FC VORKUTA WINS CSL FIRST DIVISION TITLE

 

PICTURE: The opening goal from the penalty spot almost immediately following the evening kickoff between visiting FC Vorkuta and Real Mississauga at Huron Park in Mississauga on Saturday night, was scored by FC Vorkuta captain Liubomyr Halchuk. The goal led to the 7-1 victory  and the First Division title for Vorkuta, a fitting achievement for the now 37 year old Ukrainian-born defender with almost 200 professional appearances in Europe, more that 100 of which was for FC Lviv of the highly rated Ukrainian Premier League. Halchuk is today surely one of the most experienced defenders playing in Canadian soccer and is a big reason for the continuing success of Vorkuta in the Canadian Soccer League.

Unbeaten FC Vorkuta emphasized its season-long superiority with a 7-1 victory over Real Mississauga Saturday night and in doing so won the Canadian Soccer League First Division title. It was the 14th regular season win for the current CSL champions, and with three draws it leaves one game to be played by Vorkuta before the post-season championship playoffs begin in October. In one other First Division match on Saturday, SC Waterloo nipped FC Ukraine United 1-0, scoring in the closing minutes of a hard-fought contest.

Vorkuta lost no time in finding the Real Mississauga net at the Huron Park ground, scoring from the penalty spot in the first minute of play following a foul in the box by Mississauga defender Vadim Gozbunov on Vorkuta’s Mykola Temniuk. Vorkuta captain Liubomyr Halchuk scored from the spot. Serhii Melnyk made it 2-0 for Vorkuta, scoring his first goal of the season for the visitors at 15 minutes, a powerful low strike which quickly found the corner of the net. Temniuk added a third minutes later, his 17th goal of the season after taking a pass from Vadym Gostiev and at the 32nd minute mark Volodymyr Bidlovskyy drove a perfect curling free kick over the wall to increase the lead to 4-0.Temniuk scored goal number 18 on the season from the penalty spot following a hand ball offence by Real Mississauga’s Vadim Gozbunov for a 5-0 score at 41 minutes, the score at the break.

A third penalty kick in the game resulted in Real Mississauga’s only goal, the penalty taken by Arlind Ferhati after Valerii Haidarzhi of Vorkuta drew the referee’s whistle for a foul in the box. Iaroslav Solonynko’s one touch volley off a cross by Bidlovskyy made it 6-1 and the final goal came at 65 minutes when Bidlovskyy took a pass from Sergei Ivliev to find the corner, a 7-1 result in favour of Vorkuta at the final whistle.

Vorkuta wins the First Division with a 14-0-3 WLT for 45 points with one regular season game to be played, while Real Mississauga are at 2-11-1 for 7 points in ninth position in the table and four games remaining in the regular season schedule.

Defender Vladimir Zelenbaba struck the winner at 88 minutes for SC Waterloo in a hard fought encounter against visiting FC Ukraine United at RIM Park, to lift Waterloo into third position in the standings with a 9-7-1 for 28 points. Ukraine United has an 8-6-2 record for 26 points and fifth in the table. The top four teams at the completion of the regular season have home ground advantage in the post-season playoffs.

Midfielder Maksym Rohovskyi of Ukraine United was shown the red card by referee Javier Prior for a second half send-off.

There was one game in the Second Division Saturday, CSC Mississauga B defeated FC Vorkuta B, 4-0

REMAINING FIRST DIVISION GAME THIS WEEKEND:        

Sunday, Sept. 22 Birchmount Stadium 8 pm Scarborough SC vs Serbian White Eagles

Tuesday, Sept. 24 Esther Shiner Stadium 9 pm Real Mississauga vs Hamilton City

UPCOMING SECOND DIVISION GAMES 

Wednesday, Sept. 25 Iceland Field 9 pm Serbian White Eagles B vs Hamilton City B           

Wednesday, Sept. 25 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm Kingsman B vs FC Vorkuta B   

Wednesday, Sept. 25 Cardinal Newman 9 pm Brantford Galaxy B vs  CSC Mississauga B  

              

 

 

 

 

CSC MISSISSAUGA WIN PUTS PLAYOFFS MUCH CLOSER

CSC Mississauga moved much closer to a playoff spot with a 3-0 victory over Brantford Galaxy, the one Canadian Soccer League First Division match played Friday.

With a record of 5-10-1 WLT following the win, the Mississauga side has two games remaining in the regular schedule, at home against Kingsman A on Friday, September 27, followed by an away encounter with Hamilton City.

