TORONTO CROATIA BID FOR HAT-TRICK…….Croatian club championship kicks off Sunday

Toronto Croatia bidding to bring the championship trophy  to Canada
Toronto Croatia bidding to bring the championship trophy to Canada PHOTO: Les Jones – Covershots Inc.

 

Perhaps you have to be of Croatian descent to fully understand why so much emphasis is placed on success in sports and why athletes from Croatia have enjoyed winning more in the past 50 years than the country’s entire earlier history, a country that today stands 127th in size in the world with less than 4-5 million inhabitants.

Croatian athletes have experienced incredible success at home and abroad.

International Croatian athletes have won 13 world championships and gold medals. They have two from the World Championships in athletics , one in the World Men’s Handball Championship for water polo and rowing . They have six for alpine skiing. They have won the Davis Cup.

It was not until 1992 that Croatia joined the Olympics to take  home 23 Summer Olympics medals (6 gold, 7 silver and 10 bronze) and 11 Winter Olympics medals (4 gold, 6 silver and a bronze).

Athletes like Janica Kostelić was one of the best skiers the world, Blanka Vlašić is a former world indoor high jump champion. Check out Marin Čilić and Goran Ivanišević in tennis, and there’s many more.

Children of Croatian immigrants in several countries have shown a remarkable talent to become prominent in sports.

In Canada, Toronto-born skating partners Val and Sandra Bezic won the  Canadian Figure Skating Championships from 1970–1974. Let’s not overlook Canadian heavyweight boxing champion George Chuvalo.

U.S.-born George Mikan was once the best basketball player in the NBA.  A former World Doubles Champion in table tennis, Zarko Dolinar, is still the only world title holder to hold a doctor of science degree. There’s Roger Maris in baseball.

In soccer, the Croatian national team has become one of the world favourites and now stands  18th of more than 200 countries in the FIFA world rankings.

Canadian soccer fans have not forgotten it was Metros-Croatia, the Toronto professional team formed when Toronto Croatia purchased 50 per cent of a failing Toronto Metros in 1974, that won the North American Soccer Championship in 1976.

The ‘will to win’ of those wearing the distinctive red and white checkers is born of a desire to express a national identity, sought after for generations. Success in soccer may have played lead role, but the tenacious ‘will to win’ attitude is there throughout. Winning has become a means of expression, playing an important  part in the recognition of Croatia, particularly over the past 20 – 25 years.

It’s not surprising that there is a Croatian World Club Championship in football (soccer), with Croatian teams from a number of countries coming together every four years to arrive at a Croatian club world champion.

This 2015 is the year, to follow the championship games in 2007 – the inaugural year – and the games of 2011. Toronto Croatia of the Canadian Soccer League won both titles and are bidding for a third during the next few days.

The eight teams are from Australia (2), Canada, France, Germany, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland and in the matches that kickoff at Zagreb, Croatia, on Sunday, June 28, are from two groups:

Group A

Toronto Croatia (Canada)

Villerfranche Croatia (France)

Reprezentacija Vojvođanskih Hrvata (Serbia)

Sydney United 58 FC (Australia)

 

Group B

Canberra  FC (Australia)

Croatia Stuttgart (Germany)

Nk Pajde Mohlin (Switzerland)

Croatia Malmo(Sweden)

Toronto Croatia are again favoured to win. The longest running successful professional club in Canadian professional soccer  has won numerous titles since launching in 1956, including the National Soccer League title four years running, 1970-1973, and in recent years has won the Canadian Soccer League championship 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2012. The team from Toronto had several wins in the Croatian National Soccer Federation of Canada and the United States before winning the present world competition in 2007 and 2011.

“It’s our goal to win again this year,” said Toronto Croatia president Joe Pavicic when announcing the competition details.

Toronto Croatia’s opener against Sydney United 58 FC of Australia is at 5.30 pm in Croatia, 11.30 am EST in Canada on Sunday.

The Toronto Croatia team and non-playing staff are: Tihomir Maletic, Josip Keran, Sven Arapovic, Anes Handanovic, Marin Vučemilović-Grgic , Ainsley Deer, Halburto Harris, Shawn Brown, Darren Chambers,

Roberto Galle, David Alva, Christian Maraldo, Michael Filipovic, Amir Hosic, Robert Grnja, Jure Glavnia, Bruno Krstanovic, Borna Vincic, Ivan Pavicic, Marko Koštic, Franjo Delić.

