Result and details of the Wednesday April 19, 2023 Canadian Championship Preliminary round game between
York United FC and Valour FC played at York Lions Stadium in North York at 8:00pm ET.

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York United FC (all white uniforms, green names and numbers)

...............1 Niko Giantsopoulos (cpt)
2 Paris Gee...7 Jonathan Grant...32 Brem Soumaoro...12 Clement Bayiha
................28 Jeremy Gagnon-Larare...10 Oussama Alou
.......16 Max Ferrari...18 Molham Babouli...33 Matthew Baldisimo
....................24 Osaze De Rosario

Subs:...77 Ivan Pavela (gk)...9 Brian Wright (fwd)...11 Kevin Santos (mid)...22 Austin Ricci (fwd)
23 Noah Abatneh (def)...43 Lassana Faye (def)...70 Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy (mid)
team officials:...head coach Martin Nash...assistant coaches Barry Smith...goalkeeper coach Camilo Benzi
...doctor Jim Niu...kitman John Townsend and Nolan Gilmour...athletic trainers Michael Higbee and Laura Ozoria

Vancouver FC (all black uniforms, white names and numbers)

..................1 Callum Irving (cpt)
4 Ibrahim Bakare...5 Eugene Martinez...3 Rocco Romero...17 Minaje Kwak
........8 Nima Moazeni Zadeh...2 Kadin Chung...16 Elliot Simmons
......................10 Gael Sandoval
................18 Ameer Kinani...9 Shaan Hundal

Subs:...21 Jeremy Zielinski (gk)...7 Nathaniel St Louis (mid)...11 Gabriel Bitar (mid)...12 Tyler Crawford (def)
13 Emmanuel Robe (fwd)...14 Nicky Gyimah (fwd)...20 Anthony White (def)
team officials:...head coach Afshin Ghotbyi...team manager Jeevin Kang...goalkeeper coach Mark Village...athletic trainer Amelia Ng
other officials Stuart Neely and Cortlin Tonn

Game officials:...referee Michael Venne...referee's assistants Peter Pendli and Sean Hornsby...fourth official Fabrizio Stasolla
(salmon shirts, black shorts and socks)...referee assessor Stephen Cahoon...general coordinator Rahim Mohammed
...media officer and marketing officer Kate Tulle...match commissioner Jessie Daly

