Fitzwilliams’ Toronto Croatia Are CSL Champs

Posted on October 29, 2007
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Hayden FitzwilliamsToronto Croatia capped a remarkable season with a 2-game, total goals Canadian Soccer League championship victory over Serbian White Eagles following a scoreless tie in the second game of the CSL final played at Esther Shiner Stadium Sunday.

Croatia were almost assured of the title win following a 4-1 win in the first leg of the final played at the same ground 24 hours earlier.  In that game, Croatia midfielder Jonathan Bustamante struck two goals, while forward Peter Curic and Hayden Fitzwilliams each scored singles. Defender Dragorad Milicevic scored the lone Serbian White Eagles goal.

But while goals were in abundance in the first game, it soon became clear in Sunday’s game that if Serbia were to score, they would have to work for it while the Croatian defence stood firm in an attempt to keep Serbia off the scoresheet. They succeeded time and again throughout the 90 minutes.

Serbian Eagles did have chances, but the normally potent forwards Gabriel Pop and Sasa Viciknez failed to find the net on several occasions.
The single game CSL Championship became two games when the league decided to have a two-leg total goals series with Croatia fans attending the first game and Serbian White Eagles supporters attending Sunday’s clash. The separation follows games involving these two teams in 2006 when fans became disruptive and close to being violent.

The Toronto Croatia championship win comes following a season during which the Mississauga-based club was defeated just once, a 2-0 loss to Canadian Lions on October 5. The team traveled to Europe in June to win an inaugural tournament for Croatian teams from the Austria, Germany, Australia the United States and France. The Canadian team went undefeated in winning the trophy in Zagreb on June 30.

Toronto Croatia won the CPSL championship in 2000 and 2004, but the club is best known for winning the North American championship as Metros Croatia in 1976. At that time the team attracted several world soccer stars, including Portuguese superstar Eusébio. In 2006, the club celebrated 50 years in Canadian professional soccer.

Source: Canadian Soccer League Website

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