Guelph United lose to Sigma; will play pro/rel match to stay in Premier Division
With only 6 senior players available for selection, and even some reserve players away with their U-Sports teams, Guelph United stood no chance in an away matchup to a Sigma FC team with much fewer roster issues, on Saturday afternoon in Mississauga.
In a match that was a must-win for our team in order to stay alive in the race for the safety of the 10th place, Sigma started strong, and opened the scoring early, after a nice play by former Forge FC striker Kadell Thomas. In the 32nd minute, another good offensive play saw Sigma increase their lead, through current Forge FC loanee Kevaughn Tavernier. Cole Fernandez, our center-back who had to play attacking midfielder on Saturday due to our numerous absences, pulled one back, after a great play by Jared Agyemang, but it was Tavernier who scored the last goal and clinched the 3-1 Sigma FC win.
The loss confirms Guelph United will finish the season in 11th place, regardless of the results of the last gameweek, in which we’re hosting Simcoe County Rovers, on Labour Day Monday, at the Centennial Bowl. As per the new League1 Ontario format, the last place in the Premier Division, Hamilton United, relegates directly to the second-tier Championship, while the second-last place, Guelph United, will play a one-off “playoff” match with the second place in the Championship Division. The second-tier Championship saw TFC Academy finish in first place, but they already announced they will be moving to a US-based league for 2025, which means second place FC London gets the automatic promotion slot, while third place St. Catharines Roma Wolves will be our opponent, to determine the last Premier Division team in 2025.
Details about the date and time of the relegation playoff match, which will be hosted on neutral grounds, at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan, will be confirmed later.
Sigma FC - Guelph United 3-1 (2-1)
Goals: Thomas (‘6), Tavernier (‘32, ‘63) / Fernandez (‘34)
Yellow cards: Walton, Kaye / McKeon, Clack, Andrasic
Guelph United: Robart - Clack, Ferdinand, Obedi, Rioux (‘85 Andrasic0 - McKeon (‘67 Hassanzadeh), Ostrun, Cabral, Fernandez, Sran (‘67 Phanishayi) - Agyemang.