August 19, 2022 League1 Ontario...Darby FC vs North Toronto Nitros game report (by Rocket Robin)

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Results and details of the League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game of Friday August 19, 2022 between
Darby FC and North Toronto Nitros played at Whitby Soccer Dome in Whitby at 8:00pm.

Darby FC (all navy uniforms, white numbers, yellow trim)

......................1 Matt Zaikos (cpt)
17 Granville Chambers...4 Alec Weller...15 Cameron Brooks...5 Erion Metaj
21 Hunter Closs...8 Aaron Chia...20 Michael Maiorano...16 Colin Reilly...6 Jayden Doyle
.......................14 Noah Stapleton

Subs:...22 Logan Scott (gk)...2 Nicholas Axhorn...7 Marion Jao-Baptiste...9 Lerohne Young
...12 Andrew Saniga...18 Prince Kokja...44 Duncan Mitchell...47 Aaikam Nagpal
team officials:...team head coach Jens Kraemer...assistant coaches Billy Pachis and Christopher Reilly
...manager Bill Sidsworth
(suspended player Tyler Sukovski)

North Toronto Nitros (green socks, shirts, and shoulders, black shorts, white numbers)

..........................1 Ali Ghazanfari-Moghaddan
15 Christian Westlaken (cpt)...3 Thomas MacCarone...4 Brandon Barone...19 Justin Santos
22 Tristan Marshall...10 Ali El-Zeir...9 Bilal Reslan...18 Akeim Villous...13 Abdullah El-Chanti
...........................8 Zakaria Abdi

Subs:...50 Lorin-Alexander Lopez (gk)...6 Juan Delgadillo...11 Kai Martin...14 Luca Dimarco
...16 Oliver Wales...17 Daniel Casa...20 Aidan Hugo
team officials:...team head coach Marko Milanovic...assistant coaches Antonio Greco and Filip Prostran
...manager Daniela Barillari...therapist Marwah Hashimi

Game officials:...referee Ryan Schwenger...referee's assistants Roain Satarzadeh and Nick Vagenas
...fourth official Kurtis Portengen...(red socks and shirts, black shorts)

First Half:...game starts 8:02pm...Darby defends west end at this indoor facility.
1 min...NTN goalie catches bounced cross from near left end line.
2 min...NTN Reslan cornerkick from left has Darby Metaj head ball wide right.
3 min...NTN Santos cornerkick from right is short and checked away before getting into box.
4 min...NTN Westlaken pops header over Darby Brooks to own goalie.
4 min...NTN Santos run down left and defender squats in 6 yard box to head away.
6 min...Darby goalie catches popped up header on throw-in to 15 yards.
9 min...Darby Brooks long throw-in from left has ball headed around until referee whistles down play.
10 min...Darby Reilly 50 yard freekick from slight right is over players and caught by goalie.
11 min...NTN Santos can't win Penalty kick on run down field into left side of box.
14 min...NTN Santos crosses pass to NTN El-Chanti gets away 8 yard shot blocked. NTN El-Zeir shoots 12 yard rebound
well over net.
16 min...NTN Santos cross from left is into box has defenders clear again.
17 min...NTN Westlaken is injured making check just inside own box.
18 min...Darby Maiorano throw-in from right is to Darby Chia who has cross on end line cleared by defender.
20 min...NTN El-Zeir is tapped pass and 12 yard shot deflects over net.
21 min...Darby goalie swats away NTN Santos cornerkick from right on near post in crowd of players.
24 min...NTN Villous eludes checks at Darby 35 yard line to tap pass to NTN Abdi whose 20 yard shot is just over bar.
24 min...Darby Stapleton low 22 yard shot on rush on left has goalie slide to save at 6 yards but is injured on play.
The NTN backup goalie start to warm up.
25 min...Darby Doyle high cornerkick from right is over players in box.
28 min...NTN Reslan cornerkick from left has defender make key clearance header. Reslan chips over box and goalie
catches 25 yard sky ball from right. Darby goalie catches ball on left post as NTN Westlaken crashes into him and is injured.
31 min...NTN El-Chanti tap over for NTN Marshall to chip 25 yarder from right high and wide left.
34 min...NTN Santos gets long pass on left and centers to NTN El-Zeir who bends 20 yard shot down middle just missing
top right corner.
36 min...NTN El-Zeir run down left and cross to edge of box where NTn players can't get away clear shot.
37 min...Darby Maiorano 33 yard freekick from left has NTN Barone head away in 6 yard box.
39 min...NTN Reslan chips 40 yard pass forward that goalie comes out to 15 yards to catch on bounce.
42 min...NTN Santos cornerkick from right has goalie palm over box. NTN Reslan crosses in from left and defender makes
key header to clear.
43 min...Darby Doyle low 30 yard shot from left between players and goalie smothers.
44 min...NTN player sends low freekick from near right corner flag has NTN Reslan have 20 yard shot blocked starting
quick breakout. Darby Chia checked off ball at 15 yards before getting shot away.
45 min...half ends 8:47pm with no extra time added.

