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April 12, 2023...League1 Ontario...Vaughan Azzurri vs North Toronto Nitros (by Rocket Robin)
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Result and details of the Wednesday April 12, 2023 League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game between
Vaughan Azzurri and North Toronto Nitros played at North Maple Regional Park in Vaughan at 8:00pm.
Vaughan Azzurri (all navy, white numbers, red trim)
........................12 Gianluca Catalano
16 Klaidi Cela...4 Nyal Higgins...8 Daniel Gogarty...16 Klaidi Cela
5 Raheem Rose (cpt)...20 Chris Mannella...10 Emmanuel Zambazis...6 Joshua Belluz...14 Ryan Robinson
...........................9 Omar Marzouk
Subs:...1 Christian Calabro (gk)...2 Jarred Phillips...3 Joseph Guido...7 Isacc Bradbury
...13 Joe Mac...17 Christian Zeppierri...18 Dujon Martin...21 Dylan Carriero...23 Gabriel Jodhan
team officials:...team head coach Sergio De Luca...assistant coaches Anthony Vadori, Carmine Isacco,
Luca Forno, and Martine Eleuteri...therapist Casey D'Mello...equipment manager Joe Colangelo
Suspended players Abdou Raouf Mohamed and Joseph Di Chiara
North Toronto Nitros (red socks and shirts, black shorts, white numbers)
......................1 Ali Ghazanfari
14 Kai Martin...4 Brandon Barone...5 Christian Westlaken...6 Alex Meczarski
8 Juan Delgadillo (cpt)...21 Akeim Vellous...10 Jacob Carlos...19 Justin Santos
..............7 Luca Dimarco...9 Zakaria Abdi
Subs:...12 Quinn Stahmer (gk)...17 Daniel Casaa...20 Emile Kisse...11 Jaylen Drummond
...15 Kaosubh Bolla...18 Luca Porfiris...13 Tadija Vukas...8 Thomas Maccarone...2 Tristian Marshall
team officials:...team head coach Marko Milanovic...assistant coaches Fillip Prostran and Rasih Pala
...manager Daniela Barillari...therapist Marwah Hashimi
Suspended player Bilaai Reslan
Game officials:...referee Kim Lee...referee's assistants Melvin Christopher and Liam Tremblay
...fourth official Roain Satarzadeh...(teal socks and shirts, black shorts)
First Half:...game starts at 8:00pm. Vaughan defend north end. They are using Field #1 tonight so fans would have to stare
into the setting sun except that the sun had just set a minutes before the game started. There's a strong breeze from the west.
3 min...A VA player's cross from the right from 15 yards is over players in box on left.
4 min...VA Robinson long run up left wins cornerkick on deflection off defender trying to block his cross.
4 min...VA Zambazis cornerkick from left is cleared from left side of box by defenders.
5 min...VA Rose cross from far right has defender head ball away from center of box.
6 min...NTN Santos bends high freekick from right at 45 yard line has goalie leap on edge of 6 yard box in crowd of players
and punch ball away.
7 min...VA goalie Gianluca Catalano taps a goalkick to right for VA player who taps ball back. Goalie then taps ball forward
to VA Chris Mannella waiting at 10 yards in middle but NTN Jacob Carlos steps in front of him to intercept and runs to right
to cut around goalie. Goalie recovers to dive forward at 5 yards to right edge of box and trips up Carlos. Referee Kim Lee awards
NTN a Penalty kick.
8 min...NTN Justin Santos GOAL...Santos shoots his Penalty kick low to left side of net. Goalie dives to left and stops it.
Santos charges forward ahead of anyone else and lifts 6 yarder over prone goalie into open net.
11 min...VA Rose cross from 22 yards on right has VA Robinson not quite able to turn ball on diving header on left side of goal.
12 min...NTN Dimarco low 15 yard shot from right has diving goalie push ball wide left of post.
13 min...NTN Delgadillo cornerkick from left has defenders head ball away in two moves starting fast breakout.
