August 27, 2022 League1 Ontario Semi-Final...Vaughan Azzurri vs Simcoe County Rovers game report (by Rocket Robin)

August 27, 2022 League1 Ontario Semi-Final...Vaughan Azzurri vs Simcoe County Rovers game report
(by Rocket Robin)

...........................

Results and details of the League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game of Saturday August 27, 2022
between Vaughan Azzurri and Simcoe County Rovers played at North Maple Regional Park in Vaughan
at 7:00pm. This was a one game semi final playoff with the winner advancing to the final next Saturday.

Vaughan Azzurri (all navy uniforms, white numbers, red trim)

...................12 Gianluca Catalano
17 Alejandro Portal Oliva...6 Justyn Thomas...19 Daniel Gogarty...3 Riley Ferrazzo
5 Raheem Rose...23 Andron Kagramanyan...21 Dylan Carreiro (cpt)...8 Massimo Ferrin
.............10 Jason Mills...24 Koisochukwu Nwafornso

Subs:...1 Christian Calabro (gk)...2 Ryan Khedoo...7 Jahsua Mills...9 Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez
...11 Adam Rustami...13 Taesun Park...18 Dilman Grewal...18 Baldwin Thomas Cerros...25 Jaytin Pabla
team officials:...team head coach Patrice Gheisar...assistant coaches Anthon Vadori, Carmine Isacco,
and Jorden Felciano...manager Antonio De Palma...therapist Katie Bartley

Simcoe County Rovers (white socks, shorts, shirts, black numbers, light blue sleeves, shoulders and two hoops on chest)

...........................1 Richard Gomes
3 Jarred Phillips...4 Illelabola Avolonto...2 Tristan Gayle...17 Kahlil John
12 Ryley Wishart...19 Justin Earle...9 Gregory Moulopoulos...16 Tre Crosby
..............11 Shawn Claud-Lawson...10 Ethan Beckford

Subs:...13 Ryan Collins (gk)...23 Daniel Buckley (gk)...7 Cah'moises Corona...14 Colby Allen
...18 Feargod Ozomba...22 Justin Yarde...24 Luc Ihama
team officials:...team head coach Jason Beckford...assistant coach Ali Sozeri...equipment manager
Sebastian Trinchini...therapist Taylor Ley
(suspended player Jordan Dover)

Game officials:...referee Kevin McEleney...referee's assistants Jason Olinski and Marko Grubisic
...fourth official Vasyl Dzikh...(red socks and shirts, black shorts)

First Half:...game starts 7:03pm...VA defends south end on this mild night with a bright setting sun in the north west.
2 min...VA Nwafornso runs ball over end line on left.
4 min...VA Carreiro 25 yard freekick from slight right is wide left well ahead of players charging into box.
5 min...VA Rose rushes along 22 yard line from right but can't get away shot in from left.
6 min...VA Nwafornso can't get through 1 v 5 to get away 22 yard shot.
7 min...SCR Claud-Lawson pushes pass to SCR Crosby who wins cornerkick on deflection on left end line.
8 min...SCR Claud-Lawson cornerkick from left has defender head ball away on near post.
9 min...SCR player's cross is too high for SCR Claud-Lawson at 15 yards on left side of box. SCR Wishart cross
from left is headed away by defeneder.
11 min...Simcoe Ethan Beckford GOAL...Beckford gets ball at 40 yards on left and on run downfield
bends 30 yard shot into top right corner over goalie Gianluca Catalano at 8 yards.
14 min...VA Rose receives centering pass and 22 yard shot is over bar.
16 min...VA Gogarty while retreating heads ball over own goalie from 20 yards but wide right for cornerkick.
16 min...SCR player's cornerkick from right has ball popped up and SCR Beckford heads 12 yarder wide right
of top corner.
17 min...VA Carreiro low 25 yarder from slight left is wide left.
20 min...VA Rose bends 28 yarder fro far right side left of net.
22 min...VA Carreiro cross from 30 yards on right is footed down midair by a VA player with back to goal
and defenders clear on edge of 18 yard box.
23 min...VA Carreiro 20 yard roller is deflected for cornerkick.
23 min...VA Ferrin cornerkick from right is cleared out left side of box.
25 min...VA Mills hits 22 yarder down middle that hits the crossbar.
25 min...VA Rose low ross from right has retreating SCR Avolonto concede cornerkick on tip onto outside
webbing of netting. SCR Avolonto is injured on play and needs trainer.
27 min...VA Ferrin cornerkick from right is headed away in 6 yard box. Ferrin recrosses ball and wins
another cornerkick.
27 min...VA Thomas has 12 yard shot stopped down middle. SCR Moulopoulos is injured at SCR 45 yard line earlier in play.
30 min...VA Ferrin 35 yard freekick from left falls just wide right of far post for goalkick with VA Nwafornso not able to kick in.
32 min...VA player's through ball kick is too far forward for VA Kagramanyan up left and out for goalkick.
34 min...SCR YELLOW card...Moulopoulos earns it for hip check trip on VA Ferrin at SCR 40 yard line.
39 min...VA Mills run down right and has sliding defender on end line deflect ball off him for goalkick.
41 min...VA Ferrazzo sliding tackle on SCR Gayle at VA 40 yard line wins SCR freekick.
42 min...VA Rose gets cross from right and 10 yard shot has defender head away.
43 min...SCR Beckford flying header from 12 yards on left is wide left.
44 min...VA Nwafornso has 10 yard low shot stopped and goalie dives on rebound.
47 min...VA Gogarty retreats to make key clearance inside box on right conceding throw-in.
47 min...half ends 7:50pm.

