Aurora United downs Durham for second-straight win

August 31, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

Offensive all-star Simon Adjei scored all three goals for Aurora United FC in a 3 – 1 win over Durham United on Sunday.

The young League 1 Ontario team was fresh off a shutout win over Kingston one week prior, putting together Aurora’s first winning streak.

“We’re happy with the result that we got,” said Aurora head coach Jimmy Brennan. “Obviously, we would like to play a good brand of football for 90 minutes, but the game didn’t go that way.”

Adjei put Aurora on the board just five minutes into the match at Sheppard’s Bush, converting on a corner kick. They held the lead until the dying minutes of the first half, when Durham found an opportunity from inside the box.

In the 54th minute, Adjei once again gave Aurora the lead, speeding past two defenders before firing it home from the edge of the box.
He sealed the win with a similar effort in extra time.

“It got a little bit scrappy, stop and start quite a bit, but it was a game that we will take and it was good to see that our guys could play that way if necessary,” said Brennan.

Brennan said that his all-star forward has “bags of confidence right now.”

“Defensively, the guys are working hard and the players are working it up to him, getting the opportunities for him to put it in the back of the net.”

Adjei’s hat trick cemented his status as not only the top offensive threat for Aurora, but among the best in the semi-pro league. With 17 goals in 17 games this season, Adjei sits third in the league in goals scored.

Having experienced success all season, Adjei admitted his team has not, needing six games to see their first win in the team’s first season.

“We had a rough beginning of the season, said Adjei. “We don’t have too many points, but we are still continuing and we are working hard.”

Aurora’s first winning streak of the season is made even more impressive by a tie with the Oakville Blue Devils one week prior, adding up to an unbeaten streak of three games.

“I don’t think [we deserved] the poor results in previous games,” said Adjei. “We just get scored on in the last minutes, but now I think we are learning and we are playing better and working hard in the defence.”

The men’s side of League 1 is entering the final month of play, with five games left on Aurora’s schedule. Their next action is an away game on September 11 at Toronto Skillz FC (2-13-3).

Aurora brings a record of 3-11-3 into the contest.

The women’s side does not return to action until September 16, in their final match of the year. AUFC will take on Darby FC (1-10-2) on the road.