Officials are: Josip Pavicic-President, Velimir Crljen-Head Coach, Milodrag Akamazdic-Assistant Coach, Ivan Kuliš-Manager.

 

 

BRAMPTON’S JONATHAN JEBBISON HITS WINNING HAT-TRICK….Shooters also win

brampton2Brampton City Utd scored a decisive 3-1 victory over Brantford Galaxy and York Region Shooters controlled the game against Scarborough SC, winning 4-1, two games in the CSL Sunday.

Forward Jonathan Jebbison scored all three goals for Brampton City Utd in the 3-1 defeat of Brantford Galaxy at the Victoria Park ground in Brampton.

Following a scoreless tie at the break, Jebbison found the net for the home side at the 53 minute mark and he again beat Brantford goalkeeper Luka Besenic for a 2-0 lead at 66 minutes.

Jebbison struck again for his hat-trick at 76 minutes and a 3-0 lead until Zdenko Jurcevic reduced the lead to 3-1, the final score at the end of regulation time.

Defender Marcelo Capozzolo headed in a corner kick to give York Region Shooters a 1-0 lead at the 35 minute at the Joan of Arc ground and that was the score at half-time.

Capozzola again found the net with a header to beat Scarborough goalkeeper Mladen Kukrika at 47 minutes, a 2-0 lead for the home side.

Richard West increased the lead to 3-0 at the 71 minute mark and Scarborough reduced the lead to 3-1 at 81 minutes when midfielder Jose De Sousa beat York Region goalkeeper Emanuelle Ameltonis with a drive from 10 yards.

Shooters’ forward Adrian Pena completed the scoring at 84 minutes  for a 4-1 lead, the final score.

There was one game in the CSL Second Division when Brampton City Utd B defeated Brantford Galaxy B 4-1 in an afternoon game.:

ATOMIC AND WATERLOO PLAY TO 1-1 DRAW SATURDAY

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Toronto Atomic FC and SC Waterloo played to a 1-1 tie at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke, one game in the Canadian Soccer League Saturday night.

Forward Ihor Melnyk put  Toronto Atomic ahead at the 30 minute mark, his drive beat Waterloo goalkeeper Imad Hakura inside the box for a 1-0 lead at the break.

Waterloo tied the game 1-1 on a goal from Adis Hasecic who broke into the Atomic goal on a breakaway and found the net past the home goalkeeper Vasyl Shpuk, the goal coming at the 53 minute mark.

Toronto Atomic now have a 3-2-2 WLT record for 11 points, while SC Waterloo maintained the best defensive record in the CSL First Division, just four goals conceded in their 4-1-1 record for 13 points.

There were two games in the CSL Second Division Saturday, Toronto Atomic B won 5-1 at home against Toronto Croatia B, while Serbian White Eagles B played to a scoreless tie with York Region Shooters B.

KRASIC AND REID COMBINE FOR SERBIAN WHITE EAGLES VICTORY…..Three games Friday night

Sahjah Reid's hat-trick led Serbian White Eagles to 4-0 victory
Sahjah Reid’s hat-trick led Serbian White Eagles to 4-0 victory

Serbian White Eagles defeated London City 4-0, Toronto Croatia beat Burlington SC 2-0 and Scarborough SC were held to a 3-3 draw by Niagara United, three games in the Canadian Soccer League Friday night.

Midfielder Marko Krasic, a recent arrival from First Division soccer in Europe, was the playmaker, while forward Sahjah Reid was the goalscorer with a hat-trick that helped Serbian White Eagles to the 4-0 defeat of London City at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke.

Krasic penetrated the London defence with regularity for Reid to score at the 45 minute mark for a 1-0 lead at half-time, followed by his second goal at 63 minutes and the hat-trick for a 3-0 lead for the home side  at the 79 minute mark.

Midfielder Milos Ljubenovic struck the fourth goal for Serbian White Eagles when he found the net past London goalkeeper Vladimir Markotic and the 4-0 lead held to the final whistle.

Defender Josip Keran opened the scoring for Toronto Croatia with a penalty kick, finding the net past Burlington SC goalkeeper  Vladimir Vujasinovic at the 50 minute following an even and scoreless first half. Pero Menalo made it 2-0 at 78 minutes, the score at the final whistle.

