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Result of the October 1, 2006 CSL game between Toronto Croatia and Laval Dynamites played at Victoria Park in Brampton at 1:30pm. This was a one-game Quarterfinal Match for the CSL playoff trophy.
Toronto Croatia (blue socks, white shorts and numbers, red shirts)
.........................1 George Azcurra (cpt)
...............6 Mario Kulis...16 Halburto Harris...4 Domagoj Sain
22 Boris Tomac...5 Antonio Zupan...11 Velemir Crljen...17 Goran Grubesic...8 Hayden Fitzwilliams
....................10 Leo Laurito...9 Peter Curic
Subs:...12 Mate Jurkin (gk)...3 Jonatan Bustamante (mid)...13 Zvjezdan Kresic (mid)...19 Boris Maric (fwd)...20 Tommy Ples (fwd)...21 Rudy Spajic (fwd)...30 Tom Granic (def)
team officials:...head coach Velemir Crljen...assistant coach Milodrag Akmadzic...goalkeeping coach Kruno Culjak...team official Theo Krajacic...equipment manager Nedo Radman...sports trainer Nino Sonsini...manager Vlado Manjerovic
Laval Dynamites (white socks and shirts, black shorts and numbers)
..........................1 Andrew Olivieri
26 Berra Mohamed...2 Rachid Lahbabi...4 Abraham Francois...7 Sandro Addessa
16 Ceasar Castro...19 JP Etienne...20 Ryan Notarangelo...10 Leo Incollingo (cpt)
.....................25 Ammar Badawiem...21 Ilias Calaitzidis
Subs:...81 Brian Aguiar (gk)...27 Rachid Madkour (swp)...15 Aziz Serbane (mid)...11 Mourad Bellari (mid)...17 Nicholas Knowland (swp)...13 Arturo Cisneros (def)...14 Rodrigo Nievas (def)
team officials:...head coach Jawad Andaloussi...manager Tony Yanito
Game officials:...referee Steven DePiero...referee's assistants David Barrie and Kimshasha Babb...fourth official Peter Pendli...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)
1st Half:...game starts 1:45pm...TC defend south end on this mild overcast afternoon with played on a muddy field...all times are converted from my wristwatch...no sound system setup.
1 min...LD goalie beats TC Laurito to through ball on left.
4 min...TC Tomac cross from 25 yards on right lands on top of net.
5 min...TC Fitzwilliams run on left rolls cross to right and from 10 yards TC Laurito has ball bog down and he rolls shot that defender clears at 2 yards.
6 min...TC YELLOW card...Harris for check on LD Badawiem on sideline.
7 min...LD Calaitzidis on left centers cross and LD Badawiem blasts 18 yard shot wide left.
8 min...TC Curic rush on left and 20 yard shot from near end line is caught by goalie.
11 min...TC YELLOW card...Crljen picked up the card for either a knock or complaining.
11 min...LD Incollingo 40 yard freekick, charging LD Badawiem heads 20 yard shot wide left.
13 min...LD player's 30 yard shot from left is high and wide right.
14 min...TC YELLOW card...Tomac for hard tackle on LD Addessa near center line sideline.
16 min...TC player's 30 yard freekick from right bounces to goalie over sliding TC Zupan at 6 yards.
21 min...LD Castro long throw-in from right has defender clear from box.
22 min...LD Calaitzidis flubs shot on run on left and goalie charges out to pick up ball.
23 min...TC Zupan hurt on 30 yard sideline of TC. A TC defender clears cross from left. Zupan is down with a cut head.
26 min...TC sub...Granic replaces injured Zupan before play resumes.
28 min...LD Addessa cross from left is well wide left.
33 min...TC Fitzwilliams rush down left side and 12 yard shot near end line is wide right for goalkick.
34 min...TC Fitzwilliams run down left after LD Mohamed injured on left sideline chips 10 yard shot that hits top of bar near left post and deflects over bar. Mohamed needs treatment on sideline for leg injury.
37 min...TC Fitzwilliams dribbles in beating offside trap and dekes goalie on end line, he centers ball and TC Tomac blasts 10yard shot well over net.
