Photo: Les Jones (Covershots)
A winning goal by striker Milos Scepanovic just inside extra time following a 1-1 deadlock at 90 minutes gave Serbian White Eagles the CSL Givova Championship following a hard fought encounter with Hamilton City at Birchmount Stadium Sunday afternoon.
Scepanovic scored after moving through two Hamilton defenders to find the net from 8 yards past Hamilton goalkeeper Adrijan Becic in the second minute of extra time for a 2-1 victory. The deciding goal came after Hamilton took a 1-0 lead at 14 minutes on a goal by forward Domagoj Zubac, then Luka Bojic equalized for Serbian Eagles at 59 minutes when on the receiving end of goalkeeper Becic’s attempted clearance which rebounded off Bojic into the Hamilton net.
Scepanovic came close to scoring a second goal when near the end of the extra time, his drive was saved by Becic.
Serbian White Eagles had pressed most of the time during the overtime period, a contrast from the early exchange when Hamilton appeared to have the edge.
It was Serbian White Eagles’ second championship victory since winning the title in 2008 and the club’s fifth championship game having been a finalist in 2006, 2007 and 2009. Serbian White Eagles captured the CSL First Division title in 2015.
Uros Stamatovic, coach and GM of Serbian Eagles attributed the team’s strong second half to a determination to win. ”While I think fitness was a consideration, we showed a determination that paid off as the game progressed and that led to the two goals. The players really wanted to win and succeeded,” he said, while giving a mention to Scepanovic, Radenko Kamberovic, defenders Branislav Vukomanovic and Milan Kusic.
It is Hamilton City’s first year in the CSL following a relocation of the previous London City and while GM Kathleen Nurse considered her team had a strong game, she also showed disappointment at the early injuries, one of which forced team captain Nikola Stanojevic to be substituted.
“The injuries in a physical game obviously played a part, but the team played well and it was a close game to the final whistle,” said Nurse.
COMPLETE PLAYOFF SUMMARY
CSL Championship Final
Serbian White Eagles 2, Hamilton City 1 (after extra time)
at Birchmount Stadium
Quarterfinals
York Region Shooters 5, Milton 0
Hamilton City 3, Scarborough SC 0
FC Ukraine United 3, Brantford Galaxy 0
Serbian White Eagles 1, Toronto Atomic FC 0
Semifinals
Serbian White Eagles 1, FC Ukraine United 0
York Region Shooters 1, Hamilton City 1 (after extra time)
(Hamilton City won 3-1 on penalty kicks)
CSL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Serbian White Eagles 2, Hamilton City 1 (after extra time)
CSL SECOND DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
SC Waterloo and Toronto Atomic FC B gained a bye to the semifinals
Quarterfinals
Brantford Galaxy B 3, Serbian White Eagles B 2 (after extra time)
York Region Shooters B 1, London City 0
Semifinals
York Region Shooters B 1, SC Waterloo B 0
Toronto Atomic B 2, Brantford Galaxy B 0
CSL Second Division Championship Final
York Region Shooters B 2, Toronto Atomic FC B 1 (after extra time)