London City Soccer Club

London City Seeks Winning Start In Home Debut Tonight

2009-06-04

May 29th - They're handing out foam fingers to the first 200 fans at tonight's London City soccer home opener. But GM Ryan Gauss also believes his new-and-improved side will deliver one more ...

They're handing out foam fingers to the first 200 fans at tonight's London City soccer home opener. But GM Ryan Gauss also believes his new-and-improved side will deliver one more coveted souvenir to the Cove Road Field faithful -- a win -- sooner than later in this Canadian Soccer League season.

"You can see it in practice," he said. "It's coming together. Andrew (Loague, returning MVP and player-coach) is excited. Sean (coach Sean Gauss) is excited. Last year, we hoped to make the playoffs. This year, that expectation has changed. It will be an utter disappointment if we don't get there."

Last season, City never won once. They remade the roster and this year, already had a glorious chance to capture their season debut before falling 2-1 to the Italia Shooters at Maple last Sunday.

City scored first on Brian Abidakun's goal 23 minutes into the game. But the resilient Shooters overcame strong goalkeeping from former Windsor Border Star Anthony Santilli in the London net to score twice and also survived having two players sent off with red cards.

"We're not accepting losing this year," Gauss said. "Even after one loss, we're looking at what needs to improve. It doesn't matter if you're the Pele of our team, if you don't perform, you're not going to play.

"There are a lot of things to feel good about. Our strikers are strong. We just need a little more help in the midfield."

City doesn't have an affiliation agreement, "but we're not against signing one if we have to," Gauss said. "We feel we have a lot of depth on this team."

To make the playoffs, City will have to consistently win against National Division rivals North York Astros and St. Catharines.

The Astros are in London tonight for an 8:38 p.m. kickoff. Tickets are $10 at the door and $6 in advance.

"We want to be good at home this year," Gauss said. "We're expecting a lot from this team."

Ryan Pyette is a Free Press sports reporter.

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September 2010