Brantford Galaxy, with a record of 2-13-1 for 7 points following Friday’s defeat, has two games remaining, at home against SC Waterloo on September 28 and Real Mississauga on October 5.

The regular season is expected to end during the first week of October and the post season playoffs will begin with the quarterfinals the Thanksgiving weekend of October 11, 12 and 13, followed by the semis the weekend 18, 19, 20. The CSL Championship Final and Second Division Championship Final will be played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke on Saturday, October 26.

On completion of the First Division regular season, the top four teams will have home team advantage in the playoffs and the opening round quarterfinals will be arranged 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5.

In the Second Division, all teams are in the playoffs and the top two teams at the end of the regular season will gain a bye to the semifinals.

The position of teams tied on points at the end of the regular season will be decided using the CSL Tie-Breaking Rule 2009:  Total wins during the regular season is the first decider, and if still tied, it’s the head to head record based on points. If still tied, the best goal difference in regular season games is used and if still tied, the total goals scored in regular season games is what counts.

Playoff games will be the usual regular time plus added time at 90 minutes (as with regular season games). If the score is tied, the teams will play 15 minutes each way extra time. If still tied, penalty kicks will be taken as per FIFA guidelines, to decide the winner.

REMAINING FIRST DIVISION GAMES THIS WEEKEND:     

Saturday, Sept. 21 Huron Park 7 pm  Real Mississauga SC vs FC Vorkuta 

Saturday, Sept. 21 RIM Park 7 pm  SC Waterloo vs FC Ukraine United      

Sunday, Sept. 22 Birchmount  8 pm Scarborough SC vs Serbian White Eagles

Tuesday, Sept. 24 Esther Shiner Stadium 9 pm Real Mississauga vs Hamilton City

 UPCOMING SECOND DIVISION GAMES

Saturday, Sept. 21 St. Roberts Field 1 pm FC Vorkuta B vs CSC Mississauga B        

Wednesday, Sept. 25 Iceland Field 9 pm Serbian White Eagles B vs Hamilton City B           

Wednesday, Sept. 25 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm Kingsman B vs FC Vorkuta B   

Wednesday, Sept. 25 Cardinal Newman 9 pm Brantford Galaxy B vs  CSC Mississauga B  

              

 

FIVE TEAMS BID FOR REMAINING THREE PLAYOFF BERTHS

PICTURE: Aleksander Stojiljkovic of Scarborough (seen here) and Molham Babouli of FC Ukraine United each scored 4 goals in recent regular season action, a good sign the teams are in form and confident of the upcoming post season playoffs which begin weekend October 11, 12, 13.

With five teams, FC Vorkuta, Scarborough SC, Serbian White Eagles, FC Ukraine United and Waterloo having clinched playoff berths for the post season Canadian Soccer League Championship, the remaining five teams in the CSL First Division are completing their regular season in a late attempt to clinch the three remaining spots still open.

Brantford Galaxy will play the first of its three games remaining in the regular season on Friday and with just 7 points they need a win to stay in contention. Real Mississauga, while also having 7 points and needing wins, are in a more favourable position, have played just 13 games  with five games still outstanding.

CSC Mississauga – Galaxy’s opponents on Friday –  is also in a better position for a playoff spot, as is Kingsman A, a team that’s not playing this weekend, it is idle until September 27. Hamilton City, will continue its bid for a playoff spot in a rare midweek game against Real Mississauga on Tuesday, September 24.

Defending champions FC Vorkuta continues to be a force in both divisions of the CSL and are considered favourites for a repeat of the 2018 CSL Championship victory. Scarborough SC, Serbian White Eagles and FC Ukraine United and SC Waterloo are all confident after clinching early playoff berths and showing recent strong form.

Individual players in two of these teams, FC Ukraine United and Scarborough SC, each struck 4 goals in recent games and thast’s always a good sign. They are Molham Babouli, playing in his first game with Ukraine United on September 8 and Aleksander Stojiljkovic scored 4 in the 6-1 Scarborough victory over Brantford Galaxy on September 14. Stojiljkovic has some history of finding the net four times in CSL games.

