August 8, 2021 League1 Ontario Men's Premier--Woodbridge Strikers vs Vaughan Azzurri game report (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the August 8, 2021 League1 Ontario Men's Premier gsme between Woodbridge Strikers and Vaughan Azzurri
played at Vaughan Grove in Vaughan at 7:00pm. Game report (by Rocket Robin)

Woodbridge Strikers (all blue, white numbers)

..........................1 Kelvin Friseiro
2 Keegan Wilson...5 Raphael Owusu...20 Francesco Sinopoli...3 Sebastian Wolinski
11 Exxose Kadiebue..8 Dante Pavan...6 Joshua Parades...10 Ignazio Muccilli (cpt)...7 Aziah Reid
.........................9 Abdou Raouf Mohammed

Subs:...25 Giancarlo Varano (gk)...15 Mohamed El-Sabahy...16 Amron Asaad...18 Lorenzo Mayer
...19 Tyrese Edwards...21 Jacob Rodriguez...22 Santino De Bartolo...23 Gianpiero Pellicano...24 Zion Richards
team officials:...team head coach Peter Pinizzotto...assistant coach Michael Aquino...manager John Scarlato
...therapist David Lisi

Vaughan Azzurri (white socks and shirts, red shorts, black numbers)

...........................1 Anthony Gurrieri
3 Riley Ferrazzo...15 Reginald Laryea...14 Trevor Carabin...2 Jarred Phillips
5 Raheem Rose (cpt)...17 Christian Zeppieri...16 Thomas Bielanski...11 Zac Zitoli...4 Daniel Cramarossa
..........................9 Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez

Subs:...12 Christian Calaro (gk)...6 Justyn Thomas...7 Dieu Merci Yuma...8 Gianlunca Sciortino
10 Jason Mills...13 Jadon Vilfort...20 Nicholas Spittle...24 Joe Mac...25 Julian De Sousa
team officials:...team head coach Patrice Gheisar...assistant coaches Anthony Vadori, Jorden Feliciano,
and Sergio De Luca...manager Tony De Palma...therapist Estaban Clavijo

Game officials:...referee Bradley Doubrough...referee's assistants Amanda Kwan and Nivin Raizada...fourth official unknown.
(all black uniforms)

First Half:...game starts 7:01pm...Woodbridge defendes south end on this warm evening.
40 sec...Vaughan Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez GOAL...VA defender at VA 30 yard line in center sends long chip
to VA Raheem Rose just over center line on right and he runs down wing to end line and beats defender to poke ball
across 6 yard box and O.C.B.H. shoots 7 yarder from left into right side of net past goalie Kelvin Friseiro.
5 min...WS Raouf Mohammed run down left wing into VA box and shoots 12 yarder off defender deflecting over the net
for a cornerkick.
5 min...WS Muccilli cornerkick from right has WS Owusu in a crowd of players on right side of net head ball wide right.
7 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez runds down left and taps pass to VA Rose who rolls 25 yard shot down middle
for goalie to pick up.
10 min...Woodbridge Exxose Kadiebue GOAL...Kadiebue on run up left to end line and shoots 8 yarder along line
that deflects over sliding goalie Anthony Gurrieri and into right corner of net.
15 min...WS Muccilli 40 yard freekick is wide left with three players haven fallen in the box.
16 min...WS Raouf Mohammed run on left and taps centering pass to WS Reid at 22 yards in middie but he first-touches
ball to goalie.
17 min...VA Rose chips cross from 28 yards on right has WS Owusu knee it from 10 yards on left for goalie to pick up.
18 min...VA YELLOW card...Cramarossa earns it for tackle at WS 45 yard line.
20 min...WS YELLOW card...Wilson earns it for grab on Carlos Benitez Hernandez.
21 min...VA Zeppieri freekick from near right cornerflag has WS Parades head ball away on near post then clear again
when ball is passed into box.
23 min...VA YELLOW card...The referee was directed over to VA bench by the referee's assistant to give a card to a player
on the bench.
24 min...WS Wilson sends long through ball pass from 40 yards on right has goalie smother ahead of WS Raouf Mohammed
at 15 yards.
25 min...WS Reid run on left and centers pass for WS Raouf Mohammed who runs to right and cuts 12 yard roller wide left
of post.
28 min...WS Raouf Mohammed is injured in 6 yard box and needs trainer after collision with VA goalie on offside play.
30 min...WS Muccilli chips 50 yard shot down middle but wide left of net.
31 min...VA player's cross from 6 yards on left side of box is over players in box.
32 min...An unofficial water break is called as WS Raouf Mohammed was injured again.
33 min...WS sub...Richards replaces injured Raouf Mohammed.
33 min...WS goalie jumps over VA Ferrazzo to catch cross knocking both of them over.
34 min...VA Rose 15 yar shot from right is so far left it's out for a throw-in.
35 min...VA YELLOW card...Phillips earns it for knocking over WS Pavan at WS 50 yard line breaking up a 2 on 1 break.
36 min...WS Muccilli cornerkick from right is headed away in crowd of players by a defender.
37 min...VA Ferrazzo is injured in center circle by WA Reid.
41 min...VA Zitoli is injured on edge of WS box when he and defender kicked ball at same time.
43 min...WS Muccilli 22 yard freekick near right end line has WS Reid blast shot off defender's face. WS Parades
blasts 10 yard rebound well over net.
44 min...VA Rose receives pass on right and cuts to middle and 20 yard roller is stopped.
44 min...Woodbridge Joshua Parades RED card...Parades is ejected from the game by referee Bradley Doubrough
for complaining about an offside whistle 30 yards upfield. (there'd been at least three Yellow cards given out by then
so it's possible this was Parades's second Yellow)
49 min...half ends 7:50pm.