39 min...LD Calaitzidis dekes defender and goalie and 12 yard shot stopped by TC Sain blocking shot, partial clearance booted over net from 20 yards.
43 min...LD Calaitzidis and TC Sain have standoff when Calaitzidis can't draw penalty. Meanwhile TC Fitzwilliams' run on left has 22 yard shot caught by goalie.
45 min...LD Calaitzidis on left passes to LD Badawiem to LD Incollingo with defender slipping shoots 20 yarder deflected by defender wide right.
46 min...LD Incollingo cornerkick from right is cleared by defenders.
47 min...TC Curic 22 yard freekick from left over wall and caught by goalie without having to move.
48 min...TC Grubesic cornerkick from right is low and first defender clears.
50 min...half ends 2:35pm.
2nd Half:...starts 2:47pm.
halftime subs:...TC Ples replaces Laurito.
.......................TC Bustamante replaces Kulis (?)
46 min...TC Fitzwilliams charge on left has goalie charge out upending Fitzwilliams and ball is knocked for a cornerkick.
47 min...TC player's cornerkick from left is low and cleared by defender.
48 min...TC Grubesic flicks ball up middle but goalie beats TC Ples to through ball.
52 min...Croatia Tommy Ples GOAL...TC Jonathan Bustamante blasts 30 yard shot that hits the left post with a thunk and the ball deflects back for a jumping Tommy Ples to boot a 20 yarder into left side of net over fallen goalie Andrew Olivieri.
55 min...TC Granic injured in own end.
56 min...TC Ples gets ball away although he's knocked over at center and TC Kulic in on 45 yard breakaway and his shot from 18 yards is down the middle wide right of net.
57 min...TC Grubesic cornerkick from left has diving TC Kulis flicks 15 yard header from left wide left of goal.
58 min...TC sub...Maric replaces Curic.
61 min...LD sub...Madkour replaces Etienne.
...............LD sub...Bellari replaces Mohamed.
62 min...TC Fitzwilliams hurt near center circle.
64 min...TC Sain 35 yard freekick blast from left is well over net.
65 min...TC Ples spins and puts loose ball well over net and back fence.
66 min...TC Ples pushed up middle and low 25 yard kick pushed wide right by sprawling goalie.
66 min...TC Grubesic cornerkick from right has defender block ball and clear.
67 min...TC Grubesic 20 yard blast has defender block on shot up middle.
68 min...LD sub...Nievas replaces Incollingo.
72 min...TC Maric pops up header in box after cross from right.
73 min...TC Maric trips in mud pit on edge of box.
74 min...LD sub...Knowland replaces Francois.
77 min...LD Addessa (wearing the captain's armband) 35 yard freekick from left blocked by defender on line.
78 min...TC Sain heads ball away from net, LD Nievas blasts partially cleared rebound up middle well wide right from 28 yards.
81 min...TC Crljen low 40 yard shot from right has TC Bustamante overstep ball and it rolls untouched for goalie.
82 min...TC Ples on 2 on 2 rush gets caught and is unable to pass ball.
84 min...LD Calaitzidis cornerkick from left has TC Sain pop header clear.
85 min...TC Crljen rush to middle and pushes ball up for TC Malic to blast 15 yarder that goalie palms over net.
86 min...LD goalie dives on ball into box in front of two TC players.
87 min...TC goalie cahrges out to right to smother through ball.
88 min...LD Nievas cornerkick from right has defender clear and hand ball claim ignored.
89 min...Dynamites RED card...Rachid Madkour draws a Yellow and then a Red for swearing at referee Steven De Piero when he whistled for a TC freekick near the center line.
91 min...LD Calaitzidis cornerkick from left has TC Granic head ball away.
92 min...TC Fitzwilliams hurt at center line.
93 min...TC goalie charges out to clear when TC defender falls on right.
93 min...LD Nievas 25 yard chip up middle caught by goalie.
94 min...game ends 3:36pm.
Final Score:.......Toronto Croatia......1.........Laval Dynamites.............0..........
Attendance was about 150 on this mild afternoon. It was a nice day for fans to watch soccer but the field was in bad shape with mud in the goal areas and center circle and boggy conditions on some other parts of the field. The conditions should easily have had this game postponed but there was no chance of Laval (Montreal area team) being able to return to the Toronto area in the middle of the week and nowhere to reschedule the game on short notice.