First Half:...game starts 8:11pm...York defends south end on this cold evening with the sun already set.
30 sec...Van Sandoval runs down middle to 28 yards and passes forward and right to Van Hundal who rolls ball to center of box
where retreating York Grant concedes cornerkick.
1 min...Van Sandoval cornerkick from right is whistled down in box.
1 min...Van YELLOW card...Bakare earns it for time wasting for delaying a York throw-in.
2 min...York Soumaoro has to concede cornerkick on right end line with Van player getting around him.
3 min...Van Sandoval cornerkick from right has York Gagnon-Lapare head ball away on right side of box.
4 min...York Alou and York Gee have shots blocked on left side of box. York Gee sends his cross over box.
4 min...York Alou rush on left and taps centering pass to York Babouli at 25 yard on slight left. Babouli rolls ball forward
between four defenders for Alou who has cut over to slight left rushed to center. Van Bakare straight arms him to hold him off
and Alou goes over rather easily at 15 yards. Referee Michael Venne awards York a Penalty kick.
5 min...York Molham Babouli GOAL...Babouli stutter steps and takes low Penalty kick to right side that freezes
goalie Callum Irving to center of net.
9 min...York Babouli cornerkick from left has York player head 12 yarder on near post winning another cornerkick.
9 min...York Babouli cornerkick from left is passed back to him and he bends 22 yarder high and wide right of net.
11 min...Van Sandoval 40 yard freekick down middle has defender at 20 yards pop up header and goalie catches.
11 min...Van Zadeh blocks a York clearance attempt at top right side of box and ball deflects to Van Kinani chips from right edge
of box across to Van Hundal who chests ball down at 6 yards but can't get away shot so rolls ball back to Kinani who blasts 7 yarder
from right that deflects off sliding defender and hits outside of right post for cornerkick.
11 min...Van Kinani cornerkick from right gets ball back adn he crosses over box.
15 min...York Ferrari quick cross from right side of box has York De Rosario one touch 6 yarder off bounce that goalie catches
overhead on right post.
17 min...York YELLOW card...Babouli earns it for being too close to Van freekick and getting hit in the back by ball
at Van 30 yard line.
20 min...York Bayiha crosses through box from right has York Babouli on left shoot 12 yarder wide left.
26 min...York Alou dribbles to 12 yards and shoots low between three defenders and diving goalie saves at 3 yards and crawls
to right to smother with defenders protecting him.
28 min...York Babouli falls in Van box and ball is cleared.
30 min...York Bayiha cross from right edge of box has York De Rosario leap higher than defender and head 4 yarder across box
wide right for goal kick.
31 min...Van Chung cross from 25 yards on run down right is into box and defender clears with boot.
32 min...York goalie dives on ball at 15 5yards to beat Van Kinani to through ball.
32 min...Van YELLOW card...Simmons earns it for sliding tackle on York Bayiha at Van 35 yard line.
34 min...York Gee good cross from 30 yards on left is bounced over to right side of box and charging York Gee sends ball
from 12 yards near end line into 6 yard box has goalie dive forward on right post to prevent possible tap-in in middle of box.
Defender who had also gone down crawls and makes clearance kick.
36 min...York Grant makes important tackle at York 35 yard line to prevent break-in.
37 min...Van Kinani is tipped shot at 18 yards off defender and goalie catches pop up wide right of net.
39 min...York Alou through ball pass has Van Martinez concede cornerkick from 10 yards.
40 min...York Babouli cornerkick from left has defender on near post head ball away starting fast break out.
40 min...Van player's freekick from 40 yards is blocked in player wall.
41 min...Van Sandoval runs forward and sends low cross from 25 yards on left just outside box that bounces to center of box
and Van Hundal charging over has sliding York Gee at 5 yards tips ball preventing shot but sending it upward and towards left post.
Goalie swats ball away wide left of post as Hundal crashes into him and is down injured for awhile.
42 min...Van Sandoval cornerkick from left has York Gagnon-Lapare clear on left side of box.
46 min...York Babouli is down injured away from play at center line on right side.
48 min...half ends 8:59pm.

