PICTURE: FC Vorkuta (red) in recent action, will be one of several teams bidding this weekend to win the First Division, while others will be playing with the objective of being included in the eight teams to qualify for the post season playoffs.  PHOTO: Samad Kadirov

Four games scheduled for the weekend in the First Division of the Canadian Soccer League will all be played on Saturday night and there is high interest as clubs continue a late bid for league title honours or the opportunity to be included in the post season playoffs.

Three teams playing this weekend which are not yet assured of a playoff position, are Hamilton City and CSC Mississauga – they meet at the Cardinal Newman ground at 6 pm – while  playoff-seeking Brantford Galaxy will be on the same ground at 8 to play visiting Kingsman A.

Clubs playing on Saturday and still bidding to win the First Division are Vorkuta FC at the top of the standings and Waterloo – they come together at 7, also FC Ukraine United and Serbian White Eagles – and they meet at 5. Kingsman A cannot win the First Division, but can finish the regular season closer to the top than the present sixth position.

Teams not playing this weekend are Scarborough SC (second in the standings and in a position to be still bidding for the First Division title) and Real Mississauga – ninth in the standings and bidding to be one of eight teams to gain a playoff spot.)

Weekend Games in the First Division

Sat. August 24, Centennial Stadium 5 pm FC Ukraine United vs Serbian White Eagles       

Sat. August 24  Cardinal Newman 6 pm  Hamilton City vs CSC Mississauga            

Sat. August 24 RIM Park 7 pm SC Waterloo vs FC Vorkuta            

Sat. August 24 Cardinal Newman 8 pm   Brantford Galaxy vs Kingsman A              

Midweek Games in the Second Division

Tues. August 27 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm CSC Mississauga B vs Kingsman B

Wed. August 28, Cardinal Newman 7 pm Brantford Galaxy B vs Hamilton City B

PICTURE: Zoran Rajovic scored the late winner for an important victory for Scarborough, closing the gap to just four points with league-leading FC Vorkuta. Rajovic, 39, one of the most experienced professionals in the Canadian Soccer League, is today serving as player coach for Scarborough, has played for several clubs in Europe, has played in China, Thailand and Israel before coming to Canada.

Scarborough SC scored an important 2-1 victory over Kingsman in the Canadian Soccer League Sunday, while one other scheduled game, the FC Ukraine vs Hamilton City encounter at Centennial Stadium, was postponed.

Following a well-played scoreless first half, Scarborough forward Kavin Bryan found the net with a strong volley from 20 yards, his fifth of the season, to give the home side a 1-0 lead and Kingsman drew level with a goal by Sayid Belmokhtar, his 6^th of the season, at the 65^th minute mark.

Both teams fought to break the 1-1 deadlock and Scarborough broke through at 90 minutes when Kiril Dimitrov moved the ball to Zoran Rajovic who found the net at the 90^th minute for a 2-1 lead, which held to the final whistle. It was the fourth goal of the season for player-coach Rajovic.

It was Scarborough’s ninth win of the campaign, improving the east Toronto team’s record to 9-2-2 WLT to keep pace with league-leading FC Vorkuta with 33 points. Both teams have played 13 games.

MID WEEK IN THE SECOND DIVISION

Tuesday August 20, Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm   CSC Mississauga B vs Brantford Galaxy B

Wednesday August 21 Cardinal Newman Field 9 pm Hamilton City B vs  Serbian White Eagles B

 

 

 

 

PICTURE: Midfielder Adis Hasecic of SC Waterloo and a veteran of several clubs in Europe including the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, scored the first two goals to lead the way for a 4-1 Waterloo victory over CSC Mississauga at RIM Park Saturday.

Waterloo strengthened its position in a bid for regular season honours with a 4-1 home victory over CSC Mississauga, and in one other game in the Canadian Soccer League First Division, Real Mississauga defeated Brantford Galaxy 3-1.

Midfielder Adis Hasecic opened the scoring at 15 minutes for Waterloo at RIM Park and scored a second six minutes later for 2-0 lead at the interval.

Forward Petar Dordevic struck a third goal for the home side for a 3-0 lead at 55 minutes, his fifth goal of the season, and TonKu Bacclic of CSC Mississauga reduced the lead to 3-1 at 65 minutes

Ali Sahat found the net for Waterloo at the 80^th minute mark, a 4-1 score that held to the final whistle.

Waterloo improve to a 6-6-1 WLT record for 19 points in fourth position in the standings, while CSC Mississauga has a 3-9-1 record for 10 points in seventh position.

Real Mississauga helped its cause in an effort to capture a playoff spot following the 3-1 victory, moving up to ninth position in a switch of positions in the standings with Brantford Galaxy which drops to the foot of the table.