Halftime: Both sets of players stay out at halftime. Even Parades comes back to the bench as maybe he needed
the keys to the dressing room. The dressing rooms are about 200 metres away from this field.

Second Half:...starts 8:15pm.
45:20 min...Woodbridge (a Vaughan own goal) GOAL...WS Exxose Kadiebue took a shot from 45 yards
and VA Jarred Phillips chipped a clearance away at 22 yards but it flew backwards over his goalie
and into his own net.
47 min...VA Zeppieri hips 22 yard freekick from left into box and ball is knocked around including the ball bouncing
over the fallen/injured VA Laryea with the goalie catching.
49 min...VA sub...Thomas replaces injured VA Laryea.
51 min...VA Zitoli receives through ball as WS Phillips slipped and missed at 18 yards and he rolls 10 yarder that
goalie dives and pushes ball wide right of post.
51 min...VA Rose cornerkick from right is short and wasted on pass play that doesn't reach box.
52 min...VA Rose cross on end line on right and VA Zitoli blasts low 10 yarder up middle that's stopped by diving goalie.
53 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez high cross from 30 yards on far left has goalie drift right of net to make overhead catch.
55 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez 30 yard freekick up middle is blocked in player wall.
58 min...WS Kadiebue on right endline eludes defenders but has shot blocked by third defender.
59 min...WS Muccilli rolls 25 yarder through crowd of players wide right of net.
59 min...WS Asaad 40 yard shot up middle is well wide right of net.
60 min...VA sub...Vilfort replaces Phillips.
61 min...Vaughan Riley Ferrazzo GOAL...Ferrazzo receives a centering pass and blasts 25 yarder into top left corner
of net.
62 min...VA sub...Mills replaces Carabin.
62 min...VA Mills rush on left cuts towards goalie and 12 yard shot deflected for cornerkick.
62 min...VA Cramarossa finishes cornerkick action with 25 yard chip that's caught by goalie.
63 min...WS Muccilli low 30 yard shot through crowd of players and goalie sprawls to save and crawl for rebound.
64 min...WS Muccilli cornerkick from right is over players in box.
67 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez blasts 20 yarder through players off crossbar. VA player gets away 22 yard
shot just over bar.
68 min...WS sub...Edwards replaces Kadiebue.
69 min...VA Zeppieri cornerkick works out cornerkick and ball is cleared from box.
70 min...VA sub...Yuma replaces Zitoli.
71 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez rolls ball forward as he's smashed by defender and pass rolls to VA Yuma who
has 15 yard shot on right deflected for cornerkick. C.B.H. needs trainer.
73 min...VA player's cornerkick from right is upfield and when chipped into box is called offside.
75 min...VA Rose eludes jostling by two defenders on run and rolls centering pass and VA Yuma blasts 12 yarder that
flying goalie saves.
75 min...VA YELLOW card...Ther referee gives a card to an official on the Vaughan bench.
77 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez rolls 15 yarder from right has goalie smother on near post in front
of two VA players waiting for rebound.
79 min...VA Rose is checked off ball on edge of WS box.
80 min...Vaughan Orlendis Carlos Benitez Hernandez GOAL...VA Dieu Merci Yuma taps pass back from end line
and O.C.B.H. rolls 12 yarder from far right into left corner of net.
81 min...VA sub...De Sousa replaces Rose (Mills becomes the captain).
..........VA sub...Spittle replaces Zeppieri.
..........VA sub...Sciortino replaces Bielanski.
..........WS sub...El-Sabahy replaces Wolinski.
83 min...WS sub...Pellicano replaces Reid.
84 min...WS Gianpiero Pellicano pushes pass forward for WS Tyrese Edwards who has 15 yard shot blocked when
he and defender kick ball at same time. He is injured and needs the trainer.
104 min...An ambulance finally arrives! Two thirds of the crowd is still here.
111 min...play finally resumes after Edwards was removed by wheeled gurney and placed in a waiting ambulance.
112 min...VA Yuma is centered pass and shoots 20 yarder well high and wide right of net.
113 min...VA player's cornerkick from right has WS goalie make stop and ball is cleared from box.
114 min...WS Muccilli 40 yard freekick from lefft is whistled down in box for offside.
115 min...VA Carlos Benitez Hernandez wfiffs 25 yard shot that bounce to goalie.
117 min...Vaughan Nicholas Spittle GOAL...Spittle pounds in 6 yarder from left into top of net after recovering
VA player's shot from right that had hit the crossbar.
119 min...VA Yuma has ball poked away while stepping between defenders at 15 yards.
121 min...game ends 9:31pm

Final Score:....Woodbridge Strikers......2......Vaughan Azzurri........4.......