Second Half:...starts 9:14pm.
Halftime subs:...York Santos replaces Baldisimo.
......................Van Bitar replaces Hundal.
47 min...Van Sandoval 35 yard freekick from right has play called offside in York box.
48 min...Van Bakare is injured in box and needs trainer.
49 min...York player's ball into Van box is behind charging York De Rosario.
49 min...Van Bitar blasts 30 yarder down middle that hits underside of bar and goalie rushes forward to pick up ball on bounce
before Van Kinani can get to it at 8 yards.
51 min...York Gagnon-Lapare is injured at York 33 yard line and needs trainer for an ankle injury.
53 min...York Babouli 40 yard freekick from slight right has York De Rosario charging in called offside at 6 yards.
55 min...York Alou shoots 12 yarder that hits back of York De Rosario at 8 yards and deflects away.
57 min...York sub...Wright replaces re-injured Gagnon-Lapare.
57 min...Van Bakare long run to right end line and cross has goalie fly forward to punch ball away.
59 min...Van sub...Robe replaces Kinani.
.............Van sub...Gyimah eplalces Zadeh.
61 min...York sub...Ricci replaces Bayiha.
61 min...Van Bakare dribbles between players on slight right and blasts 22 yarder wide left.
64 min...Van Sandoval dribbles between players on right and on edge of 18 yard box sends low cross that Van Robe gets foot
to redirect from 8 yards forward and diving goalie pushes wide left of post for cornerkick.
64 min...Van Sandoval cornerkick from right has defenders clear.
65 min...Van Sandoval cornerkick from right has Van Romeo pop 8 yard header down middle high and wide left of net.
67 min...Van Bakare weaves to center from right and 22 yard shot is wide left.
69 min...York Babouli leaps at 33 yards on right to head ball forward and towards center for York De Rosario at 22 yards but
he misses ball and it bounces across to York Wright who pushes on Van Romeo to get around him and all alone at 15 yards on right
has goalie charge out to 6 yards to prevent show. Wright stops to change direction to try to round fallen goalie and from top
right corner of box rolls ball along 6 yards box where retreating Van Bakare stops it and clears on left side of box.
70 min...York YELLOW card...Ricci earns it for kicking ball away after pushing over Van Kwak at York 40 yard line which
was whistled for a Van freekick.
72 min...York Wright run on right and low cross to York De Rosario has defender concede cornerkick from 7 yards.
73 min...York Babouli cornerkick from right has York Ricci boots partial clearance from 20 yards up middle and over net.
74 min...York YELLOW card...Gee earns it for knocking over a Van players on run at York 40 yard line.
75 min...Van goalie picks up roller at 15 yards to beat York players to through ball pass.
75 min...York Ferrari cross from 25 yards has Van Romeo deflect ball off head and bounces to goalie.
76 min...York sub...Faye replaces Alou.
77 min...Van Kwak 35 yard freekick from left has Van Robe head ball from 15 yards that rolls to goalie to smother.
79 min...Van Bitar shot is popped up at 28 yards off York Grant and ball is caught by goalie.
80 min...Van sub...St Louis replaces Sandoval.
81 min...Van Bakare cross from 30 yards near right sideline drifts well behind net.
83 min...York goalie runs wide left to pick up bouncer.
84 min...York De Rosario 28 yard shot up middle is over bar.
84 min...Van St Louis low 28 yarder up middle has goalie dive left to save.
85 min...York YELLOW card...Goalie Giantsopoulos earns it for timewasting. He had come out to 40 yard line near Van bench
to take a freekick (nothing wrong with that) but turned back to pick up what looked like a streamer that was on the field.
87 min...Van St Louis has cross deflect off York Soumaoro.
87 min...Van Kwak finishes Van pressure with 15 yard deflected shot for cornerkick.
88 min...Van player's cornerkick from left has York player clear for fast break and York players mess up a three man break on right.
89 min...Van Bakare run to right end line and is injured crossing ball.
90 min...Van Robe isn't awarded Penalty kick when York Soumaoro puts leg out for through ball pass up right and Robe tumbles
over him at 7 yard line on right side of the box both missing ball. Both players go down injured.
93 min...York Wright holding up ball at right cornerflag against two Van players rolls ball out and York Ricci has clear run along
right end line. Ricci shoots from 10 yards and goalie guarding near post dives forward and knocks ball down but pushes it forward
to York De Rosario who shoots 5 yarder into turf where it bounces up and deflects off defender for cornerkick on right.
94 min...Van St Louis cornerkick from left has goalie punch ball away as even the Van goalie had come into the box and York players
start a fast break out.
95 min...game ends 10:04pm.

Final Score:...York United.........1..........Vancouver FC........0.......

Attendance wasn't announced and it didn't look good. It had been a bright sunny afternoon with the temperature cooling as the sun went down. There had been fans here since 5:00pm when the first game of this Canadian Championship Preliminary round day began. Atletico Ottawa had just defeated HFX Wanderers 3-1 to advance to their quarterfinal against Forge FC to be played in Hamilton. Wanderers were drawn as the home team but could not play on their grounds until early May because of their city's rules (hey sounds like what a lot of League1 Ontario teams face). Ottawa and HFX had just faced each other in Ottawa on Saturday.

I wasn't at the best angle but thought the second game may have just reached 1000. Reasons include a rather cold night, it's midweek during the school year, and this game was not part of the ticket package as there was no way the team knew they were getting a home game. Also there are three home games within a week and Vancouver FC is their opponent for the last two.

This was a battle of the seventh and eighth (last) place teams in the league as they are the only teams that lost in the first week of the season. York is actually the worst based on goal differential.

Tonight York looked a lot better especially in the backline with what looked like four in the back. Having a lead from so early would have been a big help. Scoring a second goal to put the game away looked a possibility when Vancouver had to open up in the last half hour.