Halftime: Only the Darby subs stay on the field to warm up. Only the NTN goalie warm up with an assistant coach.

Second Half:...starts 9:04pm.
halftime sub:...NTN Lopez replaces injured Ghazanfari-Moghaddan in goal.
45 min...NTN Marshall high cross from right is over box.
46 min...NTN El-Chanti low 35 yard shot from left is caught by goalie.
47 min...Darby YELLOW card...Doyle earns it for delaying NTN throw-in at center line by tapping away ball.
49 min...NTN Reslan cornerkick from left has goalie leap to catch in 6 yard box.
52 min...NTN Villous pass to charging NTN Abdi but ball is too far ahead of him and rolls over end line. Darby Maiorano
was injured earlier in the play.
53 min...NTN MacCarone tips Darby cross into NTN box off Darby Chia at 7 yards and deflects for goalie to grab.
54 min...NTN El-Zeir cuts into box on right but 18 yard shot is well highg and wide left of net.
55 min...Darby Reilly 35 yard freekick down middle after tap-over from Darby Maiorano is well over net.
56 min...NTN Westlaken cornerkick from right is caught by goalie in front of charging players looking for 3 yard header.
59 min...NTN Marshall has 10 yard shot blocked by defender.
62 min...Darby YELLOW card...Reilly earns it for sliding tackle on NTN Reslan.
62 min...Darby goalie punches away 35 yard freekick from left.
63 min...Darby Reilly clears away 35 yard freekick from right.
64 min...Darby sub...Saniga replaces Closs.
65 min...NTN Santos low cross from Darby 15 yard line on far left catches NTN Abdi offside.
67 min...Darby sub...Young replaces Brooks.
68 min...Darby Maiorano 40 yard blast up middle is well over net.
69 min...Darby Maiorano cornerkick from left has goalie bat down and defender clear.
70 min...NTN Santos 33 yard freekick has Darby Young head ball away at 8 yards.
71 min...NTN sub...Casa replaces Abdi.
.............NTN sub...Hugo replaces Marshall.
72 min...NTN Reslan 25 yard freekick from left is well high and wide right.
74 min...Darby sub...Mitchell replaces Metaj.
75 min...NTN Reslan 40 yard freekick from left has Darby Reilly make key header at 15 yards to clear.
76 min...NTN Santos low 22 yard shot from left is wide right.
77 min...Darby sub...Nagpal replaces Stapleton.
79 min...Darby Jayden Doyle GOAL...Darby Colin Reilly takes 55 yard freekick from left that has Doyle head 8 yarder
from right over goalie Lorin-Alexander Lopez and dropping into left side of net.
79 min...Darby Saniga 35 yard blast down middle has goalie catch.
80 min...NTN Casa high cross from right is over players in box.
82 min...Darby YELLOW card...Nagpal earns it for pull down on NTN Casa.
82 min...NTN sub...Wales replaces MacCarrone.
83 min...NTN Ali El-Zeir is hacked down on right edge of Darby box. After consulting with the referee's assistant on that side
who was within 20 yards of the incident and ignoring Darby head coach Jens Kraemer repeatedly shouting “Outside, fell inside”,
referee Ryan Schwenger awarded a Penalty kick to Nitros.
85 min...NTN Justin Santos GOAL...Santos blasts low Penalty kick to right side of net as goalie Matt Zaikos dives to left.
An NTN player grabs the ball as they are going for the win.
86 min...Darby YELLOW card...Saniga earns it for hacking down at Darby 45 yard line.
87 min...Darby goalie catches NTN Santos 45 yard freekick from left.
89 min...Darby Young cross from far right has retreating NTN Westlaken prevent Darby players getting ball at 15 yards.
90 min...Darby Lerohne Young GOAL...Darby and Colin Reilly and Young end up on a 2 on 1 rush as a defender fell
at 45 yards. Reilly rushes to 25 yards and taps centering pass to Young who puts 18 yarder down middle into left side
of net beyond flying goalie.
91 min...Darby sub...Jao-Baptiste replaces Doyle.
92 min...Darby YELLOW card...Chambers earns it for pushing over NTN Barone at Darby 35 yard line on left.
93 min...NTN player's 40 yard freekick from right has goalie punch ball away in crowd of players in box.
94 min...Darby YELLOW card...Jao-Baptiste earns it for hacking down NTN Westlaken at NTN 50 yard line.
95 min...game ends.

