Toronto Croatia has won the CSL Championship four times in the past 10 years and took a big step in the direction of yet another title with a 2-1 victory over Kingston FC in the first semifinal of the CSL playoffs at the Hershey Centre Saturday night.
The win moves Toronto Croatia into the final.
Toronto Croatia pressed early, favoured by the strong wind in cold conditions at the Mississauga location and the home side came close to scoring in the first 10 minutes when forward Ante Zivkovic rattled the cross bar with hard drives that had Kingston goalkeeper Erwann Ofouya beaten.
Midfielder Shawn Brown did find the net to put the Toronto side into a 1-0 lead at 14 minutes, lifting the ball over Ofouya while closing in from 12 yards, and it was 1-0 at the interval.
Favoured by the wind advantage in the second half, Kingston defender Joseph Zupo equalized for the visitors, finding the net off a corner kick at 56 minutes and just when the game was looking at 30 minutes of overtime, Zivkovic struck at 89 minutes to give Toronto Croatia a 2-1 lead which they held until the final whistle.
Final Game – Sunday, October 24, 2014 @ 4:15pm, Esther Shiner Stadium
http://canadiansoccerleague.ca/2014/6716
