Capital United 2, Ottawa Royals 2
(Devereaux and D'Angelo score for the Royals)
Rockers 2, St. Anthony's 2
Gloucester Hornets 2, Ottawa Internationals 3
(Da Costa red carded for Gloucester, Internationals have three players sent off)
Friday, May 25, 2007
Report: Capital United 2, Ottawa Royals 2
Royals finally spark into life but only snatch tie at Capital United
May 24, 2007
Ottawa Royals opened its OCSL season with a laboured 2-2 tie away at last season’s third-placed team Capital United. On a difficult pitch under the floodlights at Lytle Park, Barrhaven, the Royals looked sluggish from the onset, really only rousing themselves in the second half.
The Royals started with a 3-5-2 formation, with Tyler Wallace goal, Frank Zegers, James MacMillan and Marc Anthony Viscosi at the back and Ewan Lyttle sitting in deep midfield as cover. With Dan Deganutti out left and Jonathan Brooks on the right, the visitors started out trying to get behind the home side’s defence. But a lack of movement and tenacity on the flanks, coupled with nervous and approximate passing, meant that didn’t happen often enough.
On 2 minutes, Sylvain Clouthier fired the first shot in anger, connecting with a Dominic Rochon free kick to fire just over the crossbar. On 14 minutes, Clouthier was released by a Viscosi through ball, but was unable to get enough purchase on his shot.
On 21 minutes, Ewan Lyttle was forced to leave the field with a recurrence of his pre-season hamstring problem. Jorge Gutierrez came on to replace him, and immediately began to inject more energy and bite into the midfield.
The game was still lacking that extra something though – and nobody seemed willing to calm things down for a second, to put their foot on the ball and change the pace of the game. Defensively, the Royals looked solid enough – in truth, neither goalkeeper was really tested in the first 45 minutes – but the large gap between midfield and attack prevented any real quality passes coming through to Dennis or Clouthier.
At half time, Michael Adams made a number of changes, replacing the front two with Ryan Devereaux and Matthew D’Angelo, bringing on Roberto Gutierrez for Frank Zegers, and moving Dan Deganutti to left back for Marc Antony Viscosi, with Richard Boyle coming into the left midfield slot.
Within 90 seconds of the restart, the Royals had opened the scoring. Central midfielder Dominic Rochon fed Matt D’Angelo whose through ball released Ryan Devereaux. There was only ever going to be one outcome, and Devereaux coolly beat Shaienks-Desrochers to give the visitors the lead.
However, three minutes later Capital United had equalized. Poor communication between Deganutti and Wallace led to the goalkeeper scuffing his clearance, which unfortunately fell straight at the feet of Ahmad Berjawi. Berjawi did well to control the ball, shifting it to his right foot to hit it past the diving Wallace into the net.
Worse was to come. On 55 minutes, the home side took the lead, when Berjawi fed Sonsini who had sprung the offside trap with a clever diagonal run from midfield that Jorge Gutierrez had not picked up. Sonsini finished well and left Wallace with no chance.
The Royals started to fight back and on 59 minutes, D’Angelo and Devereaux combined superbly in the penalty area – but D’Angelo’s volleyed shot cannoned off the crossbar. On 73 minutes, D’Angelo latched onto a good cross from Jonathan Brooks, but his header was just over the bar.
On 76 minutes, Alan Farant went on to the left midfield position, with Boyle moving out right. Ottawa Royals were creating space well now – and using the flanks much better.
But on 83 minutes, Capital United had the chance to put the final nail in the visitors’ coffin when it was awarded a penalty by referee Marvin Mohrink. Despite the protests, Berjawi took the penalty, but saw his shot miss Tyler Wallace’s right post by a considerable margin.
This reinvigorated the Royals and Sylvain Clouthier came back on to replace Steve Kowlessar. Inspired, Clouthier caused havoc in the home side’s defence, who had no answer to the movement, pace and aggression of the front three.
On 88 minutes, D'Angelo snatched the equalizer, taking advantage of Devereaux’s pass and slipping the ball under the keeper.
The Royals pressed for the winner and had Capital United on the back foot. In the second minute of injury time, the Royals were denied what looked like a cast-iron penalty, as Irish looked to have caught the ball from a Clouthier shot. But for the second match in a row, referee Mohrink declined to call the obvious.
The match ended at 2-2 and Ottawa Royals will come away feeling disgruntled at having let two points slip. While they won’t be happy at the early performance from the team, there can be some consolation in the way they finished the match, against a talented and organized opposition.
