Croatia scores six times in offensive outburst

Aidan O'Keefe celebrates one of his goals.

Frank Perin — Aidan O’Keefe scored twice in the first half and once more in the second to help lead Hamilton to a 6-1 defeat of the St. Catharines Wolves at Brian Timmis Stadium Friday night.

The Croatia striker opened the scoring at the 21st minute and struck a second two minutes later for a 2-0 score which held until half-time.

Hamilton carried the momentum into the second frame when Said Ali increased the lead to 3-0. His left-footed drive from 27 yards at the 46th minute sailed over the head of St. Catherines goalie Claudio Perri and dipped just under the crossbar for his first goal of the season.

O’Keefe then completed the hat-trick three minutes later with his sixth goal in eight games.

Some strong midfield play sprung Jason Shannon free and the forward made it 5-0 with a low shot to the corner for the home side at 56 minutes.

The Wolves’ Danny Gallagher spoiled Cam McKay’s shutout bid at 77 minutes, but the game was never in doubt.

Midfielder Jamie Dodds rounded out the scoring just moments following the ejection of St. Catharines’ Matthew Stillman. Dodds’ beautifully struck goal at 77 minutes was a fitting reward after having another exceptional game on both sides of the ball.

Hamilton Croatia improved to 3-4-1 for 13 points while St. Catherines lost again on Sunday leaving them with a 1-1-6 record.

Croatia’s next game is at Brian Timmis Stadium on Friday, July 2nd against the last-placed Brampton Lions before going on the road for four straight.

Undefeated season ends on the road

The first meeting between the two teams ended in a 1-1 draw.

York Region striker Kadian Lecky’s goal at 36 minutes turned out to be the game winner in the Shooters’ 3-0 home victory over Hamilton Croatia.

Lecky collected a cross from Desi Humphry close to the six-yard box to push the ball past Hamilton goalkeeper Cameron McKay. The goal came after Lecky missed the net from the penalty spot at the 21st minute mark.

The score stood 1-0 at the interval.

Well into a hard-fought second half, Zeko Iron increased the Shooters lead to 2-0 at the 84th minute mark, and Lecky struck his second — his fifth of the season — at 91 minutes to complete the 3-0 win.

York Region increased their lead at the top of the CSL First Division with a 5-2-1 record for 16 points, five in front of North York and Brantford.

Those two teams met earlier in the day with the Astros handing the Galaxy their first loss of the season by a score of 5-2.

Source: http://canadiansoccerleague.ca/

Hamilton and Brantford remain only teams without a loss

O'Keefe tied the game with a pk.

Hamilton Croatia recovered from a 2-0 deficit late in the first half to tie Brantford Galaxy 2-2 at Brian Timmis Stadium in Hamilton in the CSL Friday night.

Forward Miodrag Andjelkovic gave Brantford the lead at the 30th minute mark from the penalty spot against Hamilton Croatia and the Galaxy went ahead 2-0 two minutes later when Drazen Govic scored on a low, hard strike from 35 yards.

Midfielder Danny Jirta scored for Hamilton at 41 minutes to reduce the Galaxy lead to 2-1 at the interval and the tying goal came from Croatia’s Aidan O’Keefe from the penalty spot.

Brantford pressed for the winner in the late stages, but Hamilton Croatia defender and team captain Antonijo Zupan was one of several strong on defence and the game ended 2-2.

The result means both remain the only unbeaten team in the CSL First Division with Hamilton Croatia in second place in the standings, while the Galaxy are third, both teams trailing the division leader, York Region Shooters.

Source: http://canadiansoccerleague.ca/

Rhian Dodds joins brother Jamie at midfield

Rhian will be in the lineup tonight.

Larry Moko, The Hamilton Spectator — There’ll be a family reunion of sorts on the field at Brian Timmis Stadium tonight.

When Hamilton Croatia plays the Brantford Galaxy in a 9 p.m. Canadian Soccer League start, local products Rhian Dodds and younger brother, Jamie, will be in the Hamilton lineup together for the first time.

Rhian, who has been playing in the Scottish Premier league with Kilmarnock and Dundee United (on loan) for the past seven years, returns to Ancaster this week.

The brothers — both midfielders — played in the NCAA for Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh.

“Rhian is a quality player with a wealth of experience,” said head coach Ronnie Davidson.

“He also played with Canada at the international level.”

Rhian, 30, who was born in Scotland before coming to Canada with his family at age 2, underwent two hernia operations which limited his pro playing career in Scotland.

Jamie, 28, a graduate of Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School, has been a stalwart with Hamilton Croatia for the past four years. His background also includes a three-year stint with the Toronto Lynx where he was the USL First Division team’s MVP in 2005.

Also making his Hamilton Croatia debut tonight will be striker Preston Papai Corporal of Liberia.

“He played for the Liberian national team in a 2010 World Cup qualifier,” Davidson said.

Hamilton Croatia (2-0-3) and Brantford (2-0-1) are the only undefeated teams in the league. The expansion Hamilton entry is coming off a recent home game where they gave up a tying goal to York Region Shooters in the 89th minute. Dodds had the lone Croatia goal.

“We’ve started the season well,” Davidson said. “I can’t complain. We’re playing some nice soccer. The team has some good unity.”

According to Davidson, Brantford will pose a “big test” because their lineup is stocked with the league’s full complement of nine import players.

lmoko@thespec.com 905-526-2458

Rain-shortened win moves Croatia into second-place

Alvin Hudson is greeted by fellow defender Ivan Razumovic after scoring the first goal in Friday's 2-0 win.

Frank Perin – Hamilton Croatia notched their second win of the season Friday, a 2-0 home victory over the Montreal Impact Academy.

Hamilton took the lead at 14 minutes from a corner kick as defender Alvin Hudson found the back of the net with a header.

Striker Aidan O’Keefe doubled the lead 12 minutes later from 25 yards out on a free kick that curled around the wall and slipped under the outstretched Montreal goalkeeper Maxime Crepeh.

Goalie Cam McKay made a key save just before half-time tipping a well-struck shot off the bar, and fullback Niko Jelicic cleared the rebound to keep the score at 2-0 headed into the break.

As the second-half started the overcast skies finally opened up and the rain began. The game was suspended for a period of time when lightning struck and was eventually abandoned at 68 minutes with the score 2-0 in favour of the home side.

Initially it was announced that the game would have to be replayed in its entirety, but Canadian Soccer League rules state a game stopped after half-time and unable to continue is considered abandoned as a completed game. The score of 2-0 would hold up as Hamilton Croatia earned the full three points.

Hamilton will next put their undefeated record (2-3-0) on the line against the CSL’s only other undefeated team, fellow first-year club Brantford Galaxy (2-1-0).

Brantford was leading London City 1-0 when referee Justin Tasev was forced by lightning to abandon the game before half-time. That match will be rescheduled at a later date.

The Hamilton-Brantford game will take place at Brian Timmis Stadium this Friday at 9 p.m.