Daniel Calabretta scored a last minute goal to give TFC Academy a 1-0 win over York University at BMO Field. "Today we had a very clear game plan. We knew we would be up against a very experienced team and we wanted to absorb as much pressure as possible before hitting them on the break. I was pleased our boys were patient and followed the game plan," said Senior Academy Team Head Coach Jason Bent.
The game started with York University in control of the match for long periods of time and TFC seemed quite content to absorb pressure and catch the experienced opposition on the counter attack. York had the first good chance of the game when former TFC Academy player Adrian Pena curled a free kick over the wall and towards the top corner of the goal. Academy goalkeeper Soitiri Varlokostas was quick to react and made a good save. Soon after, Pena had another opportunity to give York the lead when they were awarded a penalty. Varlokostas once again reacted quickly and got a strong hand to the ball as he pushed it around the post.
In the second half, TFC Academy began to grow in confidence and pressurized the opposition higher up the pitch which resulted in some good opportunities. The game seemed to be headed for a scoreless draw, but in the 90th minute midfielder Jonathan Lao found Calabretta with a defense splitting through ball which resulted in the speedy winger bearing down on the York University goal. He coolly slotted a low hard shot into the bottom right corner to snatch a late victory for TFC.
"We did ride our luck and if not for the superb performance from Varlokostas we could have found ourselves down 2-0 which would have definitely caused a rethink in the game plan," explained Bent. "In the second half we used the ball much better and created a few opportunities of our own. We were very well organized and difficult to break down, but technically we were not at our best and that is an area that we will try to improve."
"We were resilient, showed good character and continued to battle right to the end of the match. Our goal was definitely a moment of sheer quality. Jonathan Lao has the ability to not only see a pass but deliver a pass with unbelievable weight and timing. Daniel Calabretta was on the receiving end and kept his cool and slotted it very clinically. York was exactly the type of opposition our boys needed to play at this point in our preparations. They posed different problems to our team and the game was played in the right spirit."
