THE Singleton Strikers under 19s showed off their attacking flair in the Toronto clash on Tuesday last week at Howe Park coming from behind twice to win 5-3.
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The home team couldn't have had a worse start to the game going down 2-0 early in the first half before Robert Lopes found space in the box to score.
Singleton had plenty of chances in the game and even hit the crossbar, before Mitchell Bradly scored from outside the box for the Maroon team to make it 2-2.
That dominance continued at the resumption of the second half, two shoots within in seconds of each other from Singleton required athletic saves from the Toronto keeper.
Then a missed touch from one of the Singleton defenders and the ball falls at the feet of a Toronto player who hits past the keeper to make it 3-2 to Toronto.
The next chance for Singleton was created by Mohammed Akbari who broke past his marker to lob a cross into the box for Morgan Webber to finish and score.
Toronto had another chance to take the lead minutes later but were denied by a point blank save from Singleton keeper Liam Kelly who then quickly cleared the ball up field to Mohammed who then scored one for himself.
At 4-3 Singleton were in the ascendancy now and were finding players in space in the opposition half it was long before another player found the back of the net with James Bates shooting the ball into the top corner.
The Singleton Strikers under 23s fought hard in their 2-1 loss to Toronto.
Like the under 19s before them the under 23s had a bad start to the game with Toronto scoring two unanswered goals.
Singleton weren't without their chances earning a free kick in a deadly position however the shot blazed wide.
Their best chance in the first half came off a header that was goal bound but for a Toronto player on the line who just headed it away in time.
The strikers could have gone into the half time sheds 3-0 if weren't for a great save from Corey Cleaver. Although they did go a man down after a harsh challenge from a Toronto player injured Jarrod Blunt. The offender received a yellow card but it was little consolation for Singleton.
It was a different Singleton team who came out of the sheds in the second half and they were the first to score.
A corner cross found Roberto Garcia unmarked in the box and he leaped easily to head the ball past the keeper.
Garcia almost grabbed a double after his deflected shot veered towards goal, but just went wide to the right of the goal.
Toronto looked to put the game to bed when they chipped Cleaver in goals only for defender Ryan Guihot to get back and make a goal line clearance.
Singleton continued to push for an equaliser deep into the second half and their last chance came off a free kick after Aaron Caelli was fouled on a run down the wing.
The ball was put high into the mixer and bounced around, evading the Singleton players before it was booted up field and the full time whistle blew.
It was another fighting performance for the Singleton Strikers in First Grade who would be feeling hard done by to not leave the ground with a draw.
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As it was the twice from behind comeback draw was stolen at the death by a Toronto goal off a corner.
The game started in a similar fashion to the previous two games with Singleton conceding two goals before getting a response.
It could have been a different start after Klaudon Ahjmati was open on goal but the referee didn't play advantage to the home side.
Singleton did have one shot on goal in the first half that required a good save to keep the scores unchanged.
A 2-nil at half time the strikers brought on Robbie Lopes which proved to be a masterstroke as he scored with a super shot from just outside the box sailing into the net. The keeper had no chance.
That goal provided a spark to the Singleton team who were next to score through Lloyd Blakefield who finished off a Josh Gilmore cross.
Lopes came close to scoring again with a great lobbed shot that just went over. Another shot by the same striker required an outstanding save by the Toronto keeper.
The crowd was puzzled soon after a harsh second yellow and subsequent red card was given to Singleton's Klaudon after he was bundled over in the box.
Now with a man down it was Toronto who went onto attack Singleton and soon scored off a set piece.
Toronto came again and a goal line clearance from Liam Daley made sure the scores stayed at 3-2.
Blakefield had a great chance to equalise the game with a side foot finish but it blasted wide, however he made up for the miss by scoring his double with a sweeping drive to the far post.
The game continued at 3-3 for what felt like an age, before the unthinkable happened and a cross into the box off a Toronto corner found an unmarked player who scored for the visitors with only seconds left on the clock.
Singleton were dominate for long periods of the game and would've felt hard done by the final result, however it shows their attack is up there with the best teams.