Final Score: York United FC 4-1 Atlético Ottawa
Goalscorers: Adekugbe 41′, Cordóva 51′, Babouli 78′, Wright 89′; Bassett 6′
Game of the 2024 season: 59
CPL match: 543

Match in a minute or less

Second-place York United FC drew closer to the top of the table on Friday night, as they toppled first-place Atlético Ottawa 4-1 for their third straight home win.

Although Ollie Bassett put Ottawa in front very early, York found their equalizer before halftime as recent newcomer Jorge Guzmán delivered a ball that