Halftime: The subs on both teams warm up. The sun has now dropped below the treeline.

Second Half:...starts 8:08pm...An announcement is made over the PA system. "The game is delayed until everyone gets inside
and moves away from the fence" to control the crowd.
46 min...SCR player's cross from 40 yards on left lands on top of the net.
47 min...Vaughan Dylan Carreiro GOAL...VA Massimo Ferrin rolls centering pass from 22 yards and Carreiro
rolls 12 yard shot to right corner of net past diving goalie Richard Gomes.
48 min...SCR Wishart recovers blocked shot and blasts 20 yarder well over net and back fence.
51 min...VA Carreiro low chip from 22 yards on left bounces to goalie.
53 min...SCR John cornerkick from right has VA Gogarty make key header to clear.
54 min...SCR Crosby blasts shot down middle from 30 yards that tips off an SCR player at 20 yards and deflects wide left.
56 min...SCR YELLOW card...Crosby earns it for not giving 10 yards on a freekick at SCR 40 yard line.
57 min...SCR goalie catches cross on right post on VA Rose 15 yard cross near right end line.
58 min...VA Thomas makes key sliding block on edge of 18 yard box.
60 min...VA Portal Oliva cross from 40 yards on right is bounced between players. VA Carreiro blasts 18 yarder from far left
well high and wide right of net.
61 min...VA Ferrin taps pass on left back and VA Carreiro bends 22 yard shot high and wide right of top corner of net.
62 min...VA Nwafornso is injured and needs trainer for right leg.
64 min...play resumes. VA Carreiro 40 yard freekick from left has VA Gogarty at 15 yard stick foot forward to tip ball
to bounce to goalie on left post.
66 min...SCR YELLOW card...Claud-Lawson earns it for bashing over VA Ferrazzo at VA 45 yard line near sideline.
67 min...VA Ferrin centers pass to VA Nwafornso who wins cornerkick on 30 yard shot tipped defender.
68 min...VA Nwafornso shoots 22 yarder with back turned on receiving cornerkick.
69 min... VA sub...Benitez Hernandez replaces Nwafornso.
69 min...SCR Crosby bends 30 yard cross from right wide left of goal.
70 min...VA Carreiro cross from right. VA Mills chests 20 yarder up middle that goalie comes to 15 yards to pick up.
73 min...VA Mills cross from left has VA Benitez Hernandez not able to turn scissor kick at 15 yards on right.
74 min...SCR Claud-Lawson long run down right and taps ball back to SCR Crosby who crosses 28 yarder well high of players in box.
75 min...Vaughan Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez GOAL...VA Alejandro Portal Oliva chips long pass from 60 yards
on right upfield and OCBH receives it at 16 yards in middle behind defenders takes few steps forward and to right
and blasts 10 yard shot from right over goalie into top right side of net.
76 min...SCR YELLOW card...Phillips earns it for complaining about the goal as he expected there to be an offside call.
78 min...SCR goalie picks up ball on right end line to prevent cornerkick.
80 min...VA YELLOW card...Kagramanyan earns it on delayed call after SCR Wishart rolls ball over end line on left.
81 min...SCR sub...Corona replaces Crosby.
83 min...VA Portal Oliva chips 45 yarder from right that VA Benitez Hernandez pops 18 yard header over bar.
83 min...SCR goalie catches cross from right.
84 min...VA Portal Oliva is injured on edge of SCR 18 yard box and needs trainer. It takes about 1 minute for referee to notice
he was down.
86 min...VA sub...Pabla replaces injured Portal Oliva.
.............VA sub...Jahsua Mills replaces Ferrazzo.
88 min...VA sub...Crewal replaces Carreiro. Jason Mills becomes captain.
89 min...SCR YELLOW card...goalie Gomes earns it for kicking ball laying behind the net meant for VA cornerkick over the side
fencing as VA players were feigning that they didn't have a ball to use to waste time.
.........SCR YELLOW card...someone on the bench earned it for complaining about this play.
90 min...VA players work out short cornerkick from right to waste time and win throw-in.
92 min...SCR Gayle gets shot through VA box in barrage until ball is finally cleared.
93 min...VA YELLOW card...Benitez Hernandez earns it for a knock down at the center line of SCR John.
95 min...SCR goalie takes a freekick from 60 yards on the left sideline. SCR Gayle blasts 25 yarder over the net and the back fence.
96 min...VA Benitez Hernandez short cornerkick from left wins a throw-in and then wins another throw-in as the VA players tap
the ball around.
96 min...game ends 8:59pm.

Final Score:...Vaughan Azzurri........2........Simcoe County Rovers........1..........

