May 23, 2019 CPL--York9 eagerly await homecoming tilt as Eddies loom in CanChamp (from canpl.ca website)

   
York9 eagerly await homecoming tilt as Eddies loom in CanChamp 
May 23, 2019 

Canadian Premier League 
Latest News 

YORK REGION – Homecoming awaits, at long last.

Having sealed their spot in Qualifying Round 2 of the 2019 Canadian Championship on Wednesday 
night – by way of a hard-fought 1-0 win over PLSQ champions AS Blainville – York9 FC now 
switches focus to their league home opener on Saturday, as 905 Derby rivals Forge FC pay 
a visit to York Lions Stadium.

In advancing, the Nine Stripes book themselves another two-legged series in a few weeks against 
fellow Canadian Premier League side FC Edmonton, with York hosting the first leg on June 5 
before travelling west for the second on June 12.

But Y9 head coach Jimmy Brennan isn’t even thinking of the Eddies yet – he’s focused 
on the mission at hand: Homecoming.

“It’s far too early (to be thinking about Edmonton), far too early; that will be 
in the back of the mind,” Brennan said.

“It’s the first win,” Brennan highlighted. “Out of the four games we had three draws 
and one loss away from home. In our first home game, we got a win. So now it’s building 
on that, carrying that momentum into Saturday, getting the guys prepared over the next 
couple of days and getting them ready for that home opener.

“If this place is packed on Saturday, there won’t be much coaching for me because the guys 
are going to be ready for that one.”

York9 joined Cavalry FC and HFX Wanderers FC as the three CPL clubs that move on to the 
second round of the Canadian Championship on Wednesday evening. Pacific FC will miss out 
as Cavalry ended their cup dreams.

“It means a lot,” said goal-scorer Ryan Telfer, of his team’s first steps. “We’re looking 
forward to the second round. Honestly, we’re already looking forward to the finals, 
to playing against one of the MLS clubs, but we know it’s going to be a tough road to get 
there in the first place.

“First we had to go through Blainville – Blainville wasn’t going to make this easy, 
and now we have Edmonton. And Edmonton, we’re looking like more the favourite team. 
They had the rest, they had the break. We’re coming in as the underdogs now. We’re ready 
to give Edmonton a fight for the money.”

The winner of the York-Edmonton series will be one of two CPL clubs to face an MLS side 
in Qualifying Round 3, drawn to meet the Montreal Impact come July – the winner of Forge FC 
and Cavalry will square off against Vancouver Whitecaps FC, while HFX and Valour FC will 
duel for the right to challenge Ottawa Fury FC.

Then come the semifinals in August and the final in September, though York see no value 
in getting ahead of themselves.

“We definitely have the potential to go far, make a good run,” said defender Luca Gasparotto, 
who marshaled the side to a second clean-sheet in the Voyageurs Cup. “We’re just taking 
it one game at a time: look forward to Saturday’s game first and then another game Wednesday, 
then we can look forward to the next round.

“With the potential of the group we have, we should be able to get another couple of results.”

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