There was one late game at Downsview Park where Scarborough SC came back from a 2-0 deficit at the break to score three goals in the second half to tie the visiting Niagara United 3-3.

TWO GOALS BY RADOVAN IVKOVIC LEADS MILTON TO VICTORY

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Milton SC defeated London City 3 – 1 in a rare mid-week game played at the University of Western Ontario and the only game played in the CSL Wednesday.

Midfielder Radovan Ivkovic  struck twice for the visitors, his first goal coming at the 10th minute mark, and this was followed by a goal by Milton defender Predrag Papaz  who found the net past London goalkeeper Vladimir Markotic at 42 minutes, a 2-0 lead at half-time.

Ivkovic struck his second goal to give Milton a 3-0 lead at 73 minutes and at the 87th minute London City reduced the lead to 3-1 with a goal by Alex Eby who put the ball past Milton goalkeeper Zoran Pusica. The 3-1 score held to the final whistle.

The victory moved Milton up the standings to tie for third place with SC Waterloo and Brantford Galaxy. Milton have a 4-2-0WLT record for 12 points, while London City remain at the foot of the standings with a 0-4-1 record AND one point.

HASECIC HAT-TRICK SPELLS VICTORY FOR WATERLOO

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Midfielder Adis Hasecic scored all three goals to lead SC Waterloo to a 3-0 victory over Burlington SC at Warrior Field in Waterloo, the only game played in the CSL First Division Sunday.

Hasecic opened the scoring just two minutes into the game, finding the net from close in past Burlington goalkeeper Vladimir Vujasinovic.
Hasecic made it 2-0 following a miscue in the Burlington defence and it was 2-0 at the interval.

The Waterloo forward completed the hat-trick at 47 minutes when he collected a high ball down the middle to drive the ball under Vujasinovic into the net, a 3-0 score that held until the final whistle.

It was Waterloo’s fourth win of the season to move the Southwestern Ontario team to third in the standings with 12 points, while Burlington suffered its first defeat of the season from six games played.

There was one game in the CSL Second Division Sunday when Milton SC B beat York Region Shooters B 3-1, a game played at the Vanier Field in Milton.

TORONTO CROATIA 3-0 OVER NIAGARA….Toronto Atomic defeats Brampton

Defender Sven Arapovic found the net for Toronto Croatia
Defender Sven Arapovic found the net for Toronto Croatia

Oleksandr Semeniuk scored a hat-trick to lead Toronto Atomic to a 4-1 victory over Brampton City Utd, and Toronto Croatia defeated Niagara United 3-0, two games in the Canadian Soccer League First Division Saturday.

Semeniuk struck quickly with a goal in the first minute of play for a 1-0 lead at Centennial Stadium and with the score 1-0 at the 31 minute mark Brampton were reduced to 10 men when Francisco Javier Juarez was shown the red card for a foul on an opposing player.

Forward Ihor Mihalevskyy increased the lead to 2-0 for the home side at 36 minutes, the score at the interval.

Semeniuk scored his second goal to increase the Atomic lead to 3-0 at 46 minutes and completed the hat-trick at 54 minutes for a 4-0 Toronto Atomic lead.

Johathan Jebbison put Brampton City Utd on the score sheet at 57 minutes and it was 4-1 for Toronto Atomic at the final whistle.

Forward Darren Chambers opened the scoring to give Toronto Croatia a 1-0 lead at the 59 minute mark against Niagara United at the Kalar Sports Park, Niagara Falls and that was the score at half-time.

Defender Sven Arapovic made it 2-0 at 75 minutes and just two minutes later Chambers found the net for his second goal past Niagara United goalkeeper Gianluca Cardone, a 3-0 score for the visiting Toronto Croatia, the score at the final whistle. The victory moves Toronto Croatia to the top of the standings.

There were two games in the CSL Second Division Saturday with Toronto Atomic B defeating Brampton City Utd B 2-0 and SC Waterloo B scored a 3-0 home victory over Burlington SC B. One other game scheduled for Saturday, Serbian White Eagles B vs Toronto Croatia B, was postponed due to ground conditions at Eglinton Flats.

