News - Tough tie
St. Thomas takes a tough tiePosted By Rob Ross, TIMES-JOURNAL STAFF
In the fight for first place, St. Thomas lost two valuable points.
Currently in a close race with Croatia and AEK at the top of the Premier division of the Western Ontario Soccer League, St. Thomas had to settle for a 2-2 with Benfica Tuesday at Athletic Park.
Two weeks ago, St. Thomas blanked Benfica 3-0 in London.
"It was a tough game for us," coach John Twinem said. "We had a terrible first half. We came out with a lack of focus. We were letting guys run and we were missing balls. We played better in the second half and we had them on the run."
A win would have put St. Thomas into first place, hopping over both first placeCroatia and AEK in second spot.
St. Thomas jumped out 1-0 on a goal by Dave Coleman, but Benfica scored twice before the first half was over. Trevor Medeiros and Johnny Paiva on a penalty shot put Benfica up 2-1.
"We scored first and I think we thought we would be fine," said Twinem.
James Twinem tied the game midway through the second half. St. Thomas thought they scored the go ahead goal but the referee ruled a player was offside.
With a record of 7-1-1 St. Thomas is tied with AEK (7-1-) in second place one point behind Croatia (7-2-0).
Benfica is at 2-4-4.
Key games that will likely decide the Premier division winner are one against AEK and two against Croatia.