May 9, 2023...Preview: York United FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC - 2023 Canadian Championship (from canpl.ca)
PREVIEW: York United FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC — 2023 Canadian Championship
2023-05-09
by CHARLIE O’CONNOR-CLARKE, DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR (@CHARLIEJCLARKE)
2023 Canadian Championship — Quarter-final
York United FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
May 10, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. ET
York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ontario
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York United are the first Canadian Premier League side to match up with Major League Soccer opposition in this year’s Canadian
Championship, as defending champions Vancouver Whitecaps FC visit York Lions Stadium for what promises to be an entertaining
quarter-final tie.
York, led by coach Martin Nash, are hungry for a strong Voyageurs’ Cup run, just like they had a year ago. In the 2022 tournament,
they beat both Atlético Ottawa and Pacific FC on penalties en route to a semifinal appearance — where they were stopped
in their tracks by the very same Whitecaps they’ll take on this week.
In their prior meeting, York visited BC Place and, despite a thin squad plagued by a host of injuries, they held firm for
a long time, managing to keep it at 0-0 going into halftime. The Whitecaps found the net shortly into the second frame — twice,
thanks to striker Brian White — and ultimately the MLS side held on to win, although then-York midfielder Isaiah Johnston helped
them mount a brief comeback attempt with an 84th-minute goal.
“Last year when we played the semifinal against them they were extremely organized defensively,” Whitecaps manager Vanni Sartini
said on Saturday. “I think it’s going to be really hard. Of course we’re going to have more of the ball than them, and we’re
going to probably be on the front foot more than them, but I don’t think it’s going to be easy. We need to be very careful
because in this game, everything can go on the wrong side and then it’s going to be a disaster.”
The Whitecaps would go on to play Toronto FC in the final after beating York, and they lifted the Voyageurs’ Cup for just
the second time after beating TFC on penalties.
The two sides meet one round earlier this year, with both teams looking to launch a deep run and vie for a spot in the Concacaf
Champions League. York advanced to the quarter-finals a couple weeks ago by defeating expansion CPL side Vancouver FC 1-0 thanks
to an early Mo Babouli penalty; the Whitecaps, meanwhile, received a bye to the second round along with fellow 2022 finalists Toronto.
Heading into Wednesday’s game, York have a 1-0-3 record in league play, with their only win so far being a 1-0 away triumph
over Atlético Ottawa. Last Friday, they hosted Hamilton outfit Forge FC in a heated derby clash, but lost 1-0 on account
of Terran Campbell’s first-half screamer.
A key storyline entering the match from York’s side of things is the health of their squad. Quite a few players with early
injuries have begun to return — Elijah Adekugbe made his first start for York on Friday, as did captain Roger Thompson, who wasn’t
quite 90-minutes fit but was replaced in the second half by Tass Mourdoukoutas, who likewise is working his way back from an injury.
Things are getting better in that sense for York, though a few players are still struggling with knocks — Johnny Grant
and Brem Soumaoro, York’s centre-back pair for the first few games of the year, both missed out on Friday.
The big question, though, is Mo Babouli. York’s star talisman in attack was pulled from the lineup just moments before kickoff
on Friday after suffering a hamstring injury in warmup. All signs point to it being a precautionary measure and that he’ll be fine
for Wednesday, but whether he’s at 100 per cent or not could have a massive impact on York’s ability to find scoring chances.
The Whitecaps, on the other hand, sit in seventh in MLS’s Western Conference after 10 games. Their 3-5-2 record is good
for 14 points in a very congested league table. Vanni Sartini’s side find themselves on an eight-game unbeaten run in MLS action,
although they have just three wins and five draws in that span.
On Saturday, the Whitecaps hosted Minnesota United and won 3-2 as Brian White scored a brace and substitute Simon Becher scored
just a minute after coming into the game. Sartini explained postmatch that he didn’t start any of the Canadian players in his
squad for that game because he didn’t want to risk them with the Canadian Championship rule requiring three in the starting XI.
So, the likes of Ryan Raposo, Russell Teibert and Ali Ahmed could be set to play a role on Wednesday.
