EDITORIAL – Following York 9’s impressive 2-0 victory over Pacific FC at the Westhills Stadium in Vancouver Island September 11, an opportunity opened up for York 9 to go on a positive run as they next hosted a Valour FC side which had been struggling heading into their match.
York 9 Inconsistency Continues With 4 Games Remaining
York 9 was looking for just their second winning streak of the season in this game which was played at York Lions stadium. Unfortunately the friendly confines did not help York beat Valour as a shoddy defensive performance downed York 9 by a score of 4-2.
York 9 Fall to Valour FC
It is tough to take positives out of this game but the one bright light is how dependable York 9’s offense is becoming. The last time that Y9 failed to score a goal in a match was back on August 17, a run of seven matches including games against FC Edmonton and Cavalry FC which followed the Valour game.
However, Jim Brennan must lean on his experience as a former defender and captain to help solidify York 9’s back line. As a former defender one has to believe that Brennan laments every time that he sees the ball cross his team’s goal line.
The focus now must be on his players feeling that same disdain and taking pride in earning clean sheets. When fully locked in Y9 held the Montreal Impact to 3 goals over two legs, it is simply unacceptable for this squad to then allow 4 goals at home to a team that was struggling coming in.
York 9 Win on the Road in Alberta
Luckily there was a much improved defensive performance around the corner in York 9’s road game against FC Edmonton on September 21. York 9 strode confidently into Clarke Field and their offense looked increasingly potent and helped Y9 jump out to a 3-0 lead on the road.
FC Edmonton were able to pull a goal back through Easton Ongaro but it can be said that the team was relatively strong at the back after allowing 4 goals at home to Valour. Y9 fans can hope that this sort of full team performance starts to become a trend for the 9 stripes which would see their fortunes improve in the standings.
Currently York 9 sits fourth in the combined CPL standings and finishing third should be an attainable goal as they sit only one point behind FC Edmonton. Consistency and finishing only behind the two pace setters in the CPL would translate into a fairly successful first year (respectable Canadian Championship run included.)
York 9 Begin Undefeated Streak in a Double Edged Result
Last Saturday York 9 faced a tough home test. Again they had the opportunity to win consecutive matches for the second time this season against the Spring Season champions Cavalry FC. The team from the Spruce Meadows has been consistent both at home and on the road so there could be nothing taken for granted by York 9 in this match up.
The match was fairly even to begin with until it seemed like York 9 could take the match by the horns when not one, but two Cavalry FC players were sent off within 7 minutes of each other. This gave Y9 more than 15 minutes to try to find the winner, yet Cavalry FC would stun the home crowd and find the net through Nico Pasquotti in the 82nd minute.
Y9 saved themselves some blushes with a Wataru Murofushi goal 6 minutes into added time to split the spoils. This game was a microcosm of the lack of consistency that has plagued York 9 this season however it can be said that York 9 preformed well to take 4 points from the difficult to play Alberta clubs over the last two weeks.
York 9’s two game unbeaten run can be extended with an away trip to rival Forge FC this Sunday as they continue to battle FC Edmonton for third place in the overall table while currently being one point behind the Eddies. York 9’s results may speak to the parity of the league, however, focusing specifically on York 9, only two consistencies are beginning to form; the first is strong offensive outputs and the second is inconsistent results.