Eight teams will qualify for the post season championship competition.

REMAINING WEEKEND GAMES IN THE FIRST DIVISION

Sunday August 18 Centennial Stadium  8 pm FC Ukraine United vs Hamilton City

Sunday August 18 Birchmount Stadium 8.30 pm Scarborough SC vs  Kingsman A

MID WEEK IN THE SECOND DIVISION

Tuesday August 20, Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm   CSC Mississauga B vs Brantford Galaxy B

Wednesday August 21 Cardinal Newman  9 pm Hamilton City B vs  Serbian White Eagles B

 

 

 

 

 

 

PICTURE: FC Vorkuta (red) failed to win this home encounter with FC Ukraine United at the Ontario Soccer Centre on August 3, a match ending in a 2-2 draw. But that’s one of only two games not won by the unbeaten current CSL champions. The Vorkuta reserve team is experiencing similar success, having won all seven games in the Second Division. Teams have just a short period in their late regular season run up to the playoffs if they are to share in the regular season honours. PHOTO: Samad Kadirov.

For teams aiming to capture at least one of the two titles open to clubs in the CSL First Division – the league title and the CSL Championship –  the present results and standings appear all important at this stage of the campaign. It’s a short time just prior to the final run-up before the playoffs.

Three clubs – FC Vorkuta, Scarborough SC and Serbian White Eagles – are now in a position during the last month of the regular season to bid for the First Division title. It can be done by others, but would require an unlikely number of major defeats by the top trio coupled with a string of wins by teams at a lower level. An unlikely occurrence.

When the post-season playoffs do arrive, eight clubs, the top eight of 10 in the First Division at the end of the regular season, have an opportunity to win the CSL Championship. And of the eight qualifiers, the top four in the standings will have home game advantage in each round.

In the CSL Second Division, all six teams will qualify for the playoffs for the Second Division Championship and the top two at the end of the regular season will gain a bye into the semifinals, playing the two winners from the opening round.

FC Vorkuta B won its seventh of seven on Tuesday, which means the club’s two teams have yet to experience a loss this season. The Vorkuta reserve team totally dominated CSC Mississauga B 9-0 that night and there were seven scorers for Vorkuta.

Looking at the weekend games, in the First Division FC Vorkuta will not have it so easy with the visit to Centennial Stadium for a clash with Serbian White Eagles, a team attempting to pick up even more ground in an effort to get closer to the top.  Real Mississauga is at home to Brantford Galaxy, two teams striving to make the playoffs. SC Waterloo visits CSC Mississauga, the southwestern Ontario side hoping to add to an important 2-1 victory over Ukraine United in its last game. Ukraine United, attempting to make amends for that loss, is at home to Hamilton City, and to complete the weekend First Division schedule, Scarborough will be attempting to close the margin at the top of the table when it hosts Kingsman A at Birchmount Stadium..

WEEKEND IN THE FIRST DIVISION

 Friday August 16,   Centennial Stadium 7 pm Serbian White Eagles v FC Vorkuta

Saturday August 17 Huron Park 7 pm  Real Mississauga vs Brantford Galaxy        

Saturday August 17 RIM Park 7 pm SC Waterloo vs CSC Mississauga        

Sunday August 18 Centennial Stadium  8 pm FC Ukraine United vs Hamilton City              

Sunday August 18 Birchmount Stadium 8 pm Scarborough SC vs  Kingsman A    

MID WEEK IN THE SECOND DIVISION

Tuesday August 20, Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm CSC Mississauga B vs Brantford Galaxy B             

Wednesday August 21 Cardinal Newman Field 9 pm Hamilton City B vs  Serbian White Eagles B   

PICTURE: Aleksander Stojiljkovic, captain of Scarborough,  added another hat-trick to his prolific scoring record in recent seasons in the Canadian Soccer League.

Scarborough striker Aleksander Stojiljkovic scored three in a 3-3 draw with Kingsman A, Serbian White Eagles scored a narrow 3-2 victory over Real Mississauga and Brantford Galaxy defeated Hamilton City 3-1, three matches in the Canadian Soccer League Saturday.

Nasser Haidery opened the scoring at the 5^th minute mark for Kingsman at Esther Shiner Stadium and attacking midfielder Aleksander Stojiljkovic equalized for Scarborough three minutes later for a 1-1 score at the interval.

Stojiljkovic beat Kingsman goalkeeper Oleksandr Lozinskyl to score his second goal,  giving Scarborough a 2-1 lead at 61 minutes and Kingsman’s Viktor Raskov struck at 85 minutes to tie the match 2-2.

