We March On: Guelph Marks Their Second Loss of the Season
Photo: guelphunited_photos (IG)
October 17th, 2021, Guelph, ON – Despite a valiant effort by the red and white and with the League1 Ontario Supporters Trophy in sight, Guelph United FC (9-2-0) dropped their final home game of the 2021 season 1-0 to Oakville’s Blue Devils FC (8-1-2). As the season winds down, the top three clubs in the L1O West Division have been in a tight race to see which two will survive the race for November and move on to this year’s playoffs. With Guelph having already clinched their spot with a mid-week win over Sigma FC (4-4-3), the Blue Devils and FC London (8-3-0) are jostling to determine who will be joining the #UnitedFront in the post-season.
Alumni Stadium’s last League1 regular season match of the year was a bittersweet affair which saw just over 300 supporters from around Wellington County and the Tri-City area pack the stands to mark the end of what has been an extremely successful season for the home side. With red and gold filling the stands, a 1pm kickoff began what would remain a relatively equal match-up between the first- and second-seeds until the deadlock was broken by the Blue Devils who netted one past Guelph keeper Svyatik Artemenko (#1), marking only his 13th goal against this season. Guelph would fail to equalize the rest of the match and would fall to the Blue Devils; the previous meeting between these two sides was a starkly different affair as back on August 29th, Guelph dominated the Blue Devils in Oakville with a 5-0 win.
Today’s match marks Guelph’s second-last game for the regular season as the squad now marches towards Mississauga where on October 23rd, the UnitedFront will take on Sigma at the Paramount Fine Food Centre – Field 1 at 1pm. While Guelph failed to capitalize on the top seed-clinching points today, a win on the 23rd would secure them the divisional title. As for FC London and the Blue Devils, they will be meeting each other in one final bout on the 24th to determine who will be joining Guelph in the post-season; separated by only two points, a win would secure either side their ticket forward whereas a draw would send the Blue Devils to the promise land. Should Guelph secure the top spot in the West, they will be hosting the number-two seed in the East Division at Alumni Stadium on October 30th; date is provisional and kickoff time remains to be confirmed.