Final Score:.....Darby FC.........2.......North Toronto Nitros........1........

Attendance was about 90 in this indoor facility. Outside I could hear what sounded like drag racing
in the parking lot and what could have been rainfall bouncing off the roof.

Referee Ryan Schwenger gave out six Yellow cards, all to Darby and four of those from 82 minutes
into injury time including the Penalty call. Of course these won't matter to Darby as it was their
last game of the season.

Nitros started the game much the same as Wednesday night against Woodbridge. They dominated the first
half but weren't as accurate with their shooting (no hitting the bar/post three times). The second half
was also similar with both teams conducting end to end rushes in a wide open finish.

Lerohne Young came into the game at 67 minutes and looked for his opportunity to score the winner.
After the game we were comparing how long we'd known each other settling on this league's first year,
2014 where the team in this territory was Durham United and they played at Kinsmen Park. Yeah I was just
there last week to watch Pickering FC which uses that field. That name is a rebranding
of Durham United FC which morphed into Durham United FA. Durham is a region east of Toronto. A more
specific name for that team's location now. Darby is located in Whitby and has had a men's team L1O
since 2018, two years after its women's team joined.

Lerohne Young and his teammate/brother Leshaun Young were early stars of the league.

Ali Ghazanfari-Moghaddan started the game for Nitros but was injured making a save of a 22 yard shot
after a rush down the left at 24 minutes. He slid to save by pushing the ball away at 6 yards but
was injured. The back up goalie Lorin-Alexander Lopez (2004) immediately started warming up but after
the trainer looked him over, he finished the first half. During the half time, none of the NTN players
warmed up except a coach and the two goalkeepers. The L1O official compiling the stats said to me
“The way he grabbed his leg = hamstring injury”. NTN decided to switch goalies for the second half.

The result improves the record of Darby FC to 7 wins, 10 losses, 4 ties for 25 points. In their last
five games after two 1-0 home losses to Alliance United and Electric City, they travelled to Scrosoppi FC
and won 4-0 and beat Guelph 2-0. Tonight made it three wins in a row to finish their season. These five
opponents were all ranked above them in the standings. They finish in thirteenth in the twenty-two
team league. They were three points behind Scrosoppi and I thought they had tied although they couldn't
pass them because Scrosoppi had more wins but in the only other game tonight, Scrosoppi beat
North Mississauga 7-1.

North Toronto finish their season with a record of 13 wins, 3 losses, 5 ties for 44 points. This was
their second game in three nights as their Wednesday game against Woodbridge was finally played after
being postponed from weeks earlier because of a thunderstorm. Although Nitros had clinched a playoff
spot the week before, they finish third as of tonight but could be passed by Alliance in its game tomorrow
night. Finishing third or fourth means hosting a midweek quarterfinal playoff game which means one more
game at Downsview Park.

The playoff teams will be looking forward to be paired against Nitros. Nitros were shut out against
Woodbridge (0-0) and their goal tonight was from the Penalty spot. It's unsure as of tonight whether
Ali Ghazanfari-Moghaddan will be able to play in net again this season.

The magic position of a twelfth place finish to survive the Top 12 division split in 2024 is 28 points
held by Scrosoppi FC. The bottom ten teams of the current twenty-two team Premier Division will form
the newly created second-tier 'Championship Division' with promotion and relegation between the two
then restricted to 'one up, one down' for the years after that. I suspect the league will have to have
a combined standings for point totals between the two years. The 2022 points will be converted to 75%
vs 2023's 100%. A team that finishes with 40 points will start next year with 30 points and one
with 20 points will start with 15 points...hey catch us if you can! A separate column for the 'current'
2023 season to decide that year's top six playoff teams will be required.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01

Darby FC starters