August 1, 2021...League1 Ontario Vaughan Azzurri vs 1812 FC game report (by Rocket Robin)

...........................

Result and details of the Sunday August 1, 2021 League1 Ontario game between Vaughan Azzurri and 1812 FC
played at North Maple Regional Park in Vaughan at 7:30pm.

Vaughan Azzurri (all navy, white numbers, red and white trim)

.................1 Anthony Gurrieri
....6 Saahb Kular...4 Alain Sargeant...2 Jarred Phillips
3 Riley Ferrazzo...5 Raheem Rose (cpt)...25 Julian De Sousa...24 Trevor Carabin
...17 Christian Zeppieri...9 Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez...11 Zac Zitoli

Subs:...12 Christian Calabro (gk)...7 Jahsua Mills...8 Gianluca Sciortino...10 Jason Mills
...15 Chris Woojae Lee...21* Thomas Bielanski...21* Ben Kaplan...24 Joe Mac...74 Trevor Carabin
both listed as #21.
team officials:...team head coach Patrice Gheisar...assistant coaches Anthony Vadori, Carmen Isacco, and Jorden Feliciano
...manager Tony De Palma...therapist Estaban Clavijo

1812 FC Barrie (black socks, shorts, and numbers, yellow shirts)

................18 Quillan Roberts
23 Uday Arora...24 Ilelabola Avolonto...21 Jeremy Hall...7 Estevan Carles
......15 Johnson Amoo...6 Frank-William Andreacchi...8 Navid Rahman (cpt)
.........10 Adel Rahman...9 Darren Gertiesingh...11 Ali El Zeir

Subs:... 3 Andrew Misner, 5 Ayaan Nadeem, Patrick Braun, Tyson Silva, Victor Frohmann, and 13 Wahiz Rahimi
team officials...manager Andrew Wellgus
team head coach (not on game sheet) Trevor Guy

*The league website lists 1812 Yellow cards going to Darren Geriesingh and Patrick Braun which means there were
different numbers being worn that the #6 and #7 who got the cards while there was still daylight.

Game officials:...referee Scott Bowman...referee's assistants Nick Vagenas and Roshan Mendonca
fourth official Kyle Cohall (pink shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...starts 7:35pm...VA defends south end with a setting sun, gray skies threatening rain,
mild evening
3 min...1812 FC YELLOW card...#6 earns it for a foul at the center line.
7 min...VA Zitoli cross from left end line is over box.
11 min...1812 FC YELLOW card...#7 earns it for sliding tackle on VA Kular just outside VA box.
14 min...VA Ferrazzo cross in from right and VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez slides with defender at 7 yards on right post
and ball is directed to goalie for easy smother.
A misty rain starts falling while the sun is still out!
17 min...1812 FC goalie catches bouncer on right at 15 yards beating a VA forward to the ball.
17 min...1812 FC goalie catches a ball popped up inside yard box.
20 min...VA Zeppieri cross from left has ball go over leaping VA Rose at 7 yards in middle.
20 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez 25 yard shot up middle is caught by goalie.
22 min...1812 FC Adel Rahman 30 yard freekick down middle has goalie fly right to knock away from post then
beat 1812 FC #17 to rebound.
24 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez gets ball when defender slips and turns and fires 22 yarder up middle that goalie catches.
25 min...1812 FC Gertiesingh has defender poke ball away before he can get away 15 yard shot.
29 min...VA Rose cornerkick from right is worked out short and wasted.
31 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez run on right then cuts to middle and 22 yard shot is over the net but he wins cornerkick
on deflection.
32 min...VA Rose works out short cornerkick from left then ball is crossed into box and cleared.
32 min...VA YELLOW card...De Sousa earns it for sliding tackle on 1812 FC El Zeir at center line who was on rush.
34 min...VA Mac rush on left and crosses into box and VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez heads 8 yarder that goalie catches under the bar.
35 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez shot along right end line wins cornerkick as goaie pushes ball wide of post.
40 min...VA Rose cornerkick from left is cleared by defender on near post.
42 min...1812 FC Adel Rahman 28 yard freekick from left has goalie catch on right post.
42 min...1812 FC #15 makes key tackle on VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez who had twisted around defender to get in clear at 12 yards.
43 min...VA Rose cornerkick from right is over players in box.
45 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez knocks down ball for control than blasts 10 yarder up middle that goalie sprawls to save.
46 min...1812 FC player's cornerkick wins another cornerkick off defender.
47 min...1812 FC player's cornerkick from right is cleared from box.
47 min...half ends 8:37pm.

