The 13th edition of the Canadian Soccer League Final sees newly formed Capital City FC take on Toronto Croatia looking to win their fourth Givova Cup.
Capital City FC
The Ottawa based side makes it to the final in their inaugural season by dispatching of Serbian White Eagles in the Semis by a 5-0 score line. This club has just seems to be getting better after every match and have proven to be one of the more technically proficient teams in the league.
The goals were scored by Sulivan Silva, Will Beauge, Mahir Hadziresic on two occasions with the capper coming by way of an own goal. The impact player for Capital City FC during the playoffs has been Hadziresic who has already tallied three playoff goals and has been a consistent threat up front.
While they wouldn’t be the first expansion club to win the title in their first season (Brantford Galaxy doing so last season) they will be the first club to do it in this fashion, unlike their predecessors this team didn’t back their way into the playoffs by any means as they finished 3rd in the regular season and went on a 12 match unbeaten run in the process.
Much of the credit for getting this far not only goes to the players, coach Shaun Harris and staff but also the fans and supporters group, known as the “The Bytown Boys” they have helped make Terry Fox Stadium a fortress.
Toronto Croatia
Toronto Croatia by contrast have made it to their fifth Canadian Soccer League Final having previously made it to the 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2007 editions of the championship game wining it on the last three occasions.
The club made it to this game by virtue of their 2-0 Semifinal victory over York Region Shooters, goals coming from Josip Keran and Hayden Fitzwilliams. The play of Fitzwilliams has stood out, as he currently has three playoff goals and his ability to combine with forward Tihomir Maletic who has two playoff goals himself has proven to be effective.
While most of the regular season attention was given to top of the table SC Toronto, the only team outside of Ontario in Montréal Impact Academy and their current opponents Capital City FC this club has gone about their business rather quietly.
Toronto Croatia never really dipped below the top four playoff places and while other team had dramatic peaks and valleys in their form this team was steady throughout, like their opponents much of the credit should go to their fans and while they may not have a recognized supporters group the Croatian community comes out in force.
Regular season meeting:
May 20 – Capital City FC 0-2 Toronto Croatia
Goals: Tihomir Maletic, Lee Hagedorn
** Capital City FC Home Opener**
Aug 6 – Toronto Croatia 2-0 Capital City FC
Goals: Boris Tomac, Hayden Fitzwilliams
The one factor that seems to affect all teams in the Canadian Soccer League above anything else is long distance travel, with most of the teams based around the GTA in most cases this isn’t a huge problem but with the addition of Capital City FC and Montréal Impact Academy the long distance trip by coach bus is a difficult prospect.
Capital City FC don’t only have that to overcome but also the fact that the “neutral site” is actually the home ground of Toronto Croatia and the overwhelming majority of supporters will be rooting against them (It was my understanding that the game would be played at Lamport Stadium). While it would be a great story for Capital City FC to win the Givova Cup I’m going with Toronto Croatia in this one, there are too many factors working against them and Toronto Croatia have two in form players that have proven near impossible to stop.
Prediction: Toronto Croatia
My final article on the 2011 Canadian Soccer League Season will be a “Season In Review”, outlining some of the biggest and most captivating storylines that made up the 2011 campaign.
Kamal Hylton is Owner/Freelance Soccer Writer at Hylton Sports Media,
he specializes in covering Youth Development in Canada and the
CONCACAF Region as well as European leagues such as Bundesliga, Serie A and UEFA Champions League. Follow him on Twitter to view all
his work.
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