UPCOMING FIRST DIVISION:

Friday, Sept.20 Hershey Centre 9 pm CSC Mississauga vs Brantford Galaxy

Saturday, Sept. 21 Huron Park 7 pm  Real Mississauga SC vs FC Vorkuta

Saturday, Sept. 21 RIM Park 7 pm  SC Waterloo vs FC Ukraine United

Sunday, Sept. 22 Birchmount Stadium 8 pm Scarborough SC vs Serbian White Eagles

Tuesday, Sept. 24 Esther Shiner Stadium 9 pm Real Mississauga vs Hamilton City

UPCOMING SECOND DIVISION GAMES

Saturday, Sept. 21 St. Roberts Field 1 pm FC Vorkuta B vs CSC Mississauga B

Wednesday, Sept. 25 Iceland Field 9 pm Serbian White Eagles B vs Hamilton City B

Wednesday, Sept. 25 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm Kingsman B vs FC Vorkuta B

Wednesday, Sept. 25 Cardinal Newman 9 pm Brantford Galaxy B vs  CSC Mississauga B

 

UKRAINE UNITED DEFEAT KINGSMAN 5-1 SUNDAY

FC Ukraine United jumped into fourth position in the standings with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Kingsman A in the Canadian Soccer League First Division, the only game played on Sunday.

Forward Maksym Kowal opened the scoring for Ukraine United at the 4th minute mark at Centennial Stadium and defender Ivan Kucherenko made it 2-0 for the home side ten minutes later. Kowal struck again at 37 minutes for a 3-0 score at the break.

Mulham Babouli increased the score to 4-0 at 55 minutes, his fifth goal of the season,  and Svlatoslav Dziadykevych added a 5th goal for a 5-0 lead at 71 minutes.

Dmytro Polyuhanych found the net for Kingsman at 75 minutes, his ninth goal of the season, to reduce the score to 5-1 which held to the final whistle.

Ukraine United moved into an improved fourth is the standing as a result of the win, for a 8-5-2 WLT record for 26 points.  Ukraine United has three games remaining in the regular season against Waterloo, Serbian White Eagles and Real Mississauga.  Kingsman has a 6-8-1 record for 19 points in sixth position, with also three games remaining against CSC Mississauga, Hamilton City and Serbian White Eagles.

Ukraine United has secured a playoff spot in the CSL Championship, with Vorkuta, Scarborough, Serbian White Eagles and Waterloo. Three teams have yet to be decided.

UPCOMING SECOND DIVISION GAMES:

Wednesday, Sept. 18 12 pm Serbian White Eagles B vs Brantford Galaxy B         

Wednesday, Sept. 18 9 pm Hamilton City B vs Kingsman B         

 

 

VORKUTA STRETCHES UNBEATEN STREAK TO 16 GAMES

PICTURE: Despite early and relentless attacks on the  Hamilton City goal, Vorkuta was kept off  the scoresheet for most of the first half due to outstanding goalkeeping by Aleksandar Nikolic.

FC Vorkuta stretched its unbeaten streak to 16 games with a 3-1 victory over Hamilton City, SC Waterloo defeated Real Mississauga 4-0 and Scarborough SC dominated Brantford Galaxy 6-1, three games in the Canadian Soccer League First Division Saturday night.

FC Vorkuta was on the attack from the kickoff at Heritage Field, but top goalkeeping by Hamilton City’s Alexandar Nikolic kept the game scoreless until the 43rd minute when Vorkuta midfielder Valerii Yarmosh found the net, a tap in from a low cross by Mykola Temniuk. It was 1-0 at the break.

Temniuk made it 2-0 at 49 minutes after breaking through the Hamilton defence on his way to sending a hard drive into the corner of the net. Temniuk struck again at 55 minutes after taking a pass from Bohdan Borovskyi to beat goalkeeper Nikolic to the ball, then placing it into the net for a 3-0 Vorkuta lead. Temniuk’s two goals were his 15th and 16th of the season and the Ukrainian-born striker continues to lead the CSL First Division scoring.

Hamilton City reduced the lead to 3-1 at 80 minutes, a penalty kick following a foul in the box by Vorkuta’s Oleksandr Volchkov and Ilija Bajcetic scored for Hamilton from the spot. The 3-1 Vorkuta lead held to the final whistle.

Vorkuta remains unbeaten with a 13-0-3 WLT record for 42 points at the top of the First Division, six points clear of Scarborough in second place following the east Toronto team’s 6-1 victory over Brantford Galaxy in the late game played at the Heritage Field. Scarborough has an 11-2-3 record for 36 points, while Brantford Galaxy has a 2-12-1 record for 7 points at the foot of the standings.

Aleksandar Milovanovic opened the scoring for Waterloo against Real Mississauga at RIM Park at the 17th minute mark and midfielder Miodrag Kovacevic made it 2-0 at 41 minutes, the score at the break. It was Kovacevic’s 8th goal of the season.

Milovanovic scored a second goal for a 3-0 score at 48 minutes and defender Milos Urta completed the scoring at 59 minutes, a 4-0 result in favour of Waterloo at the final whistle.

