Toronto Croatia
TORONTO CROATIA VICTORY …..Keran scores late winner
<![CDATA[It was almost the last kick of the match when Toronto Croatia defender Josip Keran took a free kick against Niagara United from 25 yards, the Niagara United wall did its job, but the rebound came back to Keran who then drove the ball into the net for the winning goal, a 2-1 victory in the only game played in the CSL Saturday night.
Toronto Croatia opened the scoring in the close contest at the Kalar Sports Park in Niagara Falls when Sven Arapovic headed in a corner kick at the 31st minute mark for a 1-0 lead at the break.
Arapovic, a defender, was on the receiving end of a red card from referee Jeff Fearnall at 55 minutes when he prevented a goalscoring opportunity by bringing down Niagara’s Andy Tiedt in the box. Tiedt took the penalty and found the net past Toronto Croatia goalkeeper Sergio Moralo for a 1-1 score.
Niagara was also reduced to 10 men when John Grabowski received a second caution at 66 minutes and the game went to 93 minutes and almost a tie until Keran found the net with just seconds remaining, a 2-1 score in favour of the visitors. It was Keran’s sixth goal of the season.
Toronto Croatia now have a 10-2-4 WLT record for 34 points, which is tied with Kingston FC for top position in the standings, and Niagara United are at 2-11-3 for nine points.
In one Second Division match played Saturday, Toronto Croatia B defeated Niagara United B 5-2, and there was one postponement when the Serbian White Eagles vs Kingston FC was rescheduled to be played September 28.
Remaining games this weekend:
FIRST DIVISION
Sun, Aug 25
BRAMPTON, SHOOTERS KEEP PACE WITH SUNDAY VICTORIES…. Toronto Croatia held
TORONTO CROATIA PRECARIOUSLY ON TOP….Brampton nip Serbian Eagles 1-0
Toronto Croatia won their second game of the weekend and ninth of the season to assume the top position in the CSL First Division following a 4-0 victory over SC Waterloo Sunday night.
But it’s a precarious lead as just three points separate the top four clubs and these clubs appear to be setting the remaining eight teams adrift to settle the four spots left for playoff positions – the top eight teams qualify for the post-regular season competition leading to the CSL Championship.
Midfielder Jarek Whiteman opened the scoring for Toronto Croatia at 41 minutes at Warrior Field in Waterloo, he drove the ball into the net from 25 yards following a save by Waterloo goalkeeper Imad Hakura. It was 1-0 at the break.
Defender Josip Keran made it 2-0 at 53 minutes for the visitors, his fifth goal of the season and Hayden Fitzwilliams increased the lead to 3-0 when he found the net at 80 minutes. Tihomir Maletic scored the final goal to make it 4-0 at 87 minutes – he scored following a rebound off the goalpost. It was Maletic’s seventh of the season.
Toronto Croatia move up with a 9-2-3 WLT record for 30 points, while SC Waterloo are at 5-4-3 for 18 points.
It was a well-played and hard-fought encounter at Victoria Park in Brampton where the home side secured an important three points with a 1-0 narrow victory over Serbian White Eagles.
Defender Danny Velastegui scored on the half-hour mark for Brampton, he drove the ball past Serbian White Eagles goalkeeper Scott Cliff following a scramble in the box and the goal held up until the final whistle.
Brampton improve to 9-3-0 in fourth position in the standings, while Serbian White Eagles are at 3-8-1 for 10 points.
There were two games in the CSL Second Division Sunday:
SECOND DIVISION
Brampton City Utd B 4, Serbian White Eagles B 0
Niagara United B 4, St. Catharines Wolves B 1
TORONTO CROATIA TRIUMPH IN LONDON…Nudge closer to the top
Toronto Croatia nudged a little closer to the top with a 2-0 defeat of London City at the Hellenic Centre in London, the only game in the CSL Friday night.
Played in torrential rain most of the first half, the defending CSL champions attacked early and scored after 10 minutes on a goal by forward Kresimir Prgomet who took a pass from Tihomir Maletic to find the net from five yards. It was Prgomet’s eighth goal of the season and the first half ended 1-0.
