York United stood firm again to dispatch Pacific FC 2-0 last Wednesday, despite playing the chunk of the game with ten men. Brian Wright and Mo Babouli were on the scoresheet to ensure a shut-out victory. It was a bold statement by The Nine Stripes who made it back-to-back wins.

Let’s delve into some major talking points.

‘Moraball’ at work

York United’s tactical approach and playing style is characterized by high-intensity pressing, soaking the pressure and hitting opponents on the break. For the second consecutive match, they relinquished possession but were not carved open by the visitors. Head Coach Benjamin Mora substitutions were on point. After Austin Ricci was sent off in the 38th minute, Mora reacted by going to the back four instead of the five and plucking Elijah Adekugbe into the holding role to assist in midfield. His first substitution after the break was to bring on Mo Babouli whose entry helped stabilize the midfield and the Syria international went ahead to score the second goal.

The Mexican tactician explained: "I am a coach that adapts to my players, to the needs of the game and the DNA of this club. My handwriting? It is to fight, to be organized, to perform the best that we can. Sometimes we might play better than other days, sometimes we might have mistakes. But we must correct them."

"To win [always] is good. To win with ten men is also very good and it shows that we can do anything that we put our mind to. When we put in the heart, the mind, the concentration, the work and the strategy, most of the time it will happen."

Josue Martinez: the unsung hero

Josué Martínez has adapted to life so well and is flourishing in midfield for The Nine Stripes. The 22-year-old produced another decent performance in the middle and his artistry helped set up Brian Wright for the go-ahead goal. Statistically, he was York United’s second-best player and the most fouled player in the match. He's featured in all twelve of the club's games in all competitions, and despite being replaced late by Dennis Salanovic, he's set to continue in midfield for the upcoming clash with Valour FC in Winnipeg this coming Thursday as the players get to enjoy a slight break from a hectic schedule.

"We had a game on Saturday and then we have a game here on Wednesday. So players were a little bit tired. They had high loads and we needed to know how to help them," Mora said at the post-game press conference.

"When you have a team that can be coordinated in certain zones of the pitch, then you just use them with the same roles, with the same dispositions, with the same instructions. And this is a system. This is not about one player or two. This is a system. Whoever steps in the position, needs to know what to do at certain moments."

Another ovation for Brian Wright

It’s too early in the season but Brian Wright is fast establishing himself as the club's Player of the Year.

He grabbed the opener with a fine finish - to score in successive games - and also set up Mo Babouli for the season goal. Wright had the most tackles in the match and won the most duels too. Indisputably, he was adjudged Man of the Match by broadcasters One Soccer.

Ibrahim Ridwan Asante