Sunday afternoon’s Semi-final matchup between Oakville’s Blue Devils FC and Markham’s Alliance United will decide who takes on Vaughan Azzurri in next weekend’s Final at the Ontario Soccer Centre Stadium in Vaughan.
You couldn’t possibly ask for more evenly matched squads. After finishing the season 2 points apart in second and third, the Blue Devils, thanks to a first-round bye, will rise from a week-long slumber to face a battle-tested Alliance United foe.
However, the Markham-based squad smashed their way into this match with a 4-0 drubbing of Brampton’s Prostars FC on Thursday and will be playing on only two days of rest, which could spell tired legs.
Both sides are pragmatic defensively, with the two lowest goals-against totals in League1. Alliance takes the nod in this category with one less goal against throughout the 21-game schedule allowing only 15.
Games are won in the offensive end, however, and while nobody came close to the sheer offensive magnificence of Vaughan and their 76 goals in 21 games, the Blue Devils did manage a respectable 54, to Alliance’s 43.
Taha Ilyass was a big part of that. He's managed 19 goals in 19 games and is a known commodity in this league.
Alliance head coach Ilya Orlov knows of Taha’s brilliance up top and has been preparing his squad with detailed video analysis and data-driven feedback. “We prepare for every single player we play against; in every single game, we know the strengths and weaknesses.”
While his team may have received all the information available, the result is made on the field of play. “All the preparation does is give you a better chance of winning, but in a one-off game, anything can happen.” Orlov states.
Alliance have their own goalscoring threats for the Blue Devils to worry about. They got all four goals from the Sivananthan brothers on Thursday. They both notched a brace, and tallied 18 goals between themselves during the regular season, with Atchuthan (or Atchu as he's known to his teammates) banging in 11 and his brother Nirun adding in 8.
Meanwhile, Blue Devils head coach Duncan Wilde is looking for solid performances from his Midfield trifecta of Kyle Porter, Brandon Duarte, and Gianluca Spadafora.
“If those three have got unison, and they play together, and they express themselves, I think they will create chances, we’ll create shape, and we’ll do well,“ stated coach Wilde.
Alliance will be without Dusan Kovacevic and Matthew Montiero, who both previously played for the Blue Devils, but were released with non-compete agreements in their waivers.
These two teams drew to a 1-1 tie in June at Sheridan. With Alliance clawing their way back into the match in the 93rd minute, which just reiterates how close these two sides are in quality.
By now, having played each other several times since Alliance joined the League in 2018, both coaches are familiar with what the other will bring to the table. Ilya says, “We know Oakville well; we’ve both been in the league for a number of years; we know what to expect from them,”
Oakville’s bench boss provides a glimpse of what they expect from Alliance as Wilde quips, “he’s (Orlov) very structured, he’s very organized. He plays with a back four, he plays with two CDMs (Central Defensive Midfielders), and as soon as they give the ball away, they collect in there, and it’s a six-man block, and it's difficult to break down.”
With this in-depth knowledge of one another's tendencies, this match has all the markings of a classic. Duncan expects as much “because we both like to play expansive football and get at the other team; we’re both very good at the counter-attack, so you know there are two kinds of similar styles in a way.“
Wilde believes the path to success will come through one specific avenue, “if they turn it over at midfield, we’ve got to counter-attack as quickly as possible and get our people in behind their back line. They were able to accomplish this a handful of times in the regular season matchup but couldn’t convert on their opportunities.
“This has got the makings of a game with goals, and an exciting game,” according to Wilde, and his opponent espouses a similar belief, “it’s going to be a 50/50 game”.
Today’s match has been moved to Bronte Athletic Field, from Sheridan College, where the Blue Devils call home throughout the regular season.
It's a familiar place for the club and considered the spiritual home of the Blue Devils in the playoffs, Since joining League1 Ontario the Blue Devils have yet to lose on Lakeshore, feeding off the fan's energy who are close to the action.
“It’s a good atmosphere; the spectators are right on the touchline.” Duncan boasts.
This match will kick off at 4 pm, and the winner will face a Vaughan Azzurri squad that just snuck by upstart newcomers Simcoe County Rovers on Saturday night 2-1.
If you can't make it down to Bronte Athletic Field you can always tune in and watch on the League1 Ontario Youtube Channel, where I will be providing play-by-play.