London pressed for an equalizer in the second half, but the score stood until the 90th minute when Augustin De Medina made it 2-0 for the visitors. De Medina drove the ball from 25 yards to beat London goalkeeper Vladimir Markotic, the ball entering the bottom left corner of the net.
The win moved Toronto Croatia into third place with an 8-2-3 WLT record for 27 points, a point behind leaders Kingston FC and York Region Shooters. London City now have a 5-6-3 record for 18 points.
A second game scheduled for Friday night, Serbian White Eagles vs. SC Waterloo, was postponed on Thursday due to the condition of the playing surface at Centennial Stadium damaged by flooding on July 8. The game is expected to be played sometime in September.
Remaining games in the CSL this weekend:
FIRST DIVISION
Sat, Aug 3 Kalar Sports Park 7 PM Niagara United vs Windsor Stars
(Ref: Scott Decker, Assist. Alex Themistocleous, Michael Bradley 4th.Joseph D’Onofrio)
Sun, Aug 4 Victoria Park 5:30 PM Brampton City Utd vs Serbian White Eagles
(Ref: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin, Assist. Gianni Facchini, Peter Pendli 4th.Niquita Amirkhanian
Sun, Aug 4 Warrior Field 7 PM SC Waterloo vs Toronto Croatia
(Ref: Benjaman Jacobs, Assist.David Di Pasquale, Saman Sahraeinejad, 4th. Scott Decker)
SECOND DIVISION
Sat, Aug 3 Portuguese/Oriental 11 AM SC Waterloo B vs London City B
Sun, Aug 4 Victoria Park 3 PM Brampton City Utd B vs Serbian White Eagles B
Sun, Aug 4 Club Roma 6 PM St. Catharines Wolves B vs Niagara United B
TORONTO CROATIA CAN TAKE TOP SPOT……One game postponed in CSL weekend schedule
– With the league leaders Kingston FC and York Region Shooters without a game this weekend, Toronto Croatia with two games on schedule has an opportunity to take the top position in the CSL First Division.
But not an easy proposition for the current CSL champions while they take a swing through southwestern Ontario in an attempt to overcome London City in London on Friday and SC Waterloo at Warrior Field in Waterloo on Sunday night.
In-form Waterloo in particular, will be difficult as they move closer to a serious bid for the title and out to make amends for a tough 1-0 loss to York Region Shooters on July 28, a game that could have gone either way.
Brampton City Utd are hoping to improve their position near the top with a win from their home encounter with Serbian white Eagles at Victoria Park on Sunday.
Serbian White Eagles will be idle on Friday night following a last minute postponement of their home game against SC Waterloo, a game called off Thursday when it was announced the surface at Centennial Stadium has not yet recovered from the water damage following serious flooding on July 8.
In a well-played entertaining friendly at Kingston Thursday afternoon, CSL league leaders Kingston FC and the touring Swedish team Gute FC played to a 3-3 draw.
The upcoming weekend games :
FIRST DIVISION
Fri, Aug 2 Hellenic Centre 8:30 PM London City vs Toronto Croatia
(Ref: Arthur Korbiel, Assist. John Dutot, Nima Pejman, 4th.John Oliva)
Sat, Aug 3 Kalar Sports Park 7 PM Niagara United vs Windsor Stars
(Ref: Scott Decker, Assist. Alex Themistocleous, Michael Bradley 4th.Joseph D’Onofrio)
Sun, Aug 4 Victoria Park 5:30 PM Brampton City Utd vs Serbian White Eagles
(Ref: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin, Assist. Gianni Facchini, Peter Pendli 4th.Niquita Amirkhanian
Sun, Aug 4 Warrior Field 7 PM SC Waterloo vs Toronto Croatia
(Ref: Benjaman Jacobs, Assist.David Di Pasquale, Saman Sahraeinejad, 4th. Scott Decker)
SECOND DIVISION
Sat, Aug 3 Portuguese/Oriental 11 AM SC Waterloo B vs London City B
Sun, Aug 4 Victoria Park 3 PM Brampton City Utd B vs Serbian White Eagles B
Sun, Aug 4 Club Roma 6 PM St. Catharines Wolves B vs Niagara United B
Fri, Aug 2 Centennial Stadium 9 PM Serbian White Eagles vs SC Waterloo POSTPONED
YORK REGION SHOOTERS MAKE IT EIGHT IN A ROW…Toronto Croatia rebounds while Brampton falls to London City
York Region
Shooters extended their winning streak to eight games, Toronto Croatia bounced
back with a victory over Burlington SC and Brampton City Utd fell to London
City, three games in the CSL Sunday.
