June 18, 2023...Match Analysis: Pacific FC beat York United with late header, go five points clear at the top of the table (from canpl.ca)
MATCH ANALYSIS: Pacific FC beat York United with late header, go five points clear at the top of the table
2023-06-18
by BENEDICT RHODES, CANPL.CA CONTRIBUTOR (@BTFR17)
Final Score: Pacific FC 1-0 York United
Goalscorers: Young 88'
Game of the 2023 season: 41
CPL match: 408
Match in a minute or less
Pacific FC extended their unbeaten streak to seven games on Sunday afternoon, beating York United 1-0 on Vancouver Island.
The two sides traded shots early in the match, but neither one was able to take the lead. Moments after Amer Didic
had a free kick saved by Niko Giantsopoulos at one end of the pitch, Mo Babouli came inches away from giving York
the lead at the other end — striking the inside of the post with a shot inside the Pacific box.
With time running out in the match, Sean Young won the three points for the Tridents with a strong header on a corner
kick into the six yard box from Bradley Vliet, before turning and running to celebrate with the fans in the corner
of Starlight Stadium.
With the win, Pacific are now five points clear at the top of the table, with a game in hand over York United
and Forge FC — who sit in second and third place, respectively.
Three Observations
Pacific extend unbeaten run with another clean sheet, increase lead atop the table
With the victory on Sunday over second-place York United, Pacific FC now have a five point lead at the top of the
Canadian Premier League table. With a game in hand over the Nine Stripes and third-place Forge FC as well, there
is a real opportunity now for Pacific to start to pull away a bit and take a commanding lead in the race for the CPL’s
regular season trophy, and that coveted automatic Concacaf Champions Cup berth.
“We spoke about it before the match, we spoke about it coming into this week, the focus would be ‘Can we make this
a six-point week’,” head coach James Merriman said afterwards. “We know with a game in hand as well, it puts us in
a really strong position. As we know, it’s still very early in the season, but we spoke about it, we were aware of it.
“I think it shows the character of the group because we weren’t able to take care of the ball the way that we normally
do, and the way that we want to take care of the ball, but we stayed in the game and we believed that if we can keep
the clean sheet, that we find a way to win the game.”
The result sees the club’s unbeaten streak reach an impressive seven matches, equivalent to one quarter of the regular
season. They also have picked up back-to-back clean sheets against some of the top teams in the league, Forge FC last
weekend and now York United this weekend. With those two results in particular, the confidence is growing for a team
that certainly doesn’t lack any at the moment.
“I think we’ve been confident all season, as our results have shown,” goalkeeper Kieran Baskett said after the match.
“Obviously getting two clean sheets in a row gives us a nice little boost, and I think we’re going to keep going with
that, we’re feeling excellent as a group all around.
“I always like to live in the moment, and take every day as it comes, every day in training work hard and not be thinking
too much about what’s happened in the past or in the future. [I’m] just trying to get better every day and find
a good level of consistency.”
Tridents win it late with another set piece goal
Their prowess on set pieces has been a point of pride for the league-leading Tridents thus far in 2023, and on Sunday
night it was again a goal from a dead ball that won them the match. Sean Young climbed higher than anyone else to attack
a cross into the box from a Bradley Vliet corner, sending the ball past Niko Giantsopoulos, who had no time to react
to the shot, and minimal help from his defenders.
That goal, in the 88th minute, would be the game-winner, the lone tally in a match in which both teams struggled
at times to take advantage of their opportunities from open play.
Young said in an interview on the OneSoccer broadcast after the match that York might have been more focused on some
of the club’s other aerial threats, including Amer Didic, Djenairo Daniels and Thomas Meilleur-Giguère.
“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever scored a header before, but it was great,” Young said with a smile after being
asked about the goal by commentator Nigel Reed. “I think they were focused on Amer, and I was just able to get
in behind. Obviously buzzing with the result.”
Since the inception of the Canadian Premier League, Didic has been one of the best aerial threats in the country,
and that was again the case on Sunday. He won a game-high five aerial duels, often the target on set pieces as he has
been all season long, resulting in several goals already this year. Didic can also strike set pieces well himself,
forcing a stop from Niko Giantsopoulos in the first half with a driven free kick.
Head coach James Merriman said after the match that they have been working on these situations for a while now, and that
it’s always a positive when one works in their favour.
“We created a lot of chances in open play but we didn’t take them, we weren’t good enough in the final act,” Merriman said.
“It’s okay, we need to lean on our set pieces, and we can do that. We’ve been very organized defensively, attacking
we’re very aggresive, we have size. It’s a big, big strength of ours when we need it in a game like today.”
York forced into more changes at the back, with defence anchored by Mourdoukoutas
York United boss Martin Nash made several changes to his squad from the team that beat Atlético Ottawa last weekend,
with the most notable ones coming in defence.
Last weekend it was Tass Mourdoukoutas and Roger Thompson as the centre-back pairing, with Max Ferrari at left back
and Jonathan Grant on the right, but this weekend only Mourdoukoutas remained in the same position. Paris Gee, who played
in midfield last time out, started at centre-back alongside the Australian, with Ferrari on the right this time
and Lassana Faye on the left.
The versatile Gee has played centre-back on a few occasions this season, but that isn’t his natural position — usually
operating more as a fullback. Max Ferrari is also versatile and capable of playing in any wide position, but he too
isn’t a natural in the position he was asked to play.
With Jonathan Grant away with the Guyanese national team for the Gold Cup, Ferrari was asked to play right back, after
playing left back last week. Faye was serving a suspension for yellow card accumulation, but retook his position in the
team this weekend against the Tridents. That versatility is an asset for Nash, for when situations like this arise.
“You need that in this league, you’re often stretched thin at times, and we were a little bit today,” Nash said after
the match. “I thought Max came in and did a really good job against a tricky winger, and at centre-back I thought Paris
did a good job. Unfortunately they did give one away late on.”
Despite the changes, the Nine Stripes put in a very good shift. They held the best attacking team in the CPL at the moment
to no open play goals, and believed, rightfully, that they should have been able to hold on for a clean sheet on the road.
Mourdoukoutas especially had a good match, leading the team with four clearances and winning possession back ten times.
He also led the team with four aerial duels won — one of the only players in the CPL capable of going to head-to-head
(literally, and figuratively) with Pacific’s tall and physical squad that includes Amer Didic, Sean Young, Djenairo Daniels
and Thomas Meilleur-Giguère.
The York defenders weren’t able to stop the winning header from Sean Young, however, and that’s what left Mourdoukoutas
disappointed after the match.
“It’s more frustrating than anything, a bit disheartening to concede so late after being so resilient against a good side,”
he said. “I think we were a bit poor through midfield and up front in terms of securing the ball, securing the first pass,
which allowed them to get on the counter-attack, which they love doing.
“Paris and I did our job for the most part, but after all that I kind of feel like it’s gone a little bit to waste,
conceding so late. Not the result we wanted, we could have definitely got a clean sheet there.”
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Sean Young, Pacific FC
The Pacific FC midfielder put in another impressive performance in midfield, and scored the all-important winning goal.
What’s next?
Pacific FC remain at home, and will host Valour FC at Starlight Stadium on Wednesday night (7 pm PT/9 pm CT).
Earlier that night, York United will host the Halifax Wanderers at York Lions Stadium (7 pm ET/8 pm AT).
Watch all matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980
and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.
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