October 12, 2023...Match Analysis: Last-gasp winner sends Pacific past York United in gritty 2023 playoff opener (from canpl.ca)
MATCH ANALYSIS: Last-gasp winner sends Pacific past York United in gritty 2023 playoff opener
2023-10-12
by CHARLIE O’CONNOR-CLARKE, DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR (@CHARLIEJCLARKE)
Final Score: Pacific FC 1-0 York United FC
Goalscorers: Reid 90+1'
2023 CPL Playoffs
4th vs. 5th Match
Match in a minute or less
Pacific FC are through to the quarter-finals of the playoffs, after beating York United FC 1-0 in a dramatic
opening chapter of the 2023 CPL playoffs, as the fourth- and fifth-placed sides squared off on Wednesday night
at Starlight Stadium.
Most of the match was an intense, nervous affair, with both sides taking shots at one another but seemingly unable
to find the net; York troubled the goal a few times in the first half with shots from distance, including
a Brem Soumaoro effort that rattled the crossbar, and Pacific thought they’d scored twice — one Thomas Meilleur-Giguère
finish that was ruled to be offside, and another attempt that York keeper Niko Giantsopoulos barely palmed away
from his goal before it clearly crossed the goal line.
Just as it looked like this game was headed for extra time, though, a pair of Pacific substitutes had other ideas.
Kekuta Manneh flicked a perfect cross in from the left flank, finding the outstretched boot of Adonijah Reid who
knocked it into the goal in the 93rd minute to finally break the deadlock.
York would have one last chance, as Paris Gee’s attempted bicycle kick actually did hit the back of the net,
but what would’ve been an outrageous equalizer was chalked off for offside.
So, it’s the Tridents who move on from this knockout tie and go on to play Halifax Wanderers in the next round
on Saturday, while the Nine Stripes now begin the off-season with their playoff campaign at an end.
Three Observations
Moment of magic finally arrives for Pacific when it matters most
For a very, very long time, this game felt immovably destined for extra time. It hadn’t been a dreary 0-0 contest,
by any means, but both teams seemed to be running into a wall when they got into the penalty area.
Over the last few weeks, and at many points in this season, Pacific have struggled in the final third. They’ve
controlled games, they’ve advanced the ball, but when they’ve gotten into that last area they just haven’t been
able to produce the attacking quality needed. They’d scored just twice in their final three games of the regular
season, and just five times in their last six games at home; for weeks, James Merriman was pleading for his side
to show its quality a little more and have one or two players seize the moment to put the ball in the net when
they needed it.
On Wednesday night, though?
At last, that moment came and a hero (actually, two) emerged.
When Kekuta Manneh first signed for Pacific at the beginning of this year, many expected the veteran of 170 games
in Major League Soccer to be an immediate difference-maker. His match fitness wasn’t quite there at the start of the
season, though, and it has been difficult for him to get fully up to speed all year, starting just 10 of Pacific’s
32 games in all competitions.
After his assist on Adonijah Reid’s goal, though, none of that really matters.
“I think what people forget is he wasn’t playing a lot of consistent football the last couple years and then he had
some injuries,” Merriman said of Manneh after the game.
“He worked hard on his rehab, got himself fit enough to come into preseason and start the season with us, and it’s taken
him time to readjust. This is normal. But the last couple of months he’s been very good. He shows his composure,
his maturity, and also in the locker room he’s great with the guys, great with the team. He’s showing his experience
at the time that we need it.”
Reid, likewise, hasn’t had the easiest go this year although he’s quietly been productive for Pacific, with three goals
and three assists. He’s only started 16 games, but has found a way to make an impact when coming off the bench.
The 24-year-old Brampton, Ontario native was the perfect super-sub for this game; Reid explained postmatch that he’d
noticed Manneh play in a cross from the left to the six-yard box several minutes before he came into the game, which
prompted his run to that same spot in the 93rd minute. It was a beautiful cross from Manneh, but a very clever run from
Reid as well to get on the end of it and poke it past Niko Giantsopoulos.
Those are the kinds of moments Pacific will need — ideally with more frequency — if they’re to go farther in the playoffs.
York bring energy, aggression but bow out of playoffs after brave performance
Much of the talk surrounding York United entering this game was that they might come into the playoffs with a chip
on their shoulder, as a team few expected to be in the postseason. Knowing that their path to the North Star Cup would
be entirely away from home — where York have been best this season — they had no problem with trying to play spoiler.
As a result, York looked like a team with far less pressure on it than Pacific, in the first half especially.
The Nine Stripes came out of the blocks flying, as Martin Nash had requested in his prematch comments, and Osaze De Rosario
nearly put them ahead in just the sixth minute with a chipped shot that would have gone in were it not for a goal-line
clearance by Georges Mukumbilwa.
The visitors were by far the more energetic team in the opening stages, pressing hard to win the ball and playing
very aggressively in attack. They moved the ball forward efficiently to try and pick out holes in the Pacific defence
before they had time to reset themselves in their defensive shape.