Waterloo has an 8-7-1 record for 25 points in fourth position in the table, while Real Mississauga is in 9th position with a 2-10-1 record for 7 points.

FC Vorkuta,  Scarborough SC, Serbian White Eagles,  FC Ukraine United and SC Waterloo have clinched a position in the  post season playoffs for the CSL Championship. Three additional teams will qualify

REMAINING FIRST DIVISION GAMES DURING THE WEEKEND:    

Sunday, Sept. 15 Centennial Stadium 5 pm FC Ukraine United vs Kingsman A     

 UPCOMING SECOND DIVISION GAMES:

Wednesday, Sept. 18 12 pm Serbian White Eagles B vs Brantford Galaxy B          

Wednesday, Sept. 18 9 pm Hamilton City B vs Kingsman B          

FRIDAY VICTORY FOR CSC MISSISSAUGA….who’s in the playoffs, who’s not

PICTURE: CSC Mississauga’s attacking midfielder, Pero Menalo, played a big part in his side’s hard earned surprise victory over third place Serbian White Eagles, a win that gives  lowly Mississauga a boost as it strives to clinch its first playoff spot in the  post-season CSL Championship. Menalo set up the opening goal for the home side and struck the winner just before the final whistle at 94 minutes.

A last minute winner by Pero Menalo gave CSC Mississauga a 3-2 victory over Serbian White Eagles in a well-played tough encounter at the Hershey Centre, the only game played in the Canadian Soccer League Friday night. Menalo was on the end of a left wing cross to put the ball over the line at the 94th minute and it was the forward’s sixth goal of the season, which may prove to be the most important one as CSC Mississauga seeks its first playoff game to compete for the CSL Championship.

Menalo was part of the opening goal also, moving the ball to Nicola Brtan who found the net for a 1-0 CSC Mississauga lead at the 6th minute mark.

Serbian White Eagles equalized at 34 minutes, a goal by Marko Stajic and went into the lead from the penalty spot, a goal by Maris Scepanovic to put the visitors up 2-1. CSC Mississauga rallied to tie the game 2-2 when Zdravko Puljic struck from a tight angle and at the end of an attractive game played at good pace, Menalo hit the winner.

The win improves CSC Mississauga to a 4-10-1 WLT record for 13 points in seventh position, while Serbian White Eagles are third in the table with a 8-3-4 record for 28 points.

Serbian White Eagles have already clinched a playoff spot, Friday’s winning team, CSC Mississauga, has not yet made it to the top eight. With three games remaining, (vs Brantford Galaxy, Kingsman A and Hamilton City), the Mississauga side will be attempting to pick up enough points to enter the group of eight as the regular season comes to a close.

The regular season is expected to end during the first week of October and the post season playoffs will begin with the quarterfinals the Thanksgiving weekend of October 11, 12 and 13, followed by the semis the weekend 18, 19, 20. The CSL Championship Final and Second Division Championship Final will be played Saturday, October 26 or Sunday, October 27.

On completion of the First Division regular season, the top four teams will have home team advantage in the playoffs and the opening round quarterfinals will be arranged 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5.

In the Second Division, all teams are in the playoffs and the top two teams at the end of the regular season will gain a bye to the semifinals.

The position of teams tied on points at the end of the regular season will be decided using the CSL Tie-Breaking Rule 2009:  Total wins during the regular season is the first decider, and if still tied, it’s the head to head record based on points. If still tied, the best goal difference in regular season games is used and if still tied, the total goals scored in regular season games is what counts.

Playoff games will be the usual regular time plus added time at 90 minutes (as with regular season games). If the score is tied, the teams will play 15 minutes each way extra time. If still tied, penalty kicks will be taken as per FIFA guidelines, to decide the winner.

First Division teams in bold have secured a playoff spot following the game of Friday, September 13:

               FC Vorkuta

               Scarborough SC

               Serbian White Eagles

               FC Ukraine United

               SC Waterloo 

Three additional teams from the following will make up the eight to enter the quarterfinals during the weekend October 11 – 13.

