TFC Academy tied 1-1 with London City in the Canadian Soccer League at Lamport Stadium. The visitors threatened early as Youna Samra struck from distance in only the third minute forcing a save from Xander Huggins the young goalkeeper who was making his debut for the Senior Academy.

But Samra was able to open the scoring in the 18th minute as he received a ball 35 yards from goal and dribbled to the top of the box before hitting a well struck shot that beat Huggins in goal to give the visitors 1-0 advantage.

Soon after Samra again showed his willingness and ability to strike from distance as he forced Huggins into another smart save in what appeared to be a personal dual between the two players.

TFC had a few half chances in the first half but never really looked like scoring. In the second half Ashtone Morgan and Kevan Aleman were introduced into the match and immediately Morgan had an influence on the action.

In the 46th minute Morgan hit a great pass over 40 yards to Dino Gardner on the opposite flank who evaded several defenders before squaring a pass to an unmarked Kevan Aleman, but his attempted shot from six yards out failed to find the back of the net. Then a minute later Morgan picked up the ball 40 yards from goal and hit a hard strike that London City goal keeper Scott Mueller parried away.

TFC found an equalizer as the lively Josh Janneire picked the ball up inside his own half and dribbled past four opposition players before taking a shot. Mueller could not hold onto it and Kevan Aleman was there finish off the rebound to level the score line. Keith Makubuya then had an opportunity in the 75 minute to give TFC the lead but his shot from 18 yards out flew over the crossbar.

The young Academy side continued to push forward in search of the winner and Nicholas Lindsay thought he had done enough but his initial strike from close range in the 84th minute was saved by Mueller and Lindsay’s follow up shot was cleared off the line by a recovering defender.

London City nearly stole the points in the last minute when player/coach Andrew Loague evaded his marker to get on the end of a corner kick but his header from close range flew wide of the goal and the match ended 1-1.

“In the first half we failed to find that cutting edge in the attacking third to break them down,” said TFC Academy Senior Team Head Coach Jason Bent. “They seemed content to defend and then hit us on the counter attack. Good teams need to find solutions when opposition teams drop off and invite you to play.”

“Traditionally Canadian teams and players have always found it difficult to take the game to opposition teams when they drop off. We must develop not only the mentality but also the ability to find solutions to these scenarios and that starts right here with these young players.”

“The second half was much improved and we created enough clear cut chances to win the game but unfortunately we could not find the winner. We’ll take the point and move on because we face Toronto Croatia on Monday night in a rescheduled match.”