June 11, 2023 - Windsor City FC (2-4-1) vs Simcoe County Rovers FC (5-2-1)-
The damp weather did not dampen the spirits of Windsor City or their fans for this week's League1 Ontario matchup. The opponents this afternoon were the Simcoe County Rovers FC who came into Acumen stadium 5-2-1. Windsor City looks to win their first game at home since April 30th. With Cosenza still suspended, the interim bench boss is Rob Arce. Arce’s keys to success for Windsor City this past sunday were: good transformative transitional play, belief in the team, winning individual battles, and maintaining a “rock and roll” level of energy.
The first half was a game of lockdown focused defence for Windsor City. Simcoe held possession of the ball for the majority of the half and employed good concise passing to exert heavy offensive pressure. The first 20 minutes were dominated by Simcoe, with corners in the 1st and 8th minutes, and missed shots in the 6th and 7th. All of this early pressure led to a good chance for Simcoe in the form of a missed cross in the 15th minute.
Windsor was able to answer with a chance of their own as a pass from Owen Antoniuk to Braden Stevanovic led to a quality shot on goal. This was then mirrored by Simcoe as they challenged Carraro with a quality shot of their own in the 19th minute. Windsor's team first mentality was evident throughout the game as countless Windsor City players were blocking dangerous shots, and passes. In the 22nd minute Simcoe’s goalkeeper, Michael Markac, got caught overextended, and a longshot by Windsor’s Matthew Andres just went wide of the net. At the 25th minute a collision in front of Windsor’s net as Dante Carraro went down with an injury scare, but he would stay in the game, stopping a Simcoe shot in the 28th. At the 38th minute a yellow card was handed out to #19, Justin Earle, of the Simcoe County Rovers. At the 40th minute Windsor City player, #9, Jose Pabon would exit the game after an apparent injury. The first half showed Windsor’s belief in the team, good handling of 1 on 1 battles, and strong defensive pressure both on the outsides and the midfield.
The second half opened with a shot for each team 47th (Windsor), and in the 54th (Simcoe). In the 54th minute a fast hustle by Windsor’s #6 Nathaniel Clemmings led to a shot that got turned away right at the goaline in a replay worthy chance. This close call was then followed up by Windsor chances in the 58th, 59th, and 63rd minutes. In between the chances in the 60th minute Windsor’s #8, Andrii Amonov was issued a yellow card. The 67th minute had the crowd in suspense as a Simcoe goal was ruled offside. Another exchange of chances in the 73rd and 75th minutes ramped up the tempo of the 0-0 game. The game’s complexion would then change as Simcoe’s #18 Ijah Halley would find the back of the net at the 79th minute. Trailing 1-0 almost rejuvenated Windsor City as they played with noticeably more freedom and energy. This energy would then translate to a highlight reel, one time volley by Jonathan Agapito in the 86th minute. Agapito then found the ball at his foot a minute later and offensive patience then translated to a second goal in the 87th minute. Windsor City in the span of 4 minutes went from trailing 1-0 to leading 2-1. After a tense 3 minutes and extra time, where a Simcoe yellow card was handed out to C.J Smith, Windsor walked away with the victory. The second half was dominated by energy, and focus.
Excitement filled the post game. After the impressive display of offensive patience, Agapito was named Man of the Match. Both Agapito and Clemmings commented on the focus, defensive awareness, and team effort of the victory. Between all the cheers the coaching staff also expressed their pride in the club. Windsor City FC now hits the road for the next four weeks, with their first opponent being Hamilton United at 4:00pmEST, playing out of Mcmaster University. Windsor City became Win-city today, and hopefully this trend can continue.