14 min...VA Pabla cross from 25 yards on right is caught in wind and blows well wide left.
15 min...VA Omar Marzouk GOAL...Marzouk dribbles through defenders to top right edge of box and blasts 15 yarder
off right post and ball deflects off post and hits back of kneeling goalie Ali Ghazanfari and bounces into left side of net.
19 min...Another VA pass is low but blows across field too far forward for charging VA Robinson.
22 min...VA Rose low cross into NTN box from right is cleared by defenders before VA Robinson can get to it.
24 min...VA Zambazis cornerkick from right and VA Belluz touches header from 10 yards wide left of goal.
26 min...VA Belluz rolls through ball pass to right too far forwward for VA Rose so ball rolls for goalkick.
27 min...NTN Villous chips ball from 30 yards in middle over end line in front of charging NTN players on left.
29 min...VA Zambazis cornerkicik from left has defender head ball away in crowd in center of 6 yard box.
32 min...VA Omar Marzouk GOAL...Marzouk steals ball off NTN player and cuts to middle from right along 22 yard line
and blasts screened-shot roller up middle that tucks in just inside right post beyond diving goalie.
33 min...NTN goalie is oiut to 40 yards to beat VA Rose to through ball pass and makes clearance.
34 min...NTN Zakaria Abdi is injured inside VA box when victim of being pushed over by VA defender Nyal Higgins as Abdi
rushed up into center of 6 yard box to play low cross sent in from left. Referee awards NTN a Penalty kick.
36 min...NTN Justin Santos GOAL...Santos blasts Penalty kick shot to slight left over sprawling goalie and into net.
38 min...NTN goalie misses ball from right on cross bounce and defender on left post heads ball away.
39 min...VA player's cornerkick from right has VA Pabla heads 15 yarder over players in middle of box and over bar.
40 min...VA YELLOW card...Zambazis earns it at NTN 50 yard line for check on NTN Delgadillo injurying him and he needs help
off field by trainer for more treatment.
44 min...NTN YELLOW card...Carlos earns it for dissent at NTN 40 yard line.
45 min...NTN Santos 35 yard freekick from right is rescued on left end line but defender blocks cross and partially clears ball
and eventually goal kick is awarded.
47 min...half ends 8:47pm.
Halftime: The fans are warned to stay off the field.
Second Half:...starts 9:03pm...The temperature has dropped making my hoodie a requirement.
45 min...VA Rose run down right receiving pass and dekes defenderr and 7 yard shot wins cornerkick on goalie making save
on near post.
45 min...VA Zambazis low cornerkick into box from right is cleared from center of box. VA Rose is not awarded freekick
on his runs along edge of 18 yard box and he's pushed over.
48 min...NTN Martin cross from 25 yards on right has NTN Abdi head 8 yarder from left that bounces wide left of post.
51 min...VA Cela chips ball from 65 yards that goalie charges to edge of box to bat away in front of crowd of players.
55 min...NTN Delgadillo throw-in from 30 yard line has NTN get ball into box and few times but no shot is taken.
59 min...NTN Delgadillo 40 yard freekick from left has goalie punch ball away at 8 yards on left post in crowd of players.
59 min...NTN goalie catches cross bounced in from near left corner flag.
60 min...NTN Delgadillo 40 yard freekick from left has defender pop header over end line for cornerkick.
61 min...NTN player's cornerkick from right is short to NTN Carlos who has chip from 20 yards spin to goalie but he catches ball
behind end line so cornerkick given.
62 min...VA sub...Carriero replaces Zambazis.
63 min...NTN sub...Vukas replaces Carlos.
65 min...NTN YELLOW card...Villous earns it for complaining when VA awarded a freekick at NTN 50 yard line.
66 min...VA Rose strips NTN Santos of ball at NTN 30 yards on right and shoots 25 yarder from right that hits left post near bar.
67 min...NTN Dimarco pops 10 yarder high and wide right of net when he received cross from right on run.
