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Result of the Tuesday October 2nd, 2007 CSL game between Toronto Croatia and Serbian White Eagles played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 8:15pm.
Toronto Croatia (blue socks, white shorts and numbers, red shirts)
........................21 Roy Blanche
..............6 Mario Kulis...4 Domagoj Sain...3 Ante Brkic
16 Halburto Harris...5 Jonatan Bustamante...11 Mario Pupic...19 Robert Grnja
...............9 Tihomir Maletic...7 Tomislav Ples...8 Hayden Fitzwilliams
Subs:...12 Marko Zuljak (gk)...2 Robert Fran...10 Leo Marasovic...13 Deny Dragonic...15 Mario Beljo...18 Peter Curic...22 Hugo Herrera
team officials:...assistant coach Tomy Granic...manager Vlado Majerovic...trainer Milan Krijan
Serbian White Eagles (all blue, white number, names and trim)
........................27 Djordje Radan
17 Dragon Cosic...6 Mirko Medic...2 Ricardo Muguia...10 Alex Braletic
21 Daniel Milojevic...13 Nikola Budalic...8 Nenad Stojcic...9 Sasa Viciknez
..................11 Gabriel Pop...18 Zoran Kokot
Subs:...25 Arthur Zaslavski (gk)...14 Milan Janikic (mid)...15 Milos Scepanovic (fwd)...16 Josua Gordon (def)...19 Dragorad Miracevic (def)...22 Noel Ellerton (fwd)...24 Mihailo Bacanin (mid)
team officials:...head coach Sinisa Ninkovic...assistant coach Aca Krivokafic...manager Dragisa Latinic...physio Philip Barros
Game officials:...referee Steve DePiero...referee's assistants Vito Curalli and Emil Schultz...fourth official Rick Zomporelli...(neon green shirts, black shorts and socks)
1st Half:...game starts 8:20pm...TC defend south end on this mild evening.
3 min...TC goalie picks up 25 yard roller from left.
3 min...SWE goalie dives forward for loose ball.
5 min...SWE Pop heads TC cornerkick from right out of box on left.
7 min...TC Pupic cornerkick from right has nearest defender on right clear.
7 min...TC Fitzwilliams cross from 20 yards on left line caught by goalie.
8 min...TC YELLOW card...Brkic for knock on SWE Pop at SWE 50 yard line.
9 min...A fan tosses a flare onto the field!
11 min...Croatia Mario Pupic cornerkick from right has TC Domagoj Sain pop header over net as he’s knocked over at 6 yards. Referee Steve De Piero awards Croatia a Penalty kick.
12 min...Croatia Mario Kulis GOAL...Kulis Penalty kick is into right side of net with goalie Djordje Radan sliding to the left.
more flares are lit and thrown.
13 min...SWE Budalic rolls 12 yard shot from right that's picked up by goalie.
16 min...SWE YELLOW card...Pop for argueing freekick call even though his team won it.
16 min...SWE Viciknez freekick from 30 yards on right is blocked off a head in player wall.
17 min...SWE Viciknez 25 yard blast from right is wide right.
18 min...TC Grnja pushes ball up left and TC Fitzwilliams kicks shot wide left from 15 yards from left.
20 min...TC Fitzwilliams drifts 20 yard cross from left that goalie bobbles and drops right of net but ball cleared.
21 min...TC Bustamante 25 yard roller through crowd of players wide right of net.
23 min...SWE goalie saves ball from rolling out for cornerkick with dive to left.
24 min...TC Ples can't reach ball on leaping header at 10 yards on chip in from 35 yards and SWE goalie catches.
26 min...TC YELLOW card...Bustamante for trip of SWE Milojevic at center line on left.
27 min...TC Fitzwilliams charge on break on left but chips 25 yarder from left to goalie.
31 min...SWE Viciknez freekick from 35 yards from right has defender head away.
32 min...SWE YELLOW card...Cosic for sliding tackle on TC Ples.
