Stan Adamson

PICTURE: Luke Rankin’s  winning goal and hat-trick led Hamilton City to victory with just seconds remaining to the final whistle Saturday 

Luke Rankin just beat the final whistle by one second to complete a hat-trick while scoring the winning goal to give Hamilton City a 4-3 victory over Serbian White Eagles in the second game of a Canadian Soccer League double header at Centennial Stadium Saturday, and in the opening game, FC Vorkuta scored a come from behind 5-2 win over Brantford Galaxy.

It was an end-to-end struggle for both teams with Arsen Platis opening the scoring for Hamilton at the 19 minute mark, Rankin increased the lead to 2-0 six minutes later, the score at the break.

Forward Milos Scepanovic struck for Serbian White Eagles to cut the lead to 2-1 at 54 minutes and Rankin found the net for his second goal and a 3-1 Hamilton City lead at 67 minutes.

Defender Branislav Vukomanovic scored a picture goal for the White Eagles at 78 minutes, heading just inside the left post from a cross by Scepanovic to close the gap to 3-2 in favour of the City.  Serbian White Eagles’  Igor Nedimovic, who entered the match as a substitute at 83 minutes, drove the ball inside the right post out of reach of Hamilton goalkeeper Alexandar Nicolic  just seven minutes later to make what appeared to be a game-saving 3-3 draw until Rankin headed in the winner, to be followed immediately by the final whistle for  a 4-3 victory for the Steeltown side.

In the opening match, Brantford Galaxy midfielder Slavko Knezevic scored from the penalty spot following a foul in the box at 19 minutes for a 1-0 lead over FC Vorkuta, and Knezevic struck again at 41 minutes, a 2-0 lead at the interval.

The Brantford Galaxy lead going into the second half evaporated quickly with Vorkuta goals by striker Mykola Temniuk at 51 minutes, midfielder Pavlo Chomomaz at 64 minutes, Iaroslav Solonynko at 66 and 74 minutes, and a fifth and final goal by Valerii Yarmosh at 76 minutes, a 5=2 score at the final whistle.

Games scheduled for the coming weekend:

Sat Sep 12 Centennial Stadium 5 pm Hamilton City vs Scarborough SC

Sat Sep 12 Centennial Stadium 7 pm FC Vorkuta vs Serbian White Eagles

Scarborough SC secured its third win in as many games of a shortened 2020 season with a 4-2 come from behind victory over Brantford Galaxy at Centennial Stadium, the only game played in the Canadian Soccer League Wednesday.

It was the third defeat for the Galaxy despite a well-played scoreless first half followed by an early goal in the second half that gave the visiting team a 1-0 lead.

Aleksa Markovic opened the scoring for Brantford at the 48^th minute mark and Scarborough equalized two minutes later, a strike from 15 yards inside the right post by midfielder Zoran Rajovic.

Gonzalo Matias Cabrera Celis put Scarborough into a 2-1 lead from 12 yards at 58 minutes when Galaxy goalkeeper Ognjen Savic failed to collect the ball and this was followed a minute later by an impressive Moussa Limame increasing the lead to 3-1 from close in.

Brantford midfielder Camilo Veloza cut the lead to 3-2 with a drive out of reach of Scarborough goalkeeper John Trye at 60 minutes and Stefan Stojiljkovic completed the scoring with Scarborough’s fourth goal at 73 minutes for a 4-2 result in favour of the east Toronto team at the final whistle.

There are two games remaining this week when Brantford Galaxy and FC Vorkuta meet on Saturday, a game followed by Serbian White Eagles at home to Hamilton City. These and all subsequent games will be played at Esther Shiner Stadium, a change from the Centennial Stadium venue announced earlier.

 Sat Sep 5 Esther Shiner Stadium 5 pm Brantford Galaxy vs FC Vorkuta

Sat Sep 5 Esther Shiner Stadium 7 pm Serbian White Eagles vs Hamilton City

PICTURE: Mykola Temniuk scored in the second half for a 1-1 draw to save the day for FC Vorkuta, an attractive hard-fought encounter  with Hamilton City that could have gone either way.

Hamilton City and FC Vorkuta played to a 1-1 draw at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke Tuesday  night, a well-played, hard fought encounter in doubt to the final whistle.

It was the first game of the season at Centennial Stadium following opening games of an abbreviated Canadian Soccer League campaign which kicked off at the Esther Shiner ground on August 15.

Hamilton forced the play in the early going and went ahead at the 29^th minute when Lucas Raposo took a cross to drive the ball into the net from 20 yards. It was end to end for the remainder of the first half with Hamilton leading 1-0 at the break.

