PICTURE: A jubilant Scarborough SC are the 2019 champions following a decisive 2-0 victory over FC Ukraine United in a well played CSL Championship Final at Centennial Stadium Saturday. It was Scarborough’s first CSL Championship win and follows two narrow final game defeats in penalty kick shootouts, 2017 and 2018. Photo:Liber Soria
The green flare to match the Scarborough colours released by fans at the north end of Centennial Stadium told the story just as the final whistle sounded by referee Norman Oliveira signaled a Scarborough 2-0 victory over FC Ukraine in the CSL Championship Final . Scarborough’s perseverance after losing two penalty kick shootouts in the championships of 2017 and 2018, had finally paid off.
It was the second game of a double header championship afternoon at the Etobicoke ground with FC Vorkuta reserves winning 2-0 over Serbian White Eagles for the Second Division Championship. The victory presented Vorkuta with the club’s third title in 2019 after finishing the regular season on top of the First Division and Second Division tables.
Both sides served up attractive soccer in the main event CSL Championship game, with little to choose between two evenly matched teams that were scoreless at the half and until the 69 th minute when Scarborough striker Aleksander Stojiljkovic drove the ball from 12 yards past Ukraine United goalkeeper Oleksandr Popravka.
Ukraine United fought to get back on even terms, but a tripping foul in the penalty box as Scarborough was closing in gave Stojiljkovic his second goal when he scored from the spot. The 2-0 lead held up until the final whistle.
“Ukraine gave us a good game, but my team played well and I think we deserved the win,” said Scarborough GM, sometimes player Kiril Dimitrov. “ We’ve had some injury problems, but it was a fair result and I’m very pleased”.
Ukraine United GM Vladimir Koval was quick to congratulate Scarborough when asked to comment on the game: “They are a good side and I congratulate Scarborough. We had injuries a good part of the season, but in the end Scarborough came through,” he said.
FC Vorkuta B had a distinct first half edge in the opener against Serbian White Eagles B, coming close to scoring three times in the first half, particularly a near miss by midfielder Sergii Ivliev inside the six yard line.
Mykola Temniuk struck for Vorkuta reserves at 80 minutes, and midfielder Denys Yanchuk made it 2-0 at 92 minutes to secure the Second Division Championship victory.
SCARBOROUGH SC ROSTER
Vladimir Dragicevic (Goalkeeper), Halburto Harris (Defender), Angel Angelov (Defender), Alen Kucalovic (Defender), Ivan Prieto (Midfielder), Naieemollah Mobin (Midfielder), Odain Omaro Simpson (Midfielder), Zoran Rajovic (Midfielder), Neven Radakovic (Midfielder), Zoran Knezevic (Midfielder), Milorad Steanovic (Midfielder), Marvin Oneil Morgan (Midfielder), Kavin Bryan (Forward), Gonzalo Matias Cabrera Calis (Forward), Kiril Dimitrov (Forward), Mehdi Barati Mahvar (Forward), Bojan Zoranovic (Forward), Aleksander Stojiljkovic (Forward).
HEAD COACH: Zoran Rajovic, ASSISTANT COACH: Kiril Dimitrov, DIRECTOR: Angel Belchev PHYSIOTHERAPIST: Shannon White
FC UKRAINE UNITED ROSTER
Oleksandr Popravka (Goalkeeper), Ricardo De Vincenzo (Defender), Ivan Kucherenko (Defender), Andrew Gray (Defender), Andrii Sukhetskyi (Defender), Bohdan Skotskyl (Defender), David Velastagui (Midfielder), Nuno Ponte (Midfielder), Amir Hosic (Midfielder), Christiano Alves Da Silva (Midfielder), Ihor Sorotoskyi (Midfielder), Roman Kukharskyy (Midfielder), Ihor Shyshka (Midfielder), Serhyi Savchenko (Midfielder), Pavlo Lukianets (Midfielder), Andriy Bandrivskyy (Goalkeeper), Nazar Milishchuk (Forward), Molham Babouli (Forward).
HEAD COACH: Mykhailo Gurka, ASSISTANT COACH: Ishak Egven, GENERAL MANAGER: Vladimir Koval, MANAGER: Maksym Rohovskyi
MATCH OFFICIALS: Referee: Norman Oliveira, Assistant Referee 1: Faris Efendic, Assistant Referee 2: Gezim Koka, Fourth Official: Zeljko Bojic.
Ground: Centennial Stadium, Etobicoke, Ontario
PLAYOFFS SUMMARY
CSL CHAMPIONSHIP – QUARTERFINALS
FC Vorkuta 2, Kingsman A 2 (after extra time) Kingsman wins 4-2 on penalty kicks
Scarborough SC 2, CSC Mississauga 1 (after extra time)
SC Waterloo 1, Serbian White Eagles 1 (after extra time) Waterloo wins 5-4 on penalty kicks
FC Ukraine United 1, Hamilton City 1 (after extra time) Ukraine United wins 4-3 on penalty kicks
CSL CHAMPIONSHIP – SEMIFINALS
SC Scarborough 4, Kingsman A 2
FC Ukraine United 5, SC Waterloo 3
CSL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Scarborough SC 2, FC Ukraine United 0
CSL SECOND DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP – QUARTERFINALS
The two top teams in the regular season standings, FC Vorkuta B and Serbian White Eagles B, gained a bye to the semifinals
CSC Mississauga B 1, Brantford Galaxy B 0
Hamilton City B 3, Kingsman B 2
CSL SECOND DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP – SEMI FINALS
FC Vorkuta B 5, Hamilton City B 1
Serbian White Eagles B 2, CSC Mississauga B 0
CSL SECOND DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
FC Vorkuta B 2, Serbian White Eagles B 0