The winner of this tie will move on to play the winner of the other quarter-final in the western half of the bracket — either
Pacific FC or League1 B.C.’s TSS Rovers — which will be played later on Wednesday night.
York United have played an MLS team in every full Canadian Championship they’ve played in so far, and they’ve come close — but haven’t
yet slain a giant. Is this the year for them?
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 attack needs to click: After four CPL games, York United are second in the league in expected goals (5.05), but they’ve scored
just two real goals and sit seventh in the league. That’s a problem, of course — and likely a primary reason for their defeats
to Vancouver and Forge — but perhaps also a sign that things will get better for the Nine Stripes. Martin Nash said after the Forge
loss that he’d be much more concerned if his side weren’t generating chances at all; the fact that they’re creating opportunities,
just not finishing them, is encouraging, though nonetheless frustrating. Striker Osaze De Rosario, who was a contender for
the Golden Boot last year, has yet to get on the board in 2023; Nash has said he feels it’s only a matter of time before the young
forward goes on a run of goalscoring form. The same could be true of Brian Wright, who has actually started more often than De Rosario
so far but likewise has yet to find the net. A cup tie against an MLS team would certainly be a good time to break that duck. “We’re
getting the chances, we’re getting to good areas, we’ve just got to start putting the ball on frame. We’re not hitting the target
enough,” Nash said Tuesday. “That’s been spoken about; they’ve just got to keep training and keep working on it and try to take
your next chance.”
Whitecaps in dangerous form: Although they didn’t start the season in the best of form — going winless in their first five league
games — the Whitecaps have picked up steam lately. This strong run they’re currently on is primarily fuelled by some top-class
defending, which helped them to a club record MLS shutout streak of 443 minutes (ending in the second half of Saturday’s win).
Experienced centre-backs Tristan Blackmon and Ranko Veselinovic have been solid to start the year, and Japanese goalkeeper
Yohei Takaoka has impressed so far in his first season with the ‘Caps. Up front, York are already aware of how dangerous
Brian White can be with his brace against them last year, but White has six goals in all competitions now, including
the Concacaf Champions League. Scottish designated player Ryan Gauld is also a very dynamic attacking midfielder who can drift
between the half spaces and will look to play balls in behind the York backline.
Plenty of experience vs. MLS in York squad: York United’s squad is not short of experience. In fact, the roster boasts 113 games
played between them against Major League Soccer opponents — whether in the Canadian Championship, U.S. Open Cup, Concacaf Champions
League, or MLS itself. Elijah Adekugbe was a key part of the Cavalry FC team that beat the Whitecaps over two legs back in 2019,
while Clément Bayiha leads the team with 25 appearances in MLS for CF Montréal. Even Paris Gee, who has yet to play an MLS team
with a CPL club, played four cup games against MLS opposition while with USL Championship sides FC Tulsa and Saint Louis FC.
Head coach Martin Nash, of course, played 188 times for the Whitecaps in their pre-MLS days, so this is a particularly special
opponent for him as well. All told, York will surely be raring to go for this game on home turf; by now, they know well how thin
the margin for error is against MLS opponents, so expect them to be up for a good scrap at York Lions Stadium.
ALL-TIME SERIES
York United wins: 0 || Whitecaps wins: 1 || Draws: 0
Previous match:
June 22, 2022 — Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 York United
KEY QUOTES
“The guys want to go on a cup run, we do every year. It’s a chance to play against quality opponents. If we’d manage to get a result
and get through in the cup, it gives us a lift as a group. I think only good can come from the game; I don’t think anything bad
can come from the game no matter how it goes. I think we’ve just got to go in there and put in effort and believe in ourselves
and each other. It’s not impossible to get a result; it’s happened before and it’s going to happen again, and hopefully it’s
tomorrow night.” — York United head coach Martin Nash
“We want to field a very strong team against York. We know that in the cup, when you play at BC Place it’s different against
a CPL team, but when you go to their turf it’s a battle every single time. Last year when we went to Calgary it was difficult
to win the game. … Everyone remembers how magic the final was last year, and in order to arrive at that height we need to start
making the first step in York.” — Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini
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