It was
scoreless for most of the hard-fought contest at Victoria Park in Brampton with
the first goal coming at 78 minutes when London City midfielder Harris Faziagic
opened the scoring for the visitors, a well-taken goal while cutting in from
the right wing to drive the ball in off the post away from a beaten Camilo
Benzi in the Brampton goal.
Just six
minutes later, Benzi was shown the red card by referee David Di Pasquale who
ejected the Brampton goalkeeper for Violent Conduct.
Brampton
pressed to get on even terms in the latter stages, but London increased their
lead when Jefferson Omide Agaiha scored into an empty net at 99 minutes while
substitute Brampton goalkeeper Euloge Kodzo Awitor was caught out of position.
The defeat
is a set-back for the home side while bidding for the First Division title. The
GTA side are third in the standings with an 8-3-0 for 24 points, while London
City improve with a 5-5-3 record for 18 points.
It was a
chippy encounter at the St. Joan of Arc ground in Maple where the home side
York Region Shooters eked out a 1-0 victory over SC Waterloo to extend their
winning streak to eight games, but it was all in doubt until the final whistle.
The first
half was scoreless but not without incident with referee Ramee Arbaji extended
to keep the game under control. York Region
Shooters opened the scoring at 65 minutes, a goal by midfielder Ali Hamam, his
sixth of the season. Hamam drove the ball from 12 yards on to a Waterloo
defender and the ball deflected to enter the net to the right of goalkeeper
Imad Hakura.
It was a close
contest through the second half and
Waterloo had an opportunity to tie the game from the penalty spot when referee
Arbaji called a foul inside the box at the 94th minute mark, but
Drazen Vukovic hit the post with the Shooters goalkeeper Adrian Ibanez well
beaten.
The eight
game winning streak gives York Region a 9-2-1 record for 28 points, tied with
Kingston FC for the top position. SC Waterloo has a 5-3-3 record for 18 points
and still very much in contention.
It was a
ding-dong affair at Nelson Stadium in Burlington where the lead changed hands
starting with Burlington scoring a go-ahead goal against Toronto Croatia at the
sixth minute mark, a goal by midfielder Nicholas Lindsay.
Tihomir Maletic tied the game 1-1 for Toronto
Croatia at the 18th minute mark, the score at half-time, and the prolific striker again beat Burlington
goalkeeper Vladimir Vujasinovic at 55
minutes for a 2-1 Croatia lead. The goals were Maletic’s 5th and 6th
of the season.
Lindsay
struck again just three minutes later for the home side to level the score 2-2, his 7th goal of the campaign, but
Toronto Croatia forward Kresimir Prgomet
scored the winning goal at the 71st minute mark – a 3-2 lead that
held up to the final whistle.
Prgomet’s winning
goal was his 7th of the season and the victory lifted Toronto
Croatia to a 7-2-3 record for 24 points, tied for third place in the standings.
Burlington FC have a 4-7-0 record for 12 points.
There were
two games in the CSL Second Division Sunday, York Region Shooters B defeated SC
Waterloo B 3-1 and Brampton City Utd B downed London City B, 3-0.
SHOOTERS, BRAMPTON, WATERLOO SCORE SUNDAY VICTORIES…Toronto Croatia falters
KINGSTON STAY ON TOP WITH COME-FROM-BEHIND TIE………Toronto Croatia recover from 3-0 deficit
Kingston FC came from behind twice to salvage a point with a 2-2 tie against Windsor Stars and Toronto Croatia were trailing Astros Vasas FC 3-0 before playing to a 3-3 draw, two games in the CSL Saturday night.
Midfielder Erik Cirovski opened the scoring for the home side at Windsor Stadium, he beat the visiting goalkeeper Jaroslav Tesar from 6 yards, but Kingston defender Joseph Zupo leveled the score 1-1 at 31 minutes, the score at the break.
