible relegation spot which means a one game playoff against the second place Championship Division team. Top two spots in that group are the TFC Academy and FC London—both related to Toronto FC with the Academy being their official U-19 team. There's a good chance that both will in the Premier next season.

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

Vaughan Azzurri starters