August 28, 2011 CSL--Toronto Croatia vs Windsor Stars (by Rocket Robin)

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Result of the Sunday August 28, 2011 CSL game between Toronto Croatia and Windsor Stars played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 8:00pm.

Toronto Croatia (blue socks, white shorts and numbers, red shirts)

..........................13 Antonio Ilic
6 Mario Kulis...3 Josip Keran...4 Sven Arapovic...7 Halburto Harris
23 Tonci Pirija (cpt)...14 Augustin DeMedina...10 Tihomir Maletic...8 Hayden Fitzwilliams
..................11 Marin Vucemilovic Grgic...18 Bozenko Lesina

Subs:...1 Sandi Matika (gk)...5 Jonatan Bustamante (mid)...9 Hugo Herrera (fwd)...19 Niko Pesa (fwd)...20 Luke Sperr (mid) ...24 Carlos Rojas (mid)
team officials:...head coach Velimir Crljan...assistant coach Miodrag Akmadzic...manager Ivan Kulis...assistant manager Perica Arapovic...physio Michael Robinson

Windsor Stars (black socks and shorts, blue shirts, white numbers)

............................1 Anthony Santilli (cpt)
11 Mahamad Safieddine...19 Michael Ujkic...3 Sleman Habib...4 Filip Rocca
10 Alexander Rickett...5 David Kadoic...8 Ciprian Codea...22 Christian Mayorga...17 Corey Vickers
.........................16 Gino Berardi

Subs:...listed (although only two players were on the bench)...84 Justin Danelon (gk)...7 Jeff Hodgson (mid)...14 Stephen Ademolu (fwd) ...21 Emilio Giorgi (mid)
team officials:...manager Gino Berardi...head coach Stefano Vagnini

1st Half:...game starts 8:01pm...TC defends north end on this cool night with the sun not being a factor.
30 sec...TC Lesina 8 yard shot from right is wide left.
2 min...TC Maletic 25 yard shot down middle is caught by diving goalie on right post.
4 min...TC Keran steals back backpass at 20 yards on right and 10 yard shot from right is into side of webbing of net.
4 min...TC Vucemilovic Grgic has ball poked off him for cornerkick on right.
5 min...TC Fitzwilliams rolls 20 yard cross from left that goalie smothers diving forward.
11 min...WS Rocca chips 60 yard freekick down middle that bounces to goalie.
13 min...TC Keran rolls cross in defence that he flubs for a WS cornerkick.
15 min...TC goalie catches WS Rickett 55 yard chip from right.
17 min...TC Lesina 25 yard shot from left is deflected for cornerkick on left.
17 min...TC Vucemilovic Grgic cornerkick from left is headed through box for throw-in on right.
19 min...WS defender concedes cornerkick after TC players run up left.
20 min...TC Vucemilovic Grgic cornerkick from left has TC Arapovic heads 12 yarder over bar.
22 min...TC Vucemilfoci Grgic cross from right has ball knocked near right post for another cornerkick.
23 min...TC Maletic cornerkick from right as goalie catches in crowd of players.
24 min...TC Hayden Fitzwilliams GOAL...Fitzwilliams on 2 on 1 rushes in on left cutting towards goal and shoots low 18 yarder from left into right corner with goalie Anthony Santilli frozen on line waiting for possible pass to the other TC forward.
27 min...TC Kulis cross from 45 yards on right has TC Lesina knock ball down at 22 yards, turn and cut weak roller for goalie to pick up on left post.
28 min...WS YELLOW card...Ujkic earns it for grabbing TC Harris on run at WS 40 yards.
29 min...WS YELLOW card...Mayorga earns it for sliding tackle on TC Vucemilovic Grgic on sideline after he'd kicked away ball.
32 min...TC Maletic rolls pass left to charging TC Fitzwilliams on left but he tangles ball in his feet inside box.
32 min...TC Harris cross from left 25 yards has TC Lesina head 10 yarder in middle just over bar.
......WS Kadoic is injured at 50 yards earlier in the play.
36 min...WS Rocca freekick from 50 yards down middle has defender head ball away.
37 min...WS goalie beats TC Lesina to through ball pass to pick up.
39 min...TC Harris can't draw Penalty kick when he's tugged on left side of box.
40 min...WS Safieddine 15 yard low shot is well wide right of net.
41 min...TC YELLOW card...Pirija earns it for argueing away from play.
.........WS YELLOW card...Rickett earns it for argueing away from play.
43 min...WS goalie fumbles high pop up on left post for cornerkick.
44 min...TC Vucemilovic Grgic cornerkick from left has TC Keran flick header from 2 yards as he falls wide right for cornerkick.
47 min...half ends 8:48pm.

