September 3, 2011 CSL--North York Astros vs Capital City FC (by Rocket Robin)

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Result of the Saturday September 3, 2011 CSL game between North York Astros and Capital City FC played at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York at 4:30pm.

North York Astros (orange socks, black shorts and shirts, white numbers)

.......................1 Enea Perego
3 John Jung...14 Kurt Ramsey (cpt)...6 Diego Benzi...2 Anthony Valentine
15 Diego Maradona...12 Josue Tario...16 Michael Tischer...5 Alexandre Oran...11 Rei Tshikawa
.........................13 Nordo Gooden

Subs:...20 Damon Naghavi (gk)...4 Brown Konguavi (def)...8 Francisco Mendez (mid)...17 Steven Craig (def)...18 Allan Cordon (mid) ...19 Raoof Zamanifar (mid)
team officials:...head coach Gerardo Lezcano...assistant coaches Gabriel Lezcano and Gerardo Lezcano Sr...sports director Jorge Collazo ...general manager Bruno Ierullo

Capital City FC (all white, black numbers and names)

........................22 Karl Gouabe
2 Taylor Benjamin...12 Casey Cordray (cpt)...3 Julien Edwards...17 Francis Le Tourneau
18 Evroy Junior Ellis...23 Mahir Hadziresic...8 Emir Zrnic...16 Laszlo Csonger
................9 William Beauge...19 Nathaniel Foster

Subs:...1 Clinton Irwin (gk)...10 DAmiem Rolon Merett (mid)...11 Sam Rocca (def)...15 Sullivan Silva (fwd)...20 David Ortega (mid) ...21 Odaine Demar (def)...25 Akil Defreitas (fwd)
team officials:...head coach Shaun Harris...assistant coach Kevin Lawson...physio Sunya Rego

Game officials:...referee Angelo Gertsakis...assistant referee Lucian Burlacu and Scott Decker...fourth official Steve Senderovich...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 4:38pm...Astros defend west end. A pregame rain had cooled the temperature. There's a very bright sun in the west.
2 min...Astros Tario 18 yard shot from far right is into webbing of net.
3 min...CCFC Ellis cross from 15 yards on left is headed through box.
3 min...CCFC Hadziresic blasts 15 yard shot well high and wide left of net.
4 min...Astros Gooden 20 yard roller from right has goalie smother ball.
5 min...CCFC Csonger 20 yard roller through players is well wide left of net.
8 min...CCFC Zrnic rolls cross from right and CCFC Beauge boots ball over net from 3 yards.
13 min...Astros Maradona cross from 20 yards on right is over net.
16 min...Astros goalie charges left to beat CCFC Csonger to through ball and slides for it.
18 min...CCFC Hadziresic 20 yard blast down middle is over net after short pass from left.
21 min...CCFC Zrnic blasts 25 yard shot from left over net.
22 min...Astros Oran loops 25 yard freekick from right is bounced out left of net.
23 min...Astros Oran blasts 30 yard low shot tips off defender and ball is just wide left of post.
24 min...Astros Tshikawa cornerkick from left is caught by goalie on right in crowd of players.
26 min...CCFC Csonger rush on right and rolls cross that defender kicks behind line at 4 yards.
27 min...CCFC Hadziresic cornerkick from right has CCFC Foster get foot to ball at 3 yards on right post and tips over net.
29 min...CCFC Beauge gets pass on turn over and blasts 18 yarder well over net.
32 min...CCFC Hadziresic falls easily on rush into box and can't draw Penalty kick.
35 min...CCFC Benjamin cross from 20 yards on far right has CCFC Beauge nod 5 yard header on left downward and wide left of net.
36 min...CCFC Ellis rescues ball on Astros end line.
36 min...CCFC William Beauge GOAL...CCFC Mahir Hadziresic cornerkick from from right is over players and Beauge nods in 3 yard header from near left post into short left side between post and goalie Enea Perego.
37 min...Astros player's cornerkick from right has defender head ball away.
38 min...CCFC Beauge gets pass to CCFC Foster who pushes 5 yard shot as he'd fallen then 2 yard shot that goalie smothers on right post.
39 min...CCFC player takes 20 yard shot on left that's deflected wide right for cornerkick.
40 min...CCFC Hadziresic cornerkick from right is out to CCFC Benjamin who blasts 22 yard shot from right over net.
41 min...Astros Oran 28 yard freekick from right has play called offside after block and pass into right side of box.
43 min...CCFC Foster can't rescue ball that he pushes too far on right at 7 yards over end line.
46 min...CCFC Benjamin 25 yard cross from right on rush is through box.
47 min...CCFC Foster on rush up middle tackled on edge of Astros box for freekick.
48 min...CCFC William Beauge GOAL...CCFC Mahir Hadziresic blasts low 20 yard freekick off right post and Beauge at 8 yards in middle blasts in 8 yard shot to center of net.
48 min...the half ends at 5:26pm before the game can be restarted after the goal.