Kingsman A

CSC Mississauga

Hamilton City

Real Mississauga

Brantford Galaxy

REMAINING FIRST DIVISION GAMES DURING THE WEEKEND:     

Saturday, Sept.14 Heritage Field 6.30 pm Hamilton City vs FC Vorkuta     

Saturday, Sept. 14 RIM Park 7 pm SC Waterloo vs Real Mississauga SC    

Saturday, Sept. 14 Heritage Field 8.30 pm Brantford Galaxy vs Scarborough SC   

Sunday, Sept. 15 Centennial Stadium 5 pm FC Ukraine United vs Kingsman A      

 UPCOMING SECOND DIVISION GAMES:

Wednesday, Sept. 18 12 pm Serbian White Eagles B vs Brantford Galaxy B           

Wednesday, Sept. 18 9 pm Hamilton City B vs Kingsman B           

NEW ARRIVAL BABOULI STRIKES FOUR FOR UKRAINE UTD

PICTURE: Molham Babouli, 26, stepped into the FC Ukraine United line-up for the first time on Sunday night and promptly deposited four goals into the Brantford Galaxy net. Not surprising, following the striker’s sparkling domestic career that has taken the attacking midfielder from the Dixie Soccer Club in Mississauga to university soccer, to Toronto FC II, the Canadian U-23 team and Mississauga MetroStars of the U.S.-based Major Arena Soccer League.

New signing Molham Babouli, playing his first game for FC Ukraine United, had a field day with four goals in a 5-0 victory over Brantford Galaxy and Kingsman A squeezed past Hamilton City 3-2, two games in the Canadian Soccer League First Division Sunday.

Forward Sviatoslav Dziadykevych opened the scoring for Ukraine United at 16 minutes, collecting a pass from Babouli to find the net past Brantford goalkeeper Ognjeh Savic.

Babouli made it 2-0 at 34 minutes, picking up the ball from defender Ivan Kvcherenko and it was 2-0 at the break.

Babouli made it 3-0 at 62 minutes, taking a pass from Pavlo Lukianets to drive into the net, and the Canadian under-23 international completed his hat-trick at 76 minutes, heading in a right wing cross from Lukianets for a 4-0 lead by the home side.

Babouli struck his fourth goal one minute later for a 5-0 score which held until the final whistle.

Ukraine United improve to 7-5-2 WLT for 23 points in fourth position in the standings and clinch a spot in the CSL Championship post-season playoffs with FC Vorkuta, Scarborough SC, Serbian White Eagles and SC Waterloo. There are three playoff positions still to be won. Brantford Galaxy remain at the foot of the table with a 2-11-1 record for 7 points.

Playing his first game for Ukraine United, Babouli played his earlier soccer for Dixie Soccer Club in Mississauga, Georgia Perimeter College in Atlanta, and Sheridan College in Oakville before signing for Toronto FC II to score 26 goals and winning the Golden Boot. Babouli became best known, however, playing for Canada’s U-23 and scoring a one on one against Brazilian goalkeeper Andrey Da Silva in the Pan American Games in 2015. In recent times, Babouli has been a prominent player with the Mississauga MetroStars, of the Major Arena Soccer League for which he continues as an active player.

Forward Sayid Belmokhtar opened the scoring at 39 minutes for Kingsman A, his seventh of the season, against Hamilton City at Esther Shiner Stadium and midfielder Dmytro Polyuhanych increased the lead to 2-0 right on halftime, his eighth goal of the season.   Forward Viktor Raskov  gave the home side a 3-0 lead at 58 minutes.

Hamilton City fought back in the second half, a rally that paid off with two goals when defender Vukasin Kovacevic cut the lead to 3-1 at 69 minutes and  Pani Sarkis  added a second for Hamilton to further reduce the lead to 3-2 at the 82nd minute mark, a score that held to the final whistle.

Kingsman A has a 6-7-1 record for 19 points in sixth position, while Hamilton City is at 3-7-3 for 12 points in seventh position.

UPCOMING MIDWEEK SECOND DIVISION GAMES

 Tues. Sept 10 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm CSC Mississauga B  vs Hamilton City B         

Wed. Sep 11 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm Kingsman B vs Serbian White Eagles B      

Wed. Sep 11 Cardinal Newman  9 pm Brantford Galaxy B vs FC Vorkuta B

TITLE HOPES FADE WITH 2-2 DRAW FRIDAY

PICTURE: A jubilant Scarborough SC in earlier times failed  in Friday night’s match to secure three points in the encounter with Serbian White Eagles, leaving a severely diminished opportunity to now overhaul league-leading FC Vorkuta on the brink of the First Division title.

Serbian White Eagles and Scarborough SC played to a 2-2 draw in the only match scheduled in the Canadian Soccer League Friday night, a result that severely diminishes any opportunity for FC Vorkuta to be caught and lose top spot and a title laid claim to for most of the current campaign while holding a runaway margin at the top of the table.

With Scarborough and Serbian White Eagles positioned as the only teams with any chance of catching the unbeaten Vorkuta, any possibility of success required one of these teams to launch a late season bid with nothing less than a victory and three points from Friday’s match that ended with a 2-2 result.

