Toronto Lynx: 1, Puerto Rico Islander: 0
Starting Lineups:
Toronto: Zagar, Titus, Arango, Bedenikovic, Williams, Mattacchione (SUB: Medwin, 46th), Aristodemo (SUB: Bartolomeu, 79th), DiPlacido, Jeffrey (SUB: Steele, 90th), Pottinger (SUB: Menezes, 56th), Palleschi (SUB: Neto, 65th).
Puerto Rico: Kennedy, Ortiz (SUB: Queeley, 31st), Velez, Piette, Rivera (SUB: E. Delgado, 71st), N. Delgado, Miranda, Barros-Schelotto, Marcina (SUB: Zuleta, 31st), Husain (SUB: Nieves, 65th), Blanco (SUB: Lopuski, 46th).
(Centennial Park Stadium, Toronto) A tricky, floating top-corner effort in the 15th minute of play by Marco Bedenikovic was the only goal of the contest and enough to bury the visiting Islanders in front of 1,265 Toronto fans.
The offensive-minded fullback, who has contributed going forward several times this 2006 campaign, found himself unmarked on the left flank and drilled across a high effort with a threatening tone. GK Kennedy misread the trajectory of the ball and allowed it over his head with no effort to interfere, thinking it was going clear. At the last moment, his shot took a nifty dip and swish into the top right corner, perhaps just as surprised himself as his opposition on the end result.
Despite the single goal, it wasn’t for lack of attempt on the Lynx’ part; by the 23rd minute alone, the shots were already 9-3 in Toronto’s favor (by game’s end it towered lopsided at 16-6). The efforts of always-impressive Noah Delgado notwithstanding, the remaining Islanders looked drained from last evening’s 1-1 draw with tough Rochester. Taking into consideration that over the past week Toronto had tied both the elite Rhinos and Montreal Impact, there was no excuse not to pull off the 3-points today against an admittedly good, but ultimately lesser, Islanders squad.
Make no mistake, the Islanders have improved as a collective unit from their inception in the USL a couple years back. With a more focused drive from the top going down, a willingness to experiment with player acquisitions, and a strong fan base, their overall will and psyche of victory shows more now than it once did, but the team was simply not there from the opening whistle. Although Toronto’s ‘keeper Zagar was mildly threatened with a haphazard 56th minute chip from the Islanders’ midfield when he was up pinching at the top of the goal box, the Lynx’ #22 was only truly tested on a point blank effort 3-minutes later when Husain stood on the doorstep to convert. Shifting his sizeable frame to the left after the deadly pass fell into the path of the Puerto Rican forward, Zagar connected first with a play-killing punch to knock it out of play and smother the visitors attempt at resurgence.
Toronto have entered their final run of the season with a dogged, prideful mindset, looking to simply roll out their challenged campaign with maximized points and a solid base to build on next year. With the coming of media-heavy MLS in 2007, Coach Wilde even realizes the possibility of his younger core may not be present if Toronto FC opportunities come knocking for the chosen few. (The appearance of newly appointed MLS coach Mo Johnson at last week’s match versus the Impact giving solid indication of variable intention.) Regardless, going undefeated at home in the final stretch for 7 matches, with commanding efforts from everyone concerned (both injured Menezes and Mattacchione had excellent showings this evening, and no appearances on card infractions by Shawn Faria, Gordon Chin, and Jamie Dodds), Toronto will end their 2006 season both respectably and with style. The Lynx next face the visiting Virginia Beach Mariners Sunday, September the 3rd.
Card Infractions: Toronto- Arango (YELLOW, 85th), Menezes (YELLOW, 90th). Puerto Rico- Piette (YELLOW, 72nd), Velez (YELLOW, 85th).
