Hamilton FC - PDL 2012

[Neil M Brown]

Hamilton FC Burned in Chicago

The men of Hamilton FC Rage travelled to University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Field in Chicago Friday night. HFC, was played their second game in three days, fell behind early and were defeated by the Chicago Fire 3-1.

Chicago fired first in the opening half with their first goal of the game. Chicago forward Tyler Engel scored the goal with the assist of Brendan King at the 27' mark. Hamilton's Shane Keely received a caution after the goal. The point would be the only marker of the first half.

The Fire doubled their lead at the 48' mark as midfielder Tom Skelly found the back of the net. Hamilton had an answer just minutes later thanks to a quick goal by Rage midfielder Stephen Powell at the 51' mark off a pass from William Grocott.

Chicago added their third goal of the game at the 55' mark to regain a three goal lead. The Fire would hold onto the lead and take the victory.

Chicago had the edge in shots on goal during the match, sending twice as many balls towards the net. Hamilton mustered just six shots on net while Chicago had thirteen shots.

Josh Bennett, Andrew Ferguson, Scott McCoubrey and Stephen Powell recorded shots on net. Lewis Ellis had two shots on net. Conor Hurley had allowed three goals and made four saves.

Hamilton has lost three in a row and stand with a record of 1-3-1. HFC return to action on Saturday night when the team will take on the Chicago Inferno. The teams met once this season at Ron Joyce Stadium for Hamilton's home opener. That match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Game reports courtesy of Jason Nason, Hamilton SportsXpress Media

Regards,
Neil Brown
Hamilton FC

[Neil M Brown]

McCoubrey Scores Twice as HFC Torches Chicago

Hamilton FC spent their second day in a row facing Chicago, this time the Chicago Inferno. Fresh off a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Chicago Fire Friday night the boys turned things around, handed the Chicago Inferno a 3-1 loss and picked up three points.

The first half was a scoreless affair with both sides having great scoring chances. Chicago's Piotrowski missed an early opportunity at 3' and Hamilton couldn't capitalize on a corner kick at 16'. At the 29' mark Piotrwoski flew down the field and his cross just missed the head of Floros. Hamilton had a goal kick at 39' but couldn't find the back of the net to break the scoreless draw in before halftime.

Hamilton would break away in the second half with three straight goals.

Fifty eight minutes into the game Scott McCoubrey gave Hamilton their first lead since the team's home opener, also versus the Inferno. Khody Ellis picked up the assist on the goal. Garret McConville then doubled the HFC lead at 58' from a Will Grocott free kick.

Scott McCoubrey netted his second goal of the match to give Hamilton a 3-0 lead at the 74' mark with an assist from Adam Camillo.

Piotrowski would add a goal for Chicago at the 85' mark but it wouldn't be enough as Hamilton FC broke a three game losing streak to get back into the win column.

Scott McCoubrey scored his first and second goals of the season Saturday night. Garret McConville scored his second goal of the season as well. McConville's first goal came in the home opener May 20th in the game versus the Inferno.

With the win Hamilton improves to 2-3-1 on the season and is in a three way tie for fourth place with the Inferno and the River City Rovers.

HFC will have an extended break with the next match coming at home in Ron Joyce Stadium on Monday June 11th. Hamilton will welcome the Toronto Lynx, the team they defeated for their first win of the season, at 8pm. Toronto is still looking for their first win of the season, going 0-5-0 in their first five games.

Game reports courtesy of Jason Nason, Hamilton SportsXpress Media

Regards,
Neil Brown
Hamilton FC

[kevin]

I forgot there was a game lastnight I watch it on cable 14 I hope the player's that got hurt is ok.

[Rocket Robin]

Toronto Lynx won their first game of the season 2-1 with an injury time goal against Hamilton on Monday night.
Any write up of that game please?

[Neil M Brown]

The player that was hurt in the game is ok, pending a CT Scan. Sorry, forgot to post the game report...glad to hear of the interest.

