November 7, 2021 League1 Ontario Men's Premier--Final Guelph United FC vs Blue Devils FC game report (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday November 7, 2021 League1 Ontario game between Guelph United FC and Blue Devils FC
played at Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 4:00pm. This was Final of the League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division.

Guelph United (white socks, shorts, and numbers, red shirts)

...................1 Svyatoslav Artmenko
4 Amardo Oakley...6 Ian Vidovich...13 Luke Rankin...19 De Vante Walker
11 Evan Dick...16 Jack Sears...14 Lucas Doros...15 Dion Stergiotis
.............8 Tomasz Skublak...10 Jace Kotsopoulos (cpt)

Subs:...20 Marek Walczak (gk)...2 Dylan Rennie...3 Gray Yates...5 Harvey Marchant
...7 Alexander Zis...9 Julien Emond...12 Brandon Wellington...17 Zulkikar Karimi
...18 Denilson Clamp
team officials:...team head coaches Justin Springer and Keith Mason...assistant coach Don Ferguson
...manager Mickael Rougette...athletic trainers Olivia Greco and Ascel Alsayad
...physiotherapist Brett Lyons

Blue Devils FC (navy socks, shorts, and shirts, blue shoulders, white numbers)

........................1 Lucas Bernstingle
18 Carlo Difeo...5 Shaq Lowe...11 Adam Czerkawski...2 Zac Drake
16 Khody Ellis...6 Victor Gallo (cpt)...9 David Velastegui...7 Matt Santos
...............25 Leaford Allen...17 Brandon Duarte

Subs:...26 Ethan Cagalj (gk)...4 Matt Monteiro...10 Faris Ammari...12 Cyrus Rollocks
...13 Frank Previte...19 Evan James...20 Hitesh Joshi...22 Mario McLellan...23 Milos Grahovac
team officials:...team head coach Duncan Wilde...assistant coaches Billy Steele and Glenn McNamara
...manager Kim Ashton...equipment manager Judah Hernandez...therapist Mark Heathcote

Game officials:...referee Scott Bowman...referee's assistants Jason Vaillancourt and Twayne Anderson
fourth official Brad Doubrough...(neon green shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 4:04pm...Guelph defends north end. The temperature is mild for an early November day.
There's a bright sun in the west that's so bright, I can't see the scoreboard for the first 30 minutes (therefore
wristwatch time) because of the sun's reflection. There's a breeze from the west.
1 min...GU player's cornerkick from the right bounces through box unplayed. GU players on the left can't work it into the box.
7 min...BD Difeo long throw-in from right corner flag is headed away in 6 yard box.
8 min...BD Velastegui 40 yard freekick from right is headed away.
8 min...GU YELLOW card...Walker earns it for tackle on BD Ellis at GU 22 yard sideline.
9 min...BD Velastegui retakes a 25 yard freekick from right that has the goalie catch overhead on the left post.
12 min...BD Ellis can't win Penalty kick call on left side of box.
13 min...BD Santos receives short pass and shoots 22 yarder on slight left well high and left of net and actually over the back fence!
15 min...GU goalie is out to 20 yards to boot away through ball that BD Allen had rolled forward on first touch at 30 yards up middle.
17 min...Guelph Jace Kotsopoulos GOAL...GU Jack Sears at 35 yards on right chips cross that BD Shaq Lowe has skip over
his foot at 12 yards on the right in alignment with post and Kotsopoulos is behind him in center jumps and chests ball down
and shoots 6 yarder on slight left forward and over shoulder of goalie Lucas Birnstingle into top center of net.
19 min...GU YELLOW card...Rankin earns it for holding BD Allen just outside GU box.
20 min...BD Velastegui 20 yard freekick down middle is caught by goalie on left post.
21 min...BD Santos 25 yard blast is just over net.
24 min...GU Oakley rush on right and taps centering pass to GU Skublak who chips 20 yarder that defender heads away.
26 min...Guelph Tomasz Skublak GOAL...Guelph Dion Stergiotis sends long 50 yard chip from left and BD defender
Adam Czerkawski trips trying a high leg clearance near top of the 18 yard box. Skublak gets behind the defender
all alone and shoots 8 yarder and the flying goalie makes the stop but Skublak gets rebound behind goalie
and sends 4 yarder into left side of open net.
26 min...BD Difeo 35 yard chip from right is caught by goalie in crowd of players.
27 min...BD Duarte on left rolls 20 yarder just wide right of post.
The sun has now set behind the dome in the west making it easier to see the action.
30 min...BD YELLOW card...Gallo earns it for trip on GU Dick.
31 min...BD sub...Monteiro replaces Lowe.
31 min...GU Dick 35 yard freekick on left has goalie catch on one bounce.
32 min...BD Velastegui 40 yard freekick has BD Allen flick header over players forward but goalie makes catch.
33 min...BD Ellis eludes defenders on left and at end line shoots low 20 yarder that goalie saves on outside webbing of net.
36 min...BD Difeo run on right and cross has BD Santos rescue on end line but he passes it back out of box.
38 min...GU Kotsopoulos 22 yard shot deflects off defender to left eventually winning cornerkick.
39 min...GU Dick cornerkick from left has goalie swat ball through box.
40 min...GU Dick 22 yard freekick on top right of box has GU Oakley head ball over net from 10 yards.
42 min...BD Gallo 45 yard freekick from right is across field and BD Drake chips 45 yard shot from left that's caught by goalie.
45 min...GU Oakley wins cornerkick on deflection.
46 min...GU Oakley works out short cornerkick from right but ball never makes it into box.
46 min...half ends 4:50pm.