Second Half:...starts 8:37pm.
45 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez receives centering pass and shoots 8 yard shot off top of bar.
46 min...1812 FC Adel Rahman 25 yard freekick from right is into box and popped up header and goalie catches ball just under
the bar.
47 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez 20 yard blasts down middle has goalie sprawl to save.
48 min...1812 FC Hall was injured on field for a minute before play was stopped.
48 min...1812 FC Braun helps Hall to sideline but no sub was made.
50 min...1812 FC Gertiesingh is called for handball blocking VA clearance and goalie makes diving save on short right corner.
51 min...VA Zitoli bounces 15 yard shot from left to goalie.
52 min...1812 FC #17 crosses over box from right despite having clear shot chance.
54 min...Vaughan Raheem Rose GOAL...VA Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez intercepts clearance on edge of 1812 box,
taps ball to VA Zac Zitoli in middle who taps to right for Rose who shoots low 10 yarder into right corner of net past
goalie Quillan Roberts.
55 min...1812 FC #17 can't save ball on cross attempt on VA right endline.
56 min...VA sub...Jason Mills replaces someone.
57 min...1812 FC Adel Rahman cornerkick from right is short and tapped back and his cross is headed away in box.
58 min...VA Jason Mills 25 yard low blast up middle is saved by goalie.
59 min...VA Mac chips 28 yard shot up middle just over bar.
60 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez pops ball over defender and blasts 12 yarder that goalie stops.
61 min...1812 FC sub...Avolonto replaces Rahimi.
62 min...VA Rose rushes up middle on an intercepted pass but his first touch rolls it over the endline.
63 min...VA Zitoli chips centering pass and goalie beats VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez to catch at 15 yards.
64 min...VA goalie slides to left to smother a through ball pass.
64 min...VA Ferrazzo 25 yard shot from right is between corwd of players and caught by goalie.
65 min...Vaughan Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez GOAL...CBH in crowd of players blasts 18 yarder from slight right
that banks in off the crossbar in the center of net over the goalie.
67 min...VA Rose is dribbling by defenders on right end line but pushes ball over endline.
68 min...VA Zeppieri 25 yard freekick from right is a chip that misses.
69 min...Vaughan Zac Zitoli GOAL...VA Christian Zeppieri passes over from right to Zitoli whose diving header forward
from 8 yards puts ball into left side of net.
70 min...VA sub...Jahsua Mills replaces Zitoli.
70 min...1812 FC Amoo is injured on the 1812 FC endline and needs trainer.
72 min...VA player flick heads ball wide left of 1812 FC net.
73 min...1812 FC sub...Andreacchi replaces injured Amoo.
75 min...1812 FC #17 on 2 on 1 breakaway chips 25 yarder from right well high and wide right of net.
76 min...VA sub...Caraban replaces someone on defence.
77 min...VA player's cornerkick from left has VA Kular shoot from 20 yards wide left of net.
78 min...VA goalie beats 1812 FC #17 to smother through ball pass at 15 yards.
78 min...A YELLOW card was given to someone at VA 45 yard line. (L1O site lists Jahsua Mills with one by end of game).
80 min...VA sub...Sciortino replaes Mac.
81 min...VA Rose rolls centering pass and VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez shoots 10 yarder up middle just off top of bar.
83 min...VA sub...Spittle replaces Carlos Benitez Hernandez.
84 min...1812 FC El Zeir is checked off ball inside VA box after good run.
86 min...VA Ferrazzo is tapped back pass and he blasts 25 yarder between players over net.
87 min...VA sub...Woojae Lee replaces Ferrazzo.
..........VA sub...Bielanski replaces Rose. Phillips becomes the captain.
...........VA sub...Jason Mills replaces Zitoli.
...........1812 FC sub...Misner replaces Carles.
87 min...VA Jahsua Mills taps ball to VA player who shoots off target.
88 min...VA Spittle rolls 20 yarder from right wide left of post.
89 min...VA Sciortino shoots 25 yarder that deflects off player and is cleared on left endline.
92 min...game ends 9:24pm.

Final Score:...Vaughan Azzurri.......3.......1812 FC Barrie.......0.......

This was the season opener for both teams and the first ever L1O match for 1812 FC.

Attendance was about 250 on this mild evening with the setting sun in our faces while there was a misty rain falling
at the same time during the first half. Second half the rain stopped and it was dark. A number of travelling fans
didn't sit in the stands (free admission at least for tonight) but were behind the schoolyard-type chainlink fence so they
could let off flares. That was OK for tonight but not recommended on hotter nights when the mosquitoes are bad in the long grass.

This game was pretty rough with a lot of hard tackles and the wet turf did nothing to prevent sliding tackles continuing
through to upending the player being challenged. Referee Scott Bowman gave out at least *four Yellow cards.

*The scoreboard was working but there was no sound system to make announcements of subs and cards nor even announce goals.
The fourth official didn't have the sub card sign to hold up for fans to see who was coming in/departing the match. The 1812 game
sheet I was given did not have player numbers but a tweet from the team filled them in except some of the starters
(and none of the subs) were not wearing the assigned number on the tweet picture. This is where I hope the league website
will provide the details. [It was eventually updated by August 13th but some of the listings don't add up].

1812 is a new team with their debut postponed from last year because of the pandemic. They played with only five on the bench
tonight so I expect there's still some vacancies to fill in the roster. There were at least five guys I recognize that played
on other L1O teams in 2019 or earlier.

Their only outstanding player was goalie Quillan Roberts who was brilliant in making point blank stops. Interesting that the
first goal was scored by the three VA players he'd been frustrating the first half combined on a multi-pass play from left
to center to right to finally catch out of position and score at close range. If it wasn't for the sharpness of Roberts, the game
could have been into double digits. I counted five stops he made on Carlos Benitez Hernandez alone before Vaughan's first goal.

Anthony Gurrieri earned the shutout for Vaughan with a few key saves but inaccurate shooting made his night easier. Defenders
Saahb Kular, Alain Sargeant, and Jarred Phillips with Julian De Sousa back to help when needed kept the shot count down.

VA players were running through the 1812 defenders. VA was also stepping in front of 1812 players to intercept their passes
as too many of the visitors were waiting for the ball to get to them.

I talked to Carmen Isacco, one of VA assistant coaches on the field right after the whistle and he explained that a for some
of today's players, it would be their last game as they would be off to NCAA schools. He answered that none of today's players
were heading for York University where he is the head coach. They have teams in this L1O Premier but also the reserve league
and univesity league of L1O. He said it will be easy to bring any needed players in from their reserve team to fill the gaps.

Post game interview with Vaughan Azzurri head coach Patrice Gheisar (audio by Rocket Robin)
Note: The Canadian National team players he's mentioning are Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller (defenders)
and Dayne St Clair (goalie).

I had arranged after the pregame warmup with 1812 head coach Trevor Guy for a post game interview but he had gone
by the time I'd finished my interview with Gheisar.

Vaughan Azzurri starters