Goalkeeper Anatoly (The Wall) Starushchenko is well named and for those fortunate enough to see the cliff hanger championship final won 2-1 by Continentals FC at Lamport Stadium in downtown Toronto on August 27, it became obvious as the match progressed that opposition Scarborough were facing a special challenge with its numerous second half rallies on the Continentals’ net.
Continentals took an early second half 2-1 lead in the final match of the 2022 season and as the 40 minutes remaining in regular time went by, Scarborough became relentless and desperate to score an equalizer, fighting for a chance at extra time and eventual victory in the fast-paced increasingly physical encounter. The two sides were the most successful during the past five years in the Canadian Soccer League and the match was one of the most attractive during the current season.
Starushchenko, 34, would be a standout with any team is the impression from a stadium seat. The Ukrainian-born ‘keeper appears always to get in the way of a ball that might reach the net. Yet his journey in soccer while impressive, fails to reveal the rewards expected for an obvious special player during the 15 years he has toiled in the higher levels of the game on both sides of the Atlantic.
Starushchenko played most of his soccer in Ukraine and Tajikistan in Central Asia before signing for FC Vorkuta in 2019 where he featured prominently in first division league titles, championships and the ProSound Cup victory .
Continentals FC look for more of Anatoly Starushchenko in 2023.
A WELCOME WORLD CUP
With a November 20 Sunday morning kickoff of host Qatar against Ecuador, the World Cup gets underway and it’s always of special interest to CSL members — players, club officials and volunteers – many with their homeland teams taking part. We all have at least one team to cheer for in Canada, while some members have two with Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, England coming to mind.
A special thought for our Brantford Galaxy’s Bosko Borjan with son Milan Borjan in goal for Canada and let’s not forget that two players in this World Cup for Canada– Jonathan Osorio and Atiba Hutchinson = were players in the CSL.
The group matches are daily with Canada’s first game against Belgium (2nd in the FIFA rankings) this coming Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 2 pm. Quarterfinals start December 9 and 10, Semifinals December 13 and 14, the third place will be played on December 17. The World Cup Final is December 18.
Stan Adamson