July 2, 2023...Match Analysis: Late De Rosario winner pushes York to 2-1 win over Vancouver FC in wide-open affair (from canpl.ca)
MATCH ANALYSIS: Late De Rosario winner pushes York to 2-1 win over Vancouver FC in wide-open affair
2023-07-02
by ALEXANDRE GANGUÉ-RUZIC, CANPL.CA CONTRIBUTOR (@ALEXGANGUERUZIC)
CANPL MATCH ANALYSIS
Final Score: Vancouver FC 1-2 York United
Goalscorers: Hundal 6'; Alou 4', De Rosario 79'
Game of the 2023 season: 51
CPL match: 418
Match in a minute or less
Vancouver FC and York United capped off an entertaining holiday matchday of CPL action on Sunday, as York defeated
Vancouver 2-1 at Langley’s Willoughby Community Park.
The game would get off to a furious start, too, as York’s Oussama Alou opened the scoring after just four minutes
of action, before Vancouver’s Shaan Hundal responded with an equalizer moments later in the sixth minute.
From there, both teams would trade a flurry of chances as the game went along. Through that, Vancouver came
closest to scoring when Hundal nearly found his brace with a great chance early in the second half,
while Brian Wright had York’s best opportunity on a breakaway not long after that.
In the end, however, York would manage to get their winner in the 79th minute, as Osaze De Rosario managed
to fire a powerful strike from inside of the box, one that would deflect off a defender and in to give York
the victory.
Three Observations
Clutch De Rosario settles wide-open game with late winner:
For those who like wide-open games, this matchup did not disappoint in that regard.
Right from the first whistle, both teams came out on the front foot, eager to push forward and attack.
As a result, they traded two goals inside six minutes, and then didn’t slow down there, generating a flurry
of chances as the game went along.
Yet, while the shots racked up for both sides, for a while, it looked like it’d be the goalkeepers, and not the
attackers, who would steal the show in this one.
In York’s net, Niko Giantsopoulos made several key stops, including a big leg save on Shaan Hundal early in the
second half that could’ve been massive for Vancouver had it gone in, doing well to keep the game tied.
Meanwhile, in Vancouver’s net, Callum Irving made some pretty big stops of his own, including two big stops
on Brian Wright while the game was still 1-1.
Because of that, it felt like this match was destined to finish as a draw, marking a good day at the office for
both goalkeepers, who would’ve certainly both been full value for such a result.
Then, up stepped Osaze De Rosario.
Having started the game on the bench, as he continues to battle some injuries, he came into the game in the 76th minute
as York put all of their cards on the table.
Despite having scored only one goal this season, after having scored 12 in 2022, De Rosario came in filled with
confidence, too, knowing that he’d only need one chance to change the game.
Turns out, that’d come in the 79th minute, as Wright decided to instead play provider for De Rosario, and while the
finish wasn’t the cleanest from him, it’d be enough to fool Irving to give York a winner.
It might not have been De Rosario’s best goal, nor his best performance, but it was a clutch goal at a perfect time
for his team, who were at risk of going winless for a fourth straight game.
Instead, De Rosario found a way to get the job done, which is exactly what anyone will want to see out of their striker.
That hasn’t always been the case for York this year, who before this game had just one goal between their strikers,
De Rosario and Wright, but given that this was De Rosario’s second goal in his last five games, both of which have
been winners, he’s slowly starting to heat up.
Now, he’ll look to start dropping in the goals at the rate that he was doing so last year, but if he can do so while
showing this clutch gene that he’s shown off as of late, York certainly won’t have any complaints.
“We decided to go with two up front and went for it,” York’s head coach, Martin Nash, said afterwards. “And Brian Wright
did well to hold the ball and play (De Rosario) in, and while he got a bit lucky on the finish, he’ll be happy to see
the ball hit the back of the net.”
“I’m just trying to put my foot forward and to take these opportunities,” De Rosario said. “And trying to get my foot
behind the ball. So I’m just going to keep working, I’m dealing with this in a positive manner, trying to build
my confidence so that I can start putting them away more often.”
New arrival Cantave adds needed creativity to Vancouver’s attack:
It’s no secret that Vancouver has been looking to improve their attacking play this season.
Having scored a league-low 10 goals heading into this game, only finding the net twice or more in a game three times
this season, Vancouver has been looking for different ways to ignite their attack for a few weeks now.
One of those has been a need to adjust tactically, as they’ve often resorted to playing much more direct than they’re
built for, much to the frustration of head coach Afshin Ghotbi, but they were open to all and other solutions beyond that.
