Croatia 1 Attak 2

Trois-Rivières, August 9, 2008 - A crowd of almost 1,700 fants witnessed their team's greatest comeback of the season - as the Trois-Rivières Attak FC (9-1-4) defeated the Toronto Croatia (6-4-4) at the UQTR stadium. The emotional game, which was solved by 2-1 verdict, had the feel of a playoff game.

The first two meetings of the season against the defending champion Toronto Croatia had resulted in ties, and Saturday's game was another closely fought battle which came close to ending in a draw. In fact, the game's outcome was decided at the 90th minute. The Attak relied on a shot by Massimo Di Ioia, fresh off the bench, to provide the go-ahead goal. Di Ioia's goal came only 15 minutes after the game-tying goal scored by teammate Hector Contreras, who scored on a penalty. Oddly enough, Contreras was outed from the game because of a red card he got immediately after his goal, before play had even resumed. The Attak's two goals came during the second half, while Toronto's, by Hayden Fitzwilliok, occured at the 30th minute of the first. It was the first team of the year that the Attak allowed their opponents to take the lead in a home game.

Following the game, Head Coach Marc Dos Santos congratulated his players for their mental strength. He made a special mention of the fact that they managed to kill off a one-man disadvantage at the end of the game, due to Contreras's red carton. To him, that was a clear statement that they wanted all 3 points - and would not settle for a draw. The Attak's next game is against the Brampton Lions. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM at the UQTR stadium.

Starting Line-up:

Anddrew Olivieri; Olivier Brett; Elkana Mayard; Michel Vitulano; François Boivin; Jean-Philippe Étienne; Hector Contreras; Christian Nunez; Jean-Louis Bessé; Nicolas Lesage; Pierre-Rudolph Mayard.

-30-

Previous page