August 17, 2022...Air Jordan: Wilson Praises Team's Character After Stirring Home Victory (from York United FC website)

AIR JORDAN: WILSON PRAISES TEAM'S CHARACTER AFTER STIRRING HOME VICTORY

The midfielder grabbed the game-winner with a late header to secure a comeback 3-2 win against FC Edmonton.

Head Coach Martin Nash pointed to his side’s newly-found sense of urgency after a superb fightback
earned a 3-2 league win over basement boys FC Edmonton on Sunday.

Despite racing into an early lead courtesy of a tidy finish from Ronan Kratt - his second goal in five
appearances - The Nine Stripes found themselves trailing 2-1 with just over 10 minutes remaining.

The Eddies levelled through Gabriel Bitar in the 62nd minute and then shot into the lead a quarter
of an hour later thanks to Azriel Gonzalez's diving header.

Nash shuffled his cards, bringing in striker Lisandro Cabrera to replace Osaze De Rosario. And after
just one minute on the pitch, the Argentine registered his first ever goal for the club to equalize
and set up a tantalizing finale.

When it seemed the game was destined for a draw, Jordan Wilson applied a decisive header after Edmonton
goalkeeper Andreas Viakla struggled with Noah Verhoeven's in-swinging corner and the ball nestled
in the net for a memorable match-winner.

"I thought we started well, got an early goal. We were getting into some good areas and then they made
a tactical change - an early sub - and it caused us some problems," Nash said at the post-match conference.

"I thought we sorted everything at halftime but we came out a bit slow for the second half, almost
with a mindset of seeing the game out: which wasn't the plan. They were poor goals to give away from
a coaching perspective but I think a couple weeks ago we might have given up at that point."

"The guys battled and fought and it was great to get back into the game initially. To grab a winner
late is...really good and I think it's something that the group needed."

It was a first win at York Lions Stadium since May 6th and a first win over Alan Koch’s side this season.
Slightly on top of the game with 58% ball possession, the team conjured 11 shots on goal (vs 16 for
Edmonton) with six of them on target: the vast majority of those coming in a rollercoaster second period.

"I thought that sense of urgency wasn't there at the start of the second half," Nash admitted.

"Even when we were 1-0 up, I think our players felt we were in control. But I'm not sure we were.
And then we went 2-1 down. To be fair, the guys just battled, fought hard. They played with more urgency,
more passion, fight. We had a couple other good chances. I think the one that comes to mind is Kevin
passing instead of shooting. But I think it was an exciting game. Both teams created quite a few chances
and we were just able to get one more than them."

Match-winner Wilson praised the team’s fighting spirit.

He said: "Two months ago, that would have been a game we tied or lost so we've just got to take
the good with the bad. Obviously we didn’t want to concede two goals but we still scored more than
the other team so we gotta give credit to the boys for that."

Ridwan Ibrahim Asante

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