THUNDER BAY – Less than two minutes into Sunday’s friendly against the Winnipeg Lions, Gerald Marshall had the Thunder Bay Chill on the board.
They never looked back.
The Chill scored twice in the opening half and added two more in the second, downing the visiting Lions 4-0 on a chilly Sunday afternoon at Chapples Feld.
The win comes on the back of Saturday’s 3-1 win over Lions, the matches the team’s last chance for meaningful competition before the under-19 members of the club get set for the USA Cup in three weeks in Minneapolis.
Marshall, who played high school football at Hammarskjold, said it was an important test.
“We don’t have a lot of competition here, so it’s good that these guys come down here and we can stay active and just get better at soccer,” said Marshall, whose goal came off a corner kick in the second minute of play.
“It was pretty cool, my first goal. I usually don’t get much because I play centre-back.”
It only took the Chill nine minutes to double their lead, Matthew Keeler connecting on a three-on-one rush, burying the ball past Winnipeg keeper Nicholas Peterson in the 11th.
“We were very opportunistic in the early part of the game to get two goals. Then, as the first half carried on, they established their foot in the game with a couple of good chances, nice possession and we had to sit back a little bit to be tight defensively to stay in there, which we did a good job at,” said interim Chill coach Marco Colistro.
“Then in the second half we did a good job of being clinical and killing the game off.”
Thunder Bay couldn’t convert on four straight corner kicks in a seven-minute span, but just a minute after the fourth one, Alex Iossa sidestepped Peterson and drove the ball home, giving the Chill a 3-0 lead.
Nick Phyllis, who scored twice in Saturday’s win, finished off another 3-on-1 in the 70th.
Winnipeg’s best chance came late in the second half, when Hamed Awal Njoga was fouled in the box. Matheus Aquino took the penalty kick but fired wide on keeper Francesco Leuzzi, the 40-year-old taking over from starter Erik Aegard with about 15 minutes left to go.
The officials had a brief discussion about whether or not Leuzzi moved early, but determined he did not and the play stood.
Colistro said the two matches were a great experience for his squad.
“It’s just important, playing against men. Obviously, it’s a different game physically and the intensity that comes with it. Hopefully that helps them playing in a U19 tournament where everyone’s a kid,” Colistro said.
