May 10, 2024 CPL York United FC vs Valour FC game report (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Friday May 10, 2024 Canadian Premier League game between York United FC
and Valour FC played at York Lions Stadium in North York at 7:00pm ET.

York United FC (blue socks and shorts, green & blue checkered shirts, white names and numbers)

...............................1 Thomas Vincensini
16 Max Ferrari...23 Noah Abatneh...32 Brem Soumaoro...5 Frank Sturing...6 Orlando Botello Linares
...........33 Matthew Baldisimo...32 Brem Soumaoro...15 Josue Martinez...Molham Babouli (cpt)
..................9 Brian Wright...22 Austin Ricci

Subs:...18 Eleias Himaras (gk)...8 Elijah Adekugbe (mid)...17 Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy (mid)...21 Christian Zeppieri (mid)
...30 Kadim Martin-Pereux (mid)...37 Trivine Esprit (mid)...62 Nyal Higgins (def)
team officials:...head coach Martin Nash...assistant coach Mauro Eustaquio...goalkeeper coach Camilo Benzi
physiotherapist Eric Yoo...doctor Jim Niu...kitman John Townsend...athletic trainer Furkan Demir

Valour FC (all white uniforms, maroon necks, names and numbers)

...............................1 Darlington Murasiranwa
6 Dante Campbell (cpt)...4 Haris Chantzopoulos...23 Gianfranco Facchineri...30 Themi Antonoglou
........8 Juan Sanchez...20 Diogo Ressurreicao...11 Noah Verhoeven
........9 Jordan Swibel...19 Abdul Binate...17 Jordan Faria

Subs:...39 Baj Maan (gk)...2 Roberto Alarcon (def)...3 Jordan Haynes (def)...10 Shaan Hundal (mid)
...13 Tass Mourdoukoutas (def)...16 Joe Hanson (fwd)...24 Zach Sukunda (mid)
team officials:...head coach Phil Dos Santos...assistant coaches Daryl Fordyce and Jay Bhindi...team manager Ali Sozeri
...goalkeeper coach Patrick Di Stefani...physiotherapist Evan Fehr...athletic trainer Daniel Guerreiro
...other officiall Colin Sabourin.

Game officials:...referee Yusri Rudolph...referee's assistants Jason Vaillancourt and Aubrey Kotelko
...fourth official Melvin Christopher...(all black uniforms)...referee asssessor Isaac Raymond

First Half:...game starts 7:07pm...Valour didn't come out to start their warm ups until 23 minutes to go on the scoreboard.
4 min...York Babouli gives no-look backheel on edge of Val 18 yard box but ball is intercepted and cleared.
5 min...York Ricci gets back into York box to break up a Val pass play on the left.
6 min...York Ferrari chipss pass from 28 yards forward on the right and goalie smothers ball near end line ahead of York Wright.
7 min...York Botello wins call when Val Binate pushes him over when Binate was running into York box.
8 min...York goalie is out to 15 yards in center of box to smother a passed ball.
9 min...York Ricci low cross to middle has York Wright not able to connect in crowd of players in middle and York Babouli
on left slides forward and rolls 8 yarder wide right of net.
10 min...York YELLOW card...Ferrari earns it for push over of Val Antonoglou at Val 40 yard sideline.
13 min...Val Binate wins freekick on edge of York 18 yard box.
13 min...Val Antonoglou blasts 22 yard freekick from extreme right has goalie palm ball over bar near center of goal.
14 min...Valour Dante Campbell...Val Jordan Faria cornerkick from left has Campbell near left post head ball
into top left corner from 2 yards with goalie Thomas Vincensini protecting cenrer of net.
19 min...Val Faria gets to cross field pass on left and crosses along 15 yard line but no one had run into York box.
21 min...York Ricci cross from right allong 12 yard line has Val Chantzopoulos fly back to head ball downward breaking
up pass.
23 min...Val Faria cross from left edge of box has Val Swibel head ball wide from 7 yards on right.
25 min...Val Antonoglou low 40 yard freekick from left has York player duck at 22 yards to break up possible play in box
behind him.
27 min...Val YELLOW card...Sanchez for body check on York Martinez at York 40 yard on right as he broke down sideline.
28 min...York Wright dribbles into right side of box and low 10 yard cross has goalie dive forward to smother ball breaking up
two York players waiting for tap-in.
31 min...York Babouli chips cross from 45 yard right sideline but defender breaks up play in box.
31 min...York Ferrari rolls pass forward after run down right and York Wright has 8 yard shot saved by goalie diving forward
on right edge of 6 yard box deflecting it for cornerkick.
32 min...York Botello cornerkick from right is headed out of box. York Babouli blasts 22 yard rebound down middle well over net.
33 min...York Ricci controls pass from upfield by chesting pass forward around defender and rushes forward to and sends
low cross along 8 yard line meant for York Wright charging forward but Val Chantzopoulos retreats and slides to stop it but
from 8 yards directs it towards own net. Val goalie dives backwards but can't reach it and retreating Val Campbell cuts
around Wright and clears ball from goalline.
33 min...York Botello cornerkick from right has defender clear ball over end line to left.
34 min...York Babouli cornerkick from left is cleared from box.
35 min...Val YELLOW card...Ressurreicao earns it near center line for complaining about a call.
37 min...York Ricci cross from 15 yards along end line has defender concede cornerkick.
37 min...York Botello cornerkick from right has defender clear.
37 min...York Botello crosses low along 8 yard line from near right sideline and York Wright at 8 yards
backheels ball for Ricci who blasts 12 yarder well over net. Val Binate was injured on right sideline earlier in the play.
40 min...Val sub...Hanson replaces injured Binate.
43 min...York Ferrari low bouncing cross from 25 yards on far right has goalie dive forward in 6 yard box
to smother breaking up tap-in chances of players on the left.
44 min...York Botello run up left and wins cornerkick on deflection.
44 min...York Babouli cornerkick from left has ball headed into net but goal is waved off for pushing in the box.
45 min...York Babouli 50 yard freekick down middle has York player not able to save ball before it bounces out for goalkick.
47 min...half ends 7:54pm.
47 min...York YELLOW card...Babouli earns it for telling off the referee after that halftime whistle.

