May 21, 2022 League1 Ontario...Alliance United vs Sigma FC game report (by Rocket Robin)

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Results and details of the League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game of Saturday May 21, 2022 between
Alliance United and Sigma FC played at Centennial College in Scarborough at 6:00pm.

Alliance United (all orange uniforms, black numbers)

...................1 Praveen Ahilan
20 Jacob Maurutto-Robinson...2 Kenny Lioutas...19 Koosha Nazemi...7 Nirun Sivananthan
...........14 Uday Arora...4 Nikola Stakic (cpt)...8 Nicholas Osorio
...........16 Shon Siegelwachs...9 Anthony Sousa...17 Atchu Sivananthan

Subs:...30 Ahrvin Raveendran (gk)...3 Antik Sarker...5 Kosta Mpougiotis...6 Russell Stewart
...11 Johnson Amoo...12 Darren Gertiesingh...15 Kingsley Belele...18 Nick Killian
team officials:...team head coach Ilya Orlov...assistant coaches Denys Rylskyi and Eric Nelson
equipment manager Goran Stakic...therapist Daniel Dalla Rosa

Sigma FC (white socks, shorts, and shirts, blue shoulders, black numbers)

........................1 Dino Bontis
2 Kamran Tejumola...3 Santiago Frias...14 Yousef Helmy...4 Oluwageun Oyegunle
...........21 Soji Olatoye...10 Noah Mehta...12 Nino Nikolovski
...........6 Faisal Ghaffur (cpt)...9 Marcus Caldeira...7 Kai Garvey

Subs:...31 Eduard Amrbus (gk)...5 Kyle Walton...8 Andres Delascio...16 Mateo Marques
...18 Robbie Cleary...19 Jason Squeo...20 Joel Opoku...22 Daniel Stampatori...23 Daniel Oginni
team officials:...assistant coaches Arlick Ntabana, Christos Myrtos, and David Igreja
...therapist Liam MacPherson

Game officials:...referee Kevin McEleney...referee's assistants Armun Binning andd Daniel Jacob
...fourth official Michael Konstantopoulos...(teal shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 6:06pm...Alliance Union defends sourth end on this mild evening with a bright sun in the north west
and a wind from the north west.
3 min...AU Osorio 28 yard freekick from left has AU Stakic dives at 6 yards and ball is caught by goalie despite distraction.
5 min...AU Sigelwachs on run down middle shooots from 28 yards and ball deflects off defender and bounces to goalie
on right side of goal.
6 min...AU Osorio cornerkick from left is batted away by goalie, the ball is sent back into box an AU Atchu Sivantanthan
chests down and AU players shot deflects wide right.
7 min...Alliance Atchu Sivananthan GOAL...AU Nicolas Osorio cornerkick from right is cleared but
AU Kenny Lioutas dribbles ball back on right side and sends low cross into crowded 6 yard box. Sivananthan
shoots up middle deflecting off a sliding defender into top of net past goalie Dino Bontis.
9 min...Sigma goalie dives to catch low shot from 22 yards on left on near post.
12 min...Sigma players have two chances stopped by AU defenders in box.
14 min...Sigma Ghaffur low 30 yard shot from right has goalie dive to save on short right post.
15 min...Sigma Caldeira low 25 yard shot up middle is smothered by goalie.
17 min...Sigma Ghaffur 40 yard freekick down middle is wide right.
19 min...AU Atchu Sivananthan cutting in from left on 1 on 2 shoots 25 yarder over net.
21 min...Sigma goalie steps wide right of post to catch 40 yard chip.
21 min...AU Arora cross from 25 yards on far right has leaping AU Atchu Sivananthan just not able to turn header at 7 yards.
23 min...Sigma Garvey corxnerkickc from left has goalie step forward in front of players to catch.
24 min...A water break is called (just like the women's game). It was 71F, 22C but very humid.
28 min...AU Maurutto-Robinson long throw-in from right corner flag has goalie step forward to catch between crowd of players
at 6 yards.
31 min...Sigma YELLOW card...Garvey earns it for knock down at AU 35 yard line.
32 min...AU Arora cuts along 20 yard line fro right and low shot up middle smothered by goalie on right post.
33 min...AU Atchu Sivananthan finishes pressure with 15 yards shot deflected wide left by sliding defender.
34 min...AU Osorio corxnerkick from left is headed away on left starting fast break out.
36 min...AU Arora taps centering pass to AU Siegelwachs who wins cornerkick on deflection of defender's face.
37 min...AU Nirun Sivananthan cornerkick from right has AU Osorio charge forward on right and head 4 yarder
into outside webbing of right of net.
38 min...AU player shoots 25 yarder from left well over net.
41 min...AU YELLOW card...Osorio earns it for dissent after Sigma is awarded a freekick.
42 min...Sigma Ghaffur high freekick from 40 yards on left is caught by goalie behind a crowd of players.
43 min...Sigma Tejumola blasts 30 yard shot between players and goalie palms over bar.
44 min...Sigma player's cornerkick from right is cleared from box.
45 min...Sigma Mehta 30 yard shot from right is wide right.
47 min...Sigma Olatoye is checked off ball just inside right side of box.
47 min...half ends 6:53pm.