Stojiljkovic completed his hat-trick for a 3-2 lead for the visitors at 89 minutes and Kingsman equalized again with a goal by midfielder Dmytro Polyuhanych at the 93^rd minute mark, a 3-3 result at the final whistle.

Scarborough continues second in the standings with a  8-2-3 record for 27 points, six behind league-leading Vorkuta, while Kingsman has a 5-5-2 record for 17 points in fourth position.

Marko Stajic opened the scoring for Serbian White Eagles at Huron Park, finding the net at 7 minutes and Real Mississauga midfielder William Abel Briseno Aguilar equalized at the 44^th minute mark for a 1-1 score at the break.

Midfielder Nicolas Mejia put Real Mississauga in a 2-1 lead with a goal at 60 minutes, but Serbian White Eagles then struck twice in two minutes, at 69 minutes when midfielder Vladimir Strizovic scored and this was followed  by defender Ali Talha’s  goal at the 70^th minute mark for a 3-2 lead by the visitors. The score held to the final whistle.

Serbian White Eagles have improved to a 7-2-1 record for 22 points in third position in the table, while Real Mississauga is in 9^th position with a 1-8-1 record for 4 points.

Brantford Galaxy scored its first victory of the current campaign, a 3-1 result over Hamilton City at the Heritage Field. The Galaxy now have a 1-8-1 record for four points in 10^th position in the standings, while Hamilton City have a 2-4-3 record for 9 points in eighth position in the table.

There is one game in the CSL First Division on Sunday when FC Ukraine United are at home in Centennial Stadium to SC Waterloo, a 7.30 pm kickoff.

UPCOMING GAMES IN THE SECOND DIVISION

Sunday August 11 St. Roberts Field 2 pm FC Vorkuta B vs Brantford Galaxy B

Tuesday August 13 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm     CSC Mississauga B vs FC Vorkuta B

Wed.  August 14 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm Kingsman B vs Hamilton City B

Wed. Aug. 14 Cardinal Newman 9 pm Brantford Galaxy B vs Serbian White Eagles B

 

 

 

PICTURE: Substitute Fadi Salback, one of Vorkuta’s promising young players, completed the scoring with two goals for a 5-0 win over CSC Mississauga Friday.

FC Vorkuta took its unbeaten string to 12 games with a 5-0 away win over CSC Mississauga, one game played in the Canadian Soccer League Friday.

Following an early unsuccessful raid on the Vorkuta goal at the Hershey Centre, the visitors then moved to a counter attack which led to a cross from defender Vadym Gostiev to Olexandr Yaremchuk who put the ball inside the far post and into the net, a 1-0 lead by Vorkuta at the 11^th minute mark.

Vorkuta went ahead 2-0 at 38 minutes, a free kick outside the box by midfielder Serhii Ursulenko was deflected by the wall and into the net. It was 2-0 at the break.

Bohdan Borovskyi struck the third goal for Vorkuta at 52 minutes, collecting a cross from Serhii Melnyk just inside the box to drive the ball into the net.

Fadi Salback made it 4-0 at 71 minutes, tapping the ball into the net off a quick free kick by Valerii Yormosh, and Salback scored a second goal at 89 minutes after finding his way past two Mississauga defenders to score his third of the season for the club’s First Division team. It was a 5-0 final score for the league leaders.

Salback, a substitute, considered one of the younger, promising players in the Canadian Soccer League, opened the season scoring four goals for the Vorkuta B Second Division opener on June 22.

Vorkuta has a 10-0-2 WLT unbeaten record for 32 points at the top of the First Division to lead Scarborough in second position by 7 points, while CSC Mississauga are at 3-8-1 for 10 points and 7^th in the table.

Remaining games in the CSL over the weekend:

Saturday August 10 Esther Shiner Stad. 6.30 pm Kingsman A vs Scarborough SC

Saturday August 10 Huron Park 7 pm  Real Mississauga vs Serbian White Eagles 

Saturday, August 10 Heritage Field 8.30 pm Brantford Galaxy vs Hamilton City    

Sunday August 11 Centennial Stadium 7.30 pm FC Ukraine United vs SC Waterloo

 UPCOMING GAMES IN THE SECOND DIVISION

Sunday August 11 St. Roberts Field 2 pm FC Vorkuta B vs Brantford Galaxy B       

Tuesday August 13 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm  CSC Mississauga B vs FC Vorkuta B          

Wed.  August 14 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm Kingsman B vs Hamilton City B                             

Wed. Aug. 14 Cardinal Newman 9 pm Brantford Galaxy B vs Serbian White Eagles B         

              