Statistics
Man of the Match: J. Gutierrez – 3 points; Devereaux – 2 points; D’Angelo – 1 point.
Jorge Gutierrez was the spark that lit the Royals revival. Replacing the injured Ewan Lyttle on 21 minutes, Gutierrez was full of aggression and energy. Looking for the simple pass where needed, he also looked to mix things up with long balls to the flanks. While still needing to improve on positional play and shooting, this was a very promising debut for the elder of the Mexican hairdressing gigolos.
Capital United
1-Nicolas Shaienks-Desrochers, 15-Stephen Atakorah, 10-Dante Biscard, 17-Matthew Glendenning, 16-Tyller Farrell-Rose, 9-Julien Holdrinet, 6-Ahmad Berjawi, 14-Abdullah Abunafeesa, 11-Nick Sonsini, 12-Kyle Washington, 7-Steven Irish, 20-Wade Washington, 5-Michael Zanetti
Ottawa Royals
1-Wallace; 12-Zegers (4-R. Gutierrez, 46), 3-MacMillan, 2-Viscosi (19-Boyle, 46); 16-Brooks (18-Farant, 76), 22-Lyttle (8-J. Gutierrez, 21), 17-Kowlessar (7-Clouthier, 83), 11-Rochon, 9-Deganutti; 13-Dennis (15-D’Angelo, 46), 7-Clouthier (23-Devereaux, 46)
Subs not used: Haindl (gk), 24-Mapendere, 5-Shales, 20-Morgan, 14-Ntwari, 6-Donnard
Goals: Devereaux, 47 (D’Angelo assist); D'Angelo, 88 (Devereaux assist)
Goals: D'Angelo, Devereaux 1
Assists: D’Angelo, Devereaux 1
Yellow Cards: R. Gutierrez 1
May 24, 2007
Ottawa Royals opened its OCSL season with a laboured 2-2 tie away at last season’s third-placed team Capital United. On a difficult pitch under the floodlights at Lytle Park, Barrhaven, the Royals looked sluggish from the onset, really only rousing themselves in the second half.
The Royals started with a 3-5-2 formation, with Tyler Wallace goal, Frank Zegers, James MacMillan and Marc Anthony Viscosi at the back and Ewan Lyttle sitting in deep midfield as cover. With Dan Deganutti out left and Jonathan Brooks on the right, the visitors started out trying to get behind the home side’s defence. But a lack of movement and tenacity on the flanks, coupled with nervous and approximate passing, meant that didn’t happen often enough.
On 2 minutes, Sylvain Clouthier fired the first shot in anger, connecting with a Dominic Rochon free kick to fire just over the crossbar. On 14 minutes, Clouthier was released by a Viscosi through ball, but was unable to get enough purchase on his shot.
On 21 minutes, Ewan Lyttle was forced to leave the field with a recurrence of his pre-season hamstring problem. Jorge Gutierrez came on to replace him, and immediately began to inject more energy and bite into the midfield.
The game was still lacking that extra something though – and nobody seemed willing to calm things down for a second, to put their foot on the ball and change the pace of the game. Defensively, the Royals looked solid enough – in truth, neither goalkeeper was really tested in the first 45 minutes – but the large gap between midfield and attack prevented any real quality passes coming through to Dennis or Clouthier.
At half time, Michael Adams made a number of changes, replacing the front two with Ryan Devereaux and Matthew D’Angelo, bringing on Roberto Gutierrez for Frank Zegers, and moving Dan Deganutti to left back for Marc Antony Viscosi, with Richard Boyle coming into the left midfield slot.
Within 90 seconds of the restart, the Royals had opened the scoring. Central midfielder Dominic Rochon fed Matt D’Angelo whose through ball released Ryan Devereaux. There was only ever going to be one outcome, and Devereaux coolly beat Shaienks-Desrochers to give the visitors the lead.
However, three minutes later Capital United had equalized. Poor communication between Deganutti and Wallace led to the goalkeeper scuffing his clearance, which unfortunately fell straight at the feet of Ahmad Berjawi. Berjawi did well to control the ball, shifting it to his right foot to hit it past the diving Wallace into the net.
Worse was to come. On 55 minutes, the home side took the lead, when Berjawi fed Sonsini who had sprung the offside trap with a clever diagonal run from midfield that Jorge Gutierrez had not picked up. Sonsini finished well and left Wallace with no chance.