68 min...VA Carreiro turns and fires 25 yarder up left that wins cornerkick.
69 min...VA player's cornerkick from left hass NTN Barone on left head ball across box.
69 min...VA Marzouk shoots 20 yarder over crowd of players up middle and over bar.
70 min...VA sub...Zeppierri replaces Mannella.
.........VA sub...Phillips replaces Pabla.
72 min...VA Marzouk finishes long play down left winning cornerkick.
73 min...VA Carriero cornerkick from left has goalie swat ball out right. VA Rose couldn't keep ball in play. NTN Abdi
and a VA player is injured in 6 yard box. Abdi nees the trainer on right end line.
74 min...NTN sub...Bolla replaces Santos.
76 min...VA player's 35 yard freekick from left is caught by goalie in crowd of players.
77 min...VA Gogarty finishes play by rolling 15 yard shot that goalie easily picks up.
77 min...VA Carriero chips pass into box and NTN Barone chests ball back to goalie hitting right post and goalie catches rebound
at 3 yards!
78 min...VA sub...Martin replaces Robinson.
80 min...NTN goalie beats VA Martin to through ball on edge of box. NTN Westlaken is injured shielding VA Martin from ball.
80 min...NTN sub...Drummond replaces Villous.
81 min...VA YELLOW card...Phillips earns it for pulling down NTN player at VA 40 yard line.
.........VA YELLOW card...A player earns it for argueing the call.
82 min...NTN Westlaken 40 yard freekick down middle is short and VA player intercepts and starts a fast break out.
84 min...VA Phillips gets back to get foot in to prevent charging NTN Abdi from getting to pass on left conceding cornerkick.
85 min...NTN Delgadillo cornerkick from left has goalie swat ball wide right in crowd of players for cornerkick on right.
86 min...NTN Westlaken gets to partially cleared cornerkick from right and puts 25 yarder over net.
86 min...VA sub...Mac replaces Belluz.
88 min...VA Carriero 30 yard freekick from right has ball cleared on left.
89 min...NTN YELLOW card...Drummond earns it for pushing over VA player at VA 50 yard line.
91 min...VA goalie dives forward to catch NTN player's 20 yard shot from left.
93 min...NTN Delgadillo 50 yard freekick from left is headed across box from right and defender heads ball away in 6 yard box.
95 min...VA Marzouk receives pass in open at 20 yards and he turns and shoots over net.
96 min...game ends 9:54pm.
Final Score:...Vaughan Azzurri......2......North Toronto Nitros......2.........
Attendance eventually reached 500 people (team tweet later said 600) on this warm evening. Just one week ago tonight I was wearing a parka for an evening walk while today was a record breaking heat for this day in April. The temperature dropped after the sun set right at gametime but it was hoodie weather by halftime. Both the two sections of bleachers were filled by game time and the remaining fans lined the eastern sidelines. About 1/3 of the fans were cheering NTN as the visiting club had organized some social event to bring people out. I was sure there were four sections of bleachers here last year and I found some officials who said there had been two more sections brought in just for last year's nationals (boys and girls competitions).
