10-man Cambridge fall in tight loss against Pickering FC

June 20, 2026

CAMBRIDGE, ON – Cambridge United Men suffered a slim 3-2 defeat to Pickering FC on Saturday night at Fountain Street Soccer Complex. In a highly anticipated fixture, the hosts seemed poised to secure a hard-fought result after staging a brilliant first-half comeback. Instead, a highly contentious straight red card turned the tide early, setting the stage for a dramatic 92nd-minute Pickering winner that left the home side empty-handed.

TEAM LINEUPS

Cambridge United Starting XI: Jovicic (GK), Grant, E. Antolcic (Elezi 80’), Lesic (Alvarado 69’), Ferraro, Amaral (Shaikh 69’), Ciavarro (Romano 46’), Kohar, Paton (Ayala 80’), Brousseau, N. Antolcic (C) (Nibogora 80’).

Unused Subs: Hughes (G), Harris, D’Souza.

First Half

The match opened with an early shock for the home side when Pickering’s J. Bourgeois found the back of the net in just the 5th minute to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. 

Cambridge responded quickly, as Matthew Ciavarro struck in the 21st minute to level the playing field. Moments later, team captain Nikolas Antolcic fired home in the 23rd minute, completely turning the game on its head to give Cambridge a 2-1 advantage.

However, the euphoria was incredibly short-lived. In the 24th minute, chaos erupted following a slide tackle from Cambridge’s Christian Ferraro on the Pickering goalkeeper, Benjamin Choudhry. The keeper was treated by medical staff and got up, appearing perfectly fine. The linesman, who initially did not flag anything during the live play, called the referee over to consult. Following the brief discussion, the referee turned it into a straight red card, sending Ferraro off the pitch.

Furious with the sudden and contradictory decision, Cambridge head coach Jon Morgan fiercely protested from the technical area, earning himself a yellow card in the 26th minute. Reduced to 10 men, Cambridge had to recalibrate instantly. Pickering took full advantage of the extra space, and John Moncada found an equalizer in the 29th minute to bring the score to 2-2 before the halftime whistle.

Second Half

Tactical adjustments came at the break as head coach Jon Morgan substituted goalscorer Ciavarro for Luca Romano. Romano made his presence felt early, picking up a caution in the 56th minute as the physical intensity of the match escalated.

Cambridge's defensive unit fought valiantly to preserve the draw. Fresh legs were introduced in the 69th minute, with Ricardo Alvarado and Adam Shaikh entering the pitch, followed by a triple substitution in the 80th minute that brought on Jorge Ayala, Ank Nibogora, and Jon Elezi.

As the clock ticked toward the 90-minute mark, cards flew frequently. Cambridge goalkeeper Predrag Jovicic was cautioned in the 65th minute, Ciavarro picked up a yellow card from the bench in the 86th, and Pickering's Bourgeois was also booked in the 86th.

Unfortunately for the home side, Pickering found the late winner, capitalizing to make it 3-2 in the 92nd minute. 

Tensions remained high until the final whistle, cautions issued to both teams in the 97th minute as Cambridge fell 3-2 at home.