October 9, 2022...'This Group's Fought The Whole Way Throughout The Year': Nash Expects Big Finale From His Troops
(from York United FC website)

'THIS GROUP’S FOUGHT THE WHOLE WAY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR': NASH EXPECTS BIG FINALE FROM HIS TROOPS   

The final regular season game for The Nine Stripes takes place tonight in Ottawa.

It is the season finale and York United will attempt to end a bittersweet 2022 Canadian Premier League 
campaign with a win against regular season champions Atletico Ottawa.

The Nine Stripes trail 0-2-1 in the series against their provincial rivals this term so going one better 
to put their hosts to flight and even record is enough motivation.

Pacific’s 1-0 home defeat to Calvary yesterday [Saturday] propelled Carlos Gonzalez’s side to the 
provisional title.

But that should take anything away from the derby which is expected to be high in quality at TD Place.

Head Coach Martin Nash said at his pre-match conference: "Absolutely we want to beat them. They are 
the only team we haven't beaten this year so I'll put that on the line for the guys, [that there's] 
something to fight for. But we always have a good mentality. This group's fought the whole way throughout 
the year. Even in the slump, we were fighting hard, we were working hard, we were making it difficult 
for teams. So I expect the guys to come out and fight for the result now too."

"I think we've played them tough all year except when they caught us during that big slump. Other than 
that, I thought we've been pretty solid the rest of the season. We won the cup game [Canadian Championship] 
on penalties but we had two draws in the league. It's just that one game that stands out against them 
so it'd be nice to get a positive result for ourselves to finish off the season well and end the season 
on a positive note."

Atleti managed to turn around their season to become one of the powerhouses which has seen them secure 
a historic playoff spot in franchise history.

They have to face York United without suspended star man Ollie Bassett who is the club’s top scorer with 
eight goals, while Miguel Acosta is also serving a one-game ban.

Atleti have been a strong side at home and will be seeking to extend a four-match home unbeaten record 
(2-2-0) which dates back to 7th August against Edmonton.

The Nine Stripes lost their last competitive fixture - the 2-0 result at Forge FC - and that was largely 
attributed to the absence of inspirational playmaker Mo Babouli.

Nash has hinted at a strong starting line-up for this, with tried and tested guys given the nod to fight 
for the points.

He added: "No real surprises [in relation to team selection]. I think we've got a lot of players available 
and we're taking the same attitude into this. We're just gonna fight for every point we can get and try 
and finish the season strong."

 OPPONENT WATCH:

Atlético Ottawa are unbeaten in their last eight matches.

The capital club have a better head-to-head record against the Nine Stripes; unbeaten in their last five 
matches between them.

Deadly trio Ollie Bassett (8), Ben Wright (6) and Ballou Tabla (6) have a combined 20 goals this season. 

Ridwan Ibrahim Asante

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