PICTURE: On rare occasions all teams in the Canadian Soccer League are in action the same day and Saturday brought together the eight teams taking part in the ProSound Cup competition while bidding for a playoff spot leading to the semifinals and final set for late October. Atletico Sporting Toronto took an early half-time lead in the four-game schedule Saturday, but BGHC 1 overcame the deficit in the second half to win 2-1.
BGHC 1 defeated Atletico Sporting Toronto 2-1 in the opener, midfielder Vladimir Strizovic scored a hat-trick to lift Serbian White Eagles out of an early season losing streak while winning 4-1 over St. Catharines Hrvat, FC Vorkuta extended its winning streak to four games with a 3-0 victory over Toronto Tigers and Scarborough also maintained its 100 per cent record with a 2-0 victory over Euru Academy.
Atletico Sporting Toronto took a early lead at the 5 minute mark in the opening game when midfielder Wabila Wallace beat BGHC 1 goalkeeper Ognjen Savic for a 1-0 lead at the break. Aleksandar Nikolic equalized for BGHC 1 at 33 minutes and Haris Redzepi struck the winner for BGHC 1at the 70th minute mark. Atletico defender Ademiyi Ade was shown the red card by referee Steve Serderevic following a second caution called for a reckless challenge.
Serbian White Eagles started on a road to recovery with a 4-1 victory over St. Catharines Hrvat after opening the season with three decisive defeats during which the 2016 Canadian Soccer League champions with a storied past failed to score a goal. Midfielder Vladimir Strizovic led the White Eagles with a hat-trick following early first half goals by Zoran Rajovic for White Eagles and Jacob Patten for St. Catharines. Strizovic struck at 20 and 26 minutes for a 3-1 Serbian White Eagles lead at the interval. Strizovic added his third for the hat-trick at the 65th minute mark and a 4-1 score at the final whistle.
FC Vorkuta stretched its winning streak to four games with a 3-0 victory over Toronto Tigers in Saturday’s third game. The current CSL defending champions also kept their record of not conceding a goal in this 2021 season, a 14-0 performance to date. Forward Mykola Temniuk opened the scoring after five minutes for Vorkuta and Sergii Ivliev made it 2-0 at the 24th minute mark, the score at half time. Midfielder Bogdan Borovskyi completed the scoring for Vorkuta at the 73rd minute.
Scarborough SC – last season’s CSL championship finalist – has a similar performance with a four-game early season winning streak and has scored 14 goals and conceded just two. The east Toronto side defeated Euru Academy 2-0 in Saturday’s finale. Forward Daylin Martin opened the scoring after just three minutes of play, finding the net past Euru goalkeeper Francis Sadik, and midfielder Moussa Limane struck at 24 minutes for a score that remained to the final whistle.
The ProSound Cup games will resume on Friday, September 24 when St. Catharines Hrvat will be at home to Atletico Sporting Toronto, a 7.45 kickoff. There will be three games the following day on Saturday, September 25 with BGHC 1 hostng Serbian White Eagles at 3pm, followed by the current top teams in the standings, FC Vorkuta vs Scarborough SC, at 5 pm. Toronto Tigers vs BGHC 1 meet at 7 pm, all games at Centennial Stadium.
A limited number of spectators are allowed into Centennial Stadium for all thre games on a day pass available at the gate for $10. Spectators are required to wear a mask or face covering in a manner that covers their mouth, nose and chin, unless they are entitled to an exemption. While seated in the stadium, the face mask can be removed. Physical distancing is required.