Halftime Entertainment: The halftime challenge is not up to $37000 to kick two shots in a row into small holes in a canvas covering the net. The ball placement is further away than a PK. This time there are three contestants out there or the contest would be over in five seconds. No one was really close. Rules have been tweaked that if you hit one ball in you would win $500 and a jersey but if you have to risk your prize if you want to take a second shot. All the contestants were at least given a mini-ball this game for trying.

They also had the Maple Lodge Farms chicken mascot come over from its endzone food truck and lead fans to dance to 'The Chicken Dance' song and there was a t-shirt toss.

Second Half:...starts 8:09pm.
45 min...Val player's 45 yard freekick on left is cleared on edge of box.
47 min...York Babouli 35 yard freekick down middle has York Abatneh pop up ball and eventually it is crossed
into the right side of box but York Wright can't control it so it deflects out for a goalkick.
50 min...York Ferrari stops Val cross from left edge of box with his face. A recross has Val Swibel fly to head ball wide left of goal.
51 min...Val goalie catches high pop up header at 6 yards over the head of York Wright.
52 min...Val Swibel receives pass back from the goalline on left and sends low shot from 12 yards that goalie push ball wide left
on short side for a cornerkick.
53 min...Val player's cornerkick from the left has York Soumaoro head away from the left on left side of the box.
53 min...York Soumaoro is called offside on quick freekick pass to Val 45 yard line which found him open.
54 min...York Botello wins freekick for being pushed over inside the York box.
55 min...York Ferrari cross on right side of box is over the head of York Babouli at 8 yards on left.
59 min...Val YELLOW card...Hanson earns it for tripping York Babouli who was cutting to middle at Val 50 yard line.
62 min...Val sub...Alarcon replaces Ressurreicao.
63 min...York Babouli 25 yard freekick from the left has Val Campbell charge to near post and head ball away.
65 min...York Martinez cross from left along the 6 yard line has goalie leap to make catch.
66 min...York Ferrari on run down right rolls pass forward to York Babouli who continues to 5 yards and sends in high cross
that has Val Alarcon leap at 2 yards on left post to head away and concede cornerkick in front of leaping York Ricci.
67 min...York Noah Abatneh GOAL...York Mo Babouli cornerkick from left has charging York Brian Wright in crowd
of players miss header but Abatneh behind him at 2 yards has ball hit him on the hip and deflect into center of net.
68 min...York Botello cross from 35 yards on left has York Wright have ball deflect over net off his back.
69 min...York player rolls ball across Val box but York Wright had alread ran past it.
70 min...Val Faria blast from 28 yards deflects off defenders box and Val player is called offside.
71 min...York Babouli 28 yard chip has defender head ball up and clear at 16 yards.
72 min...York defenders ensure Val Hanson can't get away shot in box.
73 min...York Brian Wright GOAL...Wright runs forward capitalizing on Val Haris Chantzopoulos backpass
up the middle from 25 yards blocking goalie Darlington Murasiranwa sliding clearance attempt at 12 yards.
The ball pops up and Wright spears it from 5 yards just wide left of the post redirecting it into center of open net.
75 min...York sub...Zeppieri replaces Martinez.
............York sub...Martin-Pereux replaces Wright.
............York sub...Adekugbe replaces Baldisimo.
76 min...Val sub...Hundal replaces Hanson.
...........Val sub...Sukunda replaces Verhoeven.
...........Val sub...Mourdoukoutas replaces Chantzopoulos.
78 min...Val Hundal taps down ball for Val Sukunda to blast 15 yarder on slight right well over net.