PICTURE: While FC Vorkuta has reason to be optimistic about the outcome of Friday’s game, opposition CSC Mississauga’s three recent victories posting 16 goals and conceding one should cause the league leaders to avoid complacency. The teams meet at Huron Park in Mississauga, a 9 pm kickoff.                                                                                                               Photo: Samad Kadirov

CSC Mississauga picked it up with an 8-1 thumping of local rivals Real Mississauga on August 3 and while the benefit of the victory may not be noticeable for a team sitting in seventh position in the table, that’s outweighed by the psychological boost the side will experience. It’s the third win this campaign and it’s difficult to overlook that the other two victories were 4-0 results away from home. To take it a step further, all three wins were away with a total 16 goals scored and only one conceded and that’s a big step forward from the inaugural 2018 season’s one win at the foot of the table and the only team that failed to qualify for the post-season championship playoffs.

CSC Mississauga is at home to league-leading unbeaten FC Vorkuta to kickoff the weekend games on Friday night and while no one is expecting Mississauga’s turnaround to bring victory, their recent performance may well cause Vorkuta to avoid being complacent and not take the match and three points for granted.

Second place Scarborough, trailing Vorkuta by just five points and closing in while bidding for the First Division title, will not have an easy time against Kingsman A at Esther Shiner Stadium. Kingsman has won four of its last five games including against a strong Serbian White Eagles on August 3, which followed victories against SC Waterloo and Ukraine United. Kingsman’s one defeat in the last five encounters was against Vorkuta on July 27.

First Division Weekend Games

 Friday August 9 Hershey Centre 9 pm CSC Mississauga vs FC Vorkuta       

Saturday August 10 Esther Shiner Stad. 6.30 pm Kingsman A vs Scarborough SC

Saturday August 10 Huron Park 7 pm  Real Mississauga vs Serbian White Eagles 

Saturday, August 10 Heritage Field 8.30 pm Brantford Galaxy vs Hamilton City    

Sunday August 11 Centennial Stadium 7.30 pm FC Ukraine United vs SC Waterloo

 

UPCOMING GAMES IN THE SECOND DIVISION

Sunday August 11 St. Roberts Field 2 pm FC Vorkuta B vs Brantford Galaxy B       

Tues. Aug. 13 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm  CSC Mississauga B vs FC Vorkut B          

Wed.  Aug. 14 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm Kingsman B vs Hamilton City B

Wed. August 14 Cardinal Newman 9 pm Brantford Galaxy B vs Serbian White Eagles B    

              

PICTURE: New club Kingsman have made solid progress in fifth position in the standings, including a 4-2 defeat of Serbian White Eagles on Saturday, a game in which Sayid Belmokhtar (9) scored a hat-trick for Kingsman. Scarborough is in second position, just four points below league-leading Vorkuta following a 3-2 victory at Waterloo Sunday night.

PHOTO  by Oleg Kalyadin

Scarborough SC came back from a 2-0 deficit scoring three goals to defeat SC Waterloo 3-2 in the only game scheduled in the Canadian Soccer League Sunday night.

Forward Ante Kljusuric opened the scoring for Waterloo at the 22^nd mark at RIM Park and midfielder Adis Hasecic made it 2-0 for the home side three minutes later.

Scarborough captain Aleksander Stojiljkovic scored his fourth goal of the campaign, finding the net past Waterloo ‘keeper Dalibor Ivanovic at the 34^th minute mark for a 2-1 score, and Kavin Bryan equalized for Scarborough at 43 minutes, his fourth goal of the season and a 2-2 score at the interval.

Both sides had opportunities to score and at the 67^th minute forward Gonzalo Matias Cabrera Celis struck the winner for the visitors, his seventh goal of the season, and the 3-2 score held to the final whistle.

Scarborough improved to an 8-2-1 WLT record for 25 points for second place in the standings following the win, just four points behind unbeaten Vorkuta at the top with 29 points. Waterloo has a 4-6-1 record for 13 points in sixth position, having failed to win in four starts since June 27.

Serbian White Eagles (6-2-1 for 19 points) are third in the table following a 4-2 loss to Kingsman A  on Saturday, a win that lifted the new club to fifth position with a 5-5-0 record. Ukraine United (5-3-1 for 16 points) are now in fourth spot.

There are two matches mid-week in the Second Division:

Wed., Aug 7 Cardinal Newman 7 pm Hamilton City B vs CSC Mississauga B

Wed., Aug 7 Iceland Field 9 pm Serbian White Eagles B vs Kingsman B

 

A hat-trick by Sayid Belmokhtar led Kingsman A to a 4-2 victory over Serbian White Eagles, FC Vorkuta were held to a 2-2 draw by FC Ukraine United and CSC Mississauga dominated local rivals Real Mississauga 8-1, three games in the Canadian Soccer League Saturday.

