June 26, 2022...Preview: A Return to League Affairs as Nash Issues Challenge to his Players After Vancouver Display (from York United web site)

June 26, 2022...Preview: A Return to League Affairs as Nash Issues Challenge to his Players After Vancouver Display
(from York United web site)

PREVIEW: A RETURN TO LEAGUE AFFAIRS AS NASH ISSUES CHALLENGE TO HIS PLAYERS AFTER VANCOUVER DISPLAY

An impressive showing in the Canadian Championship semi-final midweek has set a bar.

Head Coach Martin Nash is hoping for a positive response from his players and get the right results
when York host Valour FC this afternoon at York Lions Stadium in the Canadian Premier League.

There is a rallying call to end a six-match winless streak and the decent display in midweek against
MLS outfit Whitecaps can serve as a huge motivation.

Nash is tasking his players to step up and get their campaign back on track.

"I think it's just knowing that they can raise their game and raise the level to play against
a top opponent and can they do that and play at that level every week? I think that's the challenge
now," The Gaffer asserted in his pre-match conference on Friday.

"They've shown what they can do now. But can we play at that level every week? And to be fair,
the guys have been playing at a very high level at a pretty consistent rate. It's really been about
the ball in the back of the net for us, that's been the problem."

This is the second meeting between the two sides this term with the reverse fixture ending
in a 1-0 win, a late strike from Sean Rea ensuring the three points went the way of Valour.

It was an unfortunate loss, especially after Osaze De Rosario missed a penalty in the second half.

Nash believes his side hold the aces to accrue the maximum points but admits Phil Dos Santos’ outfit
can also hurt them given the opportunity.

"They're a good team. They’ve got some good attacking pieces. They got some guys that can create
but I think there's also some spaces that we can exploit. So it'll be just limiting their attacking
threats and exploiting their weaknesses. So, it's an interesting match-up for us. I thought we did
really, really well at their place. Missing the penalty didn't help and then obviously giving away
an 88th minute winner wasn't great but I thought we had a good performance there. We can look back
at some of the really good things that we did in that match and and see if we can get the right
result this time."

Regarding lineup, York United will be without midfielder Cedric Toussaint, who returns to serve
his match suspension in the league.

Also, Eduardo Jesus prepares to assume his duty as first choice left back with the departure
of Diyaeddine Abzi. Midfielder Noah Verhoeven had some 13 minutes of game time in Vancouver
and could be ready to make a starting berth on Sunday.

Nash is also backing young talent Isaiah Johnston to continue his scoring form after opening
his goal account for the season last Wednesday.

He said: "It's always good once you break your duck. It takes the worry off your back, so to speak.
I think he's been playing really well this season. I thought he was a fantastic in the game
in Vancouver and for all the good work he did, it was just it was nice to see him score goal
and get that out of the way and hopefully he can get three or four throughout the rest of the season."

OPPONENT WATCH:

Valour FC have not won a match in over a month and are second-bottom on the CPL table.

Defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste will return to the lineup after recovering fully from a knee injury.

The Haiti international has played just 111 minutes over two matches this season.

Valour have gone 0-2-3 since beating York United at IG Field on May 15.

Ridwan Ibrahim Asante

back to 2022 York United FC menu