One avenue York tried repeatedly to exploit was the long-distance shot; on more than a handful of occasions, they found
that the Pacific backline was not closing down their midfielders near the top of the penalty area, instead remaining
deep to try and cut off passes into De Rosario. So, the Nine Stripes identified that there was often space from which
Brem Soumaoro, Mo Babouli or somebody else in midfield could attempt a shot if they worked a cutback pass back to that
spot. Soumaoro came incredibly close to scoring a couple of times with those 25-yard attempts, including one
in the 28th minute that whacked off the crossbar.
On the stats sheet, York had the advantage in a lot of major categories. They out-possessed Pacific 55.6 per cent
to 44.4 per cent, out-shot them 15-4, and nearly doubled them on passes in the final third (128-77). They also won
possession seven times in the final third, in a demonstration of their aggressive defensive play, pressing the opponent
and trying to win every ball possible.
For head coach Martin Nash, this defeat stung considering how well his side started the game, and it’s quite cruel
for York’s season to end so abruptly like it now has. His side did all it could to frustrate Pacific, but when the ball
fell into dangerous areas for them they couldn’t hit the net, the scrambled and nervous nature of this game seeming
to take over in those moments.
Nonetheless, Nash expressed pride in his team, who have battled plenty of adversity this season. Just a few weeks ago,
their playoff hopes seemed almost dead, but two gutsy results against Atlético Ottawa and Vancouver FC sprang them into
this match, and they have nothing to be ashamed of in the way they approached it.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the group,” Nash said. “We had two tough games to get into the playoffs, and then to put
in a performance like that, I think we deserved more. But Pacific played well, and they found the goal. That’s the way
it is oftentimes in playoffs or close games, you’ve got to take your chances. They took their chance and they’re
moving on.”
Pacific still seek improvement with short turnaround to Halifax
The good news for Pacific is that their championship hopes remain very much alive.
In less welcome news, however: they have to play another playoff game just over 60 hours after this one ended.
On the other side of the country. In Halifax.
The Tridents won’t enter their quarter-final clash against the Wanderers on Saturday feeling particularly fresh,
although the fact they play so soon after Reid’s tide-changing goal could be a good thing.
With the way Pacific have been playing lately, plenty of questions still surround this team after a match that
certainly wasn’t a dominant performance. Ayman Sellouf, who leads the club in both goals and assists but has most
often been a weapon off the bench, started this game but didn’t have much of a positive impact — in fact, he gave
the ball away 17 times and won just one duel. Will James Merriman turn to him again on Saturday?
If not, what other ways can Pacific try and create more high-quality scoring chances? Perhaps Manneh and Reid have
both earned consideration for a start in Halifax considering their impact in limited minutes on Wednesday. At the
very least, they’ll be fresher, which might make a difference with the quick turnaround.
Perhaps it’s the nature of playoff football that champions don’t often win these games playing pretty football,
but Pacific haven’t played a lot of pretty football the past few weeks regardless.
“We spoke about it before the game, we needed to do whatever it took to get a result and to get a win,” Merriman said.
“We’re usually much better on the ball, we know that. But I think this kind of game brings a different pressure,
different type of mentality to handle moments, especially the first 10 to 15 minutes — I think York started very,
very well, we weathered it, we managed it, and this is what it is. At the end of the day, we need to win these games
to continue and we found a way.”
Pacific certainly did find a way. Merriman and staff will look to the stats sheet on Thursday, which will tell the
story of a bit of a lacklustre evening for the most part — just 12 dribbles (only five successful), a disadvantage
in possession, and so on. Most important, though, will be that the players keep this winning feeling in mind as they
travel to Nova Scotia. A little bit of momentum and confidence is sometimes all it takes in knockout football.
Thankfully for Pacific, one thing they did show on Wednesday is they can count on their depth — which might be crucial
on the weekend if tired legs begin to show.
“We’re going to need our depth,” Merriman said. “We need to accept the challenge; we did it last year with Concacaf
matches, we had some very tough trips and tough travel, and the players in the locker room understand that. We just
need to get ourselves there, get ourselves mentally prepared, physically recovered the best we can. We’re going
to need players to step up for us, we’re going to need to lean on that depth. I believe in the focus in the group,
the leadership group; they’re experienced enough, we’ve dealt with these moments.”
The trip from Victoria to Halifax might be just slightly shorter than the 7,000-kilometre trek to Costa Rica that
Pacific made midseason in 2022, but it’s nonetheless one of the longest domestic away days in all of professional
football.
This will be an incredibly challenging ask for the Tridents, but who said it was easy to win a championship?
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Kunle Dada-Luke, Pacific FC
The fullback was up to his old tricks on Wednesday and was Pacific’s liveliest attacking player for much of the game.
He went four for five in attempted dribbles, and won an astonishing 14 out of 16 duels to lead his team. He also won
eight out of nine tackles, doing an excellent job out wide matching up against Kevin Dos Santos.
What’s next?
Pacific FC will be on a plane Thursday, heading across the country to take on Halifax Wanderers on Saturday, Oct. 14
(3 p.m. AT/11 a.m. PT) in the quarter-final. York United, unfortunately, will head home to begin their off-season
as their campaign has now come to a close.
Watch all CPL matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980
and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.
back to 2023 York United FC menu
.
.