July 15, 2023...Analysis: Niko Shines Once More as York United Pick Up a Solid Point (from York United FC website)
ANALYSIS: NIKO SHINES ONCE MORE AS YORK UNITED PICK UP A SOLID POINT The goalkeeper has been a standout this season and made a string of fine stops. THE DETAILS EXPLOSIVE START PROVIDES SOLID REACTION TO LAST WEEK'S LOSS Martin Nash made six changes to his starting XI from the previous game and he got what he wanted. The Nine Stripes were quick, explosive and industrious right from the blast of the whistle. It was an improved performance from what we saw in the defeat to Forge FC. Two half chances fell to Oussama Alou and Osaze De Rosario just before the hour mark. There was early pressure on the visitors when winger Clement Bayiha raided the right side and won the game’s first corner kick with the resultant delivery headed wide by Tass Mourdoukoutas. "We had a real good start," Nash said in his post-match press conference. "We had a couple chances - half chances, really - which you want to put one away and then settle in. I thought we controlled the tempo really well. First half, [we] had control of transition which is big against them and then in the second half, the guys they brought on changed the game a little bit. I thought we saw the game out pretty well. They had two good chances. Nico made two good saves, but I'm pleased with the effort and the performance." "It was a good bounce-back from last week where our effort levels, for whatever reason, were low and we went to work this week and I thought we were better tactically, better defensively, and created more. It was just that we didn't hit the target. I think one shot on target is frustrating when we got into some good areas." York United had 56% of the ball, tallied 11 shots - one less than Pacific - and managed 88% pass accuracy. NIKO DELIVERS AGAIN AS GK COACH CAMILO BENZI GETS THE CREDIT Niko Giantsopoulos is now becoming synonymous with consistency. With four vital saves, the York United number one was the reason why Martin Nash’s side earned a point from the game and got their campaign back on track. It all began in the 13th minute when he pushed out Steffen Yeates’s strike for a corner kick after The Nine Stripes had meekly surrendered possession at the edge of the box. He was alert to palm Adonijah Reid’s goal-bound shot on 70 minutes but it was his low save which prevented Aymen Sellouf from scoring that got all of us talking. In his post-game interview with OneSoccer, Giantsopoulos said: "You see the ball go out to my right side and you kind of try to anticipate what players are going to be there. You read his [Sellouf] body language, you see he might hit a first time so you got to stay on your feet and do your best. To be honest, credit to Camilo [Benzi]. We worked on that this week so it's always nice when it pays off in the game." Giantsopoulos was named the game’s Man of the Match. THE NINE STRIPES STILL IN CONTENTION FOR PLAYOFF SPOT York United have lost their previous two matches - both on the road - to Pacific. Friday’s result draw means The Tridents will dominate in the series. In summary, The Nine Stripes have accrued seven points from eight matches against the top three teams including Forge and Cavalry. Despite the low return, Head Coach Nash insists they are not far off the league’s big boys. "I thought the first two games against Forge were pretty even. The third one, obviously, was one of those games," said The Gaffer. "For Cavalry, we've had a great series with them. I think we are one each so we’ll look at that. I think Pacific, we struggled at their place a little bit but I think we have the ability to beat them. Obviously, they're top of the league and a very good side." "We're in most of the games. There's one where we weren't in it, which was the 4-nil last week. But even the 4-1 at Pacific, we were in that game. We could have been up 3-1 or 3-2 at one point. So, we just missed our chances. We've had some good moments where we haven't seen out games against them. Maybe that's where we’ve got to look: seeing out games against the top teams in the league. TRIVINE ESPRIT’S CAMEO AND U-21 MINUTES The club are at the base of the minutes table for domestic U21 players with 341. But with young midfielder Trivine Esprit making his second appearance as an 87th minute substitute, Nash is confident the side can meet the league requirement. "We've got reinforcements coming and we'll be starting U21s more regularly now. This week, we'll have a few more and I thought Trivine came on for the last 10-15 minutes and did really well. He suits the way we want to play so he'll get some more minutes as well." Ridwan Ibrahim Asanteback to 2023 York United FC menu
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