Date: 1995/09/30
organization: CRS Online  (Toronto, Ontario)
newsgroups: rec.sport.soccer

Here are my comments on the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL) game
between the Toronto Jets and London City played Thursday September 28/95
at 8pm at Esther Shiner stadium in North York.  This game was considered
a CUP game.

This Umbro Cup game was the last of the regular season.  The Jets had to
win by at least two goals to overtake St Catharines Wolves in the
standings and finish second, thereby playing the Scarborough Astros (who
had wrapped up first place many weeks ago) in the two game CUP final.

Toronto Jets (blue socks, shorts, and shirts, black numbers, white hoop
around chest running down sleeve)

                        1 Joe Ciaravino
16 Lino Solomita  4 Richard Alexander  5 Tom Perks  3 John Annisi
6 Miguel Ferraira  7 Garvin Houston  2 Lilian Tournie  8 Orlando Rizzo
                10 Jack Zomparelli  9 Robert Marcucci

subs  (GK)12 Aldo Aiudi  15 Tony Zanini 13 Vince Cancelliere  14 Luigi
Fioccola  11 Marco Antonucci

London City (white socks and numbers, black whorts, red shirts)

                        33 Greg Sinnott
13 Mark Boyd  5 Jeff Brown  18 Jody Catalan  6 Shawn Taggert
8 Mark Best  15 Xavier Paturel  22 Glen Martins  9 Devere Hurley
                23 Nathan Davies  16 John Bottineau

subs  24 Tonino Commisso  35 Andrew Loague  2 Harry Gauss  29 John Doris

referee Gord Arrowsmith  linesmen Les Wilcox, Alfredo Baladan

1st half  London outplayed Jets overall and had the better chances.

5 min  I rescue the ball as the ball comes into an empty section of
stands and falls between the seats and flooring.  The seating is
aluminum benching so the ball falls to the ground under the stands.
I've watched CSL games when its started to rain from under here so I
knew a place to crawl under to get to the ball.  The ref orders in a new
ball while I'm under there.  I had my parka on and am older and heavier
now so it was a tighter squeeze getting in there.

7 min  London Sinnott stops header after go>od Jet cross.
14 min  Jets Houston shoots 40 yarder on break as defender closes in but
ball goes over net.
18 min injury to London player but after treatment he's alright.
30 min London sub Glen Martins for Xavier Paturel (oops had them both as
starters!)
33 min Jets Ferraira takes 40 yard shot through crowd but it's wide
right.
35 min bouncing through pass that Jets goaltender rushes out to grab
first.
37 min London Loague shoots high from 20 yards (Loague was either the 30
min sub or a starter).
38-43 min  crossfield shot that two London defenders crash together and
Jets Houston takes point blank shot that goalie blocks.
44 min London forward knocked down/dive in crease.  No penalty called.

2nd half (I watched this from the press box.  It's warmer in there but
the players are that much further away and it's harder to make out the
players numbers).

Halftime subs  Jets replace Ferraira with Cancelliere
               Jets replace Marcucci with Zanini

48 min Jets Tournie gets shot from 15 yards out that goalie dives for.
51 min sub  Jets replace Solomita with Antonucci
54 min Jets Tournie turns and shoots from 20 yards.
57 min Jets Tournie takes tap in shot that bounds over net.
58 min sub  London replace Paturel? for Loague?  (I already have both
these guys in the game though).
60 min Jets Rizzo takes free kick from 30 yards about two feet high of
net.
61 min Jets Houston crosses to Zomparelli from 3 yards who shoots ball
high!
68 min Jets Tournie gets foot to ball to beat offside but tipped wide.
71 min London Davies shoots over net 3 yards from line from 20 yards
right side of goal.
75 min London GOAL  Bottineau (10th of year) on break takes 25 yard shot
high that goalie gets hand to, but can't stop it.  (Jets had been
pushing to try to get those necessary two goals, the strategy worked
for the 2nd half but they'd be sometimes caught with not enough
defenders back).

76 min  Jets GOAL  Antonucci (3rd of year) on a cross gets header from
about 5 yards over goalie's glove.  My view of this >goal was blocked by
a partition in the press box.

81 min  Jets Zomparelli shoots barely wide from 20 yards through crowd.
many more chances for both teams (especially Jets) but I was talking to
execs of Astros and Italia about the league.

Final score:   Toronto Jets   1
               London City    1

Final Cup Standings  (10 games)  more detailed standings coming next
week.
        1.  Scarborough Astros    22
        2.  St Catharines Wolves  17
 
        3.  Toronto Jets          15
        4.  Toronto Italia        14
        5.  Hamilton White Eagles  8
        6.  London City            6

Attendance was a pathetic 40 (forty people)!!!  This was worse than the
70 people I saw at the Astros game last Sunday.
The Astro exec said tonight as one of the problems of the league "The
fans don't know when the games are".  I thought about that on the way
home and then realized it was too late--there was no announcement that
the Jets next game (league makeup match) was this Sunday at 2:30pm (Jets
have never had a home game this year at that starting time nor day of
the week)!  How will those few fans even know?  The microphone just lie
idle in the press box except for subs, goals and sponser thank yous.

Next games are Sunday October 1st when I'm going to try for a
doubleheader of makeup League games....2:30 pm  Esther Shiner
Stadium for Toronto Jets vs St Catharines Wolves (I gave them first
place a bit too hasty my last post)...then over to Birchmount Stadium
by 6pm to see Scarborough Astros vs London City.

Bye for now

Rocket Robin
robin.glover@canrem.com

"back to results">