Halftime: Both teams return to the dressing rooms.

Second Half:...starts 7:10pm.
45 min...AU Nirun Sivananthan can't win penalty kick.
46 min...Sigma Garvey stubble mid-air shot from 10 yards on left wide left after being sent cross through box from right.
46 min...AU Atchu Sivananthan kicked in face with high boot by Sigma Frias at Sigma 45 yard line needs trainer.
47 min...AU Stakic 40 yard shot from right is caught by goalie.
49 min...AU Siegelwachs blasts 25 yarder down middle that goalie palms over net.
50 min...AU Nirun Sivananthan cornerkick from right is over player in box and out for goalkick.
52 min...AU sub...Gertiesingh replaces Arora.
54 min...Sigma Tajumola 20 yard cross from right bends over end line on left.
56 min...AU sub...Amoo replaces Sousa.
56 min...AU goalie beats Sigma Caldeira to through ball pass to 12 yards to make grab.
58 min...AU Siegelwachs chips ball forward from 45 yars that finds an AU player in alone but goalie is out to 15 yards
to smother.
58 min...AU players can't win two Penalty kick calls in Sigma box.
59 min...Sigma Caldeira chips 25 yard cross that defender in crowd of players heads away.
60 min...Sigma Nikolovski cornerkick from right is out to 33 yards and chip crops into box on left and defender clears.
61 min...Sigma sub...Delascio replaces Mehta.
62 min...Sigma Ghaffur 33 yard freekick from left is over to right and tapped over and Sigma Caldeira blasts 12 yarder
that's stopped.
63 min...AU sub...Killian replaces Siegelwachs.
64 min...AU Killian rush down left and rolls centering pass where AU Atchu Sivananthan has 10 yard shot tipped wide left
by defender.
65 min...AU Osorio cornerkick from left deflects for goalkick on near side.
65 min...AU Gertiesingh cornerkick from right has defenders clear.
66 min...AU Gertiesingh 50 yard cross is caught by goalie on edge of box in center in front of AU player.
66 min...Sigma players wast chance with pass rolling behind end line.
67 min...AU Gertiesingh rolls 30 yarder from right for goalie to smother.
68 min...Sigma sub...Cleary replaces Helmy.
69 min...AU Amoo slides for low cross from right and pokes 5 yarder wide right.
70 min...A water break is called.
71 min...Sigma goalie is out to edge of box to pick up loose ball ahead of AU Atchu Sivananthan.
72 min...AU Stakic blasts 30 yard freekick down middle is over net and back fence.
73 min...AU sub...Belele replaces Atchu Sivananthan.
74 min...Sigma player's long cross from left is into AU box just over head of Sigma Garvey. Sigma Caldeira
was 5 yards further back and injured on the play.
77 min...Sigma Caldeira runs to right endline and cross hits bar behind the net.
79 min...AU Belele run to near end line and low cross is cleared by defenders.
81 min...Sigma Marques replaces Tejumola.
84 min...Sigma Nikolovski cross from left sideline is caught by goalie in 6 yard box.
85 min...AU player's 30 yard cross from far right is well behind net.
86 min...Sigma Squeo replaces Nikolovski.
86 min...Sigma goalie is out to edge of box to cross ball in front of AU Belele.
88 min...Sigma Garvey cornerkick from right has Sigma Frias on right leaps and heads 7 yarder wide right of net.
91 min...AU YELLOW card...Sousa earns it for throwing water bottle on sideline to teammate while break in action.
Sousa had been subbed out at 56 minutes.
92 min...Sigma Olatoye slides to cross from left end line from 15 yards and goalie catches on 1 yard line.
93 min...Sigma sub...Oginni replaces Garvey.
...........Sigma sub...Stampatori replaces Olatoye.
94 min...Sigma goalie out of left side of box and dives back in to smother ball ahead of AU player pressuring him.
96 min...Sigma Ghaffur 35 yard freekick is headed away by furthest defender but play is whistled down.
97 min...game ends 8:02pm.

Final Score:...Alliance United......1........Sigma FC.........0........

