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ANB Futbol 0 - Windsor Stars 1

By lo admin, 06/09/14, 3:45PM EDT

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ANB Futbol 0 - Windsor Stars 1

Mon Jun 9 
Written By: Cromie, Chris
 

Windsor Stars snatched their first win of the season, with a 1-0 victory over ANB Futbol Academy at Country Day School in King City. The match may have been decided by Michael Pio's 30th minute penalty, but it will be remembered as a bad tempered affair that saw two red cards and a flush of yellows. 

From the start, Windsor imposed their physical presence on the game with a number of meaty challenges. Midfielders Brydon Caesar and Gabriel Poulino worked together to close down their opponent's passing channels early on, frustrating ANB into consistently losing possession in their own half.

As a result, ANB were restricted to the occasional counter, utilizing the pace of Jackson Tooke and Jason Mills to break past a Stars backline that kept moving forward to flood the midfield. In response, Windsor delivered some bone crunching tackles, if only to remind ANB that such forays came at a price. 

Gino Berardi offered a particularly thumping challenge that justly earned the Windsor forward a booking in the 21st minute. Referee Hassan Rifai perhaps hoped that the caution would settle both sides down, but the show was just getting started.

In the 29th minute, ANB goalkeeper Haydon Armstrong left his six yard box for a clearance but quickly found himself in no man's land, taking out the player rather than the ball. Windsor had cause to feel aggrieved as the immediate scramble resulted with the ball in the back of Armstrong's net, but was waved off in favour of a booking for Armstrong and a penalty for the Stars. Michael Pio stepped up and coolly stroked the ball to the goalkeeper's right, giving Windsor a deserved 1-0 lead. 

As the first half came to a close, the game threatened to boil over following a scything tackle from Windsor's Brett Holmberg on ANB's Brandon Mills. Holmberg, who had only been subbed on five minutes previous, was summarily cautioned, but the ensuing shoving match between players showed the match was getting a little too competitive. 

A goal down, ANB Head Coach Bassam Naim made three changes at half time, including swapping out goalkeeper Armstrong for Amir Jomehri. The new keeper was immediately tested by a wave of Windsor attacks, but the Stars just couldn't capitalize. Michael Pio shot wide after an excellent lay off from Gabriel Poulino, and when Patrick Lepera found himself alone at the back post following a 55th minute corner, the centre-half scuffed his chance. 

Fifteen minutes later, Lepera would find himself at the centre of controversy. As both teams battled for control of the midfield, the tackles started flying in. Referee Rifai appeared content to let the players play it out, until Jason Mills showed his studs and brought Lepera crashing down to the earth. A 20 man melee erupted in front of a boisterous crowd as the game threatened to get irreversibly out of control. 

When the smoke cleared, both Mills and Windsor's Christopher Suta had received their marching orders. In the final 15 minutes, ANB pushed for an equalizer and looked good value for it after Brandon Mills' dipping shot cracked off the underside of crossbar and bounced clear. Safeguarding their lead, Windsor were content to soak up the pressure and with the sound of the final whistle, had done just enough to secure their first three points of the season.

Unhappy with the poor temperament of the game, Coach Naim called the scuffles "nonsense," but was pleased with how his young side kept the tempo up and the ball moving. Windsor Head Coach Steve Vagnini called some of the tackles "silly," and left his side with a note of caution. "We need to start putting more of our chances away," he noted. "We didn't take out chances last week and it cost us two points. Today we were fortunate."