Remaining games this weekend:

FIRST DIVISION

Sun June 14  Warrior Field SC 7 pm Waterloo vs Burlington SC

SECOND DIVISION

Sun June 14 Jean Vanier Field 5.30 pm Milton SC B vs York Region Shooters B

 

 

SAHJAH REID GOALS GIVE SERBIAN EAGLES VICTORY….Milton defeats Shooters 2-0

Serbian White Eagles defeated Toronto Croatia 2-1 and Milton SC gained 2-0 home victory over York Region Shooters, two games in the Canadian Soccer League First Division Friday night.

Sahjah Reid opened the scoring for Serbian White Eagles at the 15 minute mark at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke, taking a midfield pass from Marko Krasic to beat Toronto Croatia goalkeeper Christian Maraldo, and it was 1-0 at the interval.

Serbian White Eagles increased the lead to 2-0 when midfielder Milos Ljubenovic moved the ball to Reid who found the net for his second goal of the game at the 65 minute mark.

Toronto Croatia scored from the penalty spot at 79 minutes after Shawn Brown was brought down in the box by Serbian Eagles’ goalkeeper Goran Skaric. Referee Tony Amaral pointed to the spot and showed the red card to Skaric for the foul. Defender Josip Keran found the net for a 2-1 score, the result at the final whistle.

Defender Predrag Papaz opened the scoring for Milton SC at the Jean Vanier Field in Milton, the goal coming at the 9 minute mark for a 1-0 score at the break.

York Region Shooters were reduced to 10 men at 31 minutes when Richard Edwards was shown the red card and in a close encounter throughout, Milton increased their lead at the 90 minute on a goal by Rusnir Dizdarevic who beat York Region goalkeeper Adrian Ibanez. It was 2-0 at the final whistle.

Remaining games this weekend:

FIRST DIVISION

Sat June 13 Kalar Sports Park 7 pm Niagara United vs Toronto Croatia

Sat June 13 Centennial Stadium 8.45 pm Toronto Atomic FC vs Brampton City Utd

Sun June 14  Warrior Field 7 pm SC Waterloo vs Burlington SC

SECOND DIVISION

Sat June 13 LCI Soccer Complex 4 pm Toronto Atomic FC B vs Brampton City Utd B

Sat June 13 Eglinton Flats 4 pm Serbian White Eagles B vs Toronto Croatia B

Sat June 13 Warrior Field 6.15 pm SC Waterloo B vs Burlington SC B

Sun June 14 Jean Vanier Field 5.30 pm Milton SC B vs York Region Shooters B

THE GAME IS STILL MAGIC…But where have the National Associations been?

There is something very special about scoring a goal. And most of us have experienced it at one time or another.

It’s magic.

The magic of football will never change, so let’s keep this FIFA thing in perspective.

The game of football is not in crisis. It’s the upper management of the game that’s in crisis.

The recent revelation that something’s up with FIFA is regrettable and is of concern to the global soccer community, including Canada and the Canadian Soccer League.

.  The Canadian Soccer League regrets that a dark shadow has been cast over the game, and it is going to take some time to move it. It’s been said many times that the world game is so considerable in scope – it’s the national sport in more than 200 countries — that everything that happens in the world, also happens in soccer.

But it is still the beautiful game.

The CSL urges its clubs, players, match officials and fans to dismiss reports of soccer now being ‘The ugly game’ – as described and characterized by various media throughout the world, including its use as the title of a book written by two Sunday Times reporters.

It’s a credit to the game that FIFA has become so wealthy. FIFA’s properties, including the World Cup, are so marketable on a global scale the revenues produced are astronomical.

Trusting the management of these increasing revenues has failed. FIFA has become so giddy with so much income pouring in to its coffers that honesty and judgement with outgoing revenues have failed.

Bribery, corruption and money laundering are not the only issues that are of concern. Certain legitimate payments also need to be questioned. For example, FIFA is reported to have paid $5 million to the Republic of Ireland as a consolation for the referee failing to call the hand ball by Thierry Henry in extra time of a key game in the 2009 World Cup. The French captain then scored to eliminate Ireland.  There have been other payments of questionable judgement.

