Final Score: HFX Wanderers 2-3 York United
Goalscorers: Karajovanovic (21′), Morelli (40′); Ferrari (39′), Johnston (54′), Wright (90′)
Game of the 2021 season: 40
CPL match: 175

Match in a minute or less

Twice battling back from behind , it would be York United who took all three points at Wanderers Grounds on Saturday.

A diving header from Jake Ruby redirected off Stefan Karajovanovic for the game’s opening goal 21 minutes in as the Wanderers looked for a third-consecutive victory, and second-straight since returning to Wanderers Grounds earlier this week. Max Ferrari tied it up with a hard shot that he tucked underneath the crossbar in the 39th minute, but Joao Morelli gave the home side the lead again just over a minute later, firing a low shot into the York net after Ruby found him with a cross into the box, and HFX went into the break up 2-1.

Isaiah Johnston again tied the game for York in the 54th minute, firing a low shot from outside the penalty area that ended up in the bottom left corner of the goal. The game was back up to 2-2, the score this match seemed destined to end at, but York would win the game in the final seconds of the 90 minutes.

After building out from the back, Diyaeddine Abzi played a low cross into teenage sensation Lowell Wright, who turned and fired a shot past Wanderers goalkeeper Christian Oxner — who got a touch but couldn’t keep it out of the back of the net. That would end up being the match-winner, as Peter Schaale couldn’t hit the target with the last kick of the game at the other end of the pitch.

Three Observations

Joao Morelli continues his good run of form

For the second match in a row, Joao Morelli found the back of the net for HFX Wanderers. After a brace against Atlético Ottawa earlier in the week, Morelli scored the second Wanderers goal on Saturday to temporarily give his side a 2-1 advantage.

A lot of their attack was going through Morelli, as he sat just behind the main striker Stefan Karajovanovic in this one, with the Brazilian forward responsible for trying to unlock the York backline.

He nearly restored the lead for HFX in the 70th minute, taking a shot from distance that beat Niko Giantsopoulos, but came crashing back off the woodwork.

“That’s what he does,” said Wanderers boss Stephen Hart after the match. “He’s a composed player, a good finisher, but some of the other players need to step up and lighten the load. We can’t depend on him because then we become a very predictable team.

“Certainly today we got ourselves in great positions, got some good chances, and really we don’t have any excuses.”

York United push to the end, and get rewarded

York United had already come back twice from deficits in this match, a resilience from the visitors that they’d be further rewarded for in the 90th minute. Brought off the bench just five minutes earlier, 17-year-old striker Lowell Wright would end up scoring the winning goal, turning and getting a shot off that beat Christian Oxner.

GOAL ???@YorkUtdFC's comeback may be on as Lowell Wright finds a last-gasp go-ahead vs. @HFXWanderersFC!

It's 3-2 York with just minutes left in this one#CanPL | ? https://t.co/hishXepRT3 pic.twitter.com/cX8raGrDTz

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) August 7, 2021

“Everyday in training and before games, he (York United head coach Jimmy Brennan) says ‘if you work hard you’ll get a goal’,” said Wright after the match. “Even if you’re coming off the bench, be ready, and he called my name and said ‘get us the game winner’ and that’s all I could really do, put the ball in the back of the net.”

After the match, Brennan said that they knew they could battle for a result and pick up all three points on the road.

“We have a strong belief here that we can get something out of games,” he said. “We felt that if we kept on pushing forward, we were going to get our opportunities. We didn’t go long, and we started keeping the ball and our movement was better, and we [knew we] would get something out of the game.

“We put Lowell (Wright) on and thought ‘let’s go for this right now’, and we did, and fortunately we came away with 3-2. It was a great overall performance by everybody, it wasn’t easy by any means — they’re a good side, they play good football, they’re organized. It was a hot day today, so you can’t fault the effort.”

Jake Ruby impresses at left back

Wanderers defender Jake Ruby had a big game for HFX Wanderers on Saturday, assisting on both of his team’s goals and playing well defensively at left back.

It was his diving header in the 21st minute that redirected off Stefan Karajovanovic for the opening goal, and he also made a brilliant overlapping run late in the first half before crossing the ball to Joao Morelli, who scored the second Wanderers goal. It was a big offensive performance from the 21-year-old full-back.

“I’ll always do what the coach wants me to,” Ruby said after the match. “If the coach wants me to stay back, I’ll stay back, but if he wants me to push up, I’ll push up. I always look for opportunities to go forward, and today they presented themselves.”

Head coach Stephen Hart was impressed with his young defender as well.

“We’ve been encouraging him to get forward and to make those runs, and give us some penetration in the wide areas, and today he was good at it,” Hart said after the match.

Defensively, Ruby was also solid, gaining possession eight times, including a pair of tackles, two clearances and and an interception. He completed 26 of 34 pass attempts in a really strong performance.

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Jake Ruby, HFX Wanderers

Despite his side ultimately finishing on the losing end of a 3-2 score, Jake Ruby impressed going forward, and made some big plays defensively.

What’s next?

Both sides are next in action against Atlético Ottawa. HFX Wanderers take part in the first CPL match at TD Place on Saturday, August 14th (3 pm ET), while York United have a bit of extra time off and are next in action the following Wednesday, August 18th at TD Place (7 pm ET). Watch all matches live on OneSoccer.