London City took a big step toward a playoff spot with a 1-0 victory over Serbian White Eagles at the Hellenic Centre in London, the only game in the Canadian Soccer League Thursday night.
It was a hard fought encounter throughout with the two teams going into the game tied in lowly eighth position, each with 17 points and needing a win to bid for one of the remaining six playoff spots – the first two clinched by York Region Shooters and Toronto Croatia.
It was the league’s leading scorer, forward Marin Vucemilovic Grgic, who scored the winning goal at 22 minutes, taking a pass from forward Aldin Kukic to drive the ball into the net. It was Vucemilovic Grgic’s 19th goal of the campaign.
Serbian White Eagles pressed for an equalizer throughout the second half, but the 1-0 London lead held to the final whistle.
London played the last few minutes a man short after referee Marc Jaramillo showed the red card to Brandon Barbosa at 90 minutes for dissent.
London now have a 6-8-2 WLT record for 20 points and tied for fifth position with two regular season games remaining, while Serbian White Eagles are at 4-6-5 for 17 points in ninth position, with three games remaining.