July 10, 2016 USL Toronto FC II--Harrisburg City Islanders vs Toronto FC II review (from cityislanders.com)
MATCH REPORT: Islanders Unable to Stage Comeback Against Toronto, Fall 2-4 Posted on July 10, 2016 Lancaster, PA (July 10, 2016) – A series of quick second half goals from Toronto FC II lifted them to a 4-2 win over City Islanders FC on Sunday night in front of 1,503 fans at Clipper Magazine Stadium. It was the second time the teams had met in Lancaster this season. City was able to grab the first game with a resounding 2-1 win that was not as close as the score would indicate. Toronto took the lead early and piled on goals in the second half. In the second time in as many games the Islanders found themselves down by a three goal deficit. Unlike last game the Isles fought back with two quick goals in the second half. They looked to be on their way to a tying goal, but the strong play of the Toronto defense stymied any Islanders attack. This was City’s second loss in a row and they haven’t been able to grab three points from a match in nine straight games. Toronto picked up their second win in a row after dropping their previous four outings. At the start of the game it was all City. The Islanders offensive held the majority of possession and made searching runs into dangerous areas to push back the Toronto defense. Jose Barril’s shot in the 20th minute beat Toronto goalie Phil Di Bennardo, but rang off the post and out of harm’s way. Although City was still controlling play, Toronto FC broke out of their end and was able to get the opening tally off of hard shot from Raheem Edwards that just went under the outstretched arms of Nick Noble. City finished the half with the lion’s share of chances. Even after giving up the early goal they continued to pepper Di Bennardo with multiple shots. He was up to the task and saved all 8 shots to keep his team up by one going into half. It didn’t take long for Toronto to put the game out of reach. Within the first five minutes of play the Canadian side was able to notch two more goals. Ayo Akinola scored two goals in less than two minutes. His second goal in the 48th minute would ultimately be the game winner. City finally found the quality to get breakthrough for the first time in almost two games. Cardel Benbow cut down the middle of the pitch and put a hard shot on goal. His shot rebounded off of the Toronto goalie and right to the feet of Petties, who slid it home for his first goal of the season. The first goal gave the Islanders offensive some life and momentum to keep the Toronto defense on their heels for the remainder of the second half. City finally broke through to get back with in one off of a corner kick from Islanders’ playmaker Barril. Barril’s swung a high arching ball all the way through the box, which found its way to the back of the net. A poor sequence of defensive plays led to the ball rolling free through the penalty box and onto the feet of Aiden Daniels. He took a good first touch on the ball and fired the ball right by Noble for the proverbial nail in the coffin. City will be back in action against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Sunday, July 17 at 7 p.m. in the second leg of the Keystone Open Cup in Pittsburgh at Highmark Field. The next home match for the Isles will be on Friday, July 29 at FNB Field against the Rochester Rhinos. Scoring Summary: TOR – Edwards (Thomas) 35' TOR – Akinola (Edwards) 48' TOR – Akinola (unassisted) 49' HAR – Pettis (unassisted) 58' HAR – Barril (corner kick) 68' TOR – Daniels (James) 86' City Islanders Starting XI: Nick Noble; Jamie Thomas (Josh Hughes 45'), Liam Doyle, Dante Leverock, Shawn McLaws; Jose Barril, Bobby Warshaw, Mouhamed Dabo (Brett Jankouskas 82'), Cardel Benbow; Paul Wilson, Garret Pettis Substitutions Not Used: Keasel Broome (GK), Shane Campbell, Youssef Naciri, Matt Bolduc, Danny DiPrima Toronto FC II Starting XI: Phil Di Bennardo (Angelo Cavalluzzo 73'); Wesley Charpie, Mitch Taintor, Skylar Thomas, Anthony Osorio; Liam Fraser (Marko Maletic 90 +), Luca Uccello (Brian James 90 +), Chris Mannella, ....................................................................Salvador Bernal (Aidan Daniels 85'); Raheem Edwards, Ayo Akinola Substitutions Not Used: Leonard Sohn
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