August 26, 2020...York9 claims dramatic 905 Derby win with 3 set-piece goals vs. Forge (from York9 FC website)

  
York9 claims dramatic 905 Derby win with 3 set-piece goals vs. Forge
AUGUST 26, 2020
Canadian Premier League
byCHARLIE O’CONNOR-CLARKE, CANPL.CA

The 2020 CPL season has been turned on its head.

In what has to be considered as the best matches of The Island Games so far, York9 FC took the spoils 
in the 905 Derby on Wednesday afternoon with a fiery 3-2 win over Forge FC.

With the victory, York9 shot up the CPL table into third place (for now), with six points putting them 
ahead of Pacific FC by one — and just two back of Forge in second.

All it takes is a few moments, and York9 took theirs in this one. After the first 20 minutes of the match 
left no daylight between the two clubs, the Nine Stripes leapt out to a sudden lead with a pair 
of set-pieces.

First, it was Manny Aparicio standing over a free kick on the edge of the box in the 27th minute. 
His effort hit the left post, rolling directly into the path of Kyle Porter who scored on the rebound. 
Just seven minutes later, Porter hit a corner kick low to the near post, which Joseph Di Chiara managed 
to flick into the goal over ‘keeper Triston Henry.

The CPL champions wouldn’t go down that easily, though. Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis made a trio of bold 
substitutions at halftime, bringing on Chris Nanco, Anthony Novak, and Maxim Tissot (and sacrificing 
captain Kyle Bekker in the process).

The move paid off immediately, as Nanco managed to get around the York9 backline by passing to himself 
and finished well off the turf to make it 2-1. Alex Achinioti-Jonsson scored the equalizer 
in the 52nd minute, seizing on a rebound in the box after a free kick.

Although, by that point, Forge looked to be on an unstoppable path to victory, fortune seemed 
to favour York9 as they continued to win set-piece opportunities in the attacking third. Eight minutes 
after Forge levelled things, York9 earned a penalty off an Achinioti-Jonsson handball in the box. 
Di Chiara slotted the spot kick into the bottom left corner for his second of the day, putting his 
side back in front.

Of course, Forge continued to refuse to go quietly. They sent a fury of attacking moves at the York9 
box in the late second half, with several threatening chances ultimately cleared by excellent 
last-ditch defending.

Both teams return to action on the weekend in PEI. York9 takes on HFX Wanderers FC on Saturday 
(3:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. AT), while Forge faces Atlético Ottawa on Sunday (3:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. AT).

York9 FC: Create chances for Alvaro Rivero – The Spaniard wasn’t particularly involved in his hour 
of work, touching the ball just once inside the 18-yard box. York9 eventually found their chances 
in the game, but they didn’t quite incorporate Rivero as much as they’d like as the striker dropped 
fairly deep into midfield.

Test Forge’s Monti Mohsen – The Nine Stripes did this fairly well, although their first-half attack 
was a little lopsided to the left side rather than the flank where they could’ve attacked Mohsen. 
The youngster held his own going forward, making two key passes and plenty of shots, but he was 
subbed off at half for Maxim Tissot.

Forge FC: Maintain possession, frustrate York9 – Forge actually did hold onto possession 
for the most part, hovering around 55 per cent for the majority of the game. They made use of it 
in one burst after halftime, but aside from that period, the Nine Stripes certainly didn’t look 
frustrated. They took their chances when they arrived.

Keep your heads – As any good derby should be, this contest had plenty of hard challenges, and more 
than a few fouls. Forge did get a little drawn out on set-pieces that York9 scored from 
in the first half, but they were generally fairly composed, showing good resilience to get back 
into the game.

BOX SCORE
Goals
27' – Kyle Porter (York9 FC)
34' – Joseph Di Chiara (York9 FC)
49' – Chris Nanco (Forge FC)
52' – Alexander Achinioti-Jonsson (Forge FC)
60' – Joseph Di Chiara (York9 FC)

Discipline
40' Yellow – David Edgar (Forge FC)
53' Yellow – Manuel Aparicio (York9 FC)
72' Yellow – Kwame Awuah (Forge FC)
90+3' Yellow – Maxim Tissot (Forge FC)

TOP PERFORMER
Joe Di Chiara (York9 FC)

It’s not every day a player scores twice from set-pieces. Di Chiara’s movement on his first goal 
(York9’s second) was excellent to get in front of the goalkeeper and find the net. He also led 
his team in touches (56) and duels won (11), and he had a sparkling 97.4 per cent passing accuracy 
with 38 attempts.  

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