The Boys are Back: Hometown Win
Photo: @mik3
October 2nd, 2021, Guelph, ON - After 90 minutes of a nail-biting, edge of the seat game, Guelph's very own Guelph United FC redeemed themselves today with a 3-2 win over Milton's Scrosoppi FC (3-5-1). Guelph (7-0-1) was in desperate need of the three points as the League1 Ontario playoffs draw near with them now in the top seed in the L1O's West division, sitting two points above Oakville's Blue Devils FC.
This victory comes after Guelph's hope of a flawless inaugural season were shattered by the third seed in the West, FC London, last week in a 3-1 loss. Going into today's game with renewed hopes of a win in front a home crowd for the first home match in over a month, Coach Keith Mason's crew were prepared for a fight as their previous meeting with Scrosoppi saw Guelph win 1-0 with several cards being shown throughout the match.
The match’s pressure presented themself almost immediately as a bad challenge within Guelph's 18-yard area led to Scrosoppi's Nik Blaskovic (#7) netting the game's first goal against GUFC's Svyatik Artemenko. The #UnitedFront made a quick comeback less than 8 minutes later as team captain and current L1O Golden Boot hopeful Jace Kotosopoulos (#10) tied up the match whilst marking his 12th goal of the season. Only ten minutes later however, Scrosoppi's Santos Morgado (#11) would put the away side ahead once more with a strike past the Guelph keeper, Artemenko. Yet this would mark the final time the Milton side would find the back of the net as Tomasz Skublak (#8) would eventually tie the game followed by Guelph's Brandon Wellington (#12) securing the victory for the Royal City.
When asked about the win, Assistant Coach Don Ferguson stated “After a difficult first half the team settled in and played a united game. [There] could have been a couple of extra goals but we [will] settle with the 3-2 win”. Notable mention should be given to the three reserve call up, Vahan Sargsyan (#19), Arman Moghadasi (#2), and Matthew Maslanka (#6) who aided in the second half of todays match up.
The #UnitedFront now sit atop the West Division with only three points separating 1st from 3rd place. The boys now have an 8-day rest period until the 10th where they will play three games in seven days, taking on Windsor TFC (0-7-1) followed by Sigma FC (3-2-2) and then the Blue Devils (6-1-1). The latter two matches will be played in Guelph on October 12th at the Gryphon Soccer Complex West and on October 17th at Alumni Stadium respectively. Tickets can be purchased at guelphunitedfc.ca/shop.