Sat July 16, 2016 League 1 Ontario--Aurora United FA vs FC London (from League 1 Ontario website)
Gigolaj Hat-Trick Guides FC London To 4-3 Character Win Over Aurora 07/18/2016, 1:30pm EDT By League1 Ontario staff Elvir Gigolaj (28', 88', 90 + 2') scored three and brought himself within one goal of the top of the Golden Boot race during an exciting 4-3 win over Aurora United FC in matchweek 12. "In every season you have one match like this one, and if you win this type of match you will go far," said FC London assistant coach, Goran Rosanda. "I think we will win the league now, you will see. It was probably the biggest win of the whole season, and the one that will change our season." Teammate Mohammed Reza Nafar (60') scored a single en route to the win, but it was anything but routine for the west division powerhouse. "The big thing was that we went down with five minutes left and the guys never gave up, so that's the big important part," said Rosanda. "How the team fought to the end is the real achievement." "We conceded two set pieces, which happens, and it is something we need to work on, but overall I think the guys did a brilliant job together." Aurora United showed composure and a finishing edge on their home park at Sheppard's Bush for much of the match, with forward Simon Adjei (30', 84') leading the black and amber side with a brace, and Zakariae Mahrady (54') adding an important single. Mahrady's goal put the home side up by one goal momentarily, before Nafar's contribution again leveled the score. A dismissal to Aurora's Trevon Weatherall (65') shortly thereafter seemed to suggest fortune would smile on the visitors, but Adjei's second with only minutes remaining presented a greater liklihood of the underdog win. "Overall I thought we played very very well," said Aurora head coach, Jim Brennan. "We had a lot of possession, controlled the game in certain periods of it, but you can't expect to win games when you give up two penalties and have a man sent off." "We took our chances well tonight, so we're disappointed as we thought we should have won tonight. London is a good team, no doubt about it, but we felt like we were the better team on the day today and we should have come out with three points." Gigolaj showed the scoring touch that has marked his play throughout the season, digging deep with his teammates to come up with the necessary fortitude and determination to find a final solution to a chaotic match in the dying minutes. "It's a great feeling to get the hat-trick," said Gigolaj. "It's my second this season, and sometimes you get no goals, sometimes one or two, and occasionally three. It's a good feeling for sure." On 28 points, FC London is now three points behind Sigma FC in first place in the west division, but holds two games in hand on the leaders. London's Rosanda felt his side really turned a corner in the title race with the victory. "It was a really crazy match from the first minute," said Rosanda. "We had a lot of problems throughout the match, and I think that was the first match where we were not able to maintain our playing style because in the last thirty minutes it was absolutely chaos." "I also think that this was a crucial match for the championship, because as I said I think if we lost this match we would have been out of the title race and now I think we will win the league."
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