The obvious corruption in FIFA circles, which has been the subject of discussion for some years now, has exploded into one of the biggest sporting scandals of our time. The awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, which is oil rich but would hardly qualify as a serious candidate to host the World Cup given its

lack of any meaningful soccer history, its unsatisfactory searing hot climate during local times when the World Cup games should be played,  and its weak infrastructure for soccer. While some of these shortcomings can be fixed, there are still many countries more deserved of the plum award – the hosting of the world’s grandest tournament. Why on earth was the World Cup awarded to Qatar ?

The Canadian Soccer League rejects the position taken by many that the game itself is in trouble. The CSL will continue to focus on the field of play, the kind of football that in recent years has help to develop no less than 42 players for international duty, mostly at the youth level. There has also been a procession of players move from the CSL to higher level overseas clubs.

Over the years, at any one time about 100 players Canadians have been playing at a high level outside of this country, mostly in Europe, and the CSL has contributed to that number. In the other direction, there has been an influx into the CSL of players from Europe. Many of these  players are in the twilight of their careers, but have skills that help to make the CSL the attractive and competitive league it is.

The Canadian Soccer Association is a member of CONCACAF, the confederation of countries in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Officials from CONCACAF have been named as suspects of accepting bribes, kickbacks, totalling more than $150 million.  CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb has been removed from office after being arrested at Zurich on arrival for the FIFA congress, while CONCACAF general secretary Enrique Sanz has been suspended after being named as a suspect in the anti-corruption sweep carried out by U.S. authorities.

Former CONCACAF president Jack Warner is of higher profile and may be in deeper trouble. In the midst of the FIFA scandal, as recent documents reveal, the transfer of monies went into bank accounts which he controlled.

Many of the FIFA hierarchy named as suspects are from the world’s football’s federations.  But where have the national associations been while this has been going on for such a long time?

It’s been the world media that has been sounding alarm bells. Why not the national associations ?

The CSL urges the Canadian Soccer Association to be a force for fairness, honesty and integrity within FIFA and particularly express its concern or objection of any decision or transaction that may be illegal.

CSA president Victor Montagliani, a native of Burnaby, B.C., was elected president of the Canadian Soccer Association in 2012 and was appointed to FIFA’s legal committee the same year, a committee that analyses basic legal issues. Canada, therefore, has been and is still in a good strategic position to observe what’s been going on.

For most of us, it’s going to be who is telling the truth and who will continue to be the purveyors of deceit? And most of all, we need to know how can so many trusted guardians of world football use the game so extensively for their own gain for so long?

JURCEVIC HAT-TRICK PUTS BRANTFORD ON TOP

Brantford_Galaxy_Soccer_Club

Brantford Galaxy jumped to the top of the table with a 3-1 victory over Niagara United, the only game played in the CSL First Division Wednesday night.

Brantford striker Zdenko Jurcevic  scored a hat-trick after Niagara took an early 1-0 lead at Lions Park in Brantford.

Niagara’s Freddie Anderson opened the scoring, he drove the ball from 25 yards to catch the corner out of reach of Galaxy goalkeeper Luka Besenic, the goal coming at the 3rd minute mark.

Jurcevic tied the game 1-1 at 16 minutes and put the home side ahead 2-1 when he found the net past Niagara goalkeeper Stefan Avramovic, and it was 2-1 at the interval.

Jurcevic completed the hat-trick to put Brantford 3-1 up at the 59th minute mark, driving the ball into the middle of the net from 15 yards.

The goals were numbers 7, 8, and 9 for Jurcevic,  to move the Brantford striker on top of the First Division goalscoring chart and the win moves Galaxy to top position in the standings with a 4-2-0WLT record for 12 points, one point in front of second place Burlington.

In an earlier game played at Lions Park, Niagara United B defeated Brantford Galaxy B 3-1, the only Second Division game played Wednesday.

VUKOVIC STRIKES WINNER FOR WATERLOO…..Toronto Croatia, Serbian Eagles also win Sunday

Drazen Vukovic penalty kick winner for Waterloo
Drazen Vukovic penalty kick winner for Waterloo

SC Waterloo gained a 1-0 victory over London City, Toronto Croatia won 3-1 over Brampton City Utd, and Serbian White Eagles defeated York Region Shooters by the score of 2-1, three away wins in the CSL’s First Division Sunday.

