April 28, 2023...League1 Ontario Premier Division game Darby FC vs Scrosoppi FC (game report by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Friday April 28, 2023 of the League1 Ontario Men's Premier Division game
between Darby FC and Scrosoppi FC played at the Whitby Soccer Dome in Whitby.

Darby FC (all navy uniforms, white numbers, yellow trim)

..................1 Matt Zaikos (cpt)
4 Michael Dirienzo...16 Colin Reilly...15 Julian Gonzalez...6 Jayden Doyle
47 Roberto Carlos Edic...13 Guedel Djimi...21 Lucas Carvalho...12 Dylan Campbell
................9 Christopher Badibengi...10 Kashiff Collins

Subs:...22 Yoel Kebreab (gk)...2 Abdul Hamad...3 Erion Metaj...5 Jadon Vilfort
...11 Noah Stapleton...14 Jalen Sandoval...18 Marcellus Paul...96 Andrew Saniga
team officials: team head coach Hermann Kingue...assistant coaches Patrick Tobo and Christopher Reilly
...equipment manager Bill Sidsworth...therapist Devon Jarrett
Suspended players: none

Scrosoppi FC (all white uniforms, black numbers)

................1 Andres Vaikia
2 Carlo Difeo...13 Manveer Gill...6 Victor Gallo (cpt)...3 Luka Frankovich
7 Omari Cottererell...21 Alexander Zis...4 Joshua Parades...36 Danny Medeiros
..............9 Mauro Lulli...11 Faris Ammari

Subs:...22 Mathew Derks (gk)...8 Kyle Porter...17 Braden Culver...18 Mujtaba Ameen Ameen
...20 Santiago Patrarroyo...23 Marcus Velado-Tsegaye...35 Noha Bickford
team officials:...assistant coach Luis Domingos...managers Sara Raulino and Shayne Griffin
...therapist Michael Wong
Suspended official: head coach John Yacou

Game Officials:...referee Zac Rogers...referee's assistants Daniel Boduryan and Jathusan Pushparajah
...fourth official Vito Curalli...(red shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 8:02pm...Darby defends west end. All times converted from my wrist watch.
30 sec...Derby goalie out to edge of box to catch bouncer.
1 min...Darby Dirienzo 40 yard shot from right has goalie slide out to 15 yards to catch.
2 min...Darby goalie catches 35 yarder from left on right post.
5 min...Darby YELLOW card...Doyle earns it for knockdown.
6 min...Scr Parades 28 yard freekick from right is stopped.
7 min...Scr Medeiros can't draw Penalty kick on bump over on right side of Darby box.
9 min...Darby Edic cornerkick from left is caught by goalie in crowd of players at 10 yards in middle.
10 min...Scr Cotterell rolls 18 yarder from right just wide left of post.
11 min...The referee blows the whistle as the ball hits a wire hanging from the ceiling.
13 min...Darby Campbell can't draw Penalty kick on fall on left side of Scr box.