The Royals started to fight back and on 59 minutes, D’Angelo and Devereaux combined superbly in the penalty area – but D’Angelo’s volleyed shot cannoned off the crossbar. On 73 minutes, D’Angelo latched onto a good cross from Jonathan Brooks, but his header was just over the bar.
On 76 minutes, Alan Farant went on to the left midfield position, with Boyle moving out right. Ottawa Royals were creating space well now – and using the flanks much better.
But on 83 minutes, Capital United had the chance to put the final nail in the visitors’ coffin when it was awarded a penalty by referee Marvin Mohrink. Despite the protests, Berjawi took the penalty, but saw his shot miss Tyler Wallace’s right post by a considerable margin.
This reinvigorated the Royals and Sylvain Clouthier came back on to replace Steve Kowlessar. Inspired, Clouthier caused havoc in the home side’s defence, who had no answer to the movement, pace and aggression of the front three.
On 88 minutes, D'Angelo snatched the equalizer, taking advantage of Devereaux’s pass and slipping the ball under the keeper.
The Royals pressed for the winner and had Capital United on the back foot. In the second minute of injury time, the Royals were denied what looked like a cast-iron penalty, as Irish looked to have caught the ball from a Clouthier shot. But for the second match in a row, referee Mohrink declined to call the obvious.
The match ended at 2-2 and Ottawa Royals will come away feeling disgruntled at having let two points slip. While they won’t be happy at the early performance from the team, there can be some consolation in the way they finished the match, against a talented and organized opposition.
Statistics
Man of the Match: J. Gutierrez – 3 points; Devereaux – 2 points; D’Angelo – 1 point.
Jorge Gutierrez was the spark that lit the Royals revival. Replacing the injured Ewan Lyttle on 21 minutes, Gutierrez was full of aggression and energy. Looking for the simple pass where needed, he also looked to mix things up with long balls to the flanks. While still needing to improve on positional play and shooting, this was a very promising debut for the elder of the Mexican hairdressing gigolos.
Capital United
1-Nicolas Shaienks-Desrochers, 15-Stephen Atakorah, 10-Dante Biscard, 17-Matthew Glendenning, 16-Tyller Farrell-Rose, 9-Julien Holdrinet, 6-Ahmad Berjawi, 14-Abdullah Abunafeesa, 11-Nick Sonsini, 12-Kyle Washington, 7-Steven Irish, 20-Wade Washington, 5-Michael Zanetti
Ottawa Royals
1-Wallace; 12-Zegers (4-R. Gutierrez, 46), 3-MacMillan, 2-Viscosi (19-Boyle, 46); 16-Brooks (18-Farant, 76), 22-Lyttle (8-J. Gutierrez, 21), 17-Kowlessar (7-Clouthier, 83), 11-Rochon, 9-Deganutti; 13-Dennis (15-D’Angelo, 46), 7-Clouthier (23-Devereaux, 46)
Subs not used: Haindl (gk), 24-Mapendere, 5-Shales, 20-Morgan, 14-Ntwari, 6-Donnard
Goals: Devereaux, 47 (D’Angelo assist); D'Angelo, 88 (Devereaux assist)
Goals: D'Angelo, Devereaux 1
Assists: D’Angelo, Devereaux 1
Yellow Cards: R. Gutierrez 1
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Venue named for Saturday Friendly
Ottawa Royals will bid farewell to Andriy Szwarek with a friendly game this Saturday at Valleystream Park (scene of the pre-season victory over Lynwood).
The Royals will face Pony's XI, including such luminaries as Szwarek himself, Tommy St Onge, Sanjeev Parmar, Manny Mendes, Gord MacDonald and Dan Cheney.
The kick off for this testimonial game is at 5 pm, Royals players are to be there for 4.20.
The Royals will face Pony's XI, including such luminaries as Szwarek himself, Tommy St Onge, Sanjeev Parmar, Manny Mendes, Gord MacDonald and Dan Cheney.
The kick off for this testimonial game is at 5 pm, Royals players are to be there for 4.20.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Monday Training
Instead of training this Monday, Royals players will attend the Ottawa Fury-St. Anthony's match at Algonquin Park, 3 pm. This will be an excellent opportunity to see our OCSL rivals in action and will enable players to study systems of play and positioning.
Training will take place as normal on Tuesday: 6.30 pm at Mountain Meadow (go to OCSL web site for field locator). Players should be there by 6.15 AT THE LATEST. We will work on set pieces and transitions.