It was an even, well played encounter at Centennial Stadium in Toronto’s west-end with Scarborough’s Gonzalo Cebrera Celis finding the net past Serbian White Eagles’ goalkeeper Goran Skaric to put the visitors ahead 1-0 at 13 minutes. It was the Scarborough forward’s 8th goal of the season.

Bozidar Tadic equalized for Serbian White Eagles at 18 minutes and it was 1-1 at the break.

Serbian Eagles went ahead 2-1 at 64 minutes, a spectacular goal by Vladimir Strizovic scored with a diving header at almost ground level coming off a low cross from Milos Scepanovic. It was Strizovic’s 10th goal of the season.

Scarborough player-coach Zoran Rajovic, who entered the field as a substitute half-way through the second half, struck the equalizer with his fifth goal of the season at 81 minutes after collecting a rebound from a drive by Kiril Dimitrov.  Dimitrov’s shot struck the upper right corner of the upright and crossbar to come back into play.

Scarborough remains in second position in the standings with a 10-2-3 WLT record for 33 points, trailing Vorkuta by six points, each team having three games remaining in the regular season. Serbian White Eagles has a 8-2-4 record for 28 points with four games remaining.

The remaining weekend First Division matches are:

Sunday, Sept. 8  Esther Shiner Stadium 7 pm Kingsman A vs Hamilton City

 Sunday, Sept. 8 Centennial Stadium 7 pm FC Ukraine United vs Brantford Galaxy

UPCOMING SECOND DIVISION GAMES

Tues. Sept 10 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm CSC Mississauga B  vs Hamilton City B            

Wed. Sep 11 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm Kingsman B vs Serbian White Eagles B       

Wed. Sep 11 Cardinal Newman  9 pm Brantford Galaxy B vs FC Vorkuta B     

LAST CHANCE EFFORT FOR SCARBOROUGH, SERBIAN WHITE EAGLES

Scarborough SC and Serbian White Eagles have not yet conceded the First Division title to FC Vorkuta, but that may change Friday night when the second and third place teams meet for the first time this season during this coming weekend. Vorkuta is idle in the top division and will no doubt be keeping a close eye on the result. A draw at Centennial is not the best outcome for either team and a defeat will be even worse during this late stage of the schedule when every point counts if there is still a chance to dislodge the still unbeaten side that bears the name of a community north of the Arctic Circle in Russia.

Waterloo, with three games remaining in the regular season schedule, like Vorkuta, is not playing this weekend. Waterloo is out of the First Division title picture, but has secured with Vorkuta, Scarborough and Serbian White Eagles its place in the post season playoffs and will be out to win the championship as it did during a 2013 banner year. That’s the year the southwestern Ontario team won both the CSL and Second Division championships.

FC Ukraine United, which won the First Division in 2018 and the Second Division in 2017 after being the First Division runner-up in its inaugural year 2016, have slumped this season with five defeats to date, and with the remaining clubs in the league table are becoming more focused on the post-season playoffs in October leading to the CSL championship. Ukraine United is at home to Brantford Galaxy, a team which still has an opportunity to be one of eight teams in the post-season playoffs.

Hamilton City, visiting Esther Shiner Stadium on Sunday for the match with Kingsman A, is in a similar position needing points to  clinch a playoff spot,

The weekend First Division matches are:

Friday, Sept. 6 Centennial Stadium 7 pm Serbian White Eagles vs Scarborough SC   

Sunday, Sept. 8  Esther Shiner Stadium 7 pm Kingsman A vs Hamilton City

Sunday, Sept. 8 Centennial Stadium 7 pm FC Ukraine United vs Brantford Galaxy

UCOMING SECOND DIVISION GAMES

Tuesday, Sept 10 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm CSC Mississauga B  vs Hamilton City B             

Wednesday, Sep 11 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm Kingsman B vs Serbian White Eagles B        

Wednesday, Sep 11 Cardinal Newman  9 pm Brantford Galaxy B vs FC Vorkuta B      

 

VORKUTA, SCARBOROUGH SCORE SUNDAY WINS

PICTURE: Vorkuta defender Vadym Gostiev sealed the win with a goal at 92 minutes and was prominent with an assist and strong defensive play.

Photo by Samad Kadirov

FC Vorkuta stretched its unbeaten streak to 15 games with a 3-0 away victory over FC Ukraine United, while in one other match played in the Canadian Soccer League First Division Sunday, Scarborough defeated Hamilton City 2-0.

League leading scorer Mykola Temniuk of Vorkuta struck twice, a goal in each half to raise his total on the season to 14, while the Vorkuta third goal was scored by defender Vadym Gostiev.

