Italia Shooters leading scorer Frank Jonke nets his second of the game and seventh of the season versus Portugal FC on Canada Day. Photograph provided by Simon Shirley 416-823-6082

Tuesday July 1, 2008   Click here for Game Photo Gallery

 Coming off a lengthy two week layoff, the Italia Shooters were looking to shake off the rust early on Canada Day, as they were host to division rivals Portugal FC. With this being the first time these two sides have met this season, both began the game cautiously. After a sluggish first 10 minutes, the Italia Shooters slowly began to pressure the Portuguese side and began to generate some quality scoring chances. At the 12  minute mark the Shooters pressure paid off, as Italia’s leading scorer Frank Jonke collected the ball at the top of the Portugal penalty area and neatly tucked the ball into the bottom left corner of the net, netting his 7^th of the season. Two minutes later Jonke, full of confidence, scored his second of the game and 8^th of the season, after heading in a cross from teammate Murphy Wiredu. For the next 20 minutes Italia looked to have the game under control, and had most of the ball possession. Although controlling the game, the Shooters failed to capitalize on their chances. With five minutes to the half-time whistle the Italia Shooters gave away an unnecessary free-kick 25 yards from their net. Portugal FC winger Emerson Fiti’s ensuing cross took a deflection and beat Shooters keeper Camilo Benzi cutting the deficit to one, giving Portugal confidence going into the second half. The start of the second half saw the momentum swing in favour of the Portuguese side, as they had new life after scoring  late in the first half.  Portugal continued to press the Shooter’s and had more possession of the ball, although they could not generate any threatening scoring chances. At the 68^th minute mark Shooter coach Carmine Isacco made a few substitutions hoping to regain control of the game, and the Shooter’s did just that. With Portugal FC pressing for an equalizer and leaving their backline exposed, Italia looked to capitalize utilizing counter-attacks. At the 75^th minute mark, substitute Jason De Thomasis headed in a cross from teammate Joe Rini, giving Italia a 3-1 lead. For the remainder of the game, Italia continued to generate scoring chances as the Portuguese side were pressing forward to try and salvage a point from the game. At the 87^th minute mark Italia put the game out of reach as De Thomasis scored his second of the game heading in a cross from Matthew Palleschi. Final score Italia Shooters 4 Portugal FC 1. This win brings Italia to 19 points and keeping their first place position in the standings, one point clear of second place Toronto Croatia.

 
Saturday July 5, 2008

The Italia Shooters travelled to Trois-Rivieres this past weekend to take on the Trois-Rivieres Attak. The two teams met early on in the season, with Italia narrowly winning 1-0 at home and giving Trois-Rivieres their only loss of the season. In addition to being on the road and facing a tough Attak side, the Italia Shooters were without five key players from the game where they beat the Attak. The start of the game saw the Attak maintain most of the ball possession while Italia were content with sitting back and being selective in their opportunities to attack. Although Trois-Rivieres possessed more of the ball, the Shooters generated three quality scoring chances but failed to convert, and in the 37^th minute the Attak took the lead with Christian Nunez opening the scoring at the 37^th minute mark after he was left alone on a breakaway. For the remainder of the half the Shooters continually pressured the Attak, and went into the half-time interval with some confidence that they could get back into the game. Within the first minute of the second-half, Shooters forward Jason De Thomasis had a chance to tie the game, but his effort went wide of the left post. Italia looked to have been invigorated in the second-half, and it seemed that they would soon score the equalizing goal. Although to no avail, as the Attak scored on their first scoring chance in the half, as Nicolas Lesage scored from close range. Down 2-0, the Shooters were determined to get back into the contest and opted for a more attack-minded formation. Although the new formation put pressure on the Trois-Rivieres defence, the Shooters could not muster any goals. In the 72^nd minute, Attak midfielder Hector Contreras put the game out of reach with a shot from the top of the 18 yardbox into the top right corner from the Shooter goal, leaving keeper Benzi with no chance. In the 80^th minute the Attak netted their fourth of the game after converting on a free-kick from the top of the penalty box. Final Score Attak 4 Shooters 0. With this loss the Shooters are now tied for first place in the international division with Toronto Croatia. The Shooters next game will be at home Sunday July 13^th, at St. Joan of Arc turf field where they face the Brampton Lions. Kick-off is set for 4 pm.