Halftime: The Guelph team starters go to the dressing room as their subs warm up on the field.
..............Blue Devils starters and subs all stay at the bench listening to their coaches.
I use the halftime to go out to my car in the parking lot and change into a parka and toque.

Second Half:...starts 5:06pm.
Halftime sub:...BD Rollocks replaces Santos.
48 min...BD Difeo long throw-in from right is cleared from GU box.
50 min...BD Difeo long throw-in from right is headed away in box.
55 min...BD Gallo 55 yard freekick down middle has GU Skublak head away on edge of box.
56 min...BD players bounces cross from 35 yards on right to goalie ahead of BD charging players.
57 min...GU goalie catches through ball from 30 yards on bounce a step ahead of BD player.
58 min...GU Dick low cross from right is cleared from box.
59 min...BD Czerkawski makes clearance boot on edge of 6 yard box.
61 min...GU Skublak low 15 yard shot from left has goalie sprawl to save. BD Drake blasts away rebound from 5 yards.
62 min...GU YELLOW card...Doros earns it for complaining about BD behind awarded a freekick at the BD 45 yard line.
64 min...GU Kotsopoulos and Skublak on 2 on 0 rush from 30 yards has Kotsopoulos shoot 15 yarder off left post. The goalie
gets up, turns around and catches deflection. Skublak was not pleased with not getting the pass. BD Ellis was injured earlier
in the play.
66 min...BD sub...Ammari replaces injured Ellis.
67 min...BD Rollocks run along 22 yard line from right and cuts 22 yard shot high and wide left.
68 min...GU Skublak is injured in BD box before cornerkick.
69 min...GU Dick cornerkick from right has GU Sears run across box to right but BD players make a quick breakout but
BD Allen's chip for BD Rollocks is too far forward and bounces to goalie.
70 min...GU goalie catches popped up header ahead of BD Drake after a long throw-in is headed across box.
71 min...GU Skublak has defender poke ball away preventing 10 yard shot up middle. GU Kotsopoulos blasts 10 yarder high
over net.
73 min...BD YELLOW card...Drake earns it for tackle on GU Oakley.
73 min...GU Dick 30 yard freekick from right has flying BD Czerkawski head ball away at 8 yards. BD goalie catches 30 yard
chip back into box.
74 min...BD YELLOW card...Duarte earns it for tackle on GU Doros.
76 min...GU sub...Zis replaces Stergiotis.
77 min...BD sub...Joshi replaces Drake.
...........BD sub...Previte replaces Velastegui.
78 min...GU Jack Sears is tripped up just inside the BD box by BD Victor Gallo although both teams argue with referee
Scott Bowman whether it was inside or outside the box or even if it was a foul vs a dive at all. Bowman awards Guelph
a Penalty kick.
78 min...Guelph Jace Kotsopoulos GOAL...Kotsopoulos rolls Penalty kick to right corner of net as goalie dives left.
........GU YELLOW card...Kotsopoulos earns it for pulling off his jersey as he runs back to the center sideline stands
to hug with some fans.
80 min...BD Difeo 35 yard freekick from right is pinged around in box but cleared.
81 min...BD Rollocks sends tricky tap-over to BD Joshi behind defender and 8 yard shot on left is stopped point blank by goalie.
82 min...GU Oakley ends up with clearance to break up BD cornerkick coming in from the left.
83 min...BD Previte blasts 28 yard partial clearance well over net.
85 min...BD sub...James replaces Monteiro.
86 min...BD player's 75 yard freekick has GU goalie bobble ball when he's knocked into just inside box but wins freekick.
87 min...GU Skublak is injured at GU 35 yard line and needs trainer.
88 min...GU sub...Wellington replaces injured Skublak.
89 min...BD Rollocks runs down middle and 30 yard blast is over net.
92 min...BD Difeo cornerkick from right has ball into box and shot is stopped by GU Dick in 6 yard box.
93 min...GU Kotsopoulos is called on hand ball on edge of GU box.
94 min...Blue Devils Leaford Allen GOAL...A BD player's freekick from the right edge of box in alignment with 6 yard line
has GU Brandon Wellington pop up header on edge of 6 yard box. BD Frank Previte charges in from right and heads 15 yarder
across box and Allen shoots 5 yarder past goalie Svyatoslav Artmenko guarding near post and between two defenders
on goal line into left side of net.
96 min...BD Czerkawski wins cornerkick on deflection of 15 yard shot.
97 min...BD player's cornerkick from right is whistled for dangerous bicycle kick.
97 min...game ends 5:58pm.