Vorkuta went on to the attack early with Ukraine United counter attacking at Centennial Stadium in Toronto’s west-end and the opening goal was scored when Temniuk dispossessed a Ukraine United defender to then find the net past goalkeeper Oleksandr Popravka. It was 1-0 at the break.

Ukraine United went on the attack during the second half in an attempt to get back on even terms, but at 86 minutes Temniuk headed in a corner kick by Vadym Gostiev to increase the lead to 2-0 for the visitors.

Gostiev sealed the win for Vorkuta with a goal at 92 minutes, scored when Vorkuta cleared a free kick by Ukraine United  and Ihor Melnyk made a quick pass to Gostiev who closed in to beat Popravka. The 3-0 score held to the final whistle.

Vorkuta leads the First Division with a 12-0-3 WLT record for 39 points followed by Scarborough’s 10-2-2 for 32 points following the Toronto east-end team’s 2-0 victory over Hamilton City.

Kavin Bryan scored both goals in the first half for Scarborough in the match at Birchmount Stadium, the first at 23 minutes off a corner kick by Jamaican national team player Marvin O’Neil Morgan and the second goal at 38 minutes, driving the ball into the net from inside the box.

Ukraine United now has a 6-5-2 record for 20 points in fifth position in the standings following Sunday’s loss, and Hamilton City has a 3-6-3 record for 12 points following the 2-0 defeat by Scarborough.

In Second Division action, a 5-3 victory on Sunday afternoon by FC Vorkuta B over Serbian White Eagles B — the top team’s nearest rivals in the Second Division standings — puts Vorkuta B very much in control with an 8-0-0 WLT 100 per cent record for 24 points in the standings, while Serbian White Eagles B are still in second position in the Second Division table with 16 points.

Kristijan Kezic scored a hat-trick for the Vorkuta reserve team at the St. Roberts ground, while Denys Yanchuk and Illia Piltenko added a goal apiece. Serbian White Eagles B goals came from Marko Stajic (2) and Miroslav Jovanovic.

Vorkuta’s top scorer last season, Kristijan Kezic, returned for his first game in two months following an ankle injury, which means the top club in both divisions will be even stronger now to finish off the season.

All six Second Division teams will qualify for the post season playoffs, with the two top teams gaining a bye to the semifinals in pursuit of the Second Division Championship.

UPCOMING MIDWEEK LEAGUE GAMES IN THE SECOND DIVISION            

Wed. Sep 4 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm Kingsman B vs Brantford Galaxy B             

Wed. Sep 4 Cardinal Nrwman 9 pm Hamilton City B vs FC Vorkuta B           

Wed. Sep 4 Iceland Field 9 pm  Serbian White Eagles B vs CSC Mississauga B           

WATERLOO IN FOURTH SPOT FOLLOWING 4-1 VICTORY

SC Waterloo took over fourth spot in the First Division standings with a 4-1 victory over Brantford Galaxy, one game scheduled in the Canadian Soccer League Saturday.

Waterloo took an early lead when at 5 minutes forward Ali Sahat scored for the home side and midfielder Miodrag Kovacevic made it 2-0 at the 21st  minute mark..

Defender Milos Urta struck a third goal  for Waterloo at 36 minutes and it was 3-0 at the interval.

Brantford Galaxy cut the lead to 3-1 when midfielder Camilo Veloza found the net past Waterloo goalkeeper Dalibor Ivanovic at the 61st minute mark, but just a minute later the home side increased the score to 4-1, a second goal by Kovacevic and the score held to the final whistle. It was goal 7 on the season for Kovacevic.

Waterloo increased its record to 7-7-1 WLT for 22 points and fourth position in the table as a result of the win, while Brantford Galaxy now has a 2-10-1 record at the foot of the standings.

REMAINING MATCHES IN THE CSL FIRST DIVISION OVER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND

Sunday Sept. 1 Birchmount Stadium 8 pm Scarborough SC vs Hamilton City        

Sunday Sep 1 Centennial Stadium 9 pm FC Ukraine United vs FC Vorkuta

UPCOMING SECOND DIVISION  

Sunday Sep 1 St. Roberts 3 pm   FC Vorkuta B vs Serbian White Eagles B 

Wed. Sep 4 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm    Kingsman B vs Brantford Galaxy B           

Wed. Sep 4 Cardinal Nrwman 9 pm Hamilton City B vs FC Vorkuta B           

Wed. Sep 4 Iceland Field 9 pm  Serbian White Eagles B vs CSC Mississauga B           

STAJIC WINNER LIFTS SERBIAN WHITE EAGLES

A winning goal midway through the second half by Marko Stajic gave Serbian White Eagles a 2-1 victory over Real Mississauga at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke, the only First Division match scheduled in the Canadian Soccer League Friday night.

