2012 All Stars: Québec U-15 books place in final
Posted on 18 July 2012 in All Stars - Boys
Québec booked its place in Saturday’s U-15 tournament final with a 4:1 win over Team Atlantic at King George V Park in St. John’s, NL. Québec's win came on the second day of the 2012 All Stars U-15 Boys tournament on 18 July.
It was Team Atlantic who struck an early lead courtesy of a cool right-footed finish by Jacob Bolton in the 27th minute but Québec stormed back with a string of four unanswered goal to steal the game away from the hosts.
David Choinière struck a magnificent off-the-bar and-in free kick to pull Québec level in the first half before Claudio Dizzaco, Luca Ricci and Joe Lipari scored three goals in six minutes in an impressive second half performance by the Québécois.
“The first half was difficult for us because Team Atlantic were physical strong and quick defensively,” said John Limniatis, Québec U-15 coach. “In the second half we showed our superior talent, but even if the 4:1 win sounds like a comfortable result - I can tell you that it was not easy.”
Team Atlantic Head Coach Younes Bouida was seen consoling his players after the match and urging them to be proud of their performance.
“It was a good, competitive match,” said Bouida. “In the first half we put a lot of pressure on them but you have to give them credit for a good second-half performance. They have some good players.”
The loss eliminates Team Atlantic from contention for Saturday’s final.
The U-15 action continued into the afternoon at King George V Park in St. John’s with Team MB/SK battling British Columbia to a 1:1 draw.
BC took a first-half lead courtesy of Christian Nichele’s goal in the 27th minute and appeared on-course for victory but Team MB/SK’s Alex Hein snatched a late equalizer to level the match in the dying minutes.
The loss ends British Columbia’s hopes of reaching the tournament final, while Team MB/SK will now need to upset Ontario in its final group match to stake a spot in Saturday’s U-15 showdown.
“It was a great game to watch and I thought both team competed and fought really hard,” said Hayden Sloan-Seale, Team MB/SK U16 coach. “In the end we are a little bit disappointed because we felt we could have stolen the win in the second half.”
Despite losing a second consecutive match, BC coach Christopher Cerroni was impressed with his team’s progress in which they improved on their opening day performance.
“I was very pleased, I think the boys learned from what we didn’t do well against Ontario,” said Cerroni. “A lot of these players will go on to knock on the door of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC academy and others will have the option of pursuing their careers in a university setting.”
In the day’s friendly cross-over match, Ontario defeated Alberta 2:0 in Mt. Pearl, NL.