David Kadoic put Windsor into a 2-1 lead at the 60th minute mark, but forward Guilliame Surot tied the game 2-2 for the visitors on a penalty kick at 79 minutes, referee Allison Enright calling the penalty following a Windsor foul during a collision in the box. Surot now leads the First Division scoring at this half-way point in the campaign with 15 goals.
Kingston stay on top of the CSL First Division as a result of the tie, they now have a 7-3-1WLT record for 22 points, while Windsor are at 3-3-2 for 11 points.
Astros Vasas were full marks for a 3-0 lead over the current CSL champions Toronto Croatia at Lamport Stadium in downtown Toronto, and it started with a goal by forward Tristan Watson at the 18th minute mark and Astros Vasas made it 2-0 on a goal 9 minutes later by midfielder Karoly Csak.
Watson scored his second goal at 39 minutes for a 3-0 Astros Vasas lead until just before half-time when Sven Aropovic beat Laszlo Barna in the Astros goal from the penalty spot, called by referee Armando Pereira for a hand ball in the box by Toronto Croatia’s Kurt Ramsey.
Watson was ejected by referee Pereira at 70 minutes after being given a second caution.
Toronto Croatia’s Roberto Galle then scored twice for a 3-3 tie to maintain the Croatia’s unbeaten record, The midfielder struck at 59 minutes for a 3-2 score and again late in the second half when his first shot was saved by Barna, but Galle picked up the rebound to find the net and it was 3-3 at the final whistle.
Toronto Croatia are second in the CSL standings with their unbeaten 6-0-3 for 21 points, while Astros Vasas continue a recovery following an early season struggle, they are at 2-7-2 for 8 points.
There were two games in the CSL Second Division Saturday:
London City B 1, SC Waterloo B 0
Toronto Croatia B 4, Serbian White Eagles B 1
TORONTO CROATIA WINS A SQUEAKER AT KINGSTON SATURDAY….St. Catharines defeat Niagara United
Toronto Croatia gained an important 1-0 victory over league-leading Kingston FC to remain unbeaten and nudge closer to the top of the CSL First Division, while St. Catharines Wolves picked up their second win of the season, a 2-0 defeat of Niagara United, two games in the CSL First Division Saturday.
Following a scoreless first half at the Queen’s West Field in Kingston, Toronto Croatia striker Tihomir Maletic struck the only goal at the 60th minute mark, a low drive past Kingston goalkeeper Jaroslav Tesar. The goal came following a close-call by Maletic four minutes earlier that was saved by Tesar who pushed the ball on to the crossbar for the save.
Kingston forward Guillaume Surot came close to equalizing late in the second half, but the 1-0 score held to the final whistle.
Two goals by St. Catharines Wolves forward Brett Laroque gave his side their first win since May 24 in the game with Niagara United at Kalar Park in Niagara Falls, the first goal coming at 42 minutes when Laroque beat Niagara goalkeeper John De Luca following a breakaway and it was 1-0 at the interval.
Laroque struck his second goal at 71 minutes for a 2-0 St. Catharines lead, the score at the final whistle.
Games in the CSL Second Division played Saturday:
Niagara United B 5, St. Catharines Wolves B 5
SC Waterloo B 1, Serbian White Eagles B 0
Toronto Croatia B 3, Kingston FC B 0
Remaining games in the CSL this weekend:
FIRST DIVISION
Sun. Jul 7 Esther Shiner Stadium 4:30 PM Astros Vasas FC vs Serbian White Eagles
(Ref. Justin Tasev, Assist. Niquita Amirkhanian, Alex Hearn, Jeff Fearnall)
Sun. Jul 7 Warrior Field 7 PM SC Waterloo vs Brampton City Utd
(Ref. Alexis Vaughan, Assist. David Di Pasquale, Scott Milliquet, 4th. Zac Taylor)
Sun. Jul 7 Nelson Stadium 7 PM Burlington SC vs London City
(Ref. Yusri Rudolf, Assist.Gianni Facchini, Matthew Mendonca, 4th. Colman O’Meara)
Sun. Jul 7 St. Joan of Arc 7:30 PM York Region Shooters vs Windsor Stars
(Ref. Manuel Orellana, Assist. Peter Pendli, Manny Alex Orellana, 4th Ramee Arbaji)
UNBEATEN TORONTO CROATIA SEEKS COVETED TOP SPOT…….all the weekend games
Toronto Croatia are anxious to move into a more familiar top spot in the CSL First Division and Saturday’s clash with Kingston FC will provide the opportunity to be closer to that coveted position the current champions have been waiting for.
