2015

Midfielder Amir Hosic with a hat-trick and prolific striker Tihomir Maletic with a pair led Toronto Croatia to a first round 5-2 victory over Sydney United 58 FC in the Croatian World Club Championship played at Zagreb, Croatia Sunday.

The win puts the Toronto team in a favourable position in its bid to capture a third title in a world club competition that launched in 2007 to be played every four years.

Toronto Croatia won the inaugural championship in 2007 and triumphed again in 2011.

Teams taking part in these 2015 games are Toronto Croatia (Canada), Villerfranche Croatia (France), Reprezentacija Vojvođanskih Hrvata (Serbia), Sydney United 58 FC (Australia), Canberra  FC (Australia), Croatia Stuttgart (Germany), Nk Pajde Mohlin (Switzerland), Croatia Malmo(Sweden).

The championship is played daily through to July 5.

Two more CSL games have been postponed this weekend with the postponement Sunday of the Burlington SC vs Milton SC First Division match at Nelson Stadium in Burlington and the Toronto Croatia B vs Serbian White Eagles B match scheduled for Karlovac Park.

The following schedule remains for Sunday:

FIRST DIVISION

Sun June 28 Warrior Field 7pm SC Waterloo vs Brampton City Utd

Sun June 28 Lions Park 7 pm Brantford Galaxy vs London City

Sun June 28 Nelson Stadium 8 pm Burlington SC vs Milton SC POSTPONED DUE TO WET GROUND CONDITIONS

SECOND DIVISION

Sun June 28 4 pm Karlovac Park Toronto Croatia B vs Serbian White Eagles B POSTPONED DUE TO WET GROUND CONDITIONS

Two games have been called off due to weather in the Canadian Soccer League on Saturday, both scheduled for the Kalar Sports Park in Niagara Falls.

Both the Second Division match between Niagara United B and York Region Shooters B at 4 pm and the later First Division Niagara United vs York Region Shooters at 7 pm have been postponed due to water on the playing surface.

The one remaining game on Saturday’s schedule, Waterloo B vs Brampton City Utd B, will kickoff at the Warrior Field in Waterloo at 6.15 pm.

Burlington SC B vs Milton SC B was postponed by an earlier league announcement.

SUNDAY’S GAMES:

 FIRST DIVISION

Sun June 28 Warrior Field 7 pm SC Waterloo vs Brampton City Utd

Sun June 28 Lions Park 7 pm Brantford Galaxy vs London City

Sun June 28 Nelson Stadium 8 pm Burlington SC vs Milton SC POSTPONED DUE TO WET GROUND CONDITIONS

 SECOND DIVISION

Sun June 28  Karlovac Park 4 pm Toronto Croatia B vs Serbian White Eagles B  POSTPONED DUE TO WET GROUND CONDITIONS

Toronto Atomic FC defeated Milton SC by a 4-1 score, while in the late game Scarborough SC and Serbian White Eagles played to a 1-1 draw, two games in the Canadian Soccer League Friday night.

Oleksandr Semeniuk opened the scoring for Toronto Atomic FC at the Jean Vanier Field in Milton, a well-placed header from a corner kick that entered the net out of reach of Milton goalkeeper Zoran Pusica, the goal coming at the 17 minute mark for a 1-0 lead at the interval.

Semeniuk increased the lead to 2-0 for Toronto Atomic at the 38 minute mark, the goal coming under similar circumstances, heading the ball into the net off a corner kick.

Midfielder Radovan Ivkovic scored for Milton at 53 minutes, taking a pass to beat Atomic goalkeeper Vasyl Shpuk from close range for a 2-1 score, but midfielder Olekandr Tomakh increased the lead to 3-1 for the visitors at 75 minutes and 7 minutes later forward Mykola Voytsekhovskyy struck the fourth Atomic goal for a 4-1 lead, the score at the final whistle.

It was a chippy affair between Scarborough SC and Serbian White Eagles at Downsview Park which ended in a 1-1 draw on goals by Djorjije Strunjas at 44 minutes for Serbian White Eagles and Jose De Sousa for Scarborough at the 49 minute.

Four players were shown the red card – two from each side – beginning with Serbian Eagles’ defender Mirko Medic at 55 minutes and he was followed by Marc Jankovic of Scarborough at 65 minutes. Milan Kusic of Serbian White Eagles was ejected at 85 minutes and Kiril Dimitrov of Scarborough was sent off three minutes later.

Brampton 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.:

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.

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.

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 10^th 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 87^th 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.

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.

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

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?

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 59^th 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.