Aurora United nabbed of win in final minutes

August 17, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

Two goals in extra time robbed the Aurora United FC men of their second win on Sunday in Oakville.

All-Star forward Simon Adjei scored all three goals for the Aurora side, who took a 3 – 1 lead into the 90th minute. From there, however, Oakville scored on a penalty kick and a hard-fought volley from in close to tie the game.

“I think we got a little too comfortable and complacency set in, and we were unlucky to concede two goals in the final minutes of the game today,” said Aurora head coach Jimmy Brennan. “I thought the boys played ever so well. We played good football but at the end of the day it is about finishing teams off.”

Aurora was looking for their second win of the season before the last-minute heroics, struggling to a 1-11-3 record in their first season in the semi-professional League 1.

“We’re going to have a lot of young guys from our club coming through, they’ve already been up training with us and we’re starting to give them a taste of what League 1 is all about,” said Brennan. “They’ve been doing a great job those ones that have been coming up.”

The men return to action at Sheppard’s Bush on Saturday, hosting the Kingston Clippers at 7 p.m.

The women, meanwhile, gained some valuable ground on the competition by earning their third win of the season.

Vital Kats picked up a brace in the first half by scoring twice within the first 36 minutes, while team-leading scorers Meghan Reynolds and Sarah Stratigakis each notched a goal after the break in a 4 – 1 win.

Kats is a member of the junior national squad.

“Kats was signed with us but she was away, mainly with the national team,” said Aurora head coach Ramin Mohammadi. “She’s back now, we’re happy to have her, and every young player that stepped out there this evening just helped us tremendously.”

“Keeper Marissa (Zucchetto) also just returned from the national team and we’re happy to have all of them back.”

The late-season win is a huge plus for Aurora, who move to a 3-7-3 record with just two games left on the regular season schedule.

“We used a lot of our younger players today and they did very well,” continued Mohammadi. “I think playing away to Durham, which is a great team full of great players, it was a great achievement to get what we wanted – three points away.”

“I’m glad our players executed the plan. They really listened to what we wanted and they played against a very good team but were not scared.”
Aurora hosts the Sanjaxx Lions at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Sheppard’s Bush.