This game had been moved forward one day (agreed to by both teams) to give Vaughan a break as Tuesday they are representing L1O playing a one game preliminary round game in the Canadian Championship against the MSL CF Montreal on the road. Vaughan had been dumped into the Away game fishbowl at the draw to save them the expenses of hosting a game. Ironically the day after the draw, CPL teams HFX Wanderers and Atletico Ottawa who were drawn against each other but neither could host a game this early in the season were shoehorned in to playing at York Lions Stadium a few hours before the York United FC vs Vancouver FC game next Wednesday. A suppertime game on a weeknight involving two non-GTA area teams? As one L1O official said to me they will have a hard time topping tonight's attendance. Tonight's game involved two of the top six playoff making teams from the 21 team league. The league will split into two divisions at the end of this season using a formula of the points from the 2022 and 2023 seasons. After watching tonight's game, neither should have any trouble making the cut to the top rated Premier Division. Last season Nitros got off to a 5-1-0 undefeated start and their first loss of the season came in their seventh game on Sunday May 29th against Vaughan 1-0 at York Lions Stadium in a CPL promoted game before the York United vs Cavalry FC game. Officially a 'home' game for NTN. The only goal of that game was scored by...tada...Omar Marzouk! Vaughan went right through the 20 game season undefeated and extended that with two rounds of playoff wins to capture the league championship. Referee Kim Lee gave out six Yellow cards that I counted besides awarding the Penalty kicks. Three to each team including three for dissent (two of those to NTN players). The league acts unforgiving. This was the first game of the season and three players were serving Yellow card suspensions carried over from last year. Second half had chances to break the deadlock with Vaughan having twice the number of good chances. Nitros worked a press at different times of the game to various levels of success. When Vaughan could escape, it would put them at an advantage in an upfield run. I can Nitros using that even more successfully at some of the young teenage defenders on a lot of the lower ranked teams. Vaughan winger Raheem Rose looked great dribbling through defenders. Marzouk's goal celebration was to get down on his knees and swat the ground. I didn't know until earlier in the week that Vaughan had appointed Sergio De Luca who has been on Vaughan's technical staff for over ten years. He was one of CPL York9 FC's assistant coaches. He is aided by assistant coach Carmine Isacco who is full time coach of York University. I started watching De Luca as a player more than 20 years ago when he was with the A-League Toronto Lynx and came back for their PDL team. Between stints in Europe, he played at various CPSL teams around the GTA. I'd say his bio on Wikipedia has the most reference links to my website than any other player's career. Thank you for that to Wikipedia contributer 'Shotgun Pete'. There has been a great turnover of Vaughan players from last season. I've found the men's and women's head coaches/men's assistant coach and three players including leading scorer Massimo Ferrin have gone over to CPL HFX Wanderers. Fans there have given a nickname to that contingent as 'The Vaughanderers'. When I looked at the roster of this year's team, I counted seven names as having had CPL experience. Just over three weeks ago I said Hello to Chris Mannella at a York United vs Toronto FC II preseaon game. From 'Unattached United' to being drawn like a magnet to Vaughan SC. Nitros had ten of the players that were starters on their final game of last season plus two substitutes from that game on this year's roster which should be a big help in a fast start this season. They still have their association with Toronto Metropolitan University (nee Ryerson) and their North Toronto youth teams. NMRP has a construction sign up about how progress in going on park development. I saw a huge construction circle in the valley below. A York official said it will be a cricket pitch. The club expects there will be a third soccer field constructed near their side of the park. I can understand why that may be put off as residents would be crying about 'their sport' being ignored if soccer gets another pitch first.Rocket Robin
robin.glover.1958@gmail.com
Twitter @RocketRobin01
Vaughan Azzurri starters
North Toronto Nitros starters
NTN Zakaria Abdi (9) has just kicked off.
NTN Justin Santos (19) gets ready to send in freekick.
NTN Justin Santos (19) takes penalty kick.
VA players rush into left side of NTN box.
NTN Zakaria Abdi (9) takes second half kickoff.
Vaughan play to left of NTN goal.
Marko Milanovic of North York Nitros: (4 minutes, 30 seconds) Your thoughts on tonight's game? Your 'press' strategy for tonight? Have you settled on your Penalty taker this season? Do you still have an association with Toronto Metropolitan University (nee Ryerson)? And still associated with the North Toronto youth teams? What are your goals for this year? Have you ever played against Serge De Luca?
Sergio De Luca of Vaughan Azzurri: (7 minutes, 4 seconds) Your thoughts on tonight's game? What are you setting your players up for against the MLS Montreal team? Any thoughts on having it an away game in the Canadian Championship? The number of players and coaches that you've had to replace and bringing ...in new players (many with CPL experience)? Do you still have association with York University and will you be bringing in even more players?
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