2nd Half:...starts 9:06pm.
46 min...TC Tihomir Maletic GOAL...TC Hayden Fitzwilliams passes from 15 yards on extreme left and Maletic kicks low 10 yard shot that sprawling goalie gets piece of but ball trickles under him and across line into center of net.
47 min...TC Maletic low 12 yard shot from right is saved by sprawling goalie.
48 min...TC Fitzwillliams in on break down middle at 20 yards rolls 10 yarder just wide right of post.
48 min...TC Vucemilovic Grgic 35 yard freekick from left is headed away.
50 min...TC YELLOW card...DeMedina earns it for tackle on WS Ujkic.
51 min...TC Tihomir Maletic GOAL...TC Hayden Fitzwilliams 25 yard cross from near left corner flag has Maletic knock ball down on right and fire 8 yard shot into left side of net.
53 min...TC sub...Bustamante replaces DeMedina.
54 min...TC Vucemilovic Grgic cross from right end line is high and unplayed.
55 min...TC Pirija 40 yard card from left is through crowd is wide right.
56 min...TC Keran makes bock on cross from WS player on left sent into box.
58 min...TC Vucemilovic Grgic cornerkick from left has TC Lesina on short side at 8 yards head over net.
60 min...TC Maletic freekick from 25 yards on extreme right has TC Lesina flick header from right is through box and out left side. TC Fitzwilliams is checked off ball.
62 min...TC Marin Vucemilovic Grgic GOAL...TC Bozenko Lesina at 40 yards rolls ball to middle for TC Tonci Pirija to take 20 yard shot up middle that sprawling goalie blocks and deflects right for Grgic in alone to blast 10 yard rebound into top center of open net.
64 min...TC sub...Herrera replaces Fitzwilliams.
66 min...WS Berardi charges for long high pass and pushes 25 yard shot is wide right.
68 min...WS Rickett weak 20 yard roller from left is through players and picked up by goalie.
72 min...TC Vucemilovic Grgic 25 yard freekick from left end line has TC Lesina charge and miss connecting.
73 min...TC sub...Pesa replaces Pirija. TC Lesina is now the captain.
74 min...TC Lesina 30 yard shot from left sideline is wide right.
74 min...TC Hugo Herrera GOAL...TC Marin Vucemilovic Grgic sends over 20 yard cross from right end line that has Herrera in center slide and connect to knock in 8 yard roller to left corner of net.
76 min...TC Harris blasts 25 yarder from left is over net.
78 min...TC Vucemilovic Grgic 22 yard freekick from extreme left wins cornerkick on deflection.
79 min...TC sub...Rojas replaces Lesina.
80 min...TC Herrera one-touch kicks 18 yarder down middle is over net.
81 min...TC Rojas blasts 25 yard shot through crowd and well over net.
83 min...WS Rocca 40 yard kick from left has goalie charge forward and catch off head of WS forward.
86 min...TC Pesa cross from 10 yards on right end line has TC Rojas 7 yard midair blast that goalie makes great hand save.
87 min...TC sub...Sperr replaces Harris.
90 min...TC Maletic pass to left for TC Herrera who bends 15 yarder that's caught by goalie.
91 min...game ends 9:51pm.

Final Score:.........Toronto Croatia.........5.............Windsor Stars.............0...........

Attendance was about 70 on this cool night with the temperature dropping as time passed.

Toronto Croatia outplayed the Stars the entire game but it took the two goals at the start of the second half to put the game away.

Antonio Ilic earned the shutout for Croatia. He had only a few long range shots to save.

Toronto Croatia has signed a new player—defender Josip Keran who played earlier this year for NK Dugopolje of the Druga HNL (Croatian second level). That team plays outside Split on the Adriatic coast. At 4 minutes he stole a ball on a bad Stars back pass at 20 yards on the right and took a 10 yard shot that was into the side webbing of the net. He made a blunder at 12 minutes when he rolled a cross in the defence across the field and it bent over the end line for a Stars cornerkick. He did make an important block on a cross from a Stars player at 56 minutes and nearly scored on a 2 yard flick header from a cornerkick at 44 minutes but the ball just was wide right of the post.

Marin Vucemilovic Grgic, a midfielder, was signed last month and now he fits in well with the team. He also played in the Croatia 2nd division the season before for NK Mosor Zmovnica in Zmovnica which is also near Split. That was near where Toronto Croatia won the Croatian international tourney this past summer beating an Australian team in the final. Someone in the Toronto organization must have been scouting!

Referee Steve Senderovich gave out a few Yellow cards to each team but it wasn't particularly rough because Croatia could keep the ball away from the Stars for long periods.

Other near scoring chances of the evening were at 20 minutes when TC Grgic's cornerkick from the left had TC Sven Arapovic head a 12 yarder over the bar. At 32 minutes TC Halburto Harris crossed from 25 yards on the left that had TC Bozenko Lesina in the middle of the box head a 10 yarder just over the bar. At 47 minutes TC Tihomir Maletic took a low 12 yard shot from the right that was saved by the sprawling goalie. One minute later TC Hayden Fitzwilliams was in on a break down the middle at 20 yards and he rolled a 10 yarder just wide right of the post. At 60 minute Maletic's freekick from 25 yards on the extreme right had Lesina flick head from the right through the box but out the left side. At 86 minutes TC subs Niko Pesa crossed from 10 yards on right end line that had Carlos Rojas take a 7 yard blast that the goalie made a great hand save.

Although the Stars listed four subs, there were only two visible on their bench throughout the game. Tonight's subbing PA announcer Nikola who calls the games for Mississauga Eagles said the Stars had only two subs at last night's game too where they played to a 1-1 tie. This reminds me of the bad old days of 2008 where the last configuration of Windsor—Border Stars were caught a few times bringing only nine players to Toronto. It's about a four hour drive away.

Toronto Croatia's win tonight improves their record to 12-2-4 and they are in second place four points behind league leading SC Toronto. Windsor Stars are in twelfth place (out of 14) with a record of 2-11-5. I see the Astros played another game at their usual home Esther Shiner Stadium. The CSL web site listed from the start of the season right up until game time taking place at “TBA”. That could be one of the few big gates of the season for the team as Serbian White Eagles would have brought some travelling fans.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

Toronto Croatia starters