Shooters forward Frank Jonke colliding with two London City players in an attempt to score on Sunday afternoon. Jonke went on to score one of the Shooters four goals as the home side dominated their opponents.

Friday May 31, 3008 - Italia Shooters vs. TFC Academy

Friday night the Italia Shooters took on a young and eager Toronto FC Academy at Lamport Stadium in Toronto. The Shooters came into this game with some caution as little is known about the TFC Academy squad, but one thing was for sure, they would be tough and determined opponents with much to prove to other teams in the league. The game began cautiously for both teams, with most of the action coming from the TFC supporters in the crowd. The Shooters took advantage of the larger playing surface and kept a great deal of ball possession, looking for gaps in the TFC backline to exploit. After a missing a couple of scoring opportunities, Shooters forward Murphy Wiredu broke the deadlock at the 33^rd minute finishing off a well developed shooters attacking play. With the Shooters leading only 1-0 at the half, they new they would have to maintain their possession advantage and stay disciplined in the second half in order to secure the win. The start of the second half was similar to the first, with the Shooters enjoying the lion’s share of ball possession and dictating the tempo of the game. With TFC playing most of the game without the ball, the young team began to become agitated and lost their composure defensively. The Shooters quickly took advantage of this, setting up several scoring chances before forward Matthew Palleschi scored his second of the season in the 53^rd minute. The last 25 minutes of the game was played impressively by the Shooters, as they had created opportunity after opportunity, and it seemed like a matter of time before a third goal would be scored. In the 70^th minute, substitute Kofi Boateng wasted little time making an impact in the game, as he was dragged down by the TFC goalkeeper after sidestepping the keeper and given the penalty shot. Matthew Palleschi stepped-up to take the spot kick, but the shot was nicely saved by the TFC net-minder. Nevertheless, the win was never in doubt and the Shooters impressively defeated the TFC Academy by a score of 2-0. The Shooters would have little time to enjoy the victory, as they would be hosting London City in less then 48 hours on Sunday at 4pm at their home field St. Joan of Arc. 

Sunday June 1, 2008 - Italia Shooters vs. London City

 

The Shooters came into Sunday afternoon’s home game versus London City looking to extend their 3-game winning streak, but would be a difficult task, as 6 starters in the Shooters Friday win against the TFC Academy were not in the line-up. Shooter coach Carmine Isacco had this to say before the start of Sunday’s game, “We have a deep team; I have faith in all of our players and trust that we can have any 11 players on the field at any time and not miss a beat. That is the beauty of our team we have 26 players that are all first team players, and today is the first time we can show each player’s worth.” With 5 new faces starting today’s game, the Shooter’s would have to quickly find their feet and against a City team who is coming off back-to-back losses and would like nothing more than to get back on the winning track and in doing so end the Shooter’s winning streak. From the opening whistle the Shooter’s played a high pressure, quick paced game, forcing London City to commit several turnovers in their own half; although, the Shooter’s could not score on any of their early opportunities. The early chances created by the Shooters gave them the early momentum, and soon led to an entourage of shots being fired at the City keeper, forcing him to make some spectacular saves; most notably stopping a break away on Shooter forward Frank Jonke and midfielder Matthew Palleschi. As the half wore on the Shooters continued to gain confidence, and eventually broke the stalemate at the 42^nd minute mark with a 35 yard picturesque volley from Matthew Palleschi, that dipped just under the crossbar, leaving the London City keeper watching in awe as the ball hit the back of the net. Just before the whistle the Shooters added to their lead as forward Jason De Thomasis neatly tucked the ball into the right corner of the net after receiving a through pass from team mate Frank Jonke. The Shooters started the second half in the same fashion as they ended the first, and continued to bombard the London City net with shots. At the 66^th minute forward Frank Jonke put the game out of reach scoring the Shooters third goal, after he slipped by two London defenders and blasted the ball into the right top corner of the net. 13 minutes after Jonke’s goal, his replacement Stalin Cardenas made the game 4-0, as he finished off a well worked attacking move down the right side of the field. After making five substitutions, the Shooters focus for the rest of the game was to keep possession of the ball and stroke the ball smartly around the field. Although the game was out of reach, London City were determined to break the Shooter’s shut-out and had their chance as a City forward found himself alone with the Shooters keeper Adam Orologio, but failed to score as Orologio made a brilliant save to preserve the shut-out. The final whistle blew at the 91^st minute, giving the Shooters their fourth win in as many games. Although playing well and putting on a good show for the fans, the Shooters will have to begin to prepare for a much tougher opponent in that of the Serbian White Eagles on Friday away at Centennial Stadium, and then play host to the defending CSL champions, Toronto Croatia on Sunday at St Joan of Arc field at 4pm.