Forward Sayid Belmokhtar scored the first three goals for Kingsman A in the 4-2 defeat of Serbian White Eagles at Esther Shiner Stadium to put the game out of reach late in the second half. Belmokhtar struck at 16 and 39 minutes for a 2-0 lead at the interval, to complete the hat-trick at the 56th minute mark. The goals were 3,4,5 on the season for Belmokhtar. Bozidar Tadic then found the net for Serbian White Eagles at 74 minutes for a 3-1 score and each side scored at 80 minutes, a goal by Serbian Eagles’ defender Milan Kusic and Oleh Savira scored for Kingsman, a 4-2 result in favour of Kingsman at the final whistle.

Vorkuta went ahead early against Ukraine United at the Ontario Soccer Centre and held a 2-0 lead from goals by forward Mykola Temniuk who took a cross on the chest from Pavlo Chornomaz to drive a low shot into the net past Ukraine United goalkeeper Oleksandr Popravka, and just one minute later Vorkuta was awarded a penalty following a hand ball and defender Liubomyr Halchuck made no mistake from the spot. It was Temniuk’s eleventh goal of the season to lead the First Division in scoring.

Ukraine United’s Ihor Sorotoskyi scored at 30 minutes to reduce the lead to 2-1. Sorotoskyi struck the crossbar with his header on the first attempt, but the midfielder tapped in the rebound into an empty net. Pavlo Lukianets tied the game for Ukraine United at 51 minutes when he found the net with a free header, a 2-2 draw at the final whistle.

In the late game at Huron Park, CSC Mississauga dominated the match with an 8-1 victory over local rivals Real Mississauga.

There is one game in the First Division on Sunday with SC Waterloo hosting Scarborough SC at RIM Park in Waterloo, a 7 pm kickoff

MID-WEEK IN THE SECOND DIVISION

 Wed., Aug 7 Cardinal Newman 7 pm Hamilton City B vs CSC Mississauga B             

 Wed., Aug 7 Iceland Field 9 pm Serbian White Eagles B vs Kingsman B      

 

 

 

 

 

PHOTO: Volodymyr Bidlovskyy  prominent for Vorkuta in 3-0 victory over Kingsman A

FC Vorkuta extended its unbeaten streak to 10 games with a 3-0 victory over Kingsman A, FC Ukraine United defeated Real Mississauga 4-0 and visiting Hamilton City held SC Waterloo to a scoreless draw, three games in the Canadian Soccer League First Division Saturday.

Kingsman were reduced to 10 men at 16 minutes of play when midfielder Stanislav Katana was given a second caution and red card at Esther Shiner Stadium. Vorkuta took control of the game with a number of scoring chances, but Kingsman goalkeeper Hryhorii Krasovskyi kept the visitors off the scoresheet until 21 minutes when Vorkuta’s Vadym Gostiev took a cross from Pavlo Chornomaz to send a powerful drive from close in to open the scoring. It was 1-0 for Vorkuta at the interval.

Vorkuta continued to press during the second half and increased its lead to 2-0 at 71 minutes when a prominent throughout Volodymyr Bidlovskyy crossed the ball to Ihor Melnyk for a right foot shot to find the net past Krasovskyi. A good solo effort by forward Fadi Salback of Vorkuta, who made his way into the box to score with a powerful shot, completed the scoring at 80 minutes, a 3-0 result in favour of the current CSL champions at the final whistle. It was Salbacks first goal of the season in the First Division.

Vorkuta lead the standings with a 9-0-1 WLT record for 28 points, while Kingsman has a 4-5-0 record for 12 points and drop to sixth in the table as a result of the loss.

Midfielder Taras Kryvyy struck twice for Ukraine United in the 4-0 defeat of Real Mississauga at Huron Park, giving the current First Division title holders their fifth win of the season. Defender Bohdan Skotskyl scored early and Aaron Reeves also found the net to complete a result that lifted Ukraine United from sixth to fourth position in the standings.

It was a well played encounter between Waterloo and Hamilton City which ended in a scoreless draw at Rim Park, a result that gave Waterloo a 4-5-1 record for 13 points for fifth position in the standings, while Hamilton City are now at 2-3-3 for nine points and seventh in the table.

Midweek in the Second Division

Tuesday, July 30 Ontario Soccer Centre 9 pm CSC Mississauga B vs Serbian White Eagles B      

 Wednesday, July 31 Cardinal Newman 9 pm Brantford Galaxy B vs Kingsman B