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Relief For Vaughan, Heartbreak For Durham, As North Miss Smash Skillz

By League1 Ontario staff, 07/15/19, 5:15PM EDT

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(Photo: Martin Bazyl Photography)


(Photo: Martin Bazyl Photography)

A late hat-trick from Vaughan substitute Maksym Kowal brought Vaughan relief and Durham United heartbreak on Matchweek 11, while North Mississauga had a breakout game against Toronto Skillz in the Sunday finale. 

Find match briefs, full match video and a selection of high-res photography from match action below!  


(Photo: Martin Bazyl Photography)

Vaughan Azzurri managed to come back from 3-1 down to beat Durham United FA 4-3 at home on Matchweek 11 of the League1 Ontario men's season.

Cotterell (14'), Smith (45') and Djimi (65') scored for the away team, while Ferrin (44') scored one from the penalty spot and Kowal (77', 81', 83') got a hat-trick in six minutes as a substitute to help his team claim the crucial three points of this game.

Durham United, who had started the week 17 points behind their opposition, were determined to make a statement by beating one of the top teams in the league in their own backyard.

They were 13 minutes away from reaching their goal, little did anyone know that only half of that amount of time was enough for the Azzurri substitute to make his mark.

Maksym Kowal's hat-trick in six minutes turned Durham's seemingly memorable day into a nightmare.

Durham had managed to take the lead after a great early passage of play just outside the Azzurri penalty area saw Cotterell (14') finish after going one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

Since then, Azzurri started to gradually build more pressure on the opposition's defence.

Massimo Ferrin's goal from the spot kick was not his first attempt on goal in the first half. The striker had been denied twice by the Durham goalkeeper, Kevon Grant, before scoring at the end of the half. Moments after conceding the equalizer, another effective move by Durham gave them the lead once again and this time through Smith just before the half-time whistle.

Azzurri’s tactical adjustments at half-time did not have any major impact on the way the game went in the following 25 minutes. To make matters worse for Vaughan, Djimi managed to wonderfully finish a pass from the left flank provided by Smith to double his team's lead.

Everything was perfectly set up for the away side to celebrate a massive win against one of the best teams in the league this year. However, the introduction of Kowal in the 61st minute proved to be the game changer.

His three goals in six minutes meant that the gap between the two teams was going to increase to 20 points.

Vaughan Azzurri’s impressive comeback today means that they are now joint-first in the League1 Ontario table after 11 games, with a superior goal difference over Oakville Blue Devils the only separator.  

Vaughan SC will next play Masters FA on July 20 (8 p.m.) at L'Amoreaux Sports Centre, Toronto.

Durham United FA will next play Windsor TFC on July 19 (8 p.m.) at University of Windsor Stadium, Windsor.

(Kiarash Khorram)


(Photo: Martin Bazyl Photography)

The goals came early and they came often for the North Mississauga Panthers in their men's division match-up against Toronto Skillz on Sunday evening at Birchmount Stadium.

In a match that had significant playoff implications for both teams, it was the visitors from Mississauga that came out flying from the opening kickoff and never took their foot off the gas pedal, running away with a resounding 9-0 victory.

North Miss was led by Darren Gertiesingh (9', 37', 45') and Rahim Thorpe (25', 34', 50'), each with three goal performances.

Nicola Russo (52') and Jordan Prescod (89') each scored second half goals as well.  The ninth tally was an unfortunate own goal from the head of Skillz defender Manssur Mobarak.

Panthers 'keeper Jared Maloney earned the clean sheet and was called upon to make a couple of very good saves to keep the hosts off the scoreboard.

Despite the lopsided score line, the Skillz goalkeeper, Jesus Carbajal, actually had a relatively strong performance, being forced to make some very difficult saves as well. He had very little help defensively on this night and couldn't be blamed for the majority of goals that beat him.

With the win, North Mississauga vaults back into a playoff spot, sitting with 17 points from 11 matches, good for 8th position in the table. 

North Mississauga SC will next play Woodridge Strikers on July 19 (7:45 p.m.) at Paramount Fine Foods Field 1, Mississauga.

After Sunday's match, Toronto Skillz now sits in 15th position in the table with seven points from 11 matches. 

Toronto Skillz will next play Aurora FC on July 21 (6 p.m.) at Stewart Burnett Park, Aurora.

(Dino Rossi)