June 7, 2024...Preview: York United vs. Vancouver FC - 2024 Match #35 (from canpl.ca)
PREVIEW: York United vs. Vancouver FC – 2024 Match #35
2024-06-07
by MITCHELL TIERNEY, DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER (@MITCHELLTIERNEY)
2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #35
York United FC vs. Vancouver FC
June 9, 2024 at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT
York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ont.
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The Benjamín Mora era gets underway for York United on Sunday against Vancouver FC, as the club’s new head coach steps onto
the touchline for the first time at York Lions Stadium.
Mora was announced on Tuesday as the third permanent head coach in the club’s history, replacing Martin Nash. Mauro Eustáquio,
who had served as the interim head coach since Nash’s dismissal on May 21, will remain with the club as an assistant coach.
While the match will be an exciting one for the Nine Stripes, they will also be looking for a response after yet another lopsided
loss to 401 Derby rivals Forge FC. York United fell 3-0 in Hamilton last Saturday, their third multi-goal loss to Forge
in all competitions this season.
Vancouver FC, meanwhile, look to avenge a 3-0 result of their own, as that was the scoreline the last time the Eagles travelled
to York Lions Stadium back in April. A brace from Brian Wright, plus a goal from Dennis Salanovic, secured victory for the
Nine Stripes that day — York’s fourth straight victory against Vancouver FC.
“It’s going to be a great game, partly because we need to win, they need to win,” said Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi.
“We’re going to play, they’re going to try to play. We’re not going to go park the bus, they’re not going to park the bus.
So I think [for the natural] and for all the fans, it’s a fantastic game.”
This is the Eagles’ third road match in their past four, a stretch that has yielded mixed results. They defeated Forge FC 2-1,
picking up their first win in Hamilton on May 18, but then lost 2-0 during Valour’s home opener in Winnipeg in their most recent
road foray.
For a club that is still struggling to spread its wings away from home, June will represent an important month for Vancouver FC.
They play just one match at the Langley Events Centre, with their other home match, against Cavalry on Sunday, June 16, played
in Kelowna. Having already played in Winnipeg, they travel to Toronto, Langford and Hamilton between now and July 5.
Nine of the 12 goals the club have conceded this year have come on the road.
The Eagles, it should be noted, are far from alone in this capacity, however, as away teams have won just five times in the
league’s 31 matches heading into the weekend. Four clubs, including York United, remain winless away from home in 2024 CPL action.
York United, meanwhile, are looking to pick up what would already be their fourth victory at York Lions Stadium of the campaign.
That would already tie the number of victories they had at home all of last season.
The Nine Stripes’ attack has been particularly lethal at home, as they have scored eight goals in four home matches.
They tallied just 11 at York Lions Stadium all of last season. They continue to lead the league in expected goals at home,
with 7.68, showing that their results so far this season have unquestionably been earned.
Vancouver FC will be missing key midfielder Vasco Fry through a yellow card accumulation suspension for this match
and Miki Cantave through international duty with Haiti. However, leading goalscorer Moses Dyer returns to the fold after
being suspended during the club’s last match against Valour FC for the same reason. York United, meanwhile, will be missing
fullback Orlando Botello through yellow card suspension of his own. Matthew Baldisimo and Dennis Salanovic, meanwhile,
are away on international duty with the Philippines and Liechtenstein respectively.
All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, FuboTV, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
A challenging start for Mora: York United’s new head coach will be given quite a test to start his tenure, facing a Vancouver FC
side who have been among the league’s best so far this year. While that hasn’t always come with the most consistent performances,
see VFC’s 3-0 loss the last time they travelled to York for example, offensively especially they have been a handful
this season — with only top of the table Atlético Ottawa scoring more than VFC’s 12. Speaking of Atleti, that is next week’s
challenge for the Nine Stripes as they travel to the nation’s capital on Saturday, June 15. Then it’s back home to face
a Pacific FC team that York has not defeated since September of 2022, including being eliminated by them from the playoffs
last season. All of this adds up to be a bit of a baptism by fire for Mora, who evidently deserves patience as he begins his time
with the club, but will get quite an early look at what he is up against.
Can Vancouver FC eliminate errors away from home?: Vancouver FC left Winnipeg last weekend rather frustrated with the manner
in which they were defeated 2-0 by Valour FC. They felt, in particular, that defensive mistakes cost them, with head coach
Afshin Ghotbi going so far as to say they had given Valour gifts for their home opener with the two goals they conceded.
Those errors changed a match which otherwise Vancouver had pretty good control over, similar to the last time they visited
York Lions Stadium. “You have to be mentally much stronger, and you have to be more, in my opinion, error-free if you want
to take points out of these games away from home,” said Ghotbi after their match in Winnipeg. Playing error-free football
will be the goal for the visitors at York Lions Stadium on Sunday, and doing so will be the key to success for the Eagles.
How does Vancouver line up in midfield without Vasco Fry?: Afshin Ghotbi will be forced to make a big decision with his lineup
on Sunday, as Vasco Fry has been suspended for the match through yellow card accumulation. The 23-year-old has played all
but 20 minutes for the Eagles this season, largely alongside Renan Garcia in a double pivot. The performance of whoever
replaces him against York United will be a significant factor in Sunday’s match. Kembo Kibato played the full 90 the last time
Vancouver travelled to York Lions Stadium, but has played just four minutes in the club’s last four matches. Another option
is handing a first start to 16-year-old Grady McDonnell, who has impressed in 51 minutes off the bench this season. Ghotbi has
never been shy about giving an opportunity to young players he feels has earned them, and perhaps this is finally the moment
for the Republic of Ireland youth international.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
York United: Vincensini; Córdova, Abatneh, Sturing, Martin-Pereux; Martínez, Soumaoro, Giraldo; Ferrari, Voytsekhovskyy, Ricci
Vancouver FC: Irving; Chung, Enyou, Romeo, Gee; Bitar, Kibato, Garcia, Fisk; Dyer, Díaz
ALL-TIME SERIES
York United wins: 5 || Vancouver FC wins: 1 || Draws: 0
Last meeting:
April 26, 2024 — York United 3-0 Vancouver FC
KEY QUOTES
“I think it’s very important to know that I’m focusing on what we can create, what we can do, what can we control?
The willingness to fight, the organization, the order between the lines, the compact block, the shifting, the communication,
the pressing that we can control, because it’s a matter of a decision. It’s a matter of working together.” — York United
head coach Benjamín Mora
“I’ve been there where I’ve come in the middle of the season, into a team, and you have only a few days. I think the biggest
change will be the psychological boost and the motivation of the players. I think tactically, I don’t expect something
different from York”— Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi
“We’re in that position in the table, like we are second place now. But the hard thing is, how do you keep this position?
And of course, you try to stay in the top three. We don’t want to stay so far from the first three positions. We have
a great start, still at home, we are unbeaten. So we want to keep this at home. But if you want to be champion, you need
to take the points away.”— Vancouver FC midfielder Renan Garcia
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