79 min...York Antonoglou is injured with arm in face trying to elude a second defender.
80 min...York Babouli 30 yard freekick from far left has Val Campbell run to left post to head away.
81 min...York YELLOW card...Sturing earns it for trip on Val Sukunda at York 50 yard line on right.
82 min...Val player's cross from left is over players. York player clears but Val Alarcon recovers, centers
and another York player clears.
83 min...York Botello is injured at 18 yard line on right on knock over.
84 min...Val goalie catches 70 yard bouncer before a York player can get into box.
86 min...York Martin-Pereux gives up cornerkick on Val player's long cross.
86 min...Val Antonoglou cornerkick from right has York Babouli head away on near post for another cornerkick.
86 min...Val Antonoglou cornerkick from right is cleared.
87 min...A York breakout down the middle has York Martin-Pereux run down the left for pass and he centers ball for
York Ricci who rolls 25 yarder that defender stops at 18 yards.
90 min...York Mo Babouli GOAL...York Kadin Martin-Pereux races to recover long pass down left wing
at 22 yards and he continues run forward cutting towards center around Val Tass Mourdoukoutas who slips
chasing him. Martin-Pereux now alone at 4 yards on left but now inside 18 yard box continues run
to 2 yard line now at edge of 6 yard box. He gets away centering pass eluding sliding tackle
of Val Roberto Alarcon and diving goalie to find charging Babouli who blasts 10 yarder from alignment
with right post past Val Gianfranco Facchineri into open net.
91 min...York YELLOW card...Sturing earns it for excessive celebration of the goal.
92 min...York goalie dives forward to stop cross by Val Hundal that found Val Faria on left side of box.
93 min...York sub...Esprit replaces Babouli.
94 min...York Adekugbe cornerkick from right is short for York Esprit and him to timewaste.
95 min...York YELLOW card...Ricci earns it for knocking over a defender in the Val box.
96 min...York Adekugbe has 12 yard shot on right deflect off defnder for cornerkick but there's no time to take it
before final whistle.
97 min...game ends 9:01pm.

Final Score:...York United.........3..........Valour FC..........1..........

Attendance was not announced again tonight. The league put it at 1049. An increase from their last home game which was also a Friday night. It's still the lowest attendance in the league. It still gets pretty cold at night once the sun goes down.

Since their last home game, York went out on the road to lose to Forge FC and were knocked out of the Canadian Championship in the preliminary round midweek (their earliest exit ever) and then went out west and lost to Pacific FC in league play. Hoevever tonight they scored three goals (the same number they scored against Vancouver FC). Two out of three wins at home is promising. Still another Friday night game coming up on May 24th against HFX Wanderers (the other struggling team as of right now). Finally a Sunday game on June 9th against Vancouver FC again in the (fingers-crossed) 'nice' weather. Maybe the attendance will improve with nice weather and improved results as their home record last year was the league's worst.

Referee Yusri Rudolf gave out eight Yellow cards this game (five to York). Two York cards were unnecessary...one to Mo Babouli for telling off the referee after the halftime whistle had been blown and Frank Sturing for overcelebrating the third goal. Valour had one of theirs for complaining. They all add up and their may come a time months from now when they'll regret it but nothing spoils the win of tonight.

This was the first goal of this season for Mo Babouli who was made captain for the start of the season. Let's hope this goal relieves some of the pressure of the new responsibilities.