16 min...Scr Lulli holds off defender on run cutting into box after run on left and rolls 15 yarder wide right.
17 min...Scr Ammari cross from 20 yards on left has defender head away on right post.
17 min...Darby players work out short corxnerkick from left but Scr intercepts for fast break out.
18 min...Scr Ammari on 1 on 2 gets away 22 yarder up middle that's high wide left. Darby Djimi is hurt on the breakout
earlier in play and needs the trainer.
22 min...Darby Doyle cornerkick from right is punched away in box.
22 min...Scrosoppi Mauro Lulli GOAL...Scr Omari Cotterell takes shot from 22 yards on right that goalie Matt Zaikos
stops on near post but gives up a bit rebound. Lulli shoots in 8 yard rebound from left into top corner of net.
Referee Zac Rogers consulted with the assistant in his end before awarding the goal.
25 min...Scr Frankovich passes up left wing from 60 yards. Scr Ammari rushes up left and sends low cross along 18 yard line.
Scr Lulli shoots low 15 yarder up center that's stopped.
26 min...Darby Badibengi shoots up middle from 28 yards and hits bar near left post. The ball is cleared out of the box.
29 min...Scr Cotterell low 22 yard shot from right is between players and goalie smothers on near post.
30 min...Darby Edic chips pass forward on right that Darby Dirienzo rescues on right end line and rolls low cross that sliding
Scr Gallo stops on near post.
32 min...Darby Djimi's check on Scr Cotterell in Darby box can't draw a Penalty kick.
32 min...Scr goalie is out to 20 yards in minddle to head away ball.
33 min...Scr Ammari runs down left and pushes ball over end line trying to round sliding goalie.
34 min...Scr Medeiros is injured in center circle and needs trainer.
35 min...Scr Cotterell rush on right and low cross has Scr player whiff and Scr Frankovich shoots 10 yarder up middle
that goalie stops.
36 min...Darby YELLOW card...Carvalho earns it for sliding tackle on Scr Medeiros at Darby 22 yards.
37 min...Scr Zis 22 yard freekici hits wall and defender heads ball safely to goalie.
40 min...Darby Dirienzo rushes up right and crosses through box that bounces wide left for goalkick.
41 min...Scr Lulli cuts over from right and blasts 25 yard roller up middle that goalie misses.
42 min...Scr YELLOW card...Medeiros earns it for not giving up 10 yards on freekick from center line. A Darby player took
it quickly to hit him.
43 min...Darby Edic 30 yard freekick from left sideline ends up over to Darby Dirienzo but he can't keep it on play on right.
46 min...Scr Ammari passes upfield to Scr Lulli in alone on left but he shanks 25 yard kick well wide left.
47 min...Scr Ammari low 25 yard kick from left rolls to goalie.
47 min...half ends 8:49pm.

