Italia Shooter goalie Jon Paul Piques collides with two Toronto Croatia players as he punches the ball clear in CSL soccer action Sunday.

Friday June 6, 2008                               Click here for Photo Gallery 

To say that the Italia Shooters were in hostile territory Friday evening would be an understatement, as the Vaughan based team played the Serbian White Eagles at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke. Notorious throughout the league and known simply as the “Ultra’s”, the Serbian fans were in full voice Friday evening. The stage was set for an intense evening of soccer, with these two rivals set to do battle as they squared-off for the second time this season.

The first 10 minutes of the game started off cagey, as both teams were well aware that either side had the quality to strike an early goal. As the game progressed, the White Eagle side attempted to dictate the game by means of substantial force, as they seemed to tackle every Shooter player on the field. This tactic proved successful, as the Shooters seemed rattled and were off their game, as they could not string more then a couple of passes together. Within the first 20 minutes Shooter goalkeeper Jon Paul Piques had to be at his very best as the White Eagles had several quality scoring opportunities, but were all denied by the spectacular play of Piques. The rough play continued throughout the half, which caused Shooter Striker Matthew Palleschi to leave the game with an injury. As the half wore on tempers began to flare, which led to the dismissal of Shooter midfielder Murphy Wiredu for serious foul play at the 25 minute mark. With 20 minutes to play and only 10 men on the field, the Shooters tried to close out the half without conceding any goals. Although playing a strong defensive game, with 1 minute left to the half-time interval Shooters defender Jamaal Smith was stripped of the ball, leaving Serbian forward Dragan Radovic with only the keeper to beat. At the half Serbia led 1-0. After the half-time break, coach Carmine Isacco made one change to the line-up, bringing in Forward Marco Terminesi. After a dismal first-half, the Shooters seemed to come to life in the second, playing with such intensity and poise, that to the unknowing spectator it would have seemed that the White Eagles were the team with 10 men. With more of the ball possession, the Shooters grew in confidence and began to settle down and create scoring opportunities. Nonetheless, the Shooters could still not even the score, and at the 70^th minute mark coach Carmine Isacco brought in veteran midfielder Chris Turner, hoping that his leadership would have a positive effect; and indeed that was the case. At the 84^th minute mark Turner weaved his way through a wall of Serbian defenders into the 18 yard-box, where he was upended leaving the referee with no choice but to call a penalty shot. Shooter Forward Frank Jonke converted the spot kick, as the big forward powered his shot down the middle of the net. With the game tied, the Shooters felt that the game was far from down and pressed forward looking for the game winning goal. After 4 minutes of injury time the Shooters had one last opportunity to win the game, as they were awarded () a corner kick. On the ensuing corner, defender Jammal Smith made up for his first half blunder, beating the Serbian goalie to the ball and heading it to a wide open Marco Terminesi who simply tapped the ball into the empty goal. Final score Shooters 2 White Eagles 1.

Sunday Jun 8, 2008

Coming off a dramatic and exhausting victory Friday evening against the Serbian White Eagles, the Italia Shooters would have to quickly recuperate as they hosted the defending CSL champions Toronto Croatia on a humid Sunday afternoon in Maple. The Shooters started with the same line-up as they did versus the White Eagles, hoping that the player’s confidence and momentum would translate to this fixture. This tactic seemed to be successful, as the Shooters had a couple of early scoring chances but failed to convert. As the old cliché goes, “you have to make the most of your opportunities”, this was definitely true in this game, as the Croatian side quickly recovered from the early Shooter pressure, and scored against the run of play from a corner kick. The goal rattled the Shooters and seemed to take them off their game. With the early Shooter momentum gone, Croatia went ahead 2-0 with a wonder goal from defender Halburto Harris at the 23^rd minute. Harris struck the ball into the top left corner of the net from the right sideline 35 yards away from the Shooter goal, leaving Italia keeper Jon Paul Piques handcuffed. With the win versus Serbia a distant memory, the Shooters would have to quickly turn their game around and recover, or else the game would be over as soon as it began. Although stunned by the score line, the Shooters were determined to get back into game, and score at least one goal before the half-time break. With most of the half played in the middle of the field, both teams were trying to establish some sort of authority. Although, from a seemingly harmless play, Shooters forward Frank Jonke pulled his team back one at the 34^th minute. The rest of the half neither team could muster anything in terms of scoring chances, with the first-half ending 2-1 in favour of Croatia. The Shooters started the second-half with three substitutions, as Marco Terminesi, Douglas Sereto, and Kofi Boateng were all inserted into the Shooter line-up, with hopes that they could bring some life to their side. From the start of the second half, the Shooters looked to dictate the pace of game, and this early pressure paid off. At the 48 minute mark substitute Marco Terminesi broke free down the left wing and chipped the ball over the Croatian goal keeper, knotting the game at two. Although overcoming the 2-0 score line, the Shooters play seemed to indicate that they were far from done, and were looking for their sixth win in as many games. As the half wore on, the Shooters play grew stronger and their deep bench paid dividends as the second-half substitutes were creating havoc for the Croatian backline. With a third Shooter goal almost seeming imminent, the Croatian goal keeper stood on his head, making several spectacular saves late in the game to keep his side in the game. With the game heading for a draw, Toronto Croatia forward Herrera beat two Shooter defenders to score the eventual game-winning goal. The loss was the first for the Shooters this season and also ends their 5 game winning streak. Next up for the Shooters are two away games versus London City Friday night and Brampton on Sunday afternoon.