July 13, 2023...Preview: York United vs. Pacific FC - 2023 Match #58 (from canpl.ca)
PREVIEW: York United vs. Pacific FC — 2023 Match #58
2023-07-13
by MITCHELL TIERNEY, DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER (@MITCHELLTIERNEY)
2023 CPL Regular Season — Match #58
York United vs. Pacific FC
July 14, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT
York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ontario
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Pacific FC’s east coast road trip continues on Friday as they travel to York Lions Stadium for the first time this season
to take on York United.
It is a big match for both sides, who will be looking for a response after some disappointing recent results. League
leaders Pacific have seen their position atop the CPL table narrow to just three points over Forge after back-to-back
losses, including falling 2-1 in Halifax to the Wanderers on Tuesday night.
“We need to want more, we need to show up from the start of games, and we need to show that we are at the top of the table
for a reason,” said Pacific FC head coach James Merriman. “We need to show the desire again. It has been lacking the last
couple of games and obviously, the results reflect that.”
York, meanwhile, were embarrassed by 905 derby rivals Forge FC at home on Sunday, losing 4-0. It was the biggest home
loss in club history, and tied for the worst loss the Nine Stripes have ever suffered with a 4-0 drubbing they were handed
by Toronto FC during the quarter-finals of the 2021 Canadian Championship.
It was their league-leading fourth home loss of the season, as York have now collected just seven points from seven home
matches in 2023. They have also kept just a single home clean sheet. Improving that home form will be a particular point
of emphasis for the club over the second half of the season, and could prove critical in their race for a second-ever
playoff appearance.
The Tridents, meanwhile, are the only other club who have managed to score four goals in a match against York this season,
doing so during a 4-1 win at Starlight Stadium back on May 14. The clubs then met again in Langford on June 18,
with Pacific snatching a 1-0 victory through a late goal from Sean Young.
Young, however, won’t be available to play hero again this time around as he was sent off during Tuesday’s match — receiving
a pair of yellow cards in the 56th minute. York are dealing with some significant suspensions as well, as leading goalscorer
Mo Babouli is once again unavailable after receiving a red card on the bench during Sunday’s loss to Forge. York’s
Austin Ricci will also miss the match due to yellow card accumulation.
With these forced changes to their respective lineups, as well as how recently both sides have played, expect squad
rotation on Friday. Pacific, in particular, were without a number of regulars against Halifax including captain Josh Heard,
Manny Aparicio, Cédric Toussaint and Adonijah Reid. All of these players will be available against York, per Merriman,
and he says this will be crucial to the group getting back to playing their best football. York United coach Martin Nash
confirmed there will be changes to his lineup as well in response to his side’s poor performance against Forge.
The Tridents will be hoping to avoid suffering a third straight loss for just the third time in club history. Interestingly,
both of the other times they lost three in a row, back in 2019 as well as last season, the third loss they suffered
in that streak came against York.
While York holds more all-time wins in the matchup between the two sides, Pacific have not lost at York Lions Stadium since
July of 2019. Ending that streak would go a long way toward boosting the Nine Stripes confidence at home, where they will
play seven of their remaining 13 matches.
All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
Road-weary Pacific FC looking for a fast start: In an important match for both sides, look for the early part of the match
especially to be played with a significant amount of energy. York will be relatively rested, and looking to quickly respond
after their worst performance of the season. The start of the match, however, will be a particular point of emphasis for
the Tridents because it has been such a major issue for them of late. They have conceded the opening goal in three straight
matches now, doing so again in the 16th minute against Halifax on Tuesday. That happened just twice through their
first 11 matches of the season. Pacific have collected just two points from losing positions so far this season, showing
just how important scoring the opening goal is to their table-topping success. York, meanwhile, have dropped just four
points from winning positions so far this season, so a fast start will be important for them as well.
Set piece defending critical for York United: Pacific FC are a club blessed with a significant amount of different ways
that they can be dangerous in attack. However, the one that has truly given York the biggest problems so far this season
is set pieces. Amer Didic headed home a corner kick less than seven minutes into their first meeting of the season, while
Sean Young’s goal, also from a corner, was the difference in their 1-0 win over York in June. The last four goals that
Pacific have scored have either been directly from a set piece, or a second phase opportunity resulting from one. Leading
the way in this regard has been Didic, as the central defender is tied as the club’s leading scorer with four goals so far
this season. In terms of deliveries, league assist leader Ayman Sellouf has been the league’s most lethal set-piece taker
so far this season.
York United working on U-21 minutes solution: With the transfer window recently opening, there was a clear priority for
York United, securing more players eligible for U-21 Canadian minutes. Each club in the CPL is required to achieve 2,000
minutes of play for domestic u-21 players. Currently, York has just 341 minutes, the fewest in the league by a significant
margin — 491 minutes behind Halifax. That means the club needs to average 128 U-21 minutes per match for the remaining
13 matches. To make matters worse, their U-21 minutes leader so far this season, Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy, is out for the
remainder of the season, while Noah Abatneh is also injured. Looking to address this, the club signed midfielder
Trivine Esprit to a U SPORTS contract. Further help is expected to be on the way, but how coach Martin Nash navigates
this will be of critical importance to the second half of the season. “It is definitely going to be a balancing act,
we all know it,” said Nash. “We are trying to make ourselves stronger in that area in the transfer window here. We feel
we have done so, there is another signing to come. We need guys to come in that can step up, play minutes.”
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
York United: Himaras; Ferrari, Thompson, Mourdoukoutas, Gee; Soumaoro, Gagnon-Laparé; Bayiha, Alou, Petrasso; De Rosario
Pacific FC: Baskett; Lajeunesse, Didic, Meilleur-Giguère, Vliet; Toussaint, Aparicio, Lamothe; Sellouf, Reid, Heard
ALL-TIME SERIES
York United wins: 6 || Pacific FC wins: 5 || Draws: 5
Previous match:
June 18, 2023 — Pacific FC 1-0 York United
KEY QUOTES
“We need a reaction. We went through a bit of a post-mortem and it wasn’t pretty after the game. Now we need a reaction from guys
and there are going to be some changes in the team, obviously after a performance like that and it’s on guys now to win a spot.
Spots are open so to speak so guys have got to give it everything they’ve got while they are on the pitch and prove they need
to be in the starting lineup.” — York United head coach Martin Nash
“They will be up for it, but we need to be there, we need to show up for this game. We need to get back to what we do, and the
good things that we can do and especially the things that we can control, our work rate and our motivation. These are things that
we need to feel and see from our team because it has not been good enough as of late.” — Pacific FC head coach James Merriman
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