September 22, 2022...Playoffs Still a Possibllity as Huge Valour Showdown Looms on the Horizon (from York United FC website)

PLAYOFFS STILL A POSSIBILITY AS HUGE VALOUR SHOWDOWN LOOMS ON THE HORIZON

The scoreless draw last Friday night against HFX Wanderers was harmful but not fatal.

There is still a lifeline in the playoff race but last Friday’s barren draw against HFX Wanderers
at York Lions Stadium caused some pains and discomfort.

Valour FC’s 1-1 draw with Atletico Ottawa on Sunday gives The Nine Stripes a window of an opportunity
to gatecrash the Canadian Premier League Top 4 cast.

And the plot thickens deliciously with the Winnipeg side coming to YLS on Friday night for a crucial
showdown.

Head Coach Martin Nash admitted his players were unhappy in the immediate aftermath of last week's
scoreless draw, while he felt the tempo was a little too slow at times.

"There're some things we could have done better. The ball speed, I think, has to be a bit quicker
and we've been talking about it a lot lately and it has been good leading into this game."

Despite having 56% ball possession and also shading the total shots comparison, The Nine Stripes managed
just one of them on target.

It was difficult to unlock Stephen Hart's defensive game-plan, though his side had two big chances
of their own. York United upped the ante in the second half but the guests repelled everything thrown
at them.

"They came to frustrate us and sit and try and catch us on the counter and I thought we did a good job
of dealing with that. We just played too slow to open them up and that was a big key for us," Nash added.

"Before the game we talked about how to move the ball quicker because when you move the ball slow
it allows them to stay in front of us. This team [HFX] is really organized and just made it difficult
for us to break them down."

Playing without the suspended Osaze De Rosario also did not help matters.

"He might have helped with his athleticism and his ability to get in behind. Lisandro (Cabrera)
is more of a hold-up striker and while he did some good things, it's easy for defenders to deal with
you if you're always in front," said Nash.

"So maybe it would have opened up the game more [with Osaze] but I thought we defended well as a team
which was good. We just didn't create enough."

Though De Rosario is available to return to the starting lineup on Friday night, Nash does have some
changes to make. Noah Verhoeven is suspended due to yellow card accumulation while The Gaffer is also
sweating on the fitness of captain Roger Thompson who walked off the pitch due to an injury against HFX.

"It was a tight hamstring so I'm not sure the extent of it. He just came over and told us he could feel
a tightness. We didn't want to push him."

Valour have won all three fixtures against York so far this season, though each game was under unique
circumstances.

The first encounter - back in mid-May - saw The Nine Stripes dominate from beginning to end with
De Rosario missing a second half penalty. As the game headed for a frustrating stalemate, Sean Rea
grabbed a last-gasp winner completely against the run of play.

When York hosted Valour at the end of June, they were immersed in a relentless injury crisis and named
four Development Permit players on the bench alongside two Emergency signings. They lost 3-1 that day,
though it was still a tied game with less than 20 minutes to go.

In early August, the sides met for a third time and York were without Nash due to Covid protocol.
Scoreless at the break, they conceded immediately after the restart and never really recovered.
They leaked another goal in transition later in the half and suffered a 2-0 defeat.

So, lessons to be learned. And revenge to be exacted.

Ridwan Ibrahim Asante

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