Toronto Upsets Hamilton with Stoppage Time Winner

A Toronto corner kick in the final minute of stoppage time was headed into the net as the Lynx upset Hamilton FC in a 2-1 victory.

Hamilton had a flurry of good chances in the opening half including several shots that just missed their mark. Scott McMcoubrey's attempt 12' sailed wide of the net on a long pass from the HFC keeper. Several headers also sailed away from the net including a kick on by Josh Bennett at the 38' mark.

Miroslav Cabrilo finally put in the go-ahead goal for Hamilton at 40' of the first half. Scott McCoubrey sent the ball into the 18 yard box to the waiting Cabrilo who headed the ball nicely into the net.

Hamilton took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

The Toronto Lynx tied the game at the 68’ mark after Conor Hurley made a flurry of saves. The ball bounced over Hurley’s head and was moments from entering the net when a quick thinking Hamilton defender slid to kick the ball wide of the net. The ensuing Toronto corner was knocked around several times, including a fantastic effort on the part of Hamilton’s keeper, but the pressure paid off for Toronto as Callum Home put the ball in.

A scary collision right at the 90’ point in the game put a halt to action and left a Toronto player motionless on the field. HFC forward Adam Bond challenged Toronto Keeper Ben Ur for the ball in the dying seconds of regulation. Toronto defender Konner McNamara also went for the ball and took the worst of the impact between the three players.

Bond immediately yelled to the sidelines for medical help as the referees called a stop to the match. It looked as though McNamara had landed on his neck coming down to the ground after the collision. Paramedics were called to the field and McNamara was taken to a nearby hospital.

After a thirty minute stoppage, time wound down in the two minutes of added time. It looked as though the game would end in a draw but that would not be the case. In the 91st minute James Gilvany headed the ball into the net for victory from a corner kick by Mackenzie Wilde. Hamilton made one last rush down the field and shot on goal, but the ball sailed wide as time expired.

The hard fought loss drops Hamilton to 2-4-1 on the season while the match was Toronto’s first win of the year. The Lynx are now 1-5-1.

The men of HFC combined for ten shots on goal. William Grocott and Scott McCoubrey both had two shots in the game while Chris Brown, Stephen Powell, Adam Camillo, Miroslav Cabrilo and Khody Ellis also registered shots on goal. Keeper Conor Hurley made eight saves, including several spectacular diving plays.

Next up Hamilton FC will host the Cincinnati Kings this Friday June 19th from Ron Joyce Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8pm.

Game reports courtesy of Jason Nason, Hamilton SportsXpress Media

Regards,
Neil Brown
Hamilton FC

[Neil M Brown]

HFC Scores Three Shutting Out Cincinnati

A trio of goals, including one by Khody Ellis in the 90th minute, led Hamilton FC to a solid 3-0 shut-out of the visiting Cincinnati Kings Friday night.

With the season nearing the halfway mark, and the post season just over a month away, Hamilton FC needed to start picking up wins in the hope of pushing into the playoffs. In the PDL, the top two team in each division advance past into the playoffs, with the second and third placed teams playing off for the second spot. HFC would need seven points to make the leap to second place but Cincinnati stood in their way.

Hamilton had a great number of chances in the first half including several shots sailing just wide of goal. HFC kept the on pressure early on. Bennett kicked the ball across the box prompting Kings' keeper Nicolson to make a diving save to preserve the scoreless game at the 21' mark.

That bid would end in the 26th minute.

Andrew Ferguson took a great pass from Miroslav Cabrillo and sent the ball into the back of the net to give Hamilton a 1-0 lead into halftime for the second straight game.

Both teams moved the ball well in the first half with great scoring chances for both teams. At one point the ball popped over Hamilton keeper Hurley's head prompting an HFC defender to slide and kick the ball away before the ball rolled into the net.

Hamilton doubled their lead at the 54' mark. Josh Bennett came up the side and sent the ball across the box. William Grocott leapt and headed the ball passed the Kings keeper and into the net.

