April 30, 2022...Reaction: Nash Lauds 'Great Character' as Nine Stripes Dig Deep To Rescue A Point (from York United FC website)

REACTION: NASH LAUDS 'GREAT CHARACTER' AS NINE STRIPES DIG DEEP TO RESCUE A POINT 

A 94th-minute equalizer from Dominick Zator secured a 2-2 draw with Atletico Ottawa on Friday.

Martin Nash has praised his York United players' mentality after a last-gasp Dominick Zator goal 
secured a 2-2 draw with Atletico Ottawa on Friday night in the Canadian Premier League.

The Nine Stripes, reduced to 10 men in the closing stages after Cedric Toussaint's straight red card, 
pulled the chestnut from the blazing fire with a 95th-minute equalizer at York Lions Stadium.

It was a difficult evening for Nash and his charges, who had to come from behind twice to split the points.

"We're trying to build a team that wants to win, will do anything to win and fight tooth and nail," 
Nash said in his post-game press conference.

"[We] showed great character to fight to the end and get back in the game. It's always nice to see, 
wanting to fight to the bitter end. They gave everything they had today and just fell short 
in a few little things."

The Gaffer also admitted it was tough breaking down their opponents, who were ultra-defensive at times, 
particularly in the opening period.  

"I think the match was waiting to break open a little bit," Nash continued.

"They're very organized, they sit in deep blocks, they don't play inside very easily and you have 
to go over or around them and we weren't having too much joy, to be honest," he added.

"We tried a couple of different things. And we started creating chances near the end but we were 
opening up a bit too much for my liking at times and they were able to catch us on the counter. 
It's kind of two sides of a coin. You want to open up to get through them but not so much that you 
give them something going the other way."

With 64% of ball possession and 11 shots - compared to Atleti's six - York were in the driving seat 
until a threaded ball from Zach Verhoeven to Brian Wright in the 51st minute had the guests in front, 
completely against the run of play.

But midway through the second half, the hosts found a leveller through Osaze De Rosario's expertise 
from the spot.

The forward was brought down by goalkeeper Nathan Ingham in a 1v1 situation inside the box. And with 
his father Dwayne in attendance, DeRo Junior immediately jumped to his feet, dusted himself off, 
placed the ball and confidently dispatched from 12 yards to tally three league goals in his last 
three games.

And there was plenty more drama ahead. With four minutes left in regulation time and the home side 
busily chasing a late winner, Atleti fortuitously regained the lead. Out of nothing, Ballou Tabla 
latched onto a misplaced back-pass from Diyaeddine Abzi and slotted past Niko Giantsopoulos from 
close range.

Worse followed for York deep in injury time when Toussaint received his marching orders after tangling 
with Chris Mannella and it seemed certain the side would suffer a second defeat of the season.

But, true to their gladiatorial spirit, York never gave up.

A free-kick from Noah Verhoeven into the visitors' box was controlled by Zator before the defender 
turned sharply and rifled to the net for the equalizer to throw the crowd into a frenzy.

"The character from the boys was phenomenal," the centre-back told reporters afterwards, eulogizing 
his teammates for their unyielding bravery.

"It's kind of tough when you concede a goal then wake up and start playing a little bit more 
passionately and with more liveliness. But in the end it was good character to fight back and get 
something out of the game. You can see we fought hard and we deserved something. So it was good 
for the boys to be able to battle back."

York will stay at home and host two-time champions Forge FC on Friday in the first 905 Derby 
of the season.

Ibrahim Ridwan Asante

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