Training will take place as normal on Tuesday: 6.30 pm at Mountain Meadow (go to OCSL web site for field locator). Players should be there by 6.15 AT THE LATEST. We will work on set pieces and transitions.
Player Updates
- Striker Matt D'Angelo is back early from his Chinese tour with St. Mary's University and will start training this week. D'Angelo's severe peanut allergy made it impossible for him to eat and train.
- Winger Greg Donnard has resumed light training after his suspected fractured metatarsal. Donnard was present at Friday's defeat of the Fury but did not play.
- Dimitri Koutras has also resumed light training and was also present at the Fury game.
- Renowned metrosexual and suspected Montrealer Marc Labrom is still suffering from a hamstring tweak sustained while purchasing a pair of Gucci loafers.
Report: Fury PDL 0, Ottawa Royals 1
Short-handed Royals beat Fury PDL team
Friday, May 18, 2007
Ottawa Royals rounded off its pre-season program with a fine 1-0 victory over the Fury’s PDL team, limiting the Fury’s much-vaunted attack to just two shots in the process.
It was a fine performance from an understaffed Royals squad, who had just 11 players ten minutes before kick-off.
Under the floodlights at Algonquin College’s fine field-turf facility, the Royals seemed to be the more settled of the two sides from the beginning, quickly finding their rhythm and concentration.
Within two minutes of the start, the Royals had already carved out two clear-cut chances, with the hard-working Jeff Dennis and Thierry Ntwari chasing down defenders aggressively and not allowing the defence to settle.
As the Fury came more into the match, the Royals closed down the midfield passages and the makeshift defence—featuring Dom Rochon on the left, James MacMillan in the middle and Peter Mapendere on the right—was simply outstanding. Ewan Lyttle also had a fine game in the defensive midfield position.
The game was played at breakneck speed, with both teams displaying a solid mix of intensity, aggression and composure.
On 35 minutes, Alan Farant almost opened the scoring for the visitors, when he spotted the keeper off his line and tried his luck from the left wing, a full 35 yards out. With the keeper beaten, the ball crashed onto the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
On 41 minutes, Marc Anthony Viscosi came on to replace Alan Morgan, which allowed Rochon to move back into the central midfield position.
The Fury started the second half well, but found the Ottawa defence resilient. On 58 minutes, Some fed Kihara who turned and shot on goal. Paiano was down quickly and got a hand on the shot, with Mapendere clearing the ball off the line to complete the defensive duties.
The Royals upped the ante and started to take control of the game. Boyle had switched to the left midfield position to exploit the right back and was impressive in his movement and positioning.
Sylvain Clouthier, a half-time replacement for Ntwari, was beginning to orchestrate the attack, linking well with Rochon in the middle and Boyle on the left.
Ottawa Royals was looking the more dangerous side and it was somewhat against the run of play when Paiano was forced into a solid save on 76 minutes.
Two minutes later, the Royals were denied a blatant penalty, when Sylvain Clouthier was pushed out a challenge in the penalty area. It began to look as if the Royals would have to settle for a draw.
As the game wound down, the Royals began to exploit more space on the flanks and on 89 minutes forced a corner. Alan Farant drove it into the far post and James MacMillan was first sandwiched by two players, but then showed great poise to recover immediately and thump the bouncing ball into the roof of the net before Lefebvre could react.
A very pleasing win for the Royals, who showed real character and inventiveness – and who have now set a standard for commitment and endeavour below which they must not fall this season.
Statistics
Man of the Match: Rochon – 3 points; MacMillan – 2 points; Mapendere – 1 point.
Preseason Totals: MacMillan – 8 points; Rochon – 5 points; Devereaux, Kowlessar – 4 points; D’Angelo, Dennis, Labrom, Mapendere – 3 points; R. Gutierrez, Ntwari, Shales – 2 points; Brooks, Lyttle, Viscosi – 1 point
Ottawa Royals
Paiano; Mapendere, MacMillan, Rochon; Boyle (Farant, 75), Lyttle (Morgan, 85), Morgan (Viscosi, 40), Kowlessar, Farant (Brooks, 46); Ntwari (Clouthier, 46), Dennis (Ntwari, 67)
Goals: MacMillan, 89 minutes (Farant assist)
Pre-season Tally:
Goals: Devereaux, Rochon 4; MacMillan 3; Dennis 2; Boyle, D’Angelo, Farant, Kowlessar, Ntwari, Viscosi, Zegers 1
Assists: Devereaux, Mapendere, Ntwari, 3; Deganutti, Farant 2; D’Angelo, Dennis, Koutras, 1
Pre-season MVP – James MacMillan
Pre-season Golden Boot – Ryan Devereaux, Dominic Rochon
Pre-season Assist Leader – Ryan Devereaux, Peter Mapendere, Thierry Ntwari
Friday, May 18, 2007
Ottawa Royals rounded off its pre-season program with a fine 1-0 victory over the Fury’s PDL team, limiting the Fury’s much-vaunted attack to just two shots in the process.
