The dream finals… FC Vorkuta are absolute CSL champions!!!

October 13, 2018 was the day history was made for FC Vorkuta.

At 1 pm FC Vorkuta “B” started its CSL Division II final against Halton United “B”.
Despite being a strong favorite for the game our players did not look so at the beginning. Christian Truyen opened the scoring for Halton United B at the 13th minute mark, heading into the net out of reach of FC Vorkuta B goalkeeper Oleksandr Lozinskyy and Vorkuta B tied 1-1 when Kristijan Kezic found the net one minute later.

This was followed shortly after the restart when Ihor Melnyk made it 2-1 for Vorkuta B at 15 minutes and Robert Melo equalized for Halton United B, 2-2 at the 35th minute mark. It was 2-2 at halftime.

Vorkuta B went ahead 3-2, Kezic scoring his second goal and the winner at 71 minutes and the score held to the final whistle.

“Vorkuta, Vorkuta, Vorkuta!” chanted fans at Centennial Stadium in Toronto’s west end, urging their team on in during a hotly contested, entertaining CSL Championship Final against Scarborough SC.

Both sides set a strong pace and Scarborough came close early when forward Kiril Dimitrov’s drive from the right wing deflected just wide.
Vorkuta took a 1-0 lead at 29 minutes when referee Marcos Jaramillo pointed to the penalty spot after Oleh Kerchu was brought down in the box. Defender Lubomyr Halchuk easily found the nest past Scarborough goalkeeper John Trye.

Five minutes later Scarborough had another setback when referee Jaramillo showed Scarborough defender Alen Kucalovic the red card following a second caution, and it was 1-0 at the break.

Scarborough SC went on the offensive in the second half and rallied to equalize at 77 minutes when midfielder Odain Omaro Simpson headed in from a left-wing cross.

Both teams kept up the tempo in a physical encounter that brought down players from both sides. There were missed opportunities and the regulation time came with a 1-1 tie. The overtime 30 minutes each way was similar, but scoreless, leading to the penalty kicks decider. Vorkuta completed scoring all five, while Scarborough struck four and one was saved.

Commenting on Vorkuta’s achievements in winning three titles, head coach Samad Kadirov emphasized team play as being important, “But we also have some quality players, some performing well just at the right time and others were unexpected heroes,” he said.

A CSL Championship victory set an unprecedented three titles in the same Canadian Soccer League season. No team in 92 years of CSL history has won three titles during the one season.

Stan Adamson (c)

FC Vorkuta – 2018 Canadian Soccer league champions!

We thank all of our fans for their incredible support during the season and a very cold day final.
Your support means a world to us!