2nd Half:...half starts 5:44pm...now the Astros have to look into the bright sun.
halftime sub...Astros Koguavi replaces Jung.
45 min...CCFC Hadziresic 33 yard low shot is stopped on edge of box.
45 min...CCFC Nathaniel Foster is knocked over by Astros defender Anthony Valentine inside box on run. Referee Angelo Gertsakis gives Valentine a Yellow card and awards a Penalty kick.
46 min...CCFC Nathaniel Foster kicks Penalty kick low to left and diving goalie makes a fantastic hand save and the ball is cleared.
49 min...Astros Oran 25 yard freekick from right hits top of bar and deflects over net.
51 min...Astros Tshikawa rush down left and blasts 25 yard shot just over the top right corner of the bar.
52 min...CCFC Beauge ends pressure with 10 yard blast from near right side through box wide left of net.
53 min...CCFC Hadziresic 28 yard freekick from left is flagged down in box.
54 min...CCFC Zrnic 40 yard blast up midddle is just wide right through players.
56 min...Astros Tshikawa blasts 35 yard shot that's stopped on edge of box.
58 min...CCFC Ellis rolls cross from far left into box is cleared and he's injured when knocked over.
59 min...CCFC sub...Rocca replaces Benjamin.
60 min...CCFC sub...Ortega replaces Zrnic.
62 min...CCFC Hadziresic gets pass pushed over at 25 yards and blasts 25 yard shot over net wide right.
65 min...CCFC Foster is checked off ball by Astros Valentine before he can set up 5 yard shot.
66 min...CCFC Hadziresic cornerkick from right has CCFC Cordray leap and flick 8 yard header wide left.
67 min...CCFC Rocca 35 yard cross from left has CCFC Beauge head ball wide of net.
68 min...Astros Maradona 25 yard shot down middle is caught by goalie.
69 min...CCFC YELLOW card...Csonger for tackle on Astros Konguavi at CCFC 45 yards.
69 min...CCFC sub...Merette replaces Foster.
70 min...Astros Tario shoots 22 yarder from left over net.
70 min...Astros sub...Mendez replaces Valentine.
71 min...CCFC Hadziresic through pass to CCFC Beauge up middie and he shoots 15 yarder over net.
74 min...Astros sub...Cordon replaces Tario.
.........Astros sub...Craig replaces Maradona.
.........CCFC sub...Demar replaces Edwards.
75 min...Astros Ramsey 25 yard cross from extreme right is caught by goalie.
75 min...Astros YELLOW card...Konguavi earns it for tackle near center line.
76 min...CCFC Hadziresic kicks midair ball wide right from 12 yards on extreme left.
78 min...CCFC YELLOW card...Ortega earns it for hip check on Astros Mendez at CCFC 45 yards.
79 min...CCFC Beauge on break from 40 yards on right kicks 25 yard roller wide left of post.
80 min...Astros goalie dives to make hand save check on CCFC Hadziresic on break at 15 yards.
81 min...CCFC Csonger 25 yard freekick from right is over net.
82 min...Astros YELLOW card...Mendez earns it for trip on CCFC Ortega.
82 min...CCFC Le Tourneau 28 yard shot on left is wide left of net.
83 min...Astros Gooden 20 yard shot is deflected wide right for cornerkick.
84 min...Astros Oran cornerkick from right has CCFC Cordray head ball out of box from 8 yards on jump.
85 min...CCFC Csonger forward pass to CCFC Beauge at 25 yards who turns and shot bounces to flying goalie.
86 min...Astros Raoof Zamanifar GOAL...Astros Rei Tshikawa shot from 12 yards on left has ball stopped by defender and Zamanifar boots in 6 yarder from left past goalie Karl Gouabe
...I hadn't noticed when Zamanifar came into the game.
87 min...Astros Gooden leaps to head 6 yarder just wide right of net.
87 min...Astros Oran is injured at center line.
88 min...Astros Benzi 45 yard freekick from left has goalie catch.
89 min...Astros YELLOW card...Zamanifar earns it for check on CCFC Cordray on sideline for injury on sideline.
91 min...CCFC sub...Silva replaces injured Cordray. Silva takes over as captain.
92 min...CCFC goalie catches long freekick from 45 yards.
93 min...CCFC Silva shot from 8 yards and CCFC Beauge has 10 yard shot is blocked by sliding defender.
93 min...game ends 6:32pm.

