Cataraqui II Ease To Victory |
Cataraqui II 1 vs Frontenac United 0
What a difference a day makes. After Sunday’s heat and torrential rain, temperatures had dropped back to early May levels for a bone-chilling and bone-crunching contest under the lights at Caton’s 1. A small posse of Cataraqui III lads stayed on after their goalless draw with Grizlly’s to watch, and a few of the faithful were there to enjoy a hard fought match.
The tone was set early with two hefty tackles on Paul Blais who did a first class job of marking high scoring Donny Carmichael out of the game. Barry Cave had an excellent game in central defence, with a few dazzling trots down the field, the ball stuck to his feet with superglue. Melvin Orozco recorded his second straight shut out, showing secure handling of the ball in difficult conditions. The defence was very solid, allowing no real chances on net, and even being able to push forward with Eoin Boyle and Steve Vardy well into the action.
Coach Billy Stewart had an almost complete roster to choose from and was able to make an impressive “full side” change. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough shirts to pull this off in style, and the sartorial delay resulted in a yellow card for Barry Cave for time wasting. It was nice to see Roman Zablocki back in the mid field. With Warren Tutty, Val Tomsons, Pete Jenkins, and the tireless Ted Bailey, the central mid field is very secure, and indeed dominated this game.
The young lads (not including George Lovell) were in good form with Gary Hart, Peter Boyle Jr, and Andy Nader showing excellent pace and creating chances up front. The combination of Andy Nader and Roman Zablocki should prove a goal scoring resource when the two are in synch.
In the first half, Cataraqui II had the bulk of the possession and pressure, but were unable to convert their chances. Larry Hart and Peter Boyle Jr came close and Brian Dodo just could not get enough on a free header. Luke Hempel also had a couple of break-aways, but was foiled by a scrambling Frontenac United defence. It was Luke who broke the deadlock in the second half with a looping shot to the far post which beat the Frontenac United goalkeeper in the top corner. (This was always a difficult ball to handle in the lights and swirling wind, but I am sure the ‘keeper would like to have had another try at it.) Cataraqui II continued to pile on the pressure with Eddie Edwards getting through on a couple of occasions, but no second goal was forthcoming.
The game was punctuated by heavy handed tackling and light handed refereeing, but resulted in a good win for the blues who sit on top of the B Division on goal difference.
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