Striker Drazen Vukovic scored the only goal to give SC Waterloo the victory over London City at the Hellenic Centre in London, a penalty kick at 41 minutes ordered by referee Tony Amaral following a foul in the box. Vukovic beat London goalkeeper Vladimir Markotic to clinch the three points in a game where both teams missed scoring opportunities.

Tihomir Maletic opened the scoring for Toronto Croatia in the game against Brampton City Utd at Victoria Park in Brampton, the goal coming at the 7 minutes, and defender Josip Keran headed into the net from the far post off a corner kick past Brampton goalkeeper Cristian Montero Valez to increase the lead to 2-0 at the 28 minute mark. It was 2-0 at the break.

Roberto Galle struck the third goal for Toronto Croatia at 80 minutes, and Brampton scored their only goal four minutes later from a penalty kick called by referee Marco Jaramillo. Goalkeeper Montero Valez scored from the spot to make the score 3-1 for the visitors.

Two Brampton players were ejected in the closing minutes – Alex Kawalit on receiving a second caution and Jean Tshimpaka was shown a red card by referee Jaramillo. It was a 3-1 at the final whistle.

Defender Branislav Vukomanovic put Serbian White Eagles ahead with a picture goal from a free kick 30 yards out at 44 minutes against York Region Shooters at the St. Joan of Arc ground in Maple, a 1-0 score at the interval.

Sahjah Reid made it 2-0 at 57 minutes, finding the net from close range past York Region goalkeeper Emanuelle Ammeltonis, and at the 88 minutes Dino Gardner headed into the net from a corner kick, a 2-1 final score in favour of the visiting Serbian White Eagles.

There were two games in the CSL Second Division with Brampton City Utd B defeating Toronto Croatia B 4-2 and York Region Shooters B winning their home encounter with Serbian White Eagles B, 3-2.

BURLINGTON 8-1 ROUT OVER NIAGARA……Another hat-trick for Vladimir Vujovic

Burlington-SCStriker Vladimir Vujovic scored his second hat-trick in less than a week to play a big part in Burlington’s 8-1 away victory at Niagara United, and in one other game in the CSL First Division Brantford Galaxy also scored an away victory, a 3-0 result over Toronto Atomic FC, two games in the Canadian Soccer League First Division Saturday.

Vujovic scored in the first half for Burlington, followed by two after the interval in the one-sided affair at the Kalar Sports Park, Niagara Falls. Amardo Oakley and Nenad Simic also struck first half goals for a 3-0 Burlington lead at half-time. Niagara reduced the lead to 3-1 when forward Mohammed Mohammed beat Burlington goalkeeper Elvis Mesic at the 49 minute mark, but Burlington dominated the remainder of the second half with Vujovic’s two goals to complete the hat-trick.

Nenad Simic found the net past Niagara’s goalkeeper Stefan Avramovic for his second goal of the night, and Erwin Uzunovic also scored twice.

Vujovic scored three first half goals in the Burlington 5-0 defeat of Brampton City Utd at Nelson Stadium, Burlington on May 31. Sasa Vidovic opened the scoring for Brantford Galaxy in the late game at Centennial Stadium, he found the net past Atomic goalkeeper Vasyl Shpuk after nine minutes and this was followed by a goal from Galaxy’s Zdenko Jurcevic at the 31 minute mark for a 2-0 Brantford lead, the score at half-time.

Jurcevic increased the Brantford lead to 3-0 at 49 minutes, the score at the final whistle.

Toronto Atomic were reduced to 10 men at 83 minutes when Stas Katana was shown the red card by referee Davor Krasic following an altercation.

There were two games in the CSL Second Division Saturday, Toronto Atomic FC B defeated Brantford Galaxy B 2-1, and it was Niagara United B 1, Burlington SC B 1.

REMAINING GAMES IN THE CSL THIS WEEKEND: FIRST DIVISION

Sun June 7Hellenic Centre 4 pm London City vs SC Waterloo

Sun June 7 Victoria Park 5 pm Brampton City Utd vs Toronto Croatia

Sun June 7 St. Joan of Arc 6.30 pm York Region Shooters vs Serbian White Eagles

SECOND DIVISION

Sun June 7 Victoria Park  3 pm Brampton City Utd B vs Toronto Croatia B

Sun June 7 St. Joan of Arc 8.45 pm York Reg Shooters B vs Serbian White Eagles B

MILTON DROP SCARBOROUGH SC 4-1 FRIDAY…….Popovic leads way with two

milton Milton SC defeated Scarborough SC 4-1 at Downsview Park in north Toronto, the only game in the Canadian Soccer League Friday night.