Halftime: The Scr players all stay on their bench. The Darby subs warm up but the starters walk across the parking lot
through the rain to the school's dressing rooms.

Second Half:...starts 9:04pm.
halftime sub...Scr Porter replaces Lulli.
48 min...Darby Badibengi runs down right and is partially tripped and pushes ball over end line.
49 min...Scr Ammari rush on left and slides to tap centering pass. Scr Zis low 18 yard shot is smothered by goalie.
50 min...Darby Doyle 25 yard freekick on left has defenders clear out right side of box.
52 min...Scr Frankovich rush on left and low cross into middle of box. Scr Cotterell blasts 15 yarder up middle that goalie
sprawls to save. A defender clears the big rebound.
55 min...Darby Edic shoots 25 yarder forward well wide right.
55 min...Darby sub...Paul replaces Campbell.
56 min...Darby Doyle rush to left end line and cross deflects off defender and spins to Darby Collins to blasts 12 yarder over net.
58 min...Scrosoppi Danny Medeiros GOAL...Scr Alexander Zis cornerkick from left is short to Scr Faris Ammari
and he taps forward for charging Zis and Zis centers pass to Medeiros who fires 15 yarder between players into top left side
of net.
60 min...Scr Medeiros blasts 12 yarder that goalie flies to stop and defenders protect him so he can crawl and smother rebound.
61 min...The game is stopped after the ball hits the ceiling.
62 min...Darby Badibengi chests ball down long pass and he turns and blasts 22 yarder from right well over net.
63 min...Scr Cotterell wins cornerkick on deflection from 10 yards off defender.
64 min...Scr Zis cornerkick from right is over to Scr Parades and his shot is blocked by defender at 12 yards.
65 min...Scr Ammari cross from 25 yards on left lands on top of net.
67 min...Scr goalie is out to right edge of box to smother loose ball.
67 min...Darby goalie beats Scr Ammari to through ball pass just inside box to smother.
68 min...Darby goalie beats charging Scr Cotterell to catch bouncer at 10 yards.
70 min...Darby sub...Hamad replaces Carvalho.
...........Scr sub...Velado-Tsegaye replaces Cotterell.
71 min...Darby Edic low 33 yarder between players up middle is smothered by goalie.
72 min...Scr Zis passes forward on right. Scr Velado-Tsegaye shoots low 20 yarder that goalie saves and defenders eventually clear.
75 min...A pass hits the referee which stops play.
77 min...Scr goalie is out to 30 yards to beat Darby Collins to through ball.
80 min...Scr Velado-Tsegaye hadn't been able to get away shot in box. Scr Zis is tapped forward pass and his 12 yard shot is stopped.
81 min...Darby Edic cornerkick from right is high to left and Darby Badibengi leaps and pops 8 yard header over net.
81 min...Darby sub...Sandoval replaces Djimi.
............Darby sub...Vilfort replaces Dirienzo.
84 min...Darby John Sandoval GOAL...Sandoval runs up middle and rolls pass to Darby Christopher Badibengi who
passes back to him and he shoots in 6 yarder past goalie Andres Vaikia into right side of net.
85 min...Darby Gonzalez cross into box from left after rush has defender partially clear across box and another block on 12 yard
shot on right.
85 min...Scr sub...Culver replaces Medeiros.
87 min...Darby Reilly chips 35 yarder up middle for pass but ball bounces to goalie.
88 min...Darby Doyle 50 yard cross from left has defenders clear on right side of box.
89 min...Darby Doyle wins cornerkick o cross on left end line.
89 min...Scr YELLOW card...Parades earns it at around this time for something.
90 min...Darby Hamad cornerkick from left has leaping goalie catch and survive bump from Darby Collins bashing into him.
90 min...Scr Ammari charges up right and rounds goalie but shoots over net from 5 yards on tough angle.
93 min...Scr goalie is out to top right corner of box to catch bouncer.
94 min...Scr Ammari charges down left (with coach yelling for him to run to the corner) but centers pass to Scr Porter whose
low 15 yarder up middle has goalie sprawl to save.
94 min...Scr goalie leaps to catch on edge of box after Darby goalie starts fast breakout.
94 min...game ends 9:53pm.

Final Score:...Darby FC......1........Scrosoppi FC.........2.........

Attendance grew to about 175 by halftime with by my estimate over 50% children. A big relief was the game was inside as there was a rainstorm that got so bad I could here it hear it bouncing off the walls. A club official came over to tell me that their organization had laid down new turf since last season at a cost of $675,000 which they paid for themselves. He said their minor league program had to put a cap on participants at 6000 and they will eventually be installing a third dome. I said I noticed my walk across the field seemed bouncier and every time I drive out here (Whitby) there is a billboard for another subdivision 'Coming Soon'. This region on the border of the GTA is booming and I can see why youth soccer continues to grow.

The stadium removed their broken scoreboard and has not replaced it so far. Officials used a table-top scoreboard and I was not at an angle to see it so all times are converted from my wristwatch. The stadiuim does not have 'clotheslines' this season which they used in previous years with curtains to divide the field into threes for mini-games. Also no mesh fencing to protect spectators from getting hit with a ball.

I thought Scrosoppi had the majority of the great chances. Darby was close to tieing it up with their goal at 84 minutes and the children who picked up chanting by the second half “Let's go Darby, let's go”. Injury time had Scrosoppi's Farris Ammari charge down the left with his coach yelling at him to take it to the corner but he centered a pass to Kyle Porter to take a low 15 yarder up the middle that had the goalie sprawl to save. The goalie sprang up and punted the ball downfield starting a Darby rush which was stopped by their goalie having to make a leaping catch on the edge of the box to stop the turn in momentum.

