The Nine Stripes begin their quest in the Canadian Championship with a trip to the capital to face Atletico Ottawa at TD Place Stadium in the preliminary round.

At stake is not just the provincial bragging rights but, more importantly, the winner qualifies for the CONCACAF Champions League.

"I think it's a great competition, first and foremost, and every year it means a lot. Everyone wants to get far enough to face an MLS team," said York United coach Martin Nash in his pre-match conference on Monday.

"We've got two games that we have to get by first and they're two difficult games on the road. So it'll be a tough one in Ottawa but it's an exciting prospect and it's a game we're going to throw everything at because we really want to advance in this competition."

The two sides met just a fortnight ago at York Lions Stadium and it was a late Dominick Zator goal which tied the contest at 2-2.

Ever since, York United have grown in confidence and last Friday, put perennial GTA rivals Forge FC to the sword in a 1-0 success. On the other side, Atleti succumbed to a 1-0 home defeat to league leaders Pacific FC.

Despite their back-to-back home defeats including a 6-1 hammering by Valour FC, Nash still believes Carlos Gonzalez's side remain a threat.

"They're very organized. I don't think a lot is going to change in how they do things because they do what they do very well so we've got to find ways to break them down," he added.

"They counter really well and they've got two or three really good attacking pieces that get out quite well so we've got to be able to be good in defensive transition."

Momentum seems to be building after a number of notable results and one player quick to praise Nash's influence is Jordan Wilson.

The wily pro, who has started every game so far this season and delivered an excellent display from central defence last Friday, believes The Gaffer has been instrumental in their convincing performances.

"I think he's [Martin Nash] getting the best out of a lot of talent and I think one in particular being number 44, Isaiah Johnson," Wilson, regarded as a York United FC Statesman, pointed out in the aftermath of the Forge derby victory.

"You can see in previous games he was running free but today he had a role where he could grind and battle and I think that's accumulation of many things under Martin [Nash] and also just him coming into his own. I also think I have a little bit to do with that, a little bit of Roger [Thompson], leaders on the team as well."

Johnson was included in the CPL Team of the Week alongside the dominant Zator and game-winning hero Sebastian Gutierrez, whose memorable individual strike - a sublime, cool-headed clincher - has received rave reviews.

The Colombian collected a wall pass from Osaze De Rosario inside the box, shimmied past Forge centre-back Dominic Samuel, then remained calm to sell an outrageous dummy to goalkeeper Triston Henry before slotting home.

His equanimity in front of goal was eye-catching and has attracted a groundswell of positivity.

"The Colombian-Spanish hips came out for sure. He faked them and he faked me. I was at the halfway line and I thought, 'He's gonna shoot' and he didn't and just rolled it in," Wilson purred over Gutierrez's exquisite finish.

"I've seen him do it that many times in training. It's just nice to see it come to fruition in the game and I think that was just a product of our overall performance. I think we wanted it a bit more than them and we were able to score so we're really happy for him because he's worked really hard and scoring a game winner is just a great feeling."

The side will be hoping for something similar this evening.

Nash's charges have been boosted by the availability of duo Cedric Toussaint and Mateo Hernandez, who have finished serving their recent match suspensions. Oliver Minatel and Michael Petrasso remain on the sidelines while Nash was giving nothing away on the fitness of Max Ferrari. Meanwhile, captain Roger Thompson could return after missing the Forge win with an abductor injury. Newcomer Lisandro Cabrera travelled with the team and could start from the bench for his debut.

Ibrahim Ridwan Asante

Share this Story