It turns out one of those was to tweak their attacking personnel, as they made a big move last week, bringing in attacker
Mikaël Cantave from Cavalry in exchange for Maël Henry.
A creative wide player who is comfortable drifting in the final third, it was hoped that Cantave could add a much-needed
spark to Vancouver’s attack, giving them a bit more of an X-factor in their opponents’ boxes.
He’d do well to prove that nearly immediately, as well.
Right from kick-off, he was a threat for Vancouver, bringing a much-needed element of precision and directness on the ball.
Yet, while he was eager to take defenders on, he also did well to slow down the game if needed, allowing Vancouver
to spend more time on the ball than they’ve been able to in past games.
As a result, they were able to craft one of their best attacking performances this season, even if the score doesn’t
reflect it.
Finishing with 17 shots (four on target), generating a total of 1.72 xG from that, Vancouver had several glorious
opportunities to win the game, with their finishing being the only thing that let them down.
Cantave was central to all of that, finishing with one shot and one key pass, while also playing a key role on other
attacking moves.
“He brings that experience,” Hundal said of Cantave afterwards. “He’s got skill and he’s talented, yes, but he just brings
calmness into the final third.”
“Offensively, there were times where he just took on guys, but then he also calmed the game down, but that just shows what
he can do. When he does that, he opens a lot of space for me, Gabriel (Bitar) and TJ (Tahid) up front, so I’m excited
to see what we can do over the next couple of games.”
Now, they’ll need to build on this, which as they’ve seen this season, can often be the hardest thing to do, but it was
a good start, one they’ll be pleased with.
With more key arrivals on the way, too, that could prove to be massive for Vancouver, who will look to use that to climb
up the table in the second half of the season.
“The experience and confidence he brings is key,” Ghotbi said of Cantave. “Even off the field, he’s always talking
to the younger players to keep it up, talking about how close we are as a team.”
“I think that’s invaluable, and that’s what we’re missing in this team, so we’re hoping that with a few more additions
(like that) in different areas of our team, we can make the team much stronger.”
York thrives with service from wide areas:
While York will be pleased that they were able to get a key goal from a striker in a big moment, that’s just a credit
to their overall offensive performance on the day, however.
In particular, they were lethal in wide areas, doing well to target Vancouver’s young full backs.
Knowing that the speed and creativity of Clément Bayiha and Kévin dos Santos could be a big asset for them, they were
eager to feed them the ball in wide areas, allowing them to make things happen on their own.
Especially on switches of play, where they tried to catch Vancouver’s narrow formation out with big cross-field balls,
York made no secret of their intention to try and push their attacks down those wide areas.
Which, to their credit, worked masterfully for them.
Not only did they finish with an impressive 2.11 xG from 17 shots (five on target), but their wingers were essential
in their ability to do that, too.
As a result, Bayiha finished with four key passes, two big chances created and one shot, while Santos has two key passes
and one shot, marking a solid performance from the pair.
Then, once they tired out, York was able to turn to Michael Petrasso and Austin Ricci on the bench, which nearly paid
further dividends as Petrasso nearly made it 3-1 late on, while Ricci had a few nice runs on his end.
Yet, that all just shows the sort of strength that York has in wide areas, something they’ll look to get even more out
of going forward.
“I thought we did a good job there,” Nash said of his play in wide areas.” We generated a lot of chances there today.”
Especially as their strikers continue to find their form, being dominant in wide areas will be key, offering them
a secondary source of scoring, while also opening up space for those strikers to keep getting chances.
As seen in this game, they can take over a match with their strength in wide areas, and will now look to continue to do
so in future games, as they continue to try and surge up the league table.
“That’s what we try to do,” De Rosario said. “When we work on our attacking, we always look to go out wide and to hit
crosses, so we can give our wingers the opportunity to create or score.”
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, York United
In a chaotic game, Gagnon-Laparé was a calming force for York in midfield, doing well to control the tempo with his play
in possession. That’s reflected statistically, as he completed 52 of 61 passes (85%), which along with one assist,
three tackles, five recoveries and five out of seven duels won, made for a pretty complete game from the York midfielder.
What’s next?
Vancouver FC won’t have to wait long for their next clash, as they get set to host the Halifax Wanderers at Willoughby Community
Park on Friday, July 7th (7:00 p.m. PT/11:00 p.m. AT). Meanwhile, York will return to Ontario for a 901 derby with Forge FC
on Sunday, July 9th, at York Lions Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET).
Watch all CPL matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980
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