Attendance was about 200 on this mild sunny evening with a blinding setting sun
in the north west (crossfield so it only affected the fans). Lots of travelling fans but
Vaughan had a promotion where any of their youth team players wearing their Vaughan jerseys
got in for free so that made sure a lot of young people were there. The winning goal had
a lot of them storm the field but I'm sure the Vaughan officials weren't stressing
the delay to restart the game. Before that the second half was delayed and an announcement
was made “The game is delayed until everyone gets inside and moves away from the fence”
as some fans started to stand inside the south end fence which was only a few feet from
the end line.

Vaughan stay undefeated this season and I'm not sure if they've ever been behind in any
of their games so I was wondering how they'd handle falling behind so early despite having
the territorial advantage in play. The Simcoe goal came from a counterattack. Vaughan just
carried on but couldn't score. Must have been some pep talk at halftime as some click,
click, click passing AND (which they had been lacking) finishing got them the tying goal.

The game was in doubt until the end right up to and incluing injury time with SCR goalie
Richard Gomes taking a 60 yard freekick into the VA box which was only partly cleared and fell
to SCR Tristan Gayle who blasted a 25 yard shot over the net and the back fence. There must
have been more than six times a ball was blasted out of play by an errant shot or a VA player
timewasting. All the balls seemed to be kept near the center line but on the opposite side
of the fourth official so players had to beg for a replacement ball.

VA Benitez Hernandez had returned to Vaughan after a short extended contract with Forge FC
of the CPL as an 'emergency replacement'. Not a complete stranger to Forge as I was told
he had spent some time pre-season with them. Now back, he has not been able to retake his
starting spot because of Vaughan's momentum (7 goals, 6 goals, 5 goals in their last three
games). He came in as a sub at 69 minutes and scored within six. He also was a danger
as SCR had to open up to try and tie the game (straight to PKs after 90 minutes if tied).
He's perfected the way he was instructed at Forge during injury time in this game...run to
the corner and play keep away. He won a cornerkick and two throw-ins in succession to help
kill off the game.

Referee Kevin McEleney gave out eight Yellow cards that I counted. (six to SCR). The L1O
website program used can't count the Yellow to the SCR goalie nor the one to an official
on the SCR bench. The Yellow to the goalie was one of the most frustrating to them as deep
in injury time the Vaughan players had won a cornerkick and looked like they were feinting
a 'there's no ball around' as if waiting for one to be kicked over from the center line table.
The goalie found one behind his net and kicked it over but with some underlying anger
as it caught under his foot and he flicked it over the side fencing and the Vaughan players
shrugged and waited for the referee to give HIM a card for timewasting!

Travelling fans were frustrated by the referee including my editor for The Sentinel. I asked
him if he wants me to write the story about the five game playoff season (with the way
the dates fall, all going well I should be able to get to the remaining games) or would
he do it. Me it is!

Most players played the full 90 minutes. Vaughan used four subs but three were after
the 85 minute mark. Simcoe used only one and that wasn't until 81 minutes. Defender
Jordan Dover was listed as 'suspended' on the game sheet. He played 90 minutes
in Wednesday night's quarterfinal against North Toronto Nitros and earned a Yellow card.
Missing today? That must mean that Yellow card accumulation carries over from the regular
season and that one was his fifth.

I wanted to congratulate the players for the exciting game but was caught telling my
“The time Diego Maradona played in Toronto” to a guy wearing a Maradona #10 although it looked
like it was a modern day Napoli jersey. The SCR players had already left the field.
Good thing I caught the Mills brothers who said “Will you be there Sunday?” Ohoh. The Final
will be next Saturday. Management would have told them. OK after the game I got the venue
(Ontario Soccer Centre) although I was pretty sure of that from past finals and the time
will be 1:00pm. Two VA team officials said they ensured that there'd be no 'regular season
winners' trophy presentation before the game. We agreed it rattled the team's preparation
at last season's semifinal. LiveStream game caller Pierce Lang noticed my shopping bag which
I carry my notebook (paper), binoculars, and camera. The Basics (grocery store) green one.
He said about the 'mother' character model on the bag. “I dated that woman, she was
an anti-vaxxer.”

The referee from the Masters vs Burlington game was here watching after that game ended.
That was the last game of the regular season which had been postponed from many weeks ago
because of lighting (that's stadium lights not storm lignthing problems). That game could
be played in the playoff season because the result didn't matter to the top six teams
involved but is very important to the bottom ten teams being broken off the twenty-two
and placed in a second tier 'Championship Division' for the 2024 season. Masters won 2-1.
I had driven to Burlington last Sunday to watch them play Prostars which Prostars needed to win
to clinch a playoff spot. I passed on the MLSNEXTPro game of Toronto FC II at nearby York
Lions Stadium so I could see Burlington and say "I've now seen every L1O Men's Premier team this
season a minimum of twice." I didn't know the date of the playoff games last week but I could
imagine tonight's scenario if I hadn't gone last week.

Tomorrow is the second semi-final in Oakville between Blue Devils FC hosting Alliance United
at 4:00pm. That venue was changed yesterday to Bronte Athletic Field.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01

Vaughan Azzurri starters