April 26, 2022...'Immense': Nash Heaps Praise On His Players After Electrifying Performance (from York United FC website)

'IMMENSE': NASH HEAPS PRAISE ON HIS PLAYERS AFTER ELECTRIFYING PERFORMANCE

York United FC enjoyed their first victory of the campaign on Friday night.

Martin Nash described his side's 2-0 success over Calvary FC on Friday as a 'big step' as they recorded
their first win of the 2022 Canadian Premier League season.

The Gaffer did not hold back in rhapsodizing his troops for a mature performance at York Lions Stadium.

"This performance in particular was a big step for us," he said at his post-match conference.

"The opening game against Halifax, I agree, was a bit up and down but I don't feel we deserved to lose,
particularly as we improved in the second half. Against Edmonton, we were organized. We really gave
them one chance after we scored and they took it. But today we really limited an excellent team
to minimal chances. It's a great performance and I am proud of the guys. The effort they put into
their game is the reason why we won."

The Nine Stripes shot into the lead through Oliver Minatel, a former Calvary FC boy, in the 35th minute
when he dived to glance home a fulminating header on an Isaiah Johnston assist.

After the break, York United continued to push for the second and on 74 minutes, Osaze De Rosario rifled
in a low shot from outside the box to double the advantage.

Although it was Nash's first win as head coach of a club, the former Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder gave
full credit to his personnel.

"It wasn't just [Roger] Thompson, [Chrisnovic] N'Sa, who had great games," he continued.

"I also thought Dominick Zator was a beast - he picked up a lot of loose balls. I thought [Diyaeddine]
Abzi had a lot of energy. He broke forward at times and defended extremely well. They even put a tricky,
pacy player on at the end to try to get him behind but Abzi did really well to cover him and snuff
them out."

Nash also heaped praise on his four-man backline for snuffing out the flames of Calvary FC and extinguish
their hopes of getting back in the game.

"I thought that our back-four was immense tonight and they have that ability to be that good weekly
so we gotta keep working," he added.

"We've got to protect them too. I thought the holding midfielders really protected the space between them
and the back-four so there weren't pockets to play in. We condensed their space and didn't give them
a lot of room in the middle of the park so that was a big part of the game."

Next up for York United is another home clash - their second of three consecutive league fixtures
at York Lions Stadium - this Friday, 29th April against provincial rivals Atletico Ottawa.

Ridwan Ibrahim Asante

back to 2022 York United FC menu