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High Flying Junior Reds Win 8-2 Over Sanjaxx Lions

By League1 Ontario staff, 09/08/16, 5:30PM EDT

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With their second eight goal haul in two matches, Toronto FC Academy ultimately steamrolled Sanjaxx Lions 8-2 after goals from Malik Smith (4'), Ethan Bekford (42', 48'), Cyrus Rollocks (67', 72'), Dante Campbell (73'), Reshon Philipp (80') and Steven Furlano (86'). 

"I think the second half showed that, even though we were up in the first half, I just think our tempo and movement was a lot better and we were in sync with each other," said Toronto FC Academy head coach, Stuart Neely. 

"I thought the boys did a good job in the second half in dealing with the opposition." 

Sanjaxx's Eric Kayenga (70') potted a goal for the Lions mid-way through the second half, but it was too late for Sanjaxx to get back into the contest after remaining in a defensive posture for much of the early going. 

"We just wanted to keep the ball in play and defend well, but individually and as a group it just didn't work out," said Sanjaxx head coach, Laza Lowe. 

"Both teams were playing in the same environment so the weather conditions had nothing to do with it. We did what we had to do to survive the game, and that's what it is."

Toronto FC Academy's attacking displays of late have seen huge return in the goals for column, and head coach Neely spoke to some of the training the team is doing in mid-week preparation.

"One of the things we had worked on over the week was adjusting our backline to allow our midfield to be a bit more tighter, especially on the weaker side of the pitch, which allowed us to get numbers forward just a little bit quicker than we normally do," he explained. 

"We tried not to play on the full width of the pitch, but keep it a bit narrower and be a bit more direct with our combination play," Neely added. 

"We struggled with it in the first twenty-five minutes but then we started to find our groove and we began to do bits and pieces of what we worked on in training."

"However, it wasn't enough so we brought on three subs at half-time and those three subs brought new energy, new focus, and a real appetite to get things done as we had worked on over the course of the week."