It was a fine performance from an understaffed Royals squad, who had just 11 players ten minutes before kick-off.
Under the floodlights at Algonquin College’s fine field-turf facility, the Royals seemed to be the more settled of the two sides from the beginning, quickly finding their rhythm and concentration.
Within two minutes of the start, the Royals had already carved out two clear-cut chances, with the hard-working Jeff Dennis and Thierry Ntwari chasing down defenders aggressively and not allowing the defence to settle.
As the Fury came more into the match, the Royals closed down the midfield passages and the makeshift defence—featuring Dom Rochon on the left, James MacMillan in the middle and Peter Mapendere on the right—was simply outstanding. Ewan Lyttle also had a fine game in the defensive midfield position.
The game was played at breakneck speed, with both teams displaying a solid mix of intensity, aggression and composure.
On 35 minutes, Alan Farant almost opened the scoring for the visitors, when he spotted the keeper off his line and tried his luck from the left wing, a full 35 yards out. With the keeper beaten, the ball crashed onto the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
On 41 minutes, Marc Anthony Viscosi came on to replace Alan Morgan, which allowed Rochon to move back into the central midfield position.
The Fury started the second half well, but found the Ottawa defence resilient. On 58 minutes, Some fed Kihara who turned and shot on goal. Paiano was down quickly and got a hand on the shot, with Mapendere clearing the ball off the line to complete the defensive duties.
The Royals upped the ante and started to take control of the game. Boyle had switched to the left midfield position to exploit the right back and was impressive in his movement and positioning.
Sylvain Clouthier, a half-time replacement for Ntwari, was beginning to orchestrate the attack, linking well with Rochon in the middle and Boyle on the left.
Ottawa Royals was looking the more dangerous side and it was somewhat against the run of play when Paiano was forced into a solid save on 76 minutes.
Two minutes later, the Royals were denied a blatant penalty, when Sylvain Clouthier was pushed out a challenge in the penalty area. It began to look as if the Royals would have to settle for a draw.
As the game wound down, the Royals began to exploit more space on the flanks and on 89 minutes forced a corner. Alan Farant drove it into the far post and James MacMillan was first sandwiched by two players, but then showed great poise to recover immediately and thump the bouncing ball into the roof of the net before Lefebvre could react.
A very pleasing win for the Royals, who showed real character and inventiveness – and who have now set a standard for commitment and endeavour below which they must not fall this season.
Statistics
Man of the Match: Rochon – 3 points; MacMillan – 2 points; Mapendere – 1 point.
Preseason Totals: MacMillan – 8 points; Rochon – 5 points; Devereaux, Kowlessar – 4 points; D’Angelo, Dennis, Labrom, Mapendere – 3 points; R. Gutierrez, Ntwari, Shales – 2 points; Brooks, Lyttle, Viscosi – 1 point
Ottawa Royals
Paiano; Mapendere, MacMillan, Rochon; Boyle (Farant, 75), Lyttle (Morgan, 85), Morgan (Viscosi, 40), Kowlessar, Farant (Brooks, 46); Ntwari (Clouthier, 46), Dennis (Ntwari, 67)
Goals: MacMillan, 89 minutes (Farant assist)
Pre-season Tally:
Goals: Devereaux, Rochon 4; MacMillan 3; Dennis 2; Boyle, D’Angelo, Farant, Kowlessar, Ntwari, Viscosi, Zegers 1
Assists: Devereaux, Mapendere, Ntwari, 3; Deganutti, Farant 2; D’Angelo, Dennis, Koutras, 1
Pre-season MVP – James MacMillan
Pre-season Golden Boot – Ryan Devereaux, Dominic Rochon
Pre-season Assist Leader – Ryan Devereaux, Peter Mapendere, Thierry Ntwari
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