September 15, 2023...Preview: York United vs Pacific FC -- 2023 Match #98 (from canpl.ca)
PREVIEW: York United vs. Pacific FC — 2023 Match #98
2023-09-15
by CHARLIE O’CONNOR-CLARKE, DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR (@CHARLIEJCLARKE)
2023 CPL Regular Season — Match #98
York United FC vs. Pacific FC
September 17, 2023 at 5 p.m. ET
York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ontario
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Sunday afternoon in northern Toronto will be an entertaining one, as Pacific FC continue their Ontario road
trip with a visit to York Lions Stadium to take on York United.
Entering the weekend, Pacific sat alone in second place, one point ahead of Forge but six back of leaders
Cavalry FC. They have 37 points, and 18 away from home, but James Merriman’s Tridents will feel they haven’t
necessarily taken advantage of all their opportunities recently and thus will be keen on winning this game.
They’ll have a slight disadvantage in rest, having played in Ottawa on Wednesday while York haven’t played
since last Friday. Pacific drew that game 1-1, dominating the first 30 minutes before being pushed back
a little by Atlético in the latter hour or so. Merriman was quite happy with his side’s patience in breaking
down the low block in those early stages, but definitely frustrated with how they lost their composure after
going up 1-0.
York, meanwhile, will absolutely be treating this game like a must-win. They begin the weekend on the outside
of the playoff picture, sitting in sixth and a point behind both Atlético Ottawa and Halifax Wanderers.
Fortunately for them, those sides no longer have a game in hand after playing midweek, but that also increases
the pressure on the Nine Stripes to put up a result.
This is the second match of York’s four-game homestand near the end of the season, and they need to reverse
their fortunes after last Friday’s disastrous 3-1 loss to Valour FC. An early red card to Noah Abatneh
derailed that game somewhat for them, and Mo Babouli’s sending-off later in the contest sealed their fate,
but they’ll also feel that Valour played through them too easily.
Martin Nash’s York side desperately needs a strong response from that defeat if they’re to push their way
into the playoffs. They have yet to beat Pacific this season, with a scoreless draw at home and two losses
at Starlight Stadium.
Both sides will be without some key players, as York will be without Abatneh and Babouli after their red
cards last time out, and Pacific have to do without stalwart defensive midfielder — and former York player
— Cédric Toussaint. York also recently lost the services of goalkeeper Adisa De Rosario, who was recalled
from his loan by Toronto FC II, but both Eleias Himaras and Niko Giantsopoulos are back in training. Expect
Giantsopoulos to start for York, with Himaras still needing at least another week to get back to full speed.
With pressure increasing on these two teams, though, expect them each to be pushing hard for all three points.
All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, FuboTV, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
York in sink-or-swim mode in playoff race: There is perilously little margin for error for York United this week,
particularly after the loss to seventh-place Valour last time out. Regardless of how tough an opponent Pacific might be,
York will likely approach this game as one they need a result from if they’re to make the playoffs. With Halifax
and Atlético Ottawa — the two other sides jockeying for fourth and fifth right now — playing against each other
on Monday, York have an opportunity to jump ahead of either one or both of them, but they’ll need to play with
a high degree of urgency to capitalize on that situation. “If results don’t go our way and we don’t get this result,
then they start to become must-wins,” Martin Nash said Friday. “We’re getting to a stage where games are going
to be must-wins unless we can pick up some wins along the way. It’s not an easy task, we’ve got the top two teams
in the league coming here, but we’re at home and we need to give a better effort than we gave last week.”
Pacific looking for full 90 minutes: After their attack struggled in open play in recent weeks, Pacific finally found
a breakthrough against Atlético Ottawa’s low block on Wednesday. However, after Steffen Yeates opened the scoring,
the Tridents lost their composure and allowed Ottawa to take over possession and put them on the back foot. James Merriman
liked the early progress from his side, but in another crucial game like this one he’s preaching that his side has
to be switched on for all 90 minutes. “We know every match is a playoff match and we need to win,” Merriman said this
week. “That’s why I think you see the intensity of the matches, they go right to the end and we need to be prepared
for a 90 minute game.”
Another U-21 in the mix for York? With Adisa De Rosario recently being called back to Toronto FC II after his loan,
York won’t be able to count on the young goalkeeper to help get them over the line for U-21 minutes. Nor will they be able
to call on Noah Abatneh for this match, after he was sent off last Friday and therefore picked up a suspension.
With Eleias Himaras returning to full training recently, he’ll get a nod in goal soon, but York may also call upon another
of their young players elsewhere on the pitch. Trivine Esprit seems the most likely candidate, having started two games
already; he could get another opportunity at right-back. With the stakes so high, Martin Nash is only going to start
U-21 players whom he feels are prepared for the challenge and can help York win the game.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
York United (4-4-2): Giantsopoulos; Esprit, Gee, Mourdoukoutas, Ferrari; Bayiha, Adekugbe, Gagnon-Laparé, Santos; Ricci, O. De Rosario
Pacific FC (4-3-3): Gazdov; Dada-Luke, Didic, Meilleur-Giguère, Amedume; Yeates, Young, Aparicio; Heard, Reid, Sellouf
ALL-TIME SERIES
York United wins: 6 || Pacific FC wins: 5 || Draws: 6
Last meeting:
July 14, 2023 – York United 0-0 Pacific FC
KEY QUOTES
“Energy and concentration from minute one, that’s the big priority. … We’ve just got to have that concentration and effort
from everyone, and I think we’re all on the same page working hard for a tough team to beat.” — York United head coach
Martin Nash
“It’s important that we focus on ourselves, on what we can control, what we can do better with the ball to create better, more clear
chances and how we can continue to bring that intensity, and be very compact and effective without the ball.” — Pacific FC
head coach James Merriman
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