33 min...TC Pupic 20 yard freekick blast from left line is well over players in box and goes out for throw-in on right.
34 min...SWE Viciknez 22 yard shot from right is just over bar.
35 min...White Eagles Sasa Viciknez GOAL...Viciknez 22 yard freekick from right bends into right corner of net beyond flying goalie Roy Blanche. Wow. Great shot.
36 min...SWE Viciknez rush over center line and threads through ball that defender pokes away from SWE forward.
37 min...SWE sub...Miracevic replaces Stojcic.
39 min...White Eagles Zoran Kokot GOAL...Kokot threaded ball up middle from 25 yards through two defenders and he taps 6 yard shot up middle into left corner of net with goalie sprawling in center.
41 min...SWE Viciknez cornerkick from right is caught by goalie.
43 min...TC Pupic freekick from 35 yards on right has closest defender leap to head away.
45 min...TC Ples on left side of box dribbles to center and has shot from 8 yards popped up by sliding defender and another defender heads ball behind net from 3 yards.
47 min...SWE Viciknez cross from 15 yards on right has defender head ball away before SWE forward can connect from 6 yards.
48 min...half ends 9:08pm.
2nd Half:...starts 9:26pm.
halftime sub:...TC Dragonic replaces Bustamante.
45 min 30 sec...Croatia Tomislav Ples GOAL...Ples at 8 yards on left chips ball over goalie into right corner of net.
51 min...A pushing match breaks out at center line.
.............TC YELLOW card...Grnja for his part in the incident which involved all players on both teams.
53 min...SWE Viciknez blasts 40 yard freekick up middle well over net.
54 min...TC goalie runs up to edge of box to blast clearance.
57 min...TC Pupic cornerkick from right has leaping defender head ball away.
58 min...TC Pupic 30 yard freekick from left has ball chipped over players in box and bounces wide right.
59 min...TC Sain injured at TC 40 yard line.
61 min...TC Ples injured bumping heads on leap in center circle.
62 min...SWE YELLOW card...Munguia for injurying SWE Braletic in collision with TC Maletic.
63 min...TC player's cornerkick from right has ball knocked high into box and goalie catches in crowd of players.
64 min...TC Ples touches ball to TC Harris after receiving cross from left and Harris blasts 8 yarder well over net.
65 min...SWE Kokot cross from left through box and TC defender heads ball away.
67 min...TC goalie dives out to take ball at 6 yards off SWE Kokot who'd rounded defender in box.
I noticed SWE Braletic was now playing with a bandaged head.
72 min...TC Grnja 30 yard freekick from right has defender on left head ball behind net.
73 min...TC Pupic cornerkick from left has TC Sain head to right post from 5 yards but SWE Braletic knocks ball wide right on line for cornerkick.
75 min...TC Fitzwilliams cross from 15 yards on left has TC Maletic one-touch blast 7 yard blast off right goalpost.
77 min...TC Maletic heads 8 yarder off bar up middle when given cross into box. SWE Braletic's flying header knocks the ball over the end line.
77 min...TC Brkic plays TC Pupic cornerkick from right has defender kick off goal line.
77 min...TC sub...Herrera replaces Ples.
79 min...SWE Viciknez rush up right and 20 yard shot from right is caught by leaping goalie. SWE Milojevic is injured in SWE box.
82 min...TC Grnja bounces through ball that SWE goalie rushes forward to grab.
84 min...TC defenders clear SWE Cosic cross into box from right.
86 min...TC Pupic cornerkick from left has TC Sain leap and head 5 yard ball over net.
87 min...TC Pupic 45 yard freekick has defender in crowd of players in box head ball away.
88 min...TC Harris pops up 10 yard header rebound that's caught by goalie.
90 min...SWE Budalic blasts 15 yard shot up middle that goalie makes standing point blank save.
90 min...SWE Kokot takes pass and kicks ball into net around goalie but play is ruled offside.