Attendance was about 150 on this warm evening. Hey no rain meant for only the second time in the six
games I've attended so far. Woodbridge opened their season not on their grass field which I found
unusual. They have played on one of their turf fields '#2' before but it was usually after a storm
so the grass field doesn't get damaged with all the stomping around. Tonight there was what looked
like a community men's league playing. The club owns the complex from what I know but rents out some
of the fields to bring in revenue. With the Covid situation, I'd expect they are anxious to bring
in some money and League1 Ontario kept putting off their start up date and the possibility they may not
play for another season after missing 2020.

The fans were all squashed into the smaller bleachers which only stretch half the length of the field
holding less than half as many as the stands lining the grass field. It got worse when the player
was injured near the end of the game. An 'aqua-coloured' team came onto the playing surface expecting
to warm up in the small endzone expecting their field rental would start on time but were eventually
shooed away. I later saw why they left so willingly on my way out. There they were on the grass
field (which I don't expect would be rented out so late at night) playing a team with 'Qatar Airlines'
on their chests. Oh come on, the airline would sponsor this beer league? Then online I found they
were wearing replicas of AS Roma except their jerseys were the colour of tea bags instead.
(not 'carmine red and golden yellow'). I also wonder if being farther away from the main field
caused a delay in the ambulance having to come down the driveway to get to the back. Anyway more
scuffing of their main grass field.

I asked the Woodbridge manager about the injury. It is his patella. A ten year old boy had said
he'd heard it was the kneecap while Edwards was still lying on the field. Thank you child doctor!

This was the season opener for Woodbridge. With an odd number of teams, someone had to sit out
last week. The game was evenly matched until the Red card was given leaving Woodbridge short the
entire second half. The 'own goal' gave Woodbridge the lead but they'd eventually be worn down
and good goalkeeping by Kelvin Friseiro could only hold Vaughan off so long.

This turf field has some improvements in that the club has installed a scoreboard so we don't have
to turn around to look at the main field scoreboard about 200 metres behind us. A problem is the
washrooms, changerooms, and concession stand are even further away. These stands face east and are
in alignment to the scoreboard of the Ontario Soccer Stadium's scoreboard maybe 300 metres away.
No activities were going on there tonight.

For yet another L1O game, there was no sound so no announcements of goalscorers nor substitutions
so not a good look for the league who had provided that for years.

Vaughan is off to a good start at 2-0 in this short 12 game regular season stretching right until
the end of October. I can't see there being much of a playoff. Maybe Winner of East vs West for
the L1O Cup and place in next year's Canadian Championship.

In the stands was Brandon Mills watching younger brother Jason Mills play for Vaughan.
He answered me that he is retired now and that his father Wayne has gone back to coach
at ANB Futbol which had a team in the early years of L1O and I used to watch the three brothers
play there and then with Vaughan when ANB dropped out. Daniel Jebbison is the most recent
ANB alumi I've heard of and he just signed for Sheffield United in England.

In the crowd was former Woodbridge SC youth player Lowell Wright who scored the winning goal
at 90 minutes yesterday afternoon in the CPL as York United beat HFX Halifax on the road.

Wow! Carmine Isacco answered me last week that Vaughan would have replacements for their
kids returning to NCAA/U-Sports. Reginald Laryea (brother of the TFC player) was playing for
Sigma FC in 2019 but also for York University so I can see with Vaughan's strong links with
the school, why he'd would come here. He was a starter. Dieu Merci Yuma came in as a sub
and had a key assist. He came back from playing second division football in France in 2018 and
almost carried Sanjaxx into the playoffs scoring six goals in seven games. When Sanjaxx didn't
continue in L1O, he played for Alliance United in 2019. With them ducking to the L1O Championship
this season with so many players returning to school, now he turns up for Vaughan!

Post game interview with Woodbridge Strikers head coach Peter Pinizzotto (audio by Rocket Robin)

My questions: Is everything coming together as planned this season?
What did you think of former Woodbridge players Isaiah Johnston and Lowell Wright making their way to CPL York United FC?
What was it like coaching Diego Maradona for that one game playing with Toronto Italia?

If you want details of that special exhibition game you can find it here

Woodbridge Strikers starters