Final Score:......North York Astros..........1.........Capital City FC..........2.............

Attendance was about 30 on this hot and sunny day. A hard rain had fallen before game time probably killing off any kind of walk up crowd. The game was moved up from a 6:00pm start in the original league schedule so CCFC could get on their way home to Ottawa maybe six hours away. Not a problem for North York but CCFC had played a game against Serbian White Eagles at 8:00pm on Friday night and Astros finally started to get some better chances as the opponents began to tire.

This game wasn't broadcast at all so let me say it reminded me somewhat of the Canada vs St Lucia game of the night before with CCFC playing Canada's role. They had many chances to put this game away sooner and again late in the game when they counterattacked when the Astros were pressing for a result.

Best of the non-scoring chances were at 8 minutes when CCFC Emir Zrnic rolled a cross from the right and CCFC William Beauge booted the ball over the net from 3 yards! 18 minutes had Mahir Hadziresic receive a short pass from the left and take a 20 yard blast down the middle that was over the net. Three minutes later Zrnic blasted a 25 yard shot from the left over the net. Astros Alexandre Oran blasted a 30 yard low shot that tipped off a defender and the ball was just wide left of the post. 27 minutes had Hadziresic take a cornerkick from the right that had CCFC Nathaniel Foster get a foot to the ball at 3 yards on the right post and tip the ball over the net. Two minutes later Beauge got a pass on a turnover and blasted an 18 yarder well over the net. 35 minutes had CCFC Taylor Benjamin cross from 20 yards on far right that had Beauge nod a 5 yard header on the left downward and wide left of net. 38 minutes had Beauge get a pass to Foster who pushed a 5 yard shot as he fell then a 2 yard shot that the goalie smothered on the right post. 40 minutes had Hadziresic with a cornerkick from the right out to Benjamin who blasted a 22 yard shot from the right over the net. 49 minutes had Astros Alexandre Oran take a 25 yard freekick from the right that hit the top of the bar and deflect over the net. Astros Rei Tshikawa at 51 minutes rushed down the left and blasted a 25 yard shot just over the top right corner of the net. The next minute saw all kinds of CCFC pressure that ended when Beauge by blasting a 10 yard shot from the right side through the box and wide left. 65 minutes had Foster checked off the ball by Astros Anthony Valentine before he could set up a 5 yard shot. Next minute had Hadziresic take a cornerkick from the right that had CCFC captain Casey Cordray leap and flick an 8 yard header wide left. 71 minutes had Hadziresic feed a through ball up the middle for Beauge and he shot a 15 yarder over the net. Beauge had another chance at 79 minutes with another through ball and break from 40 yards on the right and he kicked a 25 yard roller wide left of the post. Next minute had the Astros goalie make the best save of the night when Hadziresic had a break and took a 15 yard shot down the middle that the diving goalie made a spectacular hand save. After the Astros goal, just a minute later (87) Astros Nordo Gooden leapt to head a 6 yarder just wide right of the post.

Allan Cordon is a midfielder for the Astros and was subbed in at 74 minutes. He is the younger brother of Oscar Cordon Jr who as an 18 year old is a graduate of the TFC Academy (which is another team in this CSL league) and now plays as a midfielder for the MLS Toronto FC club. Allan has been on the bench for most Astros games but gets a lot more playing time on the 'Astros B' of the CSL Reserve league games. Well at least that name is not such a burden as being named Diego Maradona like the Astros forward who is nephew of the Argentina national hero. He is back with the Astros this season after being on the Serbian White Eagles squad for part of last year.

Capital City complete a very successful weekend in the GTA as they also won their Friday game against Serbian White Eagles 1-0. Their record climbs to 12-4-5 for 41 points and second place by one point however they have played three more games then third place Toronto Croatia. Astros still haven't won this year and are fourteenth and last with a 0-13-6 record. This is the fifth time I've seen them play this year and they have played 0-0 and 1-1 ties, lost 1-0 and lost 4-0 to league leaders SC Toronto although that game wasn't put away until well into the second half. They deserve to win an upcoming game. Poor Nordo Gooden is always the lone forward as Astros have to use so many men back to prevent the opponents from scoring. Gooden gets the ball and is surrounded by three or four guys.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

Capital City starters