The key, it would appear, will rest on the extent to which the Toronto side can hold the prolific Kingston high scoring sharpshooters responsible for leading the league in goals so far this season. The most outstanding player to find the net more than anyone else in the league is French-born Guillaume Surot with 14 to his credit and proving to be a handful for an opposing defence throughout the 90 minutes. But he’s not alone, with midfielders Jason Massie and Catalin Lichioiu accounting for 10 goals between them – always at the ready to find the net if not setting up the ever-dangerous Surot.
While Toronto Croatia is the only unbeaten team in the CSL First Division, Kingston has an impressive 6-0-0 record at home, which makes Saturday’s match even more intriguing.
Brampton City Utd should not be overlooked and a sharing of the points by Kingston and Toronto Croatia on Saturday would be just fine for the GTA team which visits an improving SC Waterloo for an interesting contest on Sunday.
The weekend games with match officials:
FIRST DIVISION
Fri. Jul 5 Windsor Stadium 8 PM Windsor Stars vs Burlington SC
(Ref: Armado Pereira, Assist. Lucian Burlacu,Gabriel Burlacu, 4th Matt McCready)
Fri. Jul 5 Hellenic Com Field 8:30 PM London City vs Astros Vasas FC
(Ref David Barrie, Assist. Scott Milliquet, Michel Bradley, 4th Scott Decker)
Fri. Jul 5 Centennial Stadium 9 PM Serbian White Eagles vs York Region Shooters
(Ref. Jeff Fearnall, Assist. Peter Pendli, Alex Hearn, 4th Alexis Vaughan )
Sat. Jul 6 Queen’s West Field 5 PM Kingston FC vsToronto Croatia
(Ref. Pierre Acouri, Assist. Dan Popescu, Vlaimir Makarov, 4th. Michael Stenbring)
Sat. Jul 6 Kalar Sports Park 7 PM Niagara United vs St. Catharines Wolves
(Ref. Hassane Rifai, Assist. Matthew Mendonca, Joseph D’Onofrio, 4th Sahab Jamshidi)
Sun. Jul 7 Esther Shiner Stadium 4:30 PM Astros Vasas FC vs Serbian White Eagles
(Ref. Justin Tasev, Assist. Niquita Amirkhanian, Alex Hearn, Jeff Fearnall)
Sun. Jul 7 Warrior Field 7 PM SC Waterloo vs Brampton City Utd
(Ref. Alexis Vaughan, Assist. David Di Pasquale, Scott Milliquet, 4th. Zac Taylor)
Sun. Jul 7 Nelson Stadium 7 PM Burlington SC vs London City
(Ref. Yusri Rudolf, Assist.Gianni Facchini, Matthew Mendonca, 4th. Colman O’Meara)
Sun. Jul 7 St. Joan of Arc 7:30 PM York Region Shooters vs Windsor Stars
(Ref. Manuel Orellana, Assist. Peter Pendli, Manny Alex Orellana, 4th Ramee Arbaji)
SECOND DIVISION
Sat. Jul 6 Kalar Sports Park 4 PM Niagara United B vs St. Catharines Wolves B
Sat. Jul 6 Eglinton Flats 7 PM Serbian White Eagles B vs SC Waterloo B
Sat. Jul 6 Queen’s West Field 7:15 PM Kingston FC B vs Toronto Croatia B
KINGSTON JUMP TO A 3-POINT LEAD….Toronto Croatia held to a tie at Windsor
Kingston FC jumped into a three-point lead at the top of the CSL First Division following another decisive victory, a 5-1 win over St. Catharines Wolves at the Queen’s West Field in Kingston Sunday, while Toronto Croatia faltered 2-2 against Windsor …