JUMP: Vaughan Italia Shooters midfielder Johan Carrera uses his head to pass the ball away from a Serbian White Eagles defender Sunday. (Jim Humphrey/Vaughan Today)
The Vaughan Italia Shooters suffered their worst defeat of the Canadian Soccer League season Sunday at St. Joan of Arc Stadium.
The squad was outplayed and was trounced 5-1 at the hands of the Serbian White Eagles.
Blake Ordell, the Shooters’ lone goal scorer, said the team is capable of playing much better.
“We do have it in us to play that way,” he said.
The Shooters are winless in their last two matches, leaving head coach Robert Pugliese searching for answers.
“I guess a magician isn’t the right answer,” he said. “I guess we just need luck to fall our way.”
The squad was missing a couple of key players, he added.
Ordell agreed that was a factor on Sunday.
“We were playing against a very experienced team and they are going to capitalize on any mistakes we make,” he said. “We made a few early mistakes that we got caught on and we weren’t playing as fast as they were.”
Serbia led 3-0 at halftime on goals by midfielder Adrijan Tismenar at 25 minutes, defender Uros Stamatovic four minutes later and forward Alex Braletic at 41 minutes.
Pugliese was forced to watch the second half from the sidelines after being tossed from the bench at the end of the first.
“I was ejected at the half for voicing my opinion,” he said.
Dragan Radovic struck at 76 minutes for the Eagles, followed closely by Ordell’s tally for the Shooters, which cut the Eagles’ lead to 4-1.
“I was trying to get dangerous all game and found the ball at my feet and was just trying to make something happen,” said Ordell, who came on in the second half.
For a few minutes after the goal, it looked as though the Shooters were about to turn their fortunes around.
“We just needed that spark and when you are a sub, there are some times when you need to be that spark to get your team up and going,” Ordell said.
But Shane Lammie crushed hopes of a comeback when he scored the visiting team’s fifth goal at 79 minutes.
The Serbian White Eagles improved to a 2-1-2 record, good for eight points and third place in the International Division. The Italia Shooters dropped to fourth place with a 2-4-1 record for seven points.