Daniel Liu opened the scoring just before the break for visiting Real Mississauga, a spectacular picture goal from a quick left foot drive from 40 yards when it appeared Serbian White Eagles goalkeeper Goran Skaric was out of position and the ball ended up in the back of the net. It was 1-0 at halftime.

Midfielder Misel Klisara equalized for the home side, a hard shot from 25 yards that entered inside the left post out of reach of Real Mississauga goalkeeper Samual Cibrian Bravo, a 1-1 tie at 58 minutes.

Stajic’s goal came at 77 minutes following a period during which Serbian Eagles were pressing for a winner. Stajic was 10 yards out when he lifted the ball just under the crossbar, a 2-1 score that held to the final whistle.

It was Serbian White Eagles’ eighth win of the season, lifting the team to an 8-2-3 WLT record for 27 points, still in third position trailing Scarborough now by two points and league-leading FC Vorkuta by nine points. Serbian White Eagles have one game in hand over Vorkuta.

The victory gives Serbian White Eagles a berth in the playoffs, with FC Vorkuta and Scarborough, leaving five more clubs to qualify for the post-season playoffs leading to the CSL Championship.

REMAINING HOLIDAY WEEKEND GAMES IN THE FIRST DIVISION

 Saturday Aug. 31 RIM Park 7 pm SC Waterloo vs Brantford Galaxy          

 Sunday Sept. 1 Birchmount Stadium 8 pm Scarborough SC vs Hamilton City       

 Sunday Sep 1 Centennial Stadium 9 pm   FC Ukraine United vs FC Vorkuta

 UPCOMING SECOND DIVISION 

 Sunday Sep 1 St. Roberts 3 pm   FC Vorkuta B vs Serbian White Eagles B

 Wed. Sep 4 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm Kingsman B vs Brantford Galaxy B          

 Wed. Sep 4 Cardinal Nrwman 9 pm Hamilton City B vs FC Vorkuta B          

 Wed. Sep 4 Iceland Field 9 pm  Serbian White Eagles B vs CSC Mississauga B           

 

FIRST DIVISION TITLE STILL UP IN THE AIR

The holiday weekend games in the First Division provide a unique opportunity for the four teams immediately below league-leading FC Vorkuta to win their games. Scarborough, Serbian White Eagles, Waterloo and FC Ukraine United are not connected this weekend – all are playing against opposition in the bottom half of the standings.

Points will be won this weekend for qualification in the playoffs. FC Vorkuta and Scarborough have already qualified and Serbian White Eagles need just one point.

Scarborough has not given up on the First Division title. Just seven points behind Vorkuta and with a game in hand, Scarborough has a realistic vision to chase. To a much lesser extent, Serbian White Eagles with 12 points to catch up but with two games in hand. Others are no doubt more focused on the playoffs and winning the CSL Championship. Several teams are capable.

THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND GAMES IN THE FIRST DIVISION

Friday Aug. 30 Centennial Stadium 7 pm Serbian White Eagles vs Real Mississauga

Saturday Aug. 31 RIM Park 7 pm SC Waterloo vs Brantford Galaxy           

Sunday Sept. 1 Birchmount Stadium 8 pm Scarborough SC vs Hamilton City        

Sunday Sep 1 Centennial Stadium 9 pm                FC Ukraine United vs FC Vorkuta

UPCOMING SECOND DIVISION  

Sunday Sep 1 St. Roberts 3 pm   FC Vorkuta B vs Serbian White Eagles B 

Wednesday Sep 4 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm    Kingsman B vs Brantford Galaxy B           

Wednesday Sep 4 Cardinal Nrwman 9 pm Hamilton City B vs FC Vorkuta B           

Wednesday Sep 4 Iceland Field 9 pm  Serbian White Eagles B vs CSC Mississauga B           

VORKUTA vs SURE SPORTS FC EXHIBITION POSTPONED

The exhibition match between FC Vorkuta and Sure Sports FC of Maryland scheduled for Wednesday, August 28, an 8 pm kickoff at the Ontario Soccer Centre Stadium, has been postponed.

The visiting Sure Sports FC has requested the postponement and that the Canadian Soccer League and FC Vorkuta consider an alternative venue early September. The new date is being submitted by  the Maryland-based club, a member of the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) in the next day or two, and will be announced.