George Azcurra earned the shutout for Croatia without having to make any face-in-the mud diving saves. He was initially reluctant to play this game in these conditions along with some of the other players. He was helped by the solid play of the defenders. Croatia had the best chances in the game and even had better chances after they took the lead in the second half as the Dynamites had to press for the equalizer.
Non-scoring highlights were: At 5 minutes when TC Hayden Fitzwilliams has a run on the left and rolls cross to right and from 10 yards TC Leo Laurito has ball bog down in mud and he rolls a shot that defender clears at 2 yards. At 8 minutes TC Peter Curic rushed on left and his 20 yard shot from near the end line was caught by the goalie. 16 minutes found a TC player’s 30 yard freekick from the right bounces to goalie when sliding TC Antonio Zupan misses connecting. At 23 minutes Zupan was injured near the sideline when he took a knee to the head and blood started to pour out. He was subbed immediately and taken to the hospital. At 34 minutes Fitzwilliams ran down the left after LD Berra Mohamed had been injured near the sideline and he chipped a 10 yard shot that hit the top of the bar near the left post and the ball deflected over the net. Three minutes later Fitzwilliams dribbles in beating the offside trap and he deked the goalie on the end line, he centers the ball and TC Boris Tomac blasted a 10 yard shot well over the net. At 39 minutes Ilias Calaitzidis dekes a TC defender and the goalie and his 12 yard shot was stopped by TC Domagoj Sain blocking his shot. Injury time had TC Curic’s 22 yard freekick from left fly over the wall and caught easily by the unmoving goalie.
In the second half, four minutes after their goal, TC Tommy Ples who came in at halftime, got ball away although he was knocked over at center and Curic was in alone from the 45 yard line and his shot from 18 yards down the middle is wide right of the net. The next minute had TC Goran Grubesic’s cornerkick from the left had diving Curic flick 15 yard header from left wide left. At 66 minutes Ples is sent a ball up the middle and his low 25 yard kick is pushed wide right by sprawling goalie. At 85 minutes with the Dynamites pressing, TC Velemir Crljen rushed to middle and he pushed a pass to TC Boris Maric to blast a 15 yard shot that the goalie palmed over the net. The goalie had to dive one minute later in front of two TC players in the box to smother a loose ball. At 88 minutes LD Rodrigo Nievas’s cornerkick from right had a defender clear although a handball request was ignored. At 91 minutes, Calaitzidis’s cornerkick from left had TC Tom Granic head away. Injury time also found the TC goalie having to charge out to his right when a defender fell and on a last kick LD Nievas sent a 25 yard chip up the middle that the goalie caught.
I had read the CSL website and was surprised to see the venue being here. Croatia official Theo Krajacic said that their home field Memorial Park in Mississauga had been flooded in one corner and the CSL league decided Victoria Park would be the venue. Brampton Stallions owner Joe Fuliere was livid that the league booked the field because of its delicate condition and angry at the city who had also booked the field for some adult league game that was in progress when I got there just before 1:00pm.
Fuliere said he’d moved his Reserves game to one of the training fields to preserve the grass. My surprise was that the Stallions final scheduled league game had been cancelled at 4:00pm on Wednesday afternoon by Brampton city officials because of poor field conditions and was eventually played on Friday night when conditions weren’t that much better. I was thinking that those officials don’t work weekends but there was one there who was convinced by Stan Adamson of the CSL to let this game take place. The official said the city would usually close the field for the season tomorrow but would let the Stallions play here later in the week and maybe the field would heal by then. Hmm. The weather forecast for the next few days is showers and more showers for the next few days. Theo Krajacic said Toronto Croatia next year will play on field turf at a field just being constructed in Mississauga on grounds at the Hershey Centre as part of the legacy of Canada hosting next summer’s U-20 World Cup as one team will use the facility as a training centre.
Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
Field conditions before game time were bad to begin with.
Laval Dynamites pre-game picture.
Toronto Croatia pre-game picture. (There were no introductions or lineup for the national anthem).
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