Forward Dusan Popovic opened the scoring at the 27 minute mark for Milton, he found the net past Scarborough goalkeeper Mladen Kukrika and Popovic struck the second goal at 45 minutes for a 2-0 Milton lead at half-time.

Forward Radvan Ivkovic made it 3-0 for the visiting Milton side at 70 minutes and Rusmir Dizdarevic increased the lead to 4-0 at 78 minutes.

Scarborough made the score sheet at the 87 minute mark when Jose Goncalves De Sousa put the ball past Milton goalkeeper Zoran Pusica and the 4-1 score held until the final whistle.

REMAINING GAMES THIS WEEKEND:

FIRST DIVISION

Sat June 6  Kalar Sports Park 7 pm Niagara United vs Burlington SC

Sat June 6 Centennial Stadium 8.45 pm Toronto Atomic FC vs Brantford Galaxy

Sun June 7Hellenic Centre 4 pm London City vs SC Waterloo

Sun June 7 Victoria Park 5 pm Brampton City Utd vs Toronto Croatia

Sun June 7 St. Joan of Arc 6.30 pm York Region Shooters vs Serbian White Eagles

 

SECOND DIVISION

Sat June 6 LCI Soccer Complex 4 pm Toronto Atomic FC B vs Brantford Galaxy B

Sat June 6 KalarSports Park 9 pm Niagara United B vs Burlington SC B

Sun June 7 Victoria Park  3 pm Brampton City Utd B vs Toronto Croatia B

Sun June 7 St. Joan of Arc 8.45 pm York Reg Shooters B vs Serbian White Eagles B

TORONTO CROATIA HITTING STRIDE……The weekend games

Tihomir Maletic hat-trick against Toronto Atomic
Tihomir Maletic hat-trick against Toronto Atomic

There were signs Toronto Croatia are hitting their stride with last Saturday’s 4-2 defeat of Toronto Atomic FC, a win which follows an opening 3-0 victory against York Region Shooters, the current CSL champions, followed by a tie (Burlington 1-1) and a loss (Scarborough SC 2-1).

Tihomir Maletic hit three in the win over Toronto Atomic and Toronto Croatia will now visit Brampton City Utd on Sunday, and are expected to show even more improvement as the team moves closer to the end of the month visit to Europe to defend their Croatian World Club Championship of overseas Croatian clubs. The tournament is being played at Split in Croatia June 27 to July 5.

Brampton went down heavily last weekend, a 5-0 loss to Burlington at Nelson Stadium in Burlington and what is interesting about that game is the way the home side struck all five goals in the first half.  While it’s early days to draw any conclusions about that performance, it’s worth noting that Burlington are sitting on top of the standings undefeated and have conceded just three goals in the four games played so far. Burlington visit Niagara United on Saturday.

There will be a rare mid-week game in each division next week. It will be Brantford Galaxy against Niagara United on Wednesday, a First Division evening encounter at Lions Park in Brantford at 9 pm, with the respective reserve teams will playing the opener at 7.

THE WEEKEND GAMES

FIRST DIVISION

Fri June 5   Downsview Park  9 pm   Scarborough SC vs Milton SC

Sat June 6  Kalar Sports Park 7 pm Niagara United vs Burlington SC

Sat June 6 Centennial Stadium 8.45 pm Toronto Atomic FC vs Brantford Galaxy

Sun June 7Hellenic Centre 4 pm London City vs SC Waterloo

Sun June 7 Victoria Park 5 pm Brampton City Utd vs Toronto Croatia

Sun June 7 St. Joan of Arc 6.30 pm York Region Shooters vs Serbian White Eagles

 

SECOND DIVISION

Sat June 6 LCI Soccer Complex 4 pm Toronto Atomic FC B vs Brantford Galaxy B

Sat June 6 KalarSports Park 9 pm Niagara United B vs Burlington SC B

Sun June 7 Victoria Park  3 pm Brampton City Utd B vs Toronto Croatia B

Sun June 7 St. Joan of Arc 8.45 pm York Reg Shooters B vs Serbian White Eagles B