Hamilton had a flurry of chances at the 62' mark with three straight corners. The first corner was headed out by a Kings defender followed by an HFC header deflected wide off another Kings player. Kings keeper Nicholson made a great save for Cincinnati on the third corner.

Cincinnati nearly broke the shut-out late in the half as a hard shot bounced off the cross bar and back in front of the net. The Kings' rebounded the ball which sailed over the net.

Right at the end of regulation the FC Rage added a third goal. Mark Reilly, who subbed into the game at the 88th minute, came up the left side and launched the ball at the net. The Kings' keeper made the save which defected right to Lewis Ellis, who passed the ball to Khody Ellis. Ellis chipped the ball into the net for the score.

With the win Hamilton improves to 3-4-1 and are now in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Great Lakes division with the Chicago Inferno and Chicago Fire.

The victory was a grand team effort with eleven players contributing shots on goal. Cabrillo registered four shots and Grocott had three shots. Ferguson, Keely and McCoubrey had two shots while Warburton, Camillo, Bond, Wynter, Khody Ellis and Lewis Ellis had one shot each.

Next up Hamilton FC will travel to Northern Kentucky University to take on the Cincinnati Kings. Game time is 7pm this Tuesday June 19th. HFC will return home to Ron Joyce Stadium on Sunday July 1st at 7pm when FC London comes to town.

Game reports courtesy of Jason Nason, Hamilton SportsXpress Media

Regards,
Neil Brown
Hamilton FC

[Neil M Brown]

Hamilton FC Topped by London

A late London goal in added time pushed the game out of reach for the home team as Hamilton FC Rage were defeated 4-2 by FC London.

Hamilton had a lot to prove in the game, the third meeting between the two teams. London bested the Hamilton team in the early part of the season and the squads played to a 1-1 draw late last week.

"Really looking forward to our game tonight," Scott McCoubrey stated before the game. "We are taking each game like our own cup final, especially with London being our main rivals now for that 3rd spot."

FC London broke the ice and scored in the 12th minute. Gary Ogilvie sent a cross to Chris Dillon who knocked the ball into the net. Forest City would add to their lead in the 40th minute as a kick from Thomas Owens bounced over HFC keeper Justin Silveira’s head. Jordan Ayris kicked it in for the London goal.

Hamilton had several solid chances in the half. Josh Bennett's cross was headed out in the 22nd minute and a low shot by Will Grocott rolled wide right past a diving London keeper.

The Hamilton FC offense struggled to get things flowing in the first half. London's defenders played solid defense and managed to head away the majority of the Hamilton crosses.

Hamilton finally got on the scoreboard with an unusual goal. In the 65th minute Scott McCoubrey crossed the ball towards the net. The ball sailed over the London keeper and was kicked high into the air by a London defender. The ball dropped into the hands of the keeper who looked to lose his grip on the ball. In the ensuing melee Khody Ellis knocked the ball into the net. The London bench protested but the goal stood.

FC London regained a two goal lead in the 80th minute. Denver Spearman came up the right side and crossed to Jordan Ayris who tapped it in.

The Rage's defense seemed to be having a rough time during the match and London gained near breakaways on multiple occasions. London forward Martin Lange broke away and booted the ball just over the crossbar early in second half.

Hamilton pulled within a goal once again in the 84th minute thanks to a goal by Mark Reilly. Reilly tapped the ball in after a cross by Khody Ellis led to another scuffle in front of the net.

HFC could not come back again and London would score a final goal in stoppage time to take the match.

With the loss Hamilton FC drop to 3-6-3 on the season and are in a three way tie for sixth place. HFC are winless in their last four games but will look to get back on track as the team continues their home stand on Wednesday. The team will welcome the Chicago Fire to Ron Joyce Stadium Wednesday night at 7pm.

Visit the team's official website at www.hamiltonfc.com, follow Hamilton FC Rage on Twitter at @HamitonFC_USL and like the team at Facebook.com/OfficialHamiltonFC.

Game reports courtesy of Jason Nason, Hamilton SportsXpress Media

Regards,
Neil Brown
Hamilton FC