A Toronto FC II own goal in the first half held up as the game winner for visitors St. Louis FC on Saturday at the Ontario Soccer Centre.
The offense continues to struggle for TFC II. The team has only managed to score one goal in their last seven matches, five of them being at home.
Saint Louis FC’s goal came in the 40th minute of the match. St. Louis defender Nick Bibbs was able to get passed Mark-Anthony Kaye on the right side of the pitch and place a low cross right through the TFC II box.
Defender Marcus Godinho made a sliding attempt to prevent a St. Louis player from getting a foot on the cross but he ended up deflecting the ball into his own net, putting St. Louis on the board.
Your Reds struggled to maintain possession in the first half and were unable to create any offence throughout the match.
“Overall I was disappointed with the first half performance,” said Head Coach Jason Bent following the 1-0 loss.
“Second half, fair play to the boys, they came out with renewed spirit, more energy, pushed our lines hard and basically took the game to them.”
“I’m happy with the effort in the second half. The players just need to understand we can’t compete for only 45 minutes at the professional level,” he added.
Nicholas Osorio Makes His First Team Debut
Big brother and Toronto FC player Jonathan Osorio was in the stands watching his youngest brother Nicholas Osorio make his Toronto FC II and USL debut against Saint Louis FC.
“It was very exciting for me,” said Nicholas Osorio following the match.
“I enjoyed myself. I hope to continue on getting the call-ups,” he continued.
It’s a family affair at the Toronto FC organization as the middle child of the Osorio trio, Anthony, also plays on Toronto FC II.
When asked about the motivation his brothers give him, Nicholas had this to say:
“Both my brothers, Jonathan and Anthony, they’ve been my inspiration all my life and I look up to them a lot.”
TFC II's Young Canadian Talent
Toronto FC II’s roster for Saturday’s match included five players born in 1998 (Nicholas Osorio, Gabriel Boakye, Malik Johnson, Liam Fraser, Kevin Timachy), three in 1997 (Filippo Di Bennardo, Marcus Godinho, Luca Uccello), and one in 1996 (Jordan Hamilton).
At one point in the second half the eleven players on the pitch for TFC II were all Canadian, a testament to the club’s commitment to developing homegrown talent.
Scoring Summary
SLFC – Marcus Godinho 40’ (OG)
Misconduct Summary
SLFC – Brandon Barklage 28’ (caution)
SLFC – Mike Ambersley 51’ (caution)
TFCII – Marcus Godinho 56’ (caution)
SLFC – Bryan Gaul 57’ (caution)
TFCII – Massimo Mirabelli 75’ (caution)
Records
Toronto FC II: 3-8-3 12 pts.
Saint Louis FC: 5-7-6 21 pts.
Lineups
Toronto FC II – Quillan Roberts ©; Marcus Godinho (Gabriel Boakye 66’), Skylar Thomas, Daniel Fabrizi, Mark Anthony Kaye; Liam Fraser, Luca Uccello, Anthony Osorio (Malik Johnson 60’), Massimo Mirabelli (Nicholas Osorio 79’); Edwin Rivas (Kevin Timachy 68’), Jordan Hamilton
Substitutes Not Used: Phil Di Bennardo, Emeka Ononye, Robert Boskovic,
Saint Louis FC – Alec Kann; James Musa, Sam Fink, Parker Maher, Nick Bibbs (Oskar Gasecki 70’); Brandon Barklage © (Chad Vandegriffe 90’), Jacob Bushue, Kentaro Takada (Bryan Ciesulka 63’), Charles Renken (Peter Kelly 73’); Bryan Gaul, Mike Ambersley
Substitutes Not Used: Mark Pais, Aaron Horton, Jeremy Lynch
