York United Head Coach Martin Nash insists ‘they are not there yet’ going into their Canadian Premier League clash against Valour FC in Winnipeg this afternoon.

The Nine Stripes are chasing a historic franchise-extending fourth consecutive win after turning around their season the last two weeks.

Wins over Halifax, Cavalry and Forge [including two clean sheets] have slingshot the team to third on the table.

It has been an all-round performance from the lads who are brimming with confidence and self-belief.

Nash said in his pre-game talk: "I think we're going to keep that and still improve on it. To be quite honest, we're not the end product. I think we can be a little bit better at certain moments in the game still. We're organized defensively, we're not giving away a ton of chances, typically. We gave away a few too many, I would say, on Wednesday, but we were able to keep them at bay for the most part. But I think there's moments in the game when we're in transition and we still are a bit vertical."

"There were good moments where we kept it against Forge and you need those moments especially coming into the summer months. You can't just be a team that's vertical and chases the game. Even though you could create a lot of chances, you can tire out as the game wears on. So, we've got to find those moments to control the tempo, dictate the pace of the game and get a chance to rest because it's been hot these last two games and it will get even hotter this weekend."

Valour won the first meeting between the two sides at York Lions Stadium 2-0 on goals from Anthony Novak and a Jonathan Brown own goal.

The Nine Stripes are in hot form and looking for revenge but Nash has warned their opponents are no pushovers.

"They're really a good team,'' he said.

"They are tireless workers, really organized, well coached. We got to be at our best. It's not going to be any easier than in the last three games. It's going to be tough. I think they're one of the hardest teams in the league to play against and credit to Phil [Dos Santos] and his staff because they're well-versed and they are one of the hardest working teams in the league."

OPPONENT WATCH:

Valour are yet to lose at home in three matches this season and hold a 10-match home unbeaten streak dating to August 2022.

The club’s top scorer so far has been Kian Williams who has registered with two goals.

Ridwan Ibrahim Asante

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