Vorkuta pressed following the interval and came close to an equalizer when Oleksandr Voichkov headed over the bar at 49 minutes and just two minutes later a sharp cross from Vorkuta’s Vadym Gostiev on the right wing was headed in for the tying goal from close range by forward Mykola Temniuk,

Both sides came close to taking the lead, including a header just over the corner of the upright by Raposo who came even closer to the winner with an attempt off the post with minutes remaining.

It was 1-1 at the final whistle.

There are three games remaining this week when Scarborough, with two wins in as many games, meet a Brantford Galaxy side searching for its first win of the season, on Wednesday. The Galaxy also faces tough competition in its following game against FC Vorkuta at the weekend.

Also on Saturday, Serbian White Eagles are coming off a decisive 4-0 victory to meet Hamilton City with a win, one defeat and tonight’s draw from three games played.

Wed Sep 2 Centennial Stadium 7:15 pm Scarborough vs Brantford Galaxy

Sat Sep 5 Centennial Stadium 5 pm Brantford Galaxy vs FC Vorkuta

Sat Sep 5 Centennial Stadium 7 pm Serbian White Eagles vs Hamilton City

PICTURE: Midfielder Misel Klisara struck at 48 and 54 minutes to lead  Serbian White Eagles to a 4-0 victory over Brantford Galaxy at Esther Shiner Stadium.

Serbian White Eagles scored their first win of an abbreviated Canadian Soccer League season, a 4-0 result over Brantford Galaxy at Esther Shiner Stadium on Saturday, while in the second game Scarborough led FC Vorkuta 1-0 at the final whistle of a physical encounter cut short by the referee with several minutes remaining and the circumstances to be reviewed by league officials.

There was little to choose between Serbian White Eagles and Brantford Galaxy in the first half of the opening match, but Serbian White Eagles took control going into the second half to score an opening goal at 48 minutes when Misel Klisara struck his first of two goals with a low drive that entered the net inside the left post.

Klisara increased the lead for the White Eagles when the midfielder’s left foot drive from 10 yards made it 2-0 at the 54^th minute mark and Dusan Kovacevic  scored goal number three at 70 minutes. Forward Marko Stajic completed the scoring at 77 minutes for a 4-0 result at the final whistle.

It was a first meeting of the new season between the current CSL champions Scarborough SC and First Division 2019 league title winner FC Vorkuta and Scarborough took an early lead when midfielder Neven Radakovic took a cross from the right wing to find the net at the 10^th minute mark. It was 1-0 at the interval.

The play was strong going into the second half and more physical as the game progressed with Referee Tomic making numerous calls for foul play. One player from each side was shown the red card and with several minutes remaining the referee ended the game with the score 1-0. The league has indicated the extent of any inquiry will depend on the referee’s report to be submitted during the coming week.

There are four games this coming week, all at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke which has a change in kickoff time of the first two games played Tuesday and Wednesday from the original 7 pm  to 7 15 pm.

Tue Sep 1 Centennial Stadium 7:15 pm Hamilton City vs FC Vorkuta

Wed Sep 2 Centennial Stadium 7:15 pm Scarborough vs Brantford Galaxy

Sat Sep 5 Centennial Stadium 5 pm Brantford Galaxy vs FC Vorkuta

Sat Sep 5 Centennial Stadium 7 pm Serbian White Eagles vs Hamilton City

PICTURE: When CSL soccer returns on Saturday, August 15, it will be a brief season, but an exciting one as five teams play for the league title followed by the CSL championship through to the end of October.  There will be much action featured on the CSL website with regular game reports.

When FC Vorkuta opens the abbreviated 2020 season at Esther Shiner Stadium late Saturday afternoon the side at the top of Toronto will begin its brief campaign to keep up an impressive record of winning either the Canadian Soccer League championship or the First Division title since venturing into professional soccer in 2017.

The team –  named after a community in northern Russia –  became a strong member of the local community and Canada’s soccer community by investing in the organization with a decade in the amateur leagues after launching in Toronto in 2008. Stepping up to win the CSL First Division title in the opening 2017 season attracted a lot of attention and even more when winning the CSL Championship the following year. In third year 2019 Vorkuta captured the CSL First Division title yet again.

Such success on launching is a rare achievement in Canadian soccer and is attributed by some to Vorkuta adopting a duel role with the club’s strong interest in local talent and a careful selection of players from Europe.

The opener this coming weekend has Vorkuta hosting Brantford Galaxy at the Esther Shiner ground in north Toronto on Saturday at 5, part of a double header with Hamilton City vs Serbian White Eagles in a second game at 7.