A come from behind victory was nice. Although they finished ahead of Valour in the standings last season, Valour won both of their games when they visited York last year. The last few years with York's scoring woes I felt if they gave up the first goal, the best they could do was tie. I'm gradually softening up. I haven't been paying close attention to their road games though.

York is getting more players back from injury. Last season it was going the opposite direction. A long run in the Canadian Championship ground up the team with midweek games and the injuries just piled up. With less selection for the lineup it made some guys come back before they were ready.

The win improves York's record to 2 wins, 0 ties, 3 losses for 6 points. They move up to fourth place in the league but all the other teams still have to play this weekend. Their goals for and against improves to 7 for, 8 against. Valour's record falls to 0 wins, 0 ties, 5 losses for a rough start and eighth place however they haven's played a home game this season and still have a few road games before their stadium has been renovated so they don't want to fall too far behind to at least try to grab the fifth and final playoff spot. York wants to do better than that this season as finishing fifth requires four straight road game victories to win the playoff championship and a spot in the 2025 Concacaf Club Championships (besides the spot reserved for finishing first place in the CPL regular season).

This was the 500th CPL game since the league got started in 2019. That does include playoff games but not games contested in the Canadian Championship. Interesting that the 500th game was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in Hamilton between Forge FC and HFX Wanderers but it was turned into a Canadian Championship game--Forge vs CF Montreal of the MLS. That game turned into the second best attended game in league history as the team held a school day game and packed the stand with children. The largest attendance record? It's still held by the first league game. Forge FC hosted York 9 FC.

Everyone was reminising about that game. I was at that game too and my story was my method of getting there. I had been looking forward to this game for years and found out I had a chance to go but a week before the game, my car of over twenty years conked out with no chance of repair. The dealership didn't even make sedans anymore and the first car I bought took me months of searching and comparing. They recommended a used car from their lot. I took their recommendation and bought it. Hmmm I had bought the last year of them making Dodge Spirits...1995 model and this car was the last year they made Avengers...2013. An omen? My bank who had never given their customers anything were offering a preview viewing of the movie 'The Avengers' the same day as this first ever league game! A very nervous time driving to Hamilton but I left early. I was the third car in the parking lot and the supervisor wanted me to shoehorn between the two cars that were there already. I explained my problem in turning a battleship (I've got used to its steering since then) and parked just a little further over. Many of the reporters were insulted that the game was being played at the same time as a Toronto FC game at BMO Field. They all got their quotes from York coach Jimmy Brennan but I was one of the few who heard from Forge coach Bobby Smyniotis who I'd watched for years in League1 Ontario.

Just to complete the circle, I was reading my account of that game this week and noticed a typo I'd made in the York 9 lineup. I'd spelled the name wrong of Justin Springer. Just this last weekend I interviewed him for my L1O page as he's now the head coach of Guelph United. Ha. Caught it five years later.

Rocket Robin
robin.glover.1958@gmail.com
X @RocketRobin01

York United FC starters

Valour FC starters

York Brian Wright (9) takes opening kickoff.

York Orlando Botello (6) cuts in along own end line.

Valour Themi Antonoglou (30) sends in freekick.

Valour Noah Verhoeven (11) will take second half kickoff.

York Mo Babouli (10) takes freekick near end line.

York Frank Sturing (5) dribbles out of own end.

Valour Tass Mourdoukoutas (13) carries ball into York end.

Handshakes after the game.

Game stats (from canpl.ca)
 
                      York United FC      Valour FC  
					  
Possession                     53.9%          46.1%   
Duels success rate             52.8%          47.2%   
Aerial duels won               54.3%          45.7%   
Interceptions                   6              8   
Offsides                        1              2    
Corners won                     8              4   
Passes                        491            411   
Long passes                    53             58
Passing accuracy               86.6%          83.2%
Passing acc in opp half        75.5%          72.4%
Crosses                        21             20
Crossing accuracy              28.6%          30.0%				  
Goals                           3              1
Shots                          10             10   
Shots on target                 4              4
Blocked shots                   1              3   
Shots outside the box           1              4
Shots inside the box            9              6
Shooting accuracy              40.0%          40.0%				  
Tackles                        19             17
Tackles success rate           52.6%          47.1%
Clearances                     16             28
Fouls conceded                 16             20
Yellow cards                    5              3   
Red cards                       0              0   

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