October 24, 2021...N'Sa grabs first ever professional goal as another comeback secures a point in Ottawa
(from York United FC website)

  
N’sa grabs first ever professional goal as another comeback secures a point in Ottawa
OCTOBER 24, 2021
Canadian Premier League
by CHARLIE O’CONNOR-CLARKE, CANPL.CA

York United kept their playoff hopes alive on Sunday afternoon at TD Place, as Atlético Ottawa 
drew 1-1 with the Nine Stripes in their final home match of the 2021 season in a very entertaining 
ComeOn! Match of the Week.

With suspensions to regular contributors Diyaeddine Abzi, Jordan Wilson, and Isaiah Johnston, 
York boss Jimmy Brennan was forced to rotate his squad a bit, as 17-year-old Matteo Campagna made 
his first start for the Nine Stripes at centre-back while regular attacking phenom Max Ferrari 
moved to play at fullback in lieu of Abzi. Ottawa, meanwhile, rolled out many of the players that 
have been reliable starters for them, including Ryan Telfer, Alberto Soto, and striker 
Malcolm Shaw — who was honoured by the Ottawa faithful before the match as their supporters’ 
player of the year.

Atlético Ottawa looked up to the challenge immediately, moving up the pitch quickly and creating 
a number of early chances. They found their breakthrough in just the 15th minute, as Zach Verhoven 
brought down a long ball on the right flank and sent it centrally to Antoine Coupland. The teenage 
local product cut in to the top of the box quickly and fired in a shot that deflected off Campagna 
and froze goalkeeper Nathan Ingham to roll into the net.

Facing pressure after 25 minutes, York made an early substitution, as Brennan opted to bring 
Michael Petrasso out of the contest in favour of Sebastian Gutíerrez. The substitution seemed 
to spark York’s attack a little, as they at last started to establish some possession, but they 
couldn’t find the net in the first half and headed into the locker room with work to do for 
the second half.

Just 20 minutes into the second half, though, Brennan made another substitution, as he brought 
young striker Lowell Wright into the game near the 65th minute, taking Gutíerrez back out after 
about 40 minutes of work. Wright was good out of the gates, though, as his runs into the box caused 
immediate problems for the Ottawa defence. Looking to fight their way back into the game and give 
their playoff hopes a massive boost, they began surging forward.

Finally, after several waves of possession, York found their equalizer on the second phase 
of a corner kick with just 10 minutes to go. Ottawa appeared to have cleared the set-piece away, 
but York won it back and Noah Verhoeven found himself in space out wide. He delivered an excellent 
ball into the box, and Chrisnovic N’sa smashed it home with a header to score a massive goal for 
the Nine Stripes’ playoff hopes.

Both sides came exceptionally close to scoring the winner in the final 10 minutes — Wright put 
a shot from outside the box off the crossbar just moments after York’s first goal, and Zach Verhoven 
drew an excellent reaction save out of Nathan Ingham at the other end — but neither club could find 
the goal they needed.

With a point, York moved into a tie for fourth place in the standings alongside HFX Wanderers, 
although they remain outside the playoff picture with one fewer win.

BOX SCORE

Goals
15' — Antoine Coupland (Atlético Ottawa)
80' — Chrisnovic N’sa (York United)

Discipline
9' — Yellow: Michael Petrasso (York United)
65' — Yellow: Milovan Kapor (Atlético Ottawa)
72' — Yellow: Cédric Toussaint (York United)
82' — Yellow: Ryan Telfer (Atlético Ottawa)

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