“It is great to be back into it and our final practice on Wednesday puts us close to being ready. But we are very optimistic and confident about what we want from this season,” said FC Vorkuta GM Samad Kadirov.

Five teams (Brantford Galaxy, Hamilton City, Scarborough, Serbian White Eagles and FC Vorkuta) in the Canadian Soccer League First Division will take part in the long-awaited schedule, to be played at two grounds, Esther Shiner during August, followed by Centennial Stadium in Toronto’s west end during September, through to October 3 at the end of the regular schedule.

The CSL Championship playoffs will follow with the top four in the regular season league standings advancing to the playoff semifinals during October, followed by the championship game.

The Toronto city and Ontario provincial by-laws respecting the Covid-19 pandemic are in effect at all games, which limits spectator attendance to 100 and officials  attached to participating teams during the time their game is in progress. A physical distance of at least two metres is a requirement of  everyone watching the game.

The opening games:

Sat Aug 15 Esther Shiner Stadium 5 pm FC Vorkuta vs Brantford Galaxy
Sat Aug 15 Esther Shiner Stadium 7 pm Hamilton City vs Serbian White Eagles
Sat Aug 22 Esther Shiner Stadium 5 pm Scarborough SC  vs Hamilton City
Sat Aug 22 Esther Shiner Stadium 7 pm Serbian White Eagles vs FC Vorkuta
Sat Aug 29 Esther Shiner Stadium 5 pm Brantford Galaxy vs Serbian White Eagles
Sat Aug 29 Esther Shiner Stadium 7 pm FC Vorkuta vs Scarborough SC
Tues Sep 1  Centennial Stadium 7 pm Hamilton City vs FC Vorkuta
Wed Sep 2 Centennial Stadium 7 pm Scarborough SC vs Brantford Galaxy 

PICTURE:  FC Vorkuta striker Fadi Salback, signed in 2019 from the local community, is on trial with FC Podillya Khmelnytskyi, a  Ukrainian football team based in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine, and is included in the line-up for a high level exhibition game on August 7.

Fadi Salback’s introduction to professional soccer came in the spring of 2019 after signing for FC Vorkuta, not the easiest of entries at a time when the Vorkuta club ended its 2018 campaign securing its first professional championship title in the Canadian Soccer League First Division, and the double by winning the Second Division. The strength of both Vorkuta teams left little opportunity for young promising players to secure a place in what was suddenly considered one of the strongest teams in Canadian soccer.

But Salback had impressed the Vorkuta organization while playing for the opposition in an indoor match during the winter of 2018-19 and the CSL club was encouraged enough to offer the young Ontario Tech University striker an opportunity in the FC Vorkuta reserve team. Before coming to Canada, Salback, now 23, was a young academy player with Maccabi Haifa in Israel, known for its youth development programs.

 While with FC Vorkuta during the 2019 season, Salback was also playing for the Ontario Tech University of Oshawa and was honoured at the championship banquet at Montreal when he received the U- SPORTS Rookie of the Year Award. U-SPORTS is the national governing body for university sports across Canada. He scored a record 16 goals for Ontario Tech in his first season and the all-Canadian Rookie of the Year was also named an east division first team all star. Six of Salback’s goals in 2019 were game winners.

Salback scored four goals in his 2019 CSL Second Division reserve team debut, a performance that caused a quick move to the highly regarded Vorkuta first string.

His father, Nabil Salback was a professional footballer in Israel.

The FC Vorkuta striker is now on trial with FC Podillya Khmelnytskyi, a professional Ukrainian football team based in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine, and competes in the Ukrainian Second Division. His first test is in an exhibition match on August 7.

That a Canadian player is on trial in Ukraine is an achievement in itself. Few Canadians have had the opportunity, due primarily to a country having an abundance of talent and few open opportunities for foreign players to play in the rich, but limited Ukraine professional football structure.

 “To break into European professional soccer is a great opportunity for Fadi and it’s an opportunity he deserves,” said Igor Demitchev, a Toronto lawyer and principal sponsor of the highly successful  Vorkuta club. “He is certainly talented and his 2019 season experience in the tough CSL has served him well. I believe he has a great future at a high level.”

FC Vorkuta’s success since entering the CSL in 2017 is due largely to importing experienced players from Europe, but the club has also been well focused on young Canadian talent in the local community since forming in 2008 and considers Fadi Salback to be first of several in the organization to have an opportunity for high level soccer in Canada and abroad.

