North
York Mirror: Offence hurts Astros
by DJT
Offence hurts Astros (June 24, 2001)
By SAM LASKARIS Special
to The Mirror
Early indications are the 2001 North York Astros will be
much better than last year's squad.
But that doesn't entirely thrill
Astros general manager Bruno Ierullo, who saw his club win just three of its 20
Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL) regular season matches in
2000.
So far this season, the Astros have played five games, with North
York sporting a 1-2-2 record.
"I'm not pleased," Ierullo said. "I don't
want us to just be better than last year. I want us to be in the thick of
things."
With their current mark, the Astros sit in seventh place in the
12-team CPSL. But while North York has played five games to date, nine of the
other league entrants have just three or four matches under their
belts.
The Astros will be seeking their second win of the season today
when they battle the visiting Glen Shields Sun Devils.
The contest will
be held at the Astros' home field, Esther Shiner Stadium, 5720 Bathurst St. The
opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
North York will be looking to
capitalize on a frail Sun Devils team, which has lost its first three games and
has yielded 16 goals while scoring four themselves.
"I don't mean to take
Glen Shields lightly," Ierullo said. "On any given day, anybody in our league
can beat anybody. But we're hoping to break out of our scoring malaise and
hopefully in a big way. Our team needs some confidence on offence."
The
Astros have yet to score more than two goals in a game this season, despite
generating a handful of excellent scoring opportunities every game.
"We
can't find the net," Ierullo added. "Our forwards are not efficient
enough."
The Astros lack of scoring punch was demonstrated last week when
North York was edged 2-1 by the Scarborough-based Toronto Olympians.
The
Astros' next home game will be July 8 when they face the expansion Toronto Supra
at 7 p.m.
.
.