Both teams have new head coaches. Darby has Hermann Kingue who I came across when I he coached North Toronto Nitros in 2016 but then I lost track of him in L1O for awhile. Over the years he as 'Hermann Kingue Mouyeme' and assistant coach Patrick Tobo--'Patrick Omer Nyamsi Tobo' both played internationally for Cameroon back in the 1980s. Tobo has since worked on the Canadian national youth teams coaching staff. Last year's coach Jens Kraemer (who I watched back in the CSL North York Rockets days) is still coaching but now at their youth level program.

John Yacou is now the coach of Scrosoppi (replacing the tandem of Andrew Seurage and Shayne Griffin). Just last year he guided ProStars FC to a sixth place finish and last week I saw three members of that year's team in a CPL game lineup sheet between York United FC and Vancouver FC. The top seven finishers last season were head and shoulders above the rest of the league in quality and built quite a gap in points. It's the next group that will be fighting for survival at the top. As I was tipped off last year of the importance of the split, there will be a huge player migration from those lower-than- twelfth teams to the surviving Top 12 teams as the players want to stay at the top “Look at me, look at me” to be scouted and draw attention from other leagues to move on.

Tonight's game was important already as it involved last year's 12th (Scrosoppi) and 13th (Darby) teams. At the end of this season the league is splitting their 22 (now 21 with the departure of Pickering FC) into two divisions with only the top 12 surviving at the Premier Division level. A 75% 2022 points plus 100% 2023 points will be used to provide the totals to decides who stays and who drops. Also of course finish this season in the top six and make this years playoffs for an opportunity to qualify for the Canadian Championship in 2024 as the League1 Ontario respresentative.

Both teams had started off with key wins before tonight, the start of the third week of the season. Darby had beaten (2022 standings) Woodbridge Strikers 3-0 right here (11th place) and Hamilton United 2-1 away (9th place). Scrosoppi started their season with a 1-0 away win against (10th place) Electric City before losing at home to last year's undefeated champions Vaughan Azzurri.

Scrosoppi has picked up some players from last year's top six teams. They have Alexander Zis and Tomasz Skublak (missed tonight's game through injury and still rocking his HFX Wanderers parka) both from Guelph United. Also Blue Devils FC Khody Ellis, Braden Culver, and Kyle Porter (who played in the CPL during the York 9 FC days). They also have ProStars FC defender Joshua Parades who their head coach knows well.

Scrosoppi FC are from Milton but have to play at Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan this season while their facility Bishop Reding school (as far as I've heard undergoes renovations). That's a 63 km drive which will probably cut down on their local kids cheering for them.

Tonight's result means Darby and Scrosoppi have identical 2 win, 1 loss, 0 ties, 6 points records but Darby gets fourth place because of a 6-3 in goals for/against with Scrosoppi fifth with 3-3. As this is the first game of the weekend, expect some other teams to pass them in the standings.

Rocket Robin
robin.glover.1958@gmail.com
twitter @RocketRobin01

Darby FC starters

Scrosoppi FC starters

Darby Roberto Carlos Edic (47) takes opening kickoff.

midfield action

Scrosoppi players work ball out of own end.

Scrosoppi Danny Medieiros (36) takes second half kickoff.

Scrosoppi players try to work ball into box.

Scrosoppi goalie Andres Vaikia is out of box to make clearance.

Each year I conduct a post game audio interview with the head coach of each team the first game
I see them play in the season. I'm doing it again this year.




Hermann Kingue head coach of Darby FC:   (5 minutes, 6 seconds) 

Your thoughts on tonight's game?
What's happened between seeing you in 2016 with North Toronto Nitros and today? 
The team has a lot of returnees from last year, is that a reason for your fast start?
How important is it for your team and community to survive the Top 12 division split?



Luis Domingos assistant coach of Scrosoppi FC: (4 minutes, 53 seconds) 

Your thoughts on tonight's game? 
How excited is the team to have an experienced coach like John Yacao? 
How important is it to bring in some experienced players for this season?
How important is it for your team and community to stay in the L1O Premier Division?
How much of a burden to have to play in Vaughan this year rather than your home town of Milton?

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