 The Canadian Soccer League kickoff set for Saturday, August 8 is on hold has now been moved tentatively to Saturday, August 15. All games will be at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke and the abbreviated and revised schedule is expected to be released during the week of August 10.

PICTURE:  Scarborough SC, including the combination of GM Kiril Dimitrov (right) and head coach Zoran Rajovic who share congratulations, will be playing in an abbreviated  2020 season  to defend the team’s CSL Championship victory of 2019.

While professional soccer in North America continues to struggle back to normalcy, the Canadian Soccer League is no exception while faced with a diminishing calendar now shifting quickly into the second half of 2020.

With local conditions dealing with COVID 19 in team sports in Canada now showing some signs of being relaxed during the July – August period, the CSL has announced the kickoff of an abbreviated schedule for games to begin on Saturday. August 8.

It will be a First Division schedule to be followed by playoffs leading to the CSL Championship Final in October.

Seven teams will take part with all games played at 3 pm on Saturdays at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke on the western edge of Toronto. The league winner will gain a bye to the semifinals while six teams play  quarterfinal deciders from the regular season league final standings of positions 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 7.  The team gaining the bye and the winning teams advancing from the quarterfinals will also be drawn with the higher placed teams meeting the lowest placed teams in the semifinals.

Most teams in the CSL sign import players from various countries in Europe and its expected that du to the travel restrictions there will be a depleted number of imports compared to recent years, which provides an increased opportunity for more Canadian players on the team’s rosters to take part in what is expected to be a competitive series of matches to decide the league champion and the CSL Championship winner.

The teams taking part are Brantford Galaxy, CSC Mississauga, Hamilton City 1, Real Mississauga, Scarborough SC and Serbian White Eagles, FC Vorkuta

Scarborough SC are the current CSL champions.

It was near the end of April 1998 when Gerard Houllier arrived in Toronto to be part of a 3-day coaching session, giving priority with the visit to help Canada become a world contender in soccer.

It was a surprising visit given that Houllier was one of the busiest soccer administrators in the world at that time-frame with the World Cup finals in France just weeks away and he was the top technical man in charge of coaching and player development for the French FA. He also carried the additional responsibility of being a member of the FIFA technical team for the big event kicking off the beginning of June.

Houllier was a star in world technical circles and was tipped to be manager of the national team after leading Lens to promotion and qualification for the UEFA Cup before he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 1985. Under Houllier, PSG won the French title the following year.

Houllier eventually became assistant manager followed by manager of the French national team in 1992.

With World Cup fever building, the weekend visit of Houllier to Toronto attracted a lot of attention in the soccer community and 200 coaches from across Canada registered for the three weekend sessions staged by Bryst International Soccer Academy. It was a full house and in his opening remarks Houllier explained his surprising presence by saying “I’m here because Gary Miller is my friend.”

Miller, the president and founder of Bryst International Soccer Academy was often described as a top technical man with a passion for Canadian soccer and one of the best in skills training.  He always considered Canada needed the best advice the world could offer if this country is to progress beyond the qualification stage in the World Cup. The need to bring overseas coaches and player development specialists to strengthen Canada’s coaching would lead to more special players.

Gary Miller, the director of soccer operations with Ontario Soccer who died following a heart attack on May 13 at the age of 63, had an international perspective driven by his desire to see Canada on the world stage. He was persistent in planning similar visits by world coaches and high level technical men and during the year prior to Houllier’s visit it was Frans Hoek the former goalkeeper coach with Ajax. There were many before and afterwards.

Miller showed his appreciation for the expanding and stronger soccer academy community in Canada, and the need for stronger competition on the field of play, all necessary to accommodate young Canadians with promise. He held an appreciation of the Canadian Soccer League and was an important figure in the forming of the Canadian Premier League and Ontario’s  League1.

Miller played at Western University in the 1970s and was inducted to the Western Mustangs Hall of Fame in 2004. He was a technical director with the Ontario Soccer Association from 1985 to 1990 and served as the director of high performance from 1992 to 1994 before returning to Ontario Soccer in 2015 to become director of soccer operations. He also served as the Canadian Soccer Association’s high performance director from 1990 to 1992.

The comment by Houllier during his opening remarks to open the weekend workshop was a reflection of the considerable respect of Gary Miller held by a great many high level technical specialists in football world-wide. At the same time, Miller’s very friendly disposition produced a very large community of those in Canada and elsewhere who considered the Bryst Academy founder easy to like and to work with. He became a friend to so many.

Gary Miller was a great husband and father and was survived by his wife Cindy, daughters Stephanie and Briana, and son Ryan.