No fluke -- Astros oust Croatia from playoffs

North York to face Ottawa Wizards in Sunday's Rogers Cup final

October 19, 2002, North York - The fairytale continues for the North York Astros. In the friendly confines of Esther Shiner Stadium on a cold, windy Saturday afternoon, the Astros defeated Toronto Croatia 1-0 on a last-minute goal by Guillermo Compton Hall to advance to the finals of the Rogers Cup playoffs.

The favored Croatia team, which had finished first in the Western Conference of the Canadian Professional Soccer League this season, fell prey to a disciplined Astros squad that thrives on a quick counterattack.

In the 89th minute, Croatia appealed to the referee for a penalty kick after a pair of players collided in the Astros' penalty area. While Croatia disputed the non-call, the Astros' goalkeeper, Luciano Miranda, punted the ball downfield to his team's lone striker, the ever-dangerous Guillermo Compton Hall. The bouncing ball eluded a Croatia defender, but the opportunistic Compton Hall was able to head it over top of Toronto's goalkeeper into the empty net, sending Astros' players and fans into a frenzy.

The victory appears even more impressive taking into consideration that the North York club had played a difficult match less than 24 hours previous to the semifinal. On Friday evening, the Astros laid waste to the Mississauga Olympians by a convincing 3-0 score in the Rogers Cup wildcard match, which they qualified for as hosts of the tournament.

The Astros seemed content to play defensively in the first half of the semifinal, likely because of the fierce wind blowing against them. Throughout the first 45 minutes, Miranda urged his defenders to conserve their energy and not rush the ball back into play after stoppages. Croatia failed to take advantage of the favorable wind, and several good scoring chances, before the interval.

The second half was evenly contested and both teams began to lose their composure toward the end of the match with the score remaining deadlocked.

"I knew it was our last chance," said Compton Hall describing his game-winning goal. "I'm happy because it's very nice to win in the last minute like that. Tomorrow's game will be hard, because it will be Ottawa's second game of the playoffs but our third game in three days." Compton Hall was selected as the Astros' XS Soccer Man of the Match. The runner-up points fell to Miranda on the strength of his back-to-back shutouts and third place in the voting was defender Ryan Thompson.

Croatia defender Robert Fran felt his team was responsible for its own undoing. "We didn't capitalize on our chances in the first half, and we paid for it in the second half," said Fran moments after the match had ended. "We didn't have enough players showing up for practice the last few weeks. If you don't train, you're not going to win."

Astros defender Pablo Politi was jubilant after the victory. "You won't believe this," Politi said, "but when I dreamt about this game last night, we scored in the 90th minute, where they wouldn't have time to respond. And that's pretty much what happened. We never expected to be here and make such a good showing."

Politi considers the addition of Compton Hall and a change of attitude amongst the players as being the two major reasons for his team's recent turnaround. Another reason appears to be the well-organized system the team has adopted. The Astros' coaching committee has implemented a style that has seen the team shut out two offensive powerhouses, the Olympians and Croatia, back to back. The defense -- anchored by Kurt Ramsey, Ryan Thompson and Politi -- has been Scrooge-like stingy when it comes to conceding loose balls around its penalty area. Luciano Miranda's faultless work in goal and timely finishing by Astros forwards have also been an integral part of the team's impressive post-season run.

"You cannot beat home cooking," said a grinning Bruno Ierullo, Astros GM, after the Croatia match, referring to his team's home field playoff advantage. "We were hoping to make it to the semifinals. Now we've done that. Our mission is only half accomplished, though. I think we're a team of destiny."

The Ottawa Wizards are writing their own fairytale this season. Having already won the Eastern Conference and the League Cup, the Wizards are poised to capture the third jewel of the CPSL's triple crown, the Rogers Cup on Sunday afternoon at Esther Shiner.

Prior to the Astros-Croatia tilt, the Wizards defeated the Metro Lions 1-0 in the other Rogers Cup semifinal match to set up Sunday's showdown with North York. Kevin Nelson's neat crossing pass found substitute Samir Karaga who tapped in the decisive goal for Ottawa in the 83rd minute.

The Wizards enter Sunday's final as the clear favorite, but the Astros -- unbeaten in their last six games and playing at home (Esther Shiner) -- are certainly capable of playing David to Ottawa's Goliath. Kickoff is set for 2:05 p.m.

Orville Reynolds
It's Called Futbol, www.futbol.ca