July 1, 2022...Preview: Nash Wants to Channel Emotions in Right Way as Nine Stripes Prepare to Face Edmonton (from York United FC website)

July 1, 2022...Preview: Nash Wants to Channel Emotions in Right Way as Nine Stripes Prepare to Face Edmonton
(from York United FC website)

PREVIEW: NASH WANTS TO CHANNEL EMOTIONS IN RIGHT WAY AS NINE STRIPES PREPARE TO FACE EDMONTON

The players were left irritated and annoyed by Sunday's home defeat to Valour FC.

Head Coach Martin Nash wants his players to channel their rage in a positive way when they face
FC Edmonton tonight at Clarke Stadium in the Canadian Premier League.

The Nine Stripes are determined to bounce back to winning ways after two straight defeats
(including the Canadian Championship elimination at Vancouver Whitecaps).

Last Sunday’s 3-1 home defeat to FC Valour has been a wake-up call and it has been shoulders
to the wheel to end an eight-match winless streak.

Nash said in his pre-match conference: "I think that sometimes they are a young squad and managing
their emotions is not always easy and we saw a bit of that on Sunday. But, we've been quite good
for the most part. If you lean into emotions in a positive way, then it can be very good, right?
But if you don't use them in a positive way, it can be detrimental to the team."

"We're gonna have to be focused. It’s not gonna be an easy 90 minutes but if we keep our mindset
right and we keep organized then I know we will create chances. If we can get a goal early, I think
it makes the game a lot easier."

York United have a better head-to-head record against Edmonton with five wins from their previous
nine meetings and three draws. But that counts for little if The Nine Stripes have not dusted
themselves down from that heavy defeat last weekend.

Nash revealed something different was done this week in training to get the group back on track
and get their first away win of the season.

"It's been a tough 12 days so we had a team day to start off the week, and then just had the training
session yesterday to get the guys going again," he disclosed.

"It's been a tough toll: four games in 12 days with the same guys playing and it's going to continue
in this game too. So we wanted to try and refresh them and change their perspective a little bit
because we're coming off two losses. We played well in one and then the blip on Sunday was
uncharacteristic for the season and we want to right the ship going into this game."

This will be the second trip to Eddies’ home turf this season with the first encounter [on April 15]
ending in a 1-1 draw. Osaze De Rosario scored in that match and was amongst the goals in the last
fixture after a long dry spell.

His revival and the return of Lowell Wright from international duty with Canada’s U20 team should
be a boost for The Gaffer.

"Yeah, I think it gives a bit of a boost to the squad because we're still low on numbers. Osaze did
really well last weekend: it was a nice goal and I'm sure he wants to keep that streak going.
But Edmonton is a tough task. They're quite organized. If we can break them down and get an early goal,
I think it'll bode well for us."

OPPONENT WATCH:

Despite their ownership troubles, Edmonton won their first match of the season a few weeks ago
beating Atletico Ottawa 1-0 at home.

Eddies coach Allan Koch will be counting on his young guns to get past the Nine Stripes.

Players like Ousman Maheshe, T-boy Fayia and Darlington Murasiranwa have shown a lot of promise
in recent matches. There’s also Cale Loughrey, Kairo Coore, and Kelsey Egwu.

Edmonton have York United-owned quartet Julian Ulbricht, Tobias Warschewski, Azriel Gonzalez
and Felix N’sa on loan.

Ridwan Ibrahim Asante

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