October 9, 2024...Preview: York United FC vs. Pacific FC - 20244 Match #105 (from canpl.ca)
PREVIEW: York United FC vs. Pacific FC — 2024 Match #105
2024-10-09
by Charlie O’Connor-Clarke, Digital Content Editor (@charliejclarke)
2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #105
York United FC vs. Pacific FC
October 10, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 //
York United FC take to the pitch at York Lions Stadium for the final time in the 2024 regular season on Thursday, as they
welcome a Pacific FC side preparing to fight for their playoff lives in matchweek 27.
The Tridents will start the week in sixth place in the Canadian Premier League, although they’re level on points with
Vancouver FC who occupy the fifth and final playoff spot. Because their B.C. rivals own the head-to-head tiebreaker,
Pacific need to improve on their current points total of 28 if they’re to make their way into the postseason.
Last weekend, Pacific played a disaster of a home match against Cavalry FC. Goalkeeper Emil Gazdov was sent off in the
third minute for handling the ball outside the box, and defender Kevin Ceceri got a red card of his own (for a second yellow)
later in the match as they lost 4-1 at Starlight Stadium.
If Pacific lose on Thursday, they could find themselves eliminated from the playoff race as early as Sunday,
when Vancouver FC take on Valour.
Meanwhile, York have guaranteed their berth in the postseason — and a home match, as well — but that doesn’t mean they
have nothing to play for on Thursday. On the contrary, in fact; they’re in fourth right now with 39 points, but could
in theory pass Atlético Ottawa (40) or Cavalry FC (42) and finish in third or even second place.
The benefits to finishing higher up the table are clear; the second-placed team will play for a chance to host the
CPL Final, and the third-placed team avoids the midweek play-in match against fifth place.
York gave their hopes of climbing out of fourth a boost last weekend, as they beat a 10-man Ottawa side 1-0 thanks
to 16-year-old Shola Jimoh’s third goal of the year. They’ll still need help from elsewhere to pass the teams above them,
but a win in this game would help tremendously.
Thursday night will be the fourth — but not necessarily the last — meeting between York and Pacific in 2024. Currently
their season series is split completely evenly: each team won 2-0 at home, and the two sides drew 1-1 in their most
recent meeting, on Aug. 2 at Starlight Stadium.
In that latest game, both sides scored within the first two minutes and couldn’t solve one another again.
Thursday night’s clash will see both sides missing a handful of key players. Pacific are of course without the suspended
Gazdov and Ceceri, which leaves them undermanned at the back. They were also missing Cédric Toussaint last Saturday;
he’s unavailable still, which is a significant loss because fellow midfielder Marco Domínguez is away on international
duty with Guatemala. The other major absence will be Josh Heard, who has returned to training but did not travel
to Toronto.
York, meanwhile, have several injury concerns. Mo Babouli missed Sunday’s game after exiting the prior match at halftime
and remains unavailable with a short-term injury that coach Benjamín Mora says is “progressing.” Tomas Giraldo
and Kembo Kibato were also both surprise omissions from the most recent matchday squad. Dennis Salanovic is away
on international duty with Liechtenstein. The good news, though, was Noah Abatneh playing as a substitute against Ottawa;
the young defender had missed the previous three games with injury. They’ll also get Juan Córdova and Jorge Guzmán
back from suspension.
It’s the time of year where every team in the league is a little bruised. The challenge, now, will be who can power
through their team’s difficulties and emerge on top.
All CPL and Canadian Championship matches will be broadcast live on OneSoccer, available as a linear channel on Telus’
Optik TV (Channel 980) as well as online at OneSoccer.ca, through the OneSoccer app and on the fuboTV Canada platform.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
York galvanized by fiery Ottawa clash? While York United’s win over Atlético Ottawa was certainly heated on the pitch,
with Liberman Torres’ first-half red card, it was actually the post-match pleasantries that made things boil over.
After Atleti boss Carlos González suggested he sees York as the “weakest” of the playoff teams, the Nine Stripes’
manager Benjamín Mora retorted that his side has outscored Ottawa 7-2 in three meetings since his appointment.