91 min...TC sub...Curic replaces Grnja.
92 min...TC Dragonic 35 yard freekick from left has TC player clear backwards out of SWE box.
94 min...TC Pupic 45 yard freekick chip from right has defender clear away.
94 min...game ends 10:15pm.
Final Score:……..Toronto Croatia…….2……….Serbian White Eagles……..2…….
Attendance was 1823. This was a ‘home’ game for Toronto Croatia with all tickets sold through their community. Many fans wore the red and white chequered national colours of Croatia. The first flare was thrown onto the field at the 9 minute mark (note to organizers next year: Have a water filled garbage can on the warning track to put them out quickly). There were a few others thrown after the first goal but after that they were mostly kept in the stands. Referee Steve De Piero kept the action on the field under control with a few timely Yellow cards. Only at 51 minutes did a pushing match break out at the center line with all the players on the field joining in.
With last week’s crowd against London City being something less than 100, I told league execs Cary Kaplan and Stan Adamson that next year they should ensure that these teams play four times like most teams play inside their own division rather than this year’s twice. Even with the understandable restriction of only selling tickets to fans of the ‘home’ team, the attendance for the two games this year was far higher than any other team these teams have played this year.
Both teams had chances to win this game in the last 20 minutes. At 75 minutes TC Hayden Fitzwilliams crossed from 15 yards on the left that had TC Tihomir Maletic one-touch a 7 yard blast off the right goalpost. Two minutes later TC Maletic headed an 8 yarder off the bar up the middle when he was given a cross into the box. SWE Alex Braletic who wore a large head bandage wrapped over his forehead during the second half of the game flew to head the rebound wide of the net to prevent a tap-in.
SWE Sasa Viciknez at 79 minutes rushed up the right and his 20 yard shot was caught by the leaping goalie. At 86 minutes TC Mario’s Pupic’s cornerkick from the left had TC Domagoj Sain jump and head a 5 yard ball over the net. At 90 minutes SWE Nikola Budalic on a break away up the middle blasted a 15 yard shot that the goalie made a point blank save on. In injury time SWE Zoran Kokot kicked a ball into the net but he was well offside when he took the pass.
Toronto Croatia stays undefeated this season with a record of 10 wins and 11 ties. The White Eagles came out ahead after this match though as they maintain a one point advantage with both teams having only one game to go.
At halftime I asked Cary Kaplan some questions. For the 2008 season, new teams African Icons and Quebec City FC (no the owner hasn’t vanished) will join the league and a return is expected of Brampton Stallions who weren’t in this year. There will be two divisions again but possible with six and seven teams to make thirteen. The semi-finals will be ‘home games’ next year. This year the semi-finals will be held in North York even though teams like St Catharines and Trois-Rivieres would draw better playing in their own cities. African Icons for now are scheduled to play at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York sharing the grounds with North York Astros. Portuguese Supra are anxious to move to downtown Toronto to be closer to their fan base but Brockton Stadium and Lamport Stadium (nope hasn’t had new field turf put in yet) must be improved for them to move from Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke (currently ground sharing with White Eagles). Birchmount Stadium (home of Canadian Lions) may be off the list of acceptable stadiums because of concerns with the dressing rooms being at the hockey arena 200 yards away. Kaplan mentioned that the chain link fences don’t block people from watching the game for free. (I went to their last home game on the weekend with a crowd of 40. No one was selling or collecting tickets so anyone could have walked in).
Also watching the game were Canadian FIFA rep and long time broadcaster Dick Howard and USL Montreal Impact assistant coach Peter Pinizzotto. Although there's no league rule against doing it, Pinizzotto says there's no way that Trois-Rivieres Attak will stack their roster with players from their parent team the Impact for the upcoming playoffs. He said it wouldn't be fair to the players who've played all year to the Attak.
Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
Croatia starters
White Eagles starters
some of the Croatia fans at tonight's game
Croatia ready to kick off second half
players leave the field after the game
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