Wed August 3, 2016 League 1 Ontario--Men's All-Star Game (from League 1 Ontario website)

West Division All-Stars Ride Allen Brace To 4-2 All-Star Win Over East 
08/05/2016, 11:30am EDT
By League1 Ontario staff

Men's 2016 West Division All-Stars won an entertaining match 4-2 over 
the East division All-Stars on Wednesday night in front of a packed 
crowd at the Ontario Soccer Centre. 

"I think the match was exciting for the guys, and for the fans 
to watch," said Mario Despotovic of FC London, joint-head coach 
of the West division All-Stars along with Sigma FC's Bobby Smyrniotis.  

"I think they enjoyed the moves. Of course it's not easy for the 
players to communicate well on the pitch together because they 
have had only one training session and they have different 
playing styles. I think they did a good job, and entertained 
the fans. It was nice." 

The first ever League1 Ontario All-Star game had players selected 
from every team in each division, and was a brilliant showcase 
of the quality in the league.

Sigma's Leaford Allen (4', 44') potted a brace on the night, 
and was ultimately selected MVP.

His first, within five minutes, resulted from an error 
by the east division that led to a ball played directly 
to Windsor's Jumbo Iyowuna on the edge of the box. The west 
division striker laid off to partner Allen, who slotted 
easily into the bottom corner. 

Allen's second developed from some good work by Oakville Blue Devils' 
forward Filipe Vilela, who whipped in a low cross for Allen 
to send top shelf. 

"Every time I come into a game I always want to be able 
to score a goal because I'm a striker and that's 
what I came here to do," said Allen. 

"But in this game, specifically, I came here to showcase 
myself and to be able to get just one goal in was great, 
but to be able to get two was beyond what I was expecting." 

Meanwhile, North Mississauga's Shawn Brown (8') created 
a brilliant solo goal from the top of the box, beating 
three defenders and the keeper after a tidy wall-pass 
in a tight area.

West division's Randy Ribeiro (74') was a standout all 
night for the victors, the FC London midfielder demonstrating 
great vision and technical prowess, and he was rewarded 
late the match after finishing a stunning half-volley 
from 25 yards out. 

East division were not to be outdone however, and despite 
going down goals early the East controlled large sections 
of the match.

Durham United Bruce Cullen (40') hammered home a brilliant 
free kick just before the interval, while Kingston's  
Andrew Martin (70') finished off a great low cross 
from Masters' Tyrell Rayne. 

"We told the players to do the best they can and really 
enjoy the game," said Peter Pinizzotto, joint-head coach 
of the East division All-Stars along with 
Durham United's FA's Sanford Carabin. 

"I think it went well, especially when you consider that
this is the first time many of these players have been 
on the field with each other."

"The whole idea was to showcase the talent that we have 
in League1, and I thought that it went very well."

Canada Soccer Technical Director Tony Fonseca was 
in attendance to watch the match, and was impressed 
by the talent of the players. 

"I think we have what we want to see - young players 
playing with a lot of desire and passion," he said. 
"And also the level of skill has been up to task." 

"You can see a number of good players that really want 
to showcase themselves, that want to prove themselves, 
and they see it - I think - as an opportunity to shine," 
he continued.

Fonseca also had some comments on the importance 
of division III Canadian soccer, and the role 
of League1 Ontario in the national soccer pyramid.

"What we can see is that there is a need for a level 
like this," he said. " Although it is in a very early 
stage, we can see a lot of good things and we hope 
that it can grow and turn into something more robust, 
and we expect to see that in the next year or so."

"For now, I think the first steps have been awesome. 
You can see the talent, quality people involved, 
and not just players but coaches as well. That is what 
you want to see, and you hope that the clubs will grow 
and turn into something bigger in the future."

back to 2016 League 1 Ontario Men's index

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