It’s not the first time this year York have felt overlooked or disrespected, and it might be the kind of thing that
could galvanize a side with a chip on its shoulder at the most important time of the season. There’s no shortage
of confidence in this team, of course, but a defiant attitude can always add a little extra when the margins are so thin
at this point. “I don’t use that as motivation,” Mora said on Wednesday. “We have better tools. … Analysis of the games,
our own game style; that, I leave it to the players. They were having a blast of this situation, because of course
everyone sees what’s going on. I think it was just a moment that Carlos González was a bit heated maybe, and he said
things that maybe he shouldn’t have in that moment. I’ve been a coach a long time, I know the pressure he might feel
with the results. I don’t blame him, but we do our job, and I just try to respond, to take care of my team and
to protect our environment.”
Pacific to adjust to changes at the back: With their number one goalkeeper, Emil Gazdov, and usual starting centre-back
Kevin Ceceri suspended, James Merriman has to make some alterations to his side for this game. Fortunately, he has
obvious like-for-like replacements at his disposal; Sean Melvin will make his seventh start of the year (all competitions)
and first since Aug. 17. In defence, expect Juan Quintana to replace Ceceri; he hasn’t started since Sept. 7, but has
made 19 appearances in all competitions. Still, it’ll be an adjustment for the rest of the squad around them,
with Ceceri having started the last 10 games, and Gazdov the last nine, they’ve become accustomed to both players being
there. Pacific aren’t likely to be too fazed by the absences, though, and won’t need to change the game plan much,
if at all. “Sean’s been excellent all season long,” Merriman said Wednesday, adding that Melvin likely would’ve played
more earlier in the year if he hadn’t hurt his ankle at the same time as Gazdov missed time with illness. “He’s got good
experience, he shows up to work every day. The team has big confidence in him, and we know his mentality. And then
[Thomas Meilleur-Giguère] has been dealing with different changes in the back four and different partnerships all season
long, so we’ll lean on him to show his experience and put his arm around whoever we put into the back four for the match.”
Strikers still alive in Golden Boot hunt: Only two weeks remain in the regular season, so it may be a longshot,
but both York’s Brian Wright and Pacific’s Moses Dyer are still in contention for the Golden Boot. Wright has nine
goals this year — two back of leader Ruben del Campo’s 11 — but hasn’t scored in the last nine York games, missing three
of those due to injury. Dyer, meanwhile, has eight (split evenly between time with Pacific and Vancouver FC). He scored
in four straight games in September and was named the CPL’s Player of the Month, so it’s not impossible that he could
explode for multiple goals in these last couple of games. Either way, both players are key to their team’s chances;
if either can make an impact in attack and score, it could make the difference between winning or not.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
York United: Vincensini; Ferrari, León, Abatneh, Botello; Córdova, Adekugbe, Márquez, Esprit; Wright, Jimoh
Pacific FC: Melvin; Dada-Luke, Meilleur-Giguère, Quintana, Greco-Taylor; Yeates, Young, Lamothe, Reid; Zanatta, Dyer
ALL-TIME SERIES
York United wins: 7 || Pacific FC wins: 8 || Draws: 7
Last meeting:
Aug. 2, 2024 — Pacific FC 1-1 York United
KEY QUOTES
“When you are going into the final stage you need to look into the details. You need to look into who is in the better
moment to execute the game, who is motivated enough to give their qualities and service for the team, and we’re going
to be very competitive. That’s for sure. I don’t know how many wins we’re going to win, or if we have the opportunity
to go forward in the playoffs; we’re going to try to do that but of course we’ll be very competitive and it will be very
uncomfortable for the other teams.” — York United head coach Benjamín Mora
“Our backs are against the wall. There’s only two matches left; we know this game sets up the next. We need three points
to have a chance at saying that it’s somewhat in our control going into that final game against Forge. We know the
importance of the game, everyone does; I think our job is most importantly to make sure the players embrace the opportunity,
take some of that pressure off and go enjoy and play our football.” — Pacific FC head coach James Merriman
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