Scarborough SC advanced to the semi-finals of the CSL Championship following a 3-2 close contest at Esther Shiner Stadium Saturday.
But it was not an easy passage while opposition BGHC 1, the combined team from Brantford and Hamilton, fought every step of the 90 minutes while on a mission to win its first game of the season and in doing so upset the Toronto east side team and current champions.
Two early goals, at three minutes and five minutes, gave Scarborough the start needed to overcome a surprisingly confident BGHC 1 that rallied the game to a 2-2 tie just before the interval and setting the stage for a possible second half southwestern Ontario upset.
Defender Misel Klisara opened the scoring for Scarborough at the 3-minute mark, lobbing the ball into the top corner out of reach of BGHC goalkeeper Janko Milosevic and Neven Radakovic made it 2-0 two minutes later.
Petar Djordjevic struck for BGHC 1 at 12 minutes and Sandro Rajkovic equalized at 42 minutes, collecting the ball on the right wing corner of the box for a drive that set-up the 2-2 tie at the break.
Midfielder Vladimir Zelenbaba entered the game as a substitute at 45 minutes to meet a cross and head into the net from close in at the 48th minute mark. But the match was not lost for BGHC showing determination to score an equalizer and more in an attractive, well-played encounter that ended 3-2 in favour of Scarborough.
A jubilant Scarborough GM Kiril Dimitrov agreed it was a close game, “But we expect to win the championship again, “ he said in repeating previous season predictions that have been remarkably accurate.
The semi-finals will be played on Saturday, August 20 at Esther Shiner Stadium, a Serbian White Eagles vs Continentals FC and York Region Shooters vs Scarborough double header expected to kickoff at 4 pm