Attendance was about 90 people which was actually better than last week's game. Considering what had
happened weather-wise in the GTA over the previous few hours, although the weather here was perfect
by game time, a lot of people would have expected to be surveying the damage to their own neighbourhoods.
I could have sat at home and sulked for being without power since 1:00pm worrying about how soon it would
be before my ice cream melted or drive out to this game for a few hours away from my troubles. I consulted
with some neighbours to find out they were without power too and one had designated himself to be 'that guy'
to call the hydro authority “I've been on hold for an hour” is just what I'd be expecting. There are
a few days of the week where I have the time to be 'that guy'. There was no way to charge my phone
so I immediately started to mostly keep off it to conserve its life. My backyard had seen a tree branch
fall but smaller than the ones that have guilloteened my telephone wire twice in the last five years
and this one fell far enough away to not harm...yep still land line working. I got my power back at 4:40am.

At this field the women's game had been delayed by 30 minutes. Alliance had come from behind and beaten
Vaughan 2-1 so it was a good day for them. The men's game was to be delayed until 6:15pm which allowed
an even longer warm up but it kicked off at 6:05pm. Other L1O games were greatly effected with video
emerging at Fleming College in Peterborough of debris from the players benches all over the field.
Newspapers and television had pictures of cars crushed by trees, a woman in Brampton being crushed,
roofs damaged etc. I had a few street intersections to cross in the dark with no traffic nor street
lights but traffic wasn't so bad at the hour I came home.

I didn't think this game would have just one goal scored after the first at the 7 minute mark but
should have turned on my phone to see their overall records. Alliance has only allowed 2 goals
in five games now and Sigma a modest 7 in five.

Praveen Ahilan earned the shutout for Alliance making a few tough saves but mostly being sheltered
by the defence of Jacob Maurutto-Robinson, Kenny Lioutis, Koosha Nazemi, and Nirun Sivananathan even
though I remember all of them getting forward for one play or more in the game whether a run up the wing,
taking a cornerkick, or getting in a header in the Sigma box.

An easier name to remember than Maurutto-Robinson is his being called by teammates and coaches
on the bench, 'Shaggy'.

Sigma's goalie was Dino Bontis who is a '2004'. He was named earlier this week to the massive 60 man
Canadian U-20 camp before next month's CONCACAF championship tourney. Today he had some key stops
to make. He prevented a few shots by coming out near the edge of the box to smother or pick up some
through ball passes or bounces. In second half injury time I thought he might get burned
as he actually was outside the left side of the box and an AU player got a foot in to tap it into
the box and Bontis dived back in and smothered it so half his body was still outside the box.
Despite a faint protest from the Alliance bench, there was nothing illegal about this play.

I recognized his father Nick Bontis, president of Canada Soccer by his CSA windbreaker and the odd
picture I'd seen of him when there is an announcement. He said he combined this visit to Scarborough
to watch his son and to see his parents in his old childhood home.

Referee Kevin McEleney gave out only three Yellow cards (two to Alliance) and arranged for
a water-break in each half. Ahhh finally some summer-esque weather! It was only 71F/22C on the
Centennial College billboard that flashed to cars passing on the 401 but it was humid. Alliance
cards were dumb on the players' part. Nicholas Osorio for kicking the ball away for dissent after
Sigma were awarded a freekick and Anthony Sousa in second half injury time for throwing a water bottle
(not in anger) to a teammate still in the game from the bench after a whistle as Alliance
(not particularily Sousa) had 'been warned'. I think bottle throwing is only approved
in the other direction.

Second week in a row at this field that the playlist is 'All Spanish'. Between those weeks I read
that suddenly 'Bad Bunny' has 21 of the Top 100 tracks on the Billboard Singles Chart because
of his new album so maybe the DJ is on to something.

Alliance improve their record to 4 wins, 1 loss for 12 points and is second in the table (looking up
Sunday morning power-back-on records). They have scored 14 goals (second best in the league).
Their two goals against were given up in the 2-1 loss they suffered at home to defending champions
Guelph United which means otherwise, four shutouts. Every minute this season in net from
Praveen Ahilan because one paragraph of praise about him isn't enough! Their next game is Friday
night in St Catharines against Roma Wolves.

Sigma's record drops to 1 win, 3 losses, 1 tie for 4 points which is nineteenth in the 22 team league.
I asked a Sigma official after the game and it appears they've only had their university players
back for two games. While Alliance carries many players from the U of Toronto both current
and alumni, Sigma has a lot of NCAA players that have just rejoined. They have to merge with
the other players who started the season. Let's say this game wasn't the best place to gel against
one of the L1O top teams. Their next game is Saturday hosting the newest 'hot' team, now under
new coaching, Electric City FC so that also should be tough. They better move soon as we're almost
at the 1/3 mark of the season. Important to make the Top 12 (yes a two year process) to survive
in the division brand split in the top flight.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01

Alliance United starters