August 28, 2023...Analysis: Spirit, Skill and Subs - A Fully Deserved Victory (from York United FC website)
ANALYSIS: SPIRIT, SKILL AND SUBS - A FULLY DESERVED VICTORY It was a crucial come-from-behind 2-1
win over Vancouver FC last Friday night.
THE DETAILS
YORK UNITED’S PERSISTENCE GETS REWARDED
When Vancouver FC hit the front on 11 minutes last Friday night, there was a sense of déjà vu. York United faithful have seen
the team concede first at York Lions Stadium and go on to succumb to opponents quite a few times. On five occasions this season,
it's happened. But, this time, a stirred-up performance reversed the trend. Mo Babouli converted from 12 yards to cancel out
Gabriel Bitar's opener. That goal was coming as The Nine Stripes bossed the statistics from the first blast of the whistle.
And then, super-sub Austin Ricci delivered when it mattered most to clinch a monstrous win.
"I’m very proud of them because I thought we had a good first half and sometimes you can drop your heads at halftime when
you have a good half and you are coming down 1-0 but they battled today," said Head Coach Martin Nash at his post-match
conference.
"I asked for it from the start and they battled the whole game. Guys gave everything they had. Nice to see Austin [Ricci]
come in and smash a really nice winner at the end and we escaped a little bit maybe. But I think, on the run of the play,
we probably deserve it. I'll have to look back and make sure.
"We've been playing well but just not getting results in a way. So, we're trying to lift the guys up coming back here.
It started a bit sternly even in pregame: I challenged the guys to give the effort that they did today and then they responded
so it was nice to see. We've got four home games left so we've got to try and make this place a fortress for the rest
of the season and get into the playoffs."
SUPER-SUB AUSTIN RICCI DELIVERS GOLD
The last time Austin Ricci was on target was back in July when he opened the scoring in Winnipeg as The Nine Stripes earned
a 2-1 win against Valour but had to subsequently out games due to injury after that. On Friday night, the Richmond Hill-native
climbed off the bench in the 73rd minute and seven minutes later he powered in a half-volley for the match winner. Before that,
he saw his goal-bound low shot being cleared off the line by Rocco Romeo. Martin Nash was delighted to see Ricci produce one
of his best performances.
"Austin [Ricci] was having a good run and he was out for only 10 days with a tweaked groin and we scored three at Ottawa
and scored three Cavalry, so it was been hard for him to get back on the team with some of the performances we've had up front,"
said The Gaffer.
"Credit to him: he came in today, he worked hard, he battled and scored a cracker. A great finish - and not an easy one either
- to win us a game. He's been a big part of this team all year long and with performances like that he'll get more and more
playing time."
ADISA DE ROSARIO COMES OF AGE
The on-loan goalkeeper was making his second appearance for The Nine Stripes but this time nerves weren’t jangling. Unlike
his debut against Forge, Adisa was calm and composed. He wasn't really tested by the Vancouver frontline but on the few
occasions they threatened, the 18-year-old stood tall. In the second half, he produced a save to deny Wero Diaz and also
dealt well with a dangerous in-swinging delivery.
A FULLY DESERVED VICTORY
From the statistics, York United had no business dropping points or losing this game. With ball possession of 52.3%
and expected goals value of 2.12, Nash’s side had the upper hand. The Nine Stripes had 22 total shots with 7 on target
compared to the visitors' 12 shots and 5 on target. They dominated and pinned down the visitors with 41 touches in their
area. Defender Tass Mourdoukoutas spoke about how they managed to turn the game on its head.
The centre back said: "We had a game plan and look but, realistically, we were probably poor in the first half in terms
of giving them opportunities just from our own giveaways. It's obviously how the goal happened and a lot of the guys were
kind of compounding errors, which we've been working on in recent weeks to cut out of our game a little bit.
"So, we're disappointed to let that let that slip but, in saying that, the positive side is we kept that mentality
and stayed consistent, stayed aggressive, stayed on the front foot. We knew that those goals would come. We got rewarded
with a penalty and I think it was just a reward for our dominance throughout the entire 90 minutes."
Ridwan Ibrahim Asante
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