Guelph United will have to fight for its right to compete in League1 Ontario’s top division next season.
United lost in a penalty shootout in a one-game relegation playoff against St. Catharines Wednesday night.
As a result, Guelph will move down to the second-tier Championship division while St. Catharines will move up to the Premier Division.
The Roma Wolves took an early lead in the 17th minute.
The game remained 1-0 throughout a match that saw nine yellow cards given out.
Jack Sears kept Guelph’s season alive with a goal five minutes into injury time in the second half to force overtime.
After 30 minutes of no scoring and the game still tied 1-1, the game was decided on penalties.
St. Catharines outscored Guelph 3-1 in the shootout to take the contest in front of its home crowd.
"After what as been an extremely disappointing season, which saw our club relegated to the second tier, we at the club, commit to our fans and players that we will work hard in the off-season to help give us our best shot of coming straight back to the Premier League," said general manager Keith Mason.
"We all know that four wins in 22 matches is not good enough, and in a season that saw players constantly coming and going, with no consistency in the squad, we have to revisit everything we do from recruiting players to personnel. We are where we are because the results and performances did not meet our expectations. While this moment feels devastating to all involved, it also brings forward an opportunity for positive change that will get us back to where we want to be.
"I want to thank our loyal fans for a tremendous season and together we will continue to grow."
FT: St. Catahrines 1(3)-1(1) Guelph United
— League1 Ontario, Men’s Division 🇨🇦 (@L1OMens) September 12, 2024
After an absolute cracking game between the two sides, @stcromawolvesL1 wins the penalty shootout and gets promoted to L1O Men's Premier Division 2025.
The match timeline is available on our app. #L1ONLive pic.twitter.com/Qzx7qgPocB