Final Score:...Guelph United.......3.........Blue Devils.......1........

Attendance grew until halftime until almost all the seats were filled and the fences on both sides
of those stands stretching to the exit and the endzone were also lined with fans. Easily more
than 900 fans for this game. Oakville and Guelph are easily a one and two hour drive from here
even with open highways so that was quite impressive with both teams bringing plenty of supporters.
The weather was mild which we certainly can't expect in November. A bright sun in the west also
helped bring people out the day after the clocks got turned back so folks got to sleep in.
Inside the OSC building were finals of boys and girl OPDL teams for differing ages so the parking
lot got really full.

The MVP of the game was given to Jace Kotsopoulos of Guelph as an obvious choice with his two goals
and work captaining the team.

Both teams were from the Western Conference with Guelph winning the title and Blue Devils the
runner ups. They had played each other twice in league play this season. August 29th Guelph came
to Oakville and beat Blue Devils 5-0 (that was my first time seeing Guelph play). It would be the
only time Blue Devils lost in the season. October 17th Blue Devils travelled to Guelph and edged
them 1-0 and the next week beat FC London for the second time in the season to ease into second place
on the last weekend of the regular season. Hmm no home field advantage although today's game was
on neutral grounds.

I felt Blue Devils dominated for the first 15 minutes but the two Guelph goals at 17 and 26 minutes
by their leading scorers on the team's first real shots on net turned things around. (Actually they
have two of the top three scorers in the entire league). Leaford Allen was often the only man upfield
which worked last week against Vaughan when he bumped defenders aside but today the Guelph defence
of Amardo Oakley, Ian Vidovich, Luke Rankin, and De Vante Walker were back in enough numbers
they limited his chances.

Alexander Zis is also in the league's Top 5 with 8 goals in seven games and today he returned
from a long injury and came in at 76 minutes when Guelph was quite comfortable with their two
goal lead. I was told he had played as a substitute the day before for University of Guelph
so today's short appearance was understandable.

Zis was one of only two subs Guelph used today. The other was saved until 88 minutes when
Tomasz Skublak was subbed out for an injury. Blue Devils made six subs, one early for an injury,
one at halftime then the others later to either try to shake things up or a reward to say they
got to play in the championship game.

Guelph co-head coach Justin Springer was not dressed to play today and stayed on the bench. I saw
one of his only two game appearances this season as a rock solid defender. After the game I asked
other co-head coach Keith Mason about the Canadian Championships (the L1O champion gets a place
in the Voyageurs Cup at the preliminary round. The default home for the L1O team, expecting
they will be back to a home and away series, is always tonight's venue Ontario Soccer Centre.
Mason expects they will be able to play in Guelph. I visited there for the first time for last
week's semi-final at Alumni Stadium at the University of Guelph. It looked impressive and would
be comparable with York Lions Stadium where York United of CPL play. [Some message board poster
said it would never host because the turf isn't FIFA quality and it has permanent football lines.]
I promised Mason I'd go if a game is held there.

Waiting for the game to start I was getting twitter messages and found that York United backed
into the playoffs clinching the final fourth spot. HFX Wanderers could only finish with a tie
against Atletico Ottawa and fell short. Saturday afternoon York had lost to Forge 2-1 but then
Valour FC earned only a tie against FC Edmonton and they fell short. It means York's final game
of the season, also a home game against Forge on Tuesday won't be a must win for York but also
makes it likely that York's semi final game will be on the road against Forge.

At the trophy presentation I noticed Michael Fayehun just like me crowding in to take photos
and reminded him how last weekend, his team Masters were so close to earning a place in today's
final getting to the eleventh round of a Penalty shootout against Guelph before bowing out.
He is a star defender.

Today Jace Kotsopoulos put his Penalty chance away. He did score last week on his PK round chance
(high to center of net just under the bar) against Masters but he had skied a PK over the bar
at 84 minutes that would have avoided the Penalty shootout altogether.

I asked Dino Rossi (L1O Executive Chairman) and Johnny Misley (CEO of Ontario Soccer) about
next season. With new teams joining the league and some others coming back from ducking down
this season to the Championship Division there may easily be 20, 22, 25 teams (who knows if there
are more teams not announced yet?), but neither could/would say whether there'd be an East/West
divide or possible a premier league with promotion/relegation for the better teams to have stronger
competition. I just put my piece in that an East/West split has its cutoff in Toronto anyway
because most teams are centered around with a few miles of that city. No decision yet!

Now is that it? Nope I'd changed coats at halftime as I didn't want to miss the Women's final.
Once again my only Women's game of the year. Scorecard: L1O Men 30 games, L1O Women 1 game.
Tough to squeeze York United, Toronto FC II, and this year THREE men's national team games
in Toronto into my schedule, and all since July 30th!

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01

Blue Devils players receive pregame instructions.