There was plenty of excitement but no surprises from the bench when Mykola Temniuk struck that winning goal for Continentals FC early in the second half of the 2021 CSL championship final against Scarborough SC at Lamport Stadium in downtown Toronto that Saturday night last August 27. There was no surprise when the talented Ukrainian striker tied the game 1-1 just before half time after opponents Scarborough took a 1-0 lead shortly after kickoff.
Temniuk is a prolific goalscorer with a history of similar match-winning efforts in Europe and in Canada. After establishing himself as a standout in the amateur leagues in Ukraine, followed by a season in Poland, Temniuk returned to Ukraine where his goalscoring assisted FC Ahrobiznes Volochysk in its promotion to the Ukrainian Second Division. Temniuk was also the league’s leading goalscorer with 18 goals in 18 games.
Temniuk signed for FC Vorkuta in 2019 to be the CSL’s leading goalscorer that season, helped by a hat-trick on June 15 and ending the season with 18 goals to top the first division scorers. That was the year FC Vorkuta’s led the first division with a goals tally of 66 while winning the first division title.
The long-time adage ‘it’s goals that count’ is given emphasis by the FC Vorkuta/Continentals goal scoring record while winning 11 titles in the six seasons since entering the Canadian Soccer League in 2017.
That’s surprising. And outstanding.