Vancouver has not scored ao far this season. They have one more road game until their grounds are ready.

Referee Miachel Venne gave out six Yellow cards (four to York) in a game that wasn't rough. Four of them were for time wasting including one in the seocnd minute. He will be more remembered for two instances: his awarding a Penalty kick to York at 4 minutes when Oussama Alou was jostled running into the box and fell over. OK if that's the case, at 90 minutes Vancouver's Emmanuel Robe was bumped over by York's Brem Soumaoro on the right side of the box and no call was given. I had to wait until I got home to see both plays numerous times in slow motion to see they were similar. I'd have probably not given a PK call in either situation.

Mo Babouli scored his sixth goal in ten appearances for York stretching back since when he joined mid-season last year. He was awarded the player of the match. He played further back later in the game because of the injuries in the midfleld. This let Osaze De Rosario and Brian Wright play up front together.

Both captains tonight were the goaltenders. Giantsopoulos is filling in for York at that position until the return from injury of defender Roger Thompson. Irving it was said at the press conference because of his experience and the foundation of Vancouver as a new club to start building by first concentrating on their defence.

Tonight injured defender Tass Mourdoukoutas wasn't even on the York bench as an emergency substitute. The team just signed Noah Abatneh the day before but he didn't come into the game.

Ameer Kinani was a starting forward for Vancouver tonight. That would be the third L1O Pro Stars FC 2022 roster player in the lineup tonight! York midfielder Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy stayed on the bench toight after starting their last game and emergency back up goalie signing Ivan Pavela also just watched from the sideline. Pro Stars over the years used to pass players on to lower tiered leagues in Europe but this league has suddenly become an alternate outlet. Good to see!

Other Vancouver players I've followed are Rocco Romeo and Shaan Hundal from their Toronto FC II and III days and going way back like 2017 is Gabriel Bitar from Ottawa South United Force when they were in L1O.

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More about that 5:00pm game:

Before the Canadian Championship draw, four teams including HFX had declared they could not host a preliminary game. A few hours before the draw, three more teams announced that they would not either including Ottawa. Ottawa's TD Place/Arena complex is connected and they were committed to holding a concert there tonight (yes it was inside in the arena--6500 sellout) with Irish singer Chris De Burgh who had to postpone a date there almost one year before. "Lady in Red" was his biggest North American hit.

That game started at what I'd estimate at 200, grew to 400 by halftime, and finished with about 600 as more people got here when they could after work. Only announced a few days earlier was one ticket was all you needed to see both games.

So 600 fans would be the starting point for the York game right? Well something like 100 travelling Atletico fans left as they had to catch their bus for the long trip back to Ottawa and some supporting HFX like a teenage boys' team wearing Vaughan SC kits left as well. They would have come because of the strong link of having two coaches and four players leave the L1O Vaughan Azzurri to join the CPL team.

I felt bad for Vaughan Azzurri the 2022 League1 Ontario champs as they couldn't host--yes of course their facility at North Maple Regional Park is too small and they were told that the obvious alternative--Ontario Soccer Centre with its 1200 seats was too small so they were drawn away to the MLS CF Montreal who are two levels above them. Who knew that these CPL teams would slip their way in to York United's home ground? The tourney organizer's could possibly have helped them play here at 5:00pm to cut security expenses etc. Their game finished as a very respectable 2-0 loss although the MLS opponents used a mainly reserve squad. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

York now moves on to host....Vancouver FC (again!) this Saturday at 1:00pm to continue the CPL regular season before finally taking their act on the road the next weekend to Ottawa.

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


York United FC starters


Vancouver FC starters


York United Clement Bayiha (12) takes opening kickoff.


York Molham Babouli (18) scores on this Penalty kick.


York players maintain possession in their own end.


Vancouver Gael Sandoval (10) takes second half kickoff.


Vancouver is ready to pass over center.


Handshakes after the game. 

Game stats (from Fotmob) 
                      York United FC   Vancouver FC

Shots                        14            12     
Shots on target               4             4     
Possession                   56.7%         43.3%     
Corners won                   6             9    
Fouls conceded               12            16

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