London City punished 5-0

By Jonathon Brodie/London Community News / Twitter: @jonathonbrodie London City Soccer Club’s matchup against SC Toronto could have been a playoff presence for the home team at Cove Road Field Friday night (Aug. 17), but instead turned into a 5-0 punishment by a club paving their way to the postseason. In the first half, it was tough to tell if London City was playing up to a first place team’s caliber or if Toronto was acting more like a 12^th ranked squad in the Canadian Soccer League with both teams battling back-and-forth. Eventually, the visiting team would break the deadlock after a goal from Jonathan Osorio in the 35^th minute to take a 1-0 lead into the dressing room at halftime. “Like always a good first half,” said London City co-captain Nenad Begovic. “We get some chances but we can’t score, again.” London has seen their fair share of injuries so far this season, but they might have had their biggest beat down Friday when professional soccer veterans Begovic, forward Boban Stojanovic and defenceman Rade Novkovic all went down in the second half and stayed out for the rest of the game. With the slew of pains, came an onslaught of goals from Toronto, starting with Kyle Hall scoring in the 70^th minute and Osario capping the flooding of points just minutes before the final whistle to finish with a hat trick. “We need guys who know how to play soccer. Those kids, they know, but they’re inexperienced, they’re afraid, they play for the first time on a big field and that’s a main problem for us,” Begovic said about some of the younger players put on the field in place for London’s injuries. “I think the guys think that if I go out, I leave them and maybe that’s some of the reason why we lost.” The loss puts and end to London’s four-game undefeated streak that started since the team began a homestretch July 20 where they had three wins and one tie. The streak put London on the CSL playoff bubble and a win could have put them tied for the eighth and final playoff spot with only six games left. With the victory SC Toronto claims sole spot at the top of league with 34 points. London has a tough road ahead of them, alternating the last six games of the season between home and the road. The first three games down the stretch are against teams slightly higher in the rankings and battling for a playoff spot as well(SC Waterloo in 11^th, Brampton United in eighth and Mississauga Eagles FC in seventh). London City plays SC Waterloo at Cove Road Field on Saturday (Aug. 24). Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. “To be honest, I’m a bit lost for words. Obviously, we let up and they punished us for taking a few minutes off,” said London City’s other captain Mike Marcoccia after Friday’s game. “A loss is a loss. We’ve all been there before. You go back to checking and tweeking and you look to bounce back. In the long run I don’t think this will affect our good form lately.” [gallery link="file"] Find us on Facebook: London Community News