Posts Tagged ‘Rafael Carbajal’

Home Field Dominance Continues for Milltown FC

July 22nd, 2010
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From Milltown FC:

The Rogers Centre in Toronto played host to two of the world’s most famous football clubs on Friday night but it could be argued that the most important professional soccer match occurring in the province of Ontario that evening was taking place at Bishop Reding Field in Milton.

Milltown FC and FC Hamilton Croatia, two of the three new entries in the Canadian Soccer League for the 2010 season, took to the pitch in Milton on Friday tied for 3rd place in the league standings. Milltown came into the match full of confidence thanks to their seven game undefeated streak while the club from Hamilton entered this game riding a three game winning streak of their own, during which time they had outscored their opponents by a combined 14-2.

Milltown FC’s starting lineup featured two new faces for this match. The International Transfer window opened on July 15, allowing MFC`s Head Coach and Director of Soccer Operations, Rafael Carbajal, to add Bahamian national team striker Lesley St. Fleur to the team’s roster. St. Fleur signed with the club earlier in the week, following a weeklong trial where he impressed the coaching staff with his potent combination of blazing speed and outstanding skillfulness. Coach Carbajal also inked Brian Alcantara, a 21 year old midfielder from the Toronto area, and inserted him directly into the starting lineup in place of the injured Jason Morgan.

The near capacity crowd was treated to an exciting start to this match. Just two minutes into the first half, Irishman Aidan O’Keefe, Hamilton’s leading scorer, executed a perfect chip shot from about 20 yards out that just eluded the finger tips of Milltown’s goalkeeper Scott Cliff to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead. It was O’Keefe’s 8th goal of the season.

The young squad from Milton did not hang their heads and, just five minutes later, they were able to even the score at 1-1. MFC midfielder Martijn Kuijpers slid a lovely through ball up the middle that Agustin DeMedina was able to reach just ahead of the onrushing Hamilton keeper, Cameron McKay. DeMedina’s delicate toe-poke directed the ball just past McKay’s outstretched arms and into the back of the net, to the delight of the home crowd.

After those two early goals, the remaining 38 minutes featured fairly even possession of the ball but not a lot of great scoring opportunities as the Milltown and Hamilton defenders did a good job of keeping most of those chances to the outside.

MFC has had a habit of coming out very strong in the 2nd half and this game would be no different. Milltown came out of the locker room flying, winning most of the midfield battles and creating some good counter attack opportunities. In the 60th minute, Coach Carbajal opted to bring Cordell Benjamin into the game in place of Erick Olazabal and moved Lesley St. Fleur out to the left and it didn’t take very long for this decision to bear fruit as, just 10 minutes later, St. Fleur whipped in a low, hard cross into the Hamilton box that Benjamin’s got his right foot onto and deposited into the roof of the net, past McKay, giving Milltown FC a deserved 2-1 lead.

Now trailing for the first time in the match, Hamilton applied quite a bit of pressure on Milltown, trying to find an equalizer, but a combination of strong defending and excellent goalkeeping kept the visitors at bay. When the final whistle was blown, the Milton fans showed their appreciation and, as has become custom, they gathered at the exit of Bishop Reding Field and showered their team with applause as the players headed for the showers.

“I am very proud of the way the team played tonight,” said Coach Carbajal. “Hamilton Croatia is a very talented and experienced team but we proved that we have a lot of quality in our team as well. We showed a lot of character after giving up the early goal. Agustin’s goal was important because it settled us down and, after we tied the game, we kept our focus for the rest of the match and came out with a very important result.”

The victory gives Milltown FC 22 points from 12 games, extends their undefeated streak to 8 games and propels the five month old club into sole possession of 2nd place in the CSL table.

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Milltown FC extend unbeaten streak to 3 games

June 21st, 2010
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Milltown FC extended their unbeaten streak to 3 games, playing to a draw against London City at Bishop Reding. (Photo courtesy of Milltown FC, www.milltownfc.com)

From Milltown FC:

After four consecutive games away from home, Milltown FC returned to the friendly confines of Bishop Reding Field on June 18th, taking on Canadian Soccer League rivals London City. This match marks the first of six straight Friday night home field fixtures for Milltown, a stretch of matches that will be critical to MFC’s playoff hopes.

Milltown entered this match in a tie for 5th place in the CSL table, sitting on 8 points from six games, five of those games being played away from home. London City, who had suffered through a difficult 2009 season, came into the game with 4 points from only three games and the word around the league is that the 2010 edition of the league’s oldest club was vastly improved for 2010.

Milton area soccer fans once again came out in strong numbers to support their home squad and warmly welcomed new signing Chris Suta to the starting lineup. Milltown FC’s head coach, Rafael Carbajal, made the decision to insert Suta, an 18 year old Windsor, Ontario native, at left fullback in place of Michael Jan, who continues to recover from injury. Suta officially joined the club earlier in the week, after having briefly trialed with the club in early May.

The first 20 minutes of this match was evenly played, with each team exchanging decent chances. However, in the 22nd minute, MFC forward Eros Olazabal was hauled down inside the 18 yard box by a London defender and referee Hassane Rafai pointed immediately to the penalty spot. Martin Kuijpers took full advantage, drilling a rocket past the London City goalkeeper, making the score 1-0 for Milltown FC.

Milltown enjoyed a confidence boost after grabbing the early lead. They put quite a bit of pressure on the visitors, highlighted by a dramatic right footed volley by Kuijpers from about 25 yards that required an acrobatic save from London’s keeper. Unfortunately for the home fans, Milltown’s lead disappeared at 36th minute mark when a free kick from outside MFC’s 18 yard box was driven neatly into the back of the net by London City midfielder Thomas Beattie. It was a picture perfect free kick that MFC goalkeeper Scott Cliff had no chance to save. The halftime score was 1-1.

It did not take the home side long to retake the lead. On 53 minutes, Kuijpers fed a lovely through ball straight up the middle of the London defence. Milltown forward (and Milton resident) Tristan Scott shrugged off a challenge from a London defender to run onto the pass, controlled it quickly and poked it past the onrushing London keeper to make it 2-1 for MFC, sparking a loud celebration from the home fans. This goal marked the first time this season that Milltown FC had managed to score more than one goal in a game.

However, it did not take very long for the mood in the stands to quickly change from joy to concern when, just a few minutes later, goal scorer Scott was shown a second yellow card. His sending off left Milltown down to 10 men with more than 30 minutes left to play.

Unfazed, Milltown’s young team remained very organized, limiting London’s goal scoring opportunities and even creating a few chances of their own. However, at the 81st minute, London City earned a penalty shot when MFC forward Erwin Balazs, who came into the game 15 minutes earlier as a substitute, was deemed to have handled the ball inside the 18 yard box, resulting in a spot kick which London City forward Anasse Brouk converted to tie the score once again. There would be no further scoring and the two teams would have to settle for a 2-2 draw.

“We were a bit unlucky tonight”, said Coach Carbajal. “I believe we were the better team tonight. We defended well, created some good chances and got a couple of goals. However, we made a few critical mistakes and those mistakes cost us earning the full three points.”

With the draw, Milltown moves to a record of 2 wins, 3 ties and 2 losses for a total of 9 points, dropping them to 8th place in a very congested league table, only 2 points out of 2nd place.
Portugal FC will be the next opponent to visit Bishop Reding Field in Milton. This match takes place on Friday, June 25th. Game time is 8:00pm.

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Big win for Milltown FC in Brampton

June 15th, 2010
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From Milltown FC:

After battling Toronto Croatia to a draw last Sunday in Etobicoke, Milltown FC descended on Victoria Park Stadium in Brampton, hoping to end their string of four straight road games with another positive result.

Milltown FC head coach, Rafael Carbajal, welcomed Ben Ragan and Tristan Scott back to the starting lineup for this game, both players having recovered from injuries that kept them out of the club’s last match. Unfortunately, Michael Jan, who had started every game thus far this season at left fullback, was unable to dress for this game due to injury. Jesse Mahal made his second straight appearance in the starting lineup in Jan’s place.

Brampton Lions entered this game as the only team in the Canadian Soccer League that had yet to register a victory in the young 2010 season and came out in this match clearly intent to change their luck. From the opening whistle, the Lions pushed the tempo, applying quite a bit of pressure on the youthful squad from Milton. However, when referee Carol Anne Chenard blew the final whistle to end the game, it was Milltown FC who emerged victorious, escaping with a 1-0 victory, thanks in large part to the continued excellent play of goalkeeper Scott Cliff, a well organized defence led by Thierry Mangwa-Batomen and a well taken goal late in the second half by Agustin DeMedina.

The first half was a fairly even affair, although Brampton did have more of the possession and came closest to scoring in the 34th minute as forward Judah Hernandez left footed a shot from 20 yards out that rung off the crossbar. Milltown had a couple of chances of their own but, at the end of 45 minutes, the two teams went to the locker rooms scoreless.

Early in the second half, Mangwa-Batomen was deemed to have tripped up Lions attacker Blazej Skoczylas at the edge of the 18 yard box and a penalty was called in favour of Brampton. Fortunately for the visitors, the penalty kick, taken by Judah Hernandez, struck the crossbar and the game remained scoreless. Unfazed, Brampton kept up the pressure after the miss but Milltown remained well organized in the back and was effective in keeping the Lions to the outside.

At 66 minutes, Coach Carbajal made two key substitutions, bringing on Cordell Benjamin and Gersi Xhuti in place of Tristan Scott and Eros Olazabal. Thirteen minutes later, Xhuti collected a ball at midfield and delivered an over the top pass to Benjamin who then put in a well weighted ball into the 18 yard box that DeMedina ran onto, deftly controlled with his right foot and then calmly slotted into the back of the net with his left foot, just past the outstretched hands of Lions keeper Roy Blanche. This timely goal proved to be the only offense Milltown needed to pull out the much needed victory, giving Cliff his third shutout of the season.

This is a very good win for us. We fought hard and took advantage of our best chance to score”, said Coach Carbajal. “Brampton may not have many points this year but they are a good team. We will take these three points and get ready for our home game against London City on Friday night.”

With the win, Milltown moves to a record of 2 wins, 2 ties and 2 losses for a total of 8 points, putting them in a three-way tie for 5th place in the league standings.

A much improved London City side will be Milltown’s next opponent on June 18th. This will be only the second match for Milltown FC on their home turf at Bishop Reding Field in Milton. Game time is 8:00pm.

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Milltown FC earns well-deserved result away from home

June 9th, 2010
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From Milltown FC:

Milltown FC entered Sunday’s away match with Toronto Croatia battling several nagging injuries to starting players and facing the inevitable fatigue that comes from playing two games in less than 48 hours for the second weekend in a row. Despite those issues, Milltown’s youthful squad put on a strong showing, executed their game plan almost perfectly and left Etobicoke’s Centennial Park Stadium with a well deserved 1-1 draw, giving the team five points from its first 5 games.

Sunday’s game marked the debut of both Range Hussein and Jesse Mahal in the Milltown FC starting lineup. Mahal stepped in for injured central defender Ben Ragan while Hussein started in midfield, in place of Erick Olazabal, who was moved up front to play alongside his twin brother Eros and Agustin DeMedina.

The two teams traded good chances in the early going of the first half but without anything to show for it. However, in the 33rd minute, Milltown midfielder Martijn Kuijpers’ excellent free kick ricocheted off the bar, landing in front of striker Eros Olazabal, who calmly drove the ball past Toronto Croatia keeper Sandi Matika, giving Milltown a 1-0 lead and snapping a 200+ minute goal scoring drought.

After the halftime break, Toronto Croatia turned up the pressure a bit and had some decent chances on goal but Milltown’s goalkeeper (and captain) Scott Cliff was up to the challenge.

At the 70th minute, Milltown had its best chance to extend their lead, as Range Hussein broke in on goal from the right side of the 18 yard box and smashed a shot from a tight angle that beat Matika but unfortunately hit off the post. The rebound found its way to Erick Olazabal but his powerful 15 yard right footed strike was well saved by the TC goalkeeper, who had scrambled back into position.

In the 80th minute, Toronto Croatia’s pressure paid off as veteran forward Hugo Herrera found the back of the net to tie the score at 1-1, slotting home a rebound that Milltown was not able to effectively clear.

Despite the addition of 6 minutes of extra time in the second half, Milltown stayed calm, composed and organized down the stretch, dealing with each wave of pressure thrown at them by the Croatians very effectively. Milltown FC Head Coach Rafael Carbajal was understandably pleased with the effort.

“This is an important point for us. It is never easy to get a result on the road in this league”, said Carbajal. “Our team learned something important today. They worked hard tonight, all the way to the final whistle and were rewarded. We will grow and improve as a team thanks to this experience.”

With the win, Milltown moves to a record of 1 win, 2 ties and 2 losses for a total of 5 points.

The first team faces yet another important away fixture next week as they descend on Brampton’s Victoria Park Stadium, to take on Brampton Lions. Game time is 3:00pm.

In other news from the weekend, the Milltown FC Reserves battled back from conceding an early goal to defeat Hamilton Croatia’s Reserve side by a score of 2-1. Milltown’s goals came from Colin Keay and Romeo Parada.

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Milltown FC notches first ever franchise victory

May 29th, 2010
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On the strength of excellent goalkeeping, strong defending and a lovely second half goal by recent signing (and Milton resident) Eros Olazabal, Milltown FC shutout 2009 CSL finalists Serbian White Eagles 1-0.

From Milltown FC:

A capacity crowd at Bishop Reding Field in Milton, Ontario witnessed history Friday evening as Milltown FC, one of four new members of the Canadian Soccer League for 2010, registered the first goal and first victory in the club’s short history. On the strength of excellent goalkeeping, strong defending and a lovely second half goal by recent signing (and Milton resident) Eros Olazabal, Milltown FC shutout 2009 CSL finalists Serbian White Eagles by a score of 1-0.

This match also marked the return of Head Coach Rafael Carbajal to the Milltown FC sidelines. Carbajal rejoined the club earlier in the week after serving as a member of Canada’s U20 Men’s National Team Coaching Staff at a camp in Holland, where he was also joined by Milltown’s Strength and Conditioning Coach, Paolo Pacione. Not surprisingly, Coach Carbajal was very happy about his team’s performance on Friday evening.

“I continue to be very proud of this team,” said Carbajal. “We worked hard for 90 minutes, got great performances from key players and we got our first ever goal thanks to a player from Milton who went to high school at Bishop Reding. Our hard work in training is definitely paying off.”

For a second straight match, the team was lead by an outstanding performance by starting goalkeeper and captain, Scott Cliff. He commanded the 18 yard box all night, made some wonderful saves and got some help from the woodwork as White Eagles hit two crossbars to earn his second consecutive shutout. Cliff shares Man-of-the-Match honours with central defender Thierry Mangwa-Batomen. The tall Frenchman, who played with Serbian White Eagles in 2009, was a force all night. Working alongside Ben Ragan, who also had a strong game, Mangwa-Batomen did an excellent job containing the SWE forward tandem of Sasa Viciknez and Viktor Anastasov, winning numerous balls in the air and making a number of brave and well-timed tackles to help ensure the opponents stayed off the score sheet.

White Eagles maintained much of the possession in the first half and had the better of the chances to score. Looking to change the momentum, Coach Carbajal decided to insert twin brothers Erick and Eros Olazabal into the match at the 31st minute, in place of Erwin Balazs and Cordell Benjamin, and those personnel change started to pay dividends almost immediately. Milltown started enjoying more of the ball, especially in the offensive third of the field, and they carried that positive play forward into the second half, looking very poised and dangerous.

A long stretch of strong play and several good chances culminated with the only goal of the match. 18 year old Eros Olazabal made a well timed run onto a perfectly weighted pass from his brother Erick and then showed tremendous patience under pressure as he stepped around on-rushing SWE keeper Milos Kocic and calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net, sparking a huge celebration both on the field, where Olazabal was mobbed by teammates, and in the stands as the nearly 500 supporters erupted with joy and relief.

With the win, Milltown moves to a record of 1 win, 1 tie and no losses for a total of 4 points from 2 games and now the team travels to Brantford for another tough test on Sunday (May 30) to take on fellow league newcomers, Brantford Galaxy. The Galaxy is shaping up to be one of the tougher teams in the CSL, having imported the maximum of 9 foreign players to bolster their roster. Game time is 7:05 pm at Steve Brown Sports Complex.

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