2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #44
Valour FC vs. York United
June 27, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET
Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba
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Undefeated in three straight, York United travel outside of Ontario for the first time under new manager Benjamín Mora as they face Valour FC in Winnipeg on Thursday.

The Nine Stripes come into this match in high spirits after a strong demonstration of character in a 2-0 victory over Pacific FC at home this past Wednesday despite playing with 10 men for 52 minutes.

York have collected more points than any other club in the league over the past five games, and are the only team in the CPL to have won three matches over that stretch. This run has seen them rise to third place in the table — tied on points with rivals Forge FC and just five points behind league leaders Atlético Ottawa.

They remain the only club in the league to have defeated Atlético Ottawa this season in CPL play as well, but that 2-1 victory was also their only road victory of the season in five away trips. After collecting the most points of any club away from home in 2023, this will certainly be something they will look to improve upon over the coming weeks.

“We’re playing a team that is on a high, in a good moment, probably their best moment of the season,” said Valour FC head coach Phil Dos Santos. “And this is something that we have to be mindful of. But again we also know that we’re playing at home and [our] team has responded well in moments of urgency, we seem to be at our best when we need to play with a bit of urgency.”

His Valour side head into Thursday’s clash on the other end of the form guide. Following a 2-1 loss against Forge on Sunday, the Winnipeggers are the lone team in the league to have more than a single loss in their last three matches.

However, historically York United have been a rather favourable opponent. Valour have more wins against York United than any other team they have faced in club history, with eight from 17 all-time meetings.

But just one of those wins have come in their last four meetings with the Nine Stripes. Despite scoring first against York when the two sides met back in May in their most recent meeting, a three-goal second half with goals from Noah Abatneh, Mo Babouli and league-leading goalscorer Brian Wright resulted in a 3-1 loss.

They followed that defeat with their best stretch of the season to date, beating the Halifax Wanderers away, and drawing Cavalry on the road, before returning home to defeat Vancouver FC 2-0 in their home opener. But since then they have dropped three straight, including a 2-1 loss to Forge this past Sunday.

Back at home against York, they know they need to start stringing results together if they are to start chipping away at the current eight point gap between them and the fifth and final playoff spot.

York United will be with a few key players in Winnipeg. Striker Austin Ricci is suspended for the next three matches after receiving a red card against Pacific FC last week. Juan Córdova and Tomas Giraldo are nearing the end of their respective recoveries while Oswaldo León is also unavailable with a minor injury. Defender Noah Abatneh, however, is available again after missing out against Pacific FC.

Key Valour midfielder Dante Campbell, meanwhile, is fully healthy again, while Juan Pablo Sánchez is still about a week away from being available.

All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.

3 THINGS TO WATCH 

• Can York kick off road-heavy stretch with a positive result?: So far this season, York United have collected more points at home than any other Canadian Premier League side, with 13, and four wins, earned from six matches at York Lions Stadium. Over the next few weeks, the club’s attention will turn to finding ways to replicate that form on the road. Starting with Thursday’s contest in Winnipeg, five of York’s next seven matches will be played away from home — including a return to Winnipeg on August 11. So far this year, the Nine Stripes have just one win away win — although it did come in their most recent road trip, to the nation’s capital. For Mora, this will be his first true road test as he looks to learn the best practices for finding results despite the expansive cross country travel in the CPL. “I’ve been in many, many matches, countries and flights to play games,” said Mora. “So I know the drill. I’ve been there, but this is a new one for me, and it will be a good experience. I will take the best from it, and of course, having in mind and knowing that the players are in a very, very good mood, in a very good energy, attitude, it will make that easier for us to go to the trip and try to do a good job.”

• How does Mora deploy Mo Babouli?: York received a big lift this past Wednesday when captain Mo Babouli returned from injury and came off the bench for the second half of their 2-0 victory against Pacific. He made a tremendous impact, scoring a critical second goal and playing a key role in the result despite York being down to ten men. Provided he is fit to start to Thursday’s match in Winnipeg, the question becomes how Babouli is best deployed in Mora’s new system. Does he basically replace Ricci in a two up top with Brian Wright? Or does he play behind the prolific York number nine in more of a diamond central midfield. Babouli was particularly important for the Nine Stripes away from home last season, with a team-leading four goals to go with two assists on the road last season, so finding the right fit for him will be crucial.

• Can Valour’s Abdul Binate build on first professional goal?: After making just three appearances in his first season as a professional with Pacific FC last year, and playing just 35 minutes, Abdul Binate has broken through as a consistent starter this season for Valour. However, it was as a substitute this past weekend against Forge FC that he finally found the back of the net for his first professional goal. The 21-year-old has shown moments of real quality so far this season, particularly when carrying the ball with 10 dribbles completed and carving out chances for himself with 1.46 expected goals (the second most on Valour). Now, given this moment of added confidence with his first goal, can the young striker show further progression for a Valour team that could certainly use more goal-dangerous players right now? “He’s a player that has so many attributes,” said Dos Santos. “You look at him physically, and I think he needs to learn how to utilize his traits a little bit better and be a bit more clinical in front of goal. We see it in training, getting in so many good positions and finding that consistency that makes a front player lethal.”