July 22, 2023 League1 Ontario...North Toronto Nitros vs Alliance United game report (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Saturday July 22, 2023 League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game between
North Toronto Nitros and Alliance United played at Downsview Park in North York at 8:00pm.

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

.......................1 Alexandre Lin
.........22 Bilal Reslan...5 Christian Westlaken (cpt)...6 Luca Porfiris
3 Gabriel Mikina...13 Tadija Vukas...14 Kai Martin...11 Jaylen Drummond
...........18 Asher Barnes...10 Ali El Zeir...7 Luca Dimarco

Subs:...12 Nicholas Potalivo (gk)...2 Tristian Marshall...4 Brandon Barone...8 Emile Kisse
...9 Zakaria Abdi...15 Kaostubh Bolla...16 Akeim Villous...19 Justin Santos...21 Alex Meczarski
team officials:...team head coach Mardo Milanovic...assistant coaches Filip Prostran and Shyon Gaeeni
...manager Daniela Barillari...therapist Marcus Leal
Suspended players: none

Alliance United (white socks and shirts, black shorts and numbers)

........................30 Shane Perera
11 Zak Drake...20 Jacob Maurutto-Robinson...7 Nirun Sivananthan...16 Shon Siegalwachs
9 Amir Shirazi...4 Nikola Stakic (cpt)...22 Jeloni Murray-Powell...13 Russell Stewart
..............14 Prince David Amanda...17 Atchu Sivananthan

Subs:...00 Liam Janicki-Zeballos (gk)...2 Jacob Price...10 Skylar Pinnock...12 Christian Keshishian
...15 Kingsley Belele...18 Andrew Paolucci
team officials:...team head coach Ilya Orlov...assistant coach Cormac Rea and Eric Nelson...manager Eric Silvestri
...therapists Daniel Della Rosa and Michael Silvestri
Suspended players: Matthew Monteiro and Praveen Ahilan

Game officials:...referee Ryan Schwenger...referee's assistants Roshan Mendonca and Nick Vagenas
...fourth official Arshia Aliakbari...(teal socks and shirts, black shorts)

First Half:...Game starts 7:59pm...Nitros defend south end on this still mild evening with the sun now behind the clouds
in the north west.
1 min...AU Stakic 40 yard freekick is stopped on edge of box and eventually chipped into box that goalie picks up on right.
3 min...Alliance Atchu Sivananthan GOAL...NTN Christian Westlaken dives to head ball back to goalie from 25 yards
but the header isn't strong enough and Sivananthan beats goalie Alexandre Lin who came out to 15 yards to dive on ball.
Sivananthan steps around him and has tap-in into open net.
4 min...AU YELLOW card...Atchu Sivananthan earns it for knocking down NTN Westlaken at NTN 40 yard line.
Westlaken needs trainer.
5 min...AU Maurutto-Robinson long throw-in from 10 yard line on right wins cornerkick.
6 min...AU Maurutto-Robinson long throw-in from left has AU Stakic on left side of box tip ball wide left of net.
8 min...NTN Barnes pops up header in middle at 15 yards and ball lands wide right.
10 min...AU YELLOW card...Nirun Sivananthan earns it for tripping up NTN player on rush.
10 min...NTN Porfiris 35 yard freekick from right is cleared in box.
11 min...AU David Amanda cross from 20 yards near end line is over players in box.
14 min...AU goalie beats NTN Barnes to pick up through ball at top left corner of box.
15 min...NTN Barnes roller spins off defender in 6 yard box and rolls to goalie.
16 min...AU goalie punches away NTN Martin cross from near right end line.
17 min...NTN Porfiris 35 yard freekick from right is knocked around and NTN Reslan blasts 15 yard low shot on left
that sliding defender saves on line near right post.
19 min...NTN Barnes long run on right on 3 on 3 rush shoots low 15 yarder just wide left of post.
20 min...AU Shirazi is injured near center line as heads collide and needs trainer.
Some players take an improv water break.
22 min...AU sub...Belele replaces injured Shirazi before play resumes.
26 min...AU goalie is out to 15 yards to gather through ball pass.
31 min...AU Drake cross is over players in NTN box. AU Stewart low cross from 22 yards on far left wins cornerkick on right.
32 min...AU Stakic cornerkick from right has AU David Amanda pop 8 yard header down middle but over net.
33 min...NTN Reslan cornerkick from left has NTN Mikina head over net.
34 min...Nitros Asher Barnes GOAL...Nitros Luca Dimarco 40 yards on left chips ball through box that Nitros Kai Martin
rescues on endline and low pass back out into box has Barnes shoot 8 yarder to left corner of net past diving
goalie Shane Perera.
37 min...AU Stakic cornerkick has NTN player head away on near post and is injured on bump.
40 min...AU David Amanda gets around defender on run into box but weak chip is caught by goalie on left post.
42 min...AU Maurutto-Robinson long throw-in on right is headed on right side of box. Maurutto-Robinson eventual chip
into box is also headed away.
44 min...AU Stakic cornerkick from left has goalie bat away on right on leap knocking over NTN Martin.
46 min...AU Stakic low cross on right has AU Atchu Sivantanthan not able to flick foot ball at 6 yards.
48 min...half ends 8:47pm.

Halftime: AU players stay at their bench while NTN players go back to the change rooms. There is a children's 3 on 3 mini game
with nets in the center circle. No subs stay out to warm up.

Second Half:...starts 9:03pm. It's now dusk.
Halftime subs:...AU Keshishian replaces David Amanda.
46 min...AU goalie beats NTN Dimarco to through ball at 15 yards.
47 min...NTN have two players fall working ball in on left side of box.
47 min...AU Keshishian pops header of long throw-in from right wide right from 12 yards.
48 min...Alliance Kingsley Belele GOAL...AU Atchu Sivananthan passes from right has AU Russell Stewart
have his shot partly blocked and the ball deflects over to Belele on left who shoots low 10 yarder to right corner of net.
50 min...AU Stewart 25 yard low shot from left tips off defenders legs at 12 yards and rolls to goalie on near post.
51 min...AU Atchu Sivananthan run down middle and cuts right to get away 15 yard roller that sprawling goalie smothers at 5 yards.
56 min...AU Stakic high 50 yard freekick from left bounces between players on right side of box and out for goalkick.
58 min...AU Atchu Sivananthan on right at 30 yard line centers pass to AU Stakic who flicks who flicks pass to AU Stewart
who shoots 30 yarder down middle over net and back fence.
59 min...AU Stewart low 28 yarder on left bends shot wide right of net.
60 min...NTN Martin long throw-in from near right cornerflag. NTN Mikina pops header in crowd of players in middle wide left of net.
61 min...NTN player's long run to left end line and 15 yard shot caught by goalie on near post.
64 min...NTN Reslan sends in cross and NTN Mikina is a step behind heading an 8 yarder.
64 min...NTN sub...Abdi replaces Reslan.
............NTN sub...Santos replaces El Zeir.
65 min...AU Atchu Sivananthan heads ball across box from left and defenders clear.
66 min...NTN Barnes leaps at 8 yards for cross from left but can't turn header.
67 min...NTN DiMarco low 20 yard shot from slight right is stopped.
68 min...NTN Martin cross from right wins cornerkick on left.
69 min...NTN Martin cornerkick from left is over to right and NTN Westlaken cross from right has NTN Abdi pop header
over net from 7 yards in crowd of players.
70 min...AU sub...Paolucci replaces Stewart.
70 min...AU Belele blasts 22 yard roller that diving goalie pushes wide right for cornerkick.
71 min...AU YELLOW card...Keshishian earns it for tackle on NTN Westlaken at AU 50 yard line.
72 min...Nitros Gabriel Mikina GOAL...Mikina blasts low 25 yarder from slight right between defenders and bends
into left corner of net beyond flying goalie.
73 to 81 min...NTN players put in a lot of crosses into box that are cleared.
82 min...AU Atchu Sivananthan is injured at AU 45 yard line and needs trainer.
86 min...NTN Barnes chips 7 yarder along right end line that lands on top of the net.
88 min...NTN sub...Kisse replaces Barnes.
89 min...NTN Vukas is injured with leg cramp at AU 45 yard line near right sideline and needs trainer.
90 min...NTN sub...Villous replaces injured Vukas.
90 min...NTN Santos 45 yard freekick from right is called offside in box.
91 min...NTN Martin pass forward up right to NTN DiMarco who crosses and NTN Abdi heads 8 yarder downward
and goalie smothers.
92 min...game ends 9:52pm.

Final Score:......North Toronto Nitros........2......Alliance United........2.........

Attendance climbed to a peak of about 120 by halftime on this mild evening with no breeze at all.

Neither team got in warmups for more than 20 minutes as there was a mix up in uniforms that were supposed to be worn tonight. Alliance just assumed they were going to wear white because at the beginning of the season Nitros wore red for their home games. Hmm I've got pictures of a Nitros home game on May 6th when they wore white. Anyway Nitros agreed to wear red for this game.

Nitros looked like they'd be the most likely to win in the last 20 minutes with all kinds of crosses sent into the box but mostly cleared but a tie was a fair result.

Referee Ryan Schwenger gave out three Yellow cards (all to Alliance players). For incidents in front of the player's benches, he would sometimes call out why he whistled or didn't whistle a play down when he hear either coach complaining. The fourth official also did this.

The result improves Nitros record to 9 wins, 4 losses, 3 ties for 30 points. Alliance improves to 8 wins, 3 losses, 5 ties for 29 points. They are in sixth and seventh place now. No worries for either of them making the Top 12 Premier Division for 2024 but the race for the six 2023 playoff spots and the winner of the playoffs getting the L1O spot in the Canadian Championship next year is now what the race of the top teams are being focused on for the remaining five weeks of the season.

There were other top teams that have tripped up this weekend so far. Second place Blue Devils (33 points) lost to St Catharines on Friday night. Earlier today Electric City (31 points) hosted Vaughan Azzurri (30 points) and played to a 0-0 result. They are in third and fifth place respectively.

Sunday eighth place Simcoe County Rovers (28 points) host fourth place Guelph United (31 points). Scrosoppi FC has the last game of the weekend hosting a 9:00pm start against Sigma FC. Scrosoppi have 36 points and can extend their lead in the standings.

There's thirteen teams racing for the top 12 spots for 2024 top division survivor and the league has been announcing every week another team or two who have clinched their spots but I think they will start calling out clinching a playoff spot very soon. A Scrosoppi win will give them a nine point lead on the sixth place team.

Rocket Robin
robin.glover.1958@gmail.com
twitter @RocketRobin01

North Toronto Nitros starters