London, ON — Stefano Pelliccioni scored in the 85th minute to equalize for Western, but the game ended in a 1-1 draw against Guelph.
"I thought we started the game really well, had a couple of good chances, didn't get it, and then had one little breakdown and they took advantage." said Mustangs Head Coach Martin Painter. "I felt like we were the better team in the first half. We played really well. We started the game really well. We forced them to change shape, thought our organization was good, thought a lot of good ideas, just execution and moments. We just had one bad moment that cost us a goal."
GAME RECAP
Western went into halftime down 1-0 after Ambrose Tinmouth scored for Guelph in the 24th minute. Earlier, Western opened with steady pressure, as Callum Yuile shot wide right at 6:12 and Pelliccioni hit the crossbar less than two minutes later. Ennis Bernaus forced Liam Glas into a save at 13:52, and Alan Monyard followed with a Western corner kick at 14:22 as the match remained scoreless. After the Guelph goal, Panos Tzanetakis had Western's next chance in the 26th minute, but the shot went wide left, and Western reached the break trailing by one.
Western absorbed Guelph pressure while down 1-0, getting through a stretch from 54:51 to 63:30 that included two Guelph shots and two corners without conceding. Western pushed back later in the half, with Alex Henderson taking corner kicks at 72:26 and 77:10 and Filip Arbutina and Stefan Musta each following with shots. Pelliccioni converted a penalty kick at 85:01 to bring Western level at 1-1.
Ben Choudhry made a key save in extra time to keep the score even, and the match finished 1-1.
WESTERN KEY STATS
Stefano Pelliccioni
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- one goal
- two shots
- one shot on goal
- one penalty kick on one attempt
Ben Choudhry
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- one save
- 90 minutes in goal
NEXT GAME
The Mustangs are headed to Hamilton on Sunday for a meeting with the McMaster Marauders. Game time is 6:15 p.m.
