Sun May 15 2016 League 1 Ontario--Toronto FC Academy vs Windsor Stars (from League 1 Ontario website)

Toronto FC Academy Takes Season's First Points Over Windsor
5/15/2016, 11:30pm EDT
By League1 Ontario staff

Toronto FC Academy may have thought they had their first win all wrapped up after 
Marko Mandekic (52') put the hosts 2-1 up, but a late dismissal to teammate 
Ethan Beckford (76') and a tenacious Windsor Stars side made the late going difficult 
for the hosts. 

Kota Sakurai (15') had given the Junior Reds an early lead, only for Windsor's 
Stefan Milidrag (36') to cancel it out before the interval. 

"The exact details of the half-time speech will remain quiet, but we certainly 
challenged the players to match the presence of the Windsor players," said 
Toronto FC Academy head coach, Stuart Neely.

"We want them to play fast free-flowing football and they accepted the challenges 
laid out in front of them from a defensive perspective. I think they did all 
of that in the second half."

TFCA demonstrated some exceptionally fast combination play and one-touch patterns, 
but Windsor were determined not to be undone and made the Reds earn every 
attacking inch. 

Beckford's dismissal - putting the younger and less experienced TFCA side down 
a man - signalled an increase in physicality as the Stars sought to impose 
their influence.

"I don't think that was the intent, but it did turn out that way," said Windsor 
coach, David Rimbert. "I think the younger guys at TFC are pretty good technically 
so things may have become a bit more physical, but I think when they went down 
a man that's what caused us to assert ourselves more."

"They were just holding on and our guys were just trying to overpower them, which 
didn't work. To their credit, the TFC players are pretty good players. The future 
is bright for TFC I think."

"[Windsor] are strong boys, they play with heart, and they play like all teams 
coming to Kia Training Grounds looking for a result," added Neely. "They were 
much stronger than us in the first half and we knew we were going to have to match 
that in the second half."

"We knew it was going to be a feisty affair, it usually is when we play Windsor, 
but overall we challenged the players with specific tasks, and they stuck 
to the gameplan.

With the win, TFCA take their first three points of the season and move 
to fourth place in the western division. Windsor's loss is their first 
of the season, and leaves the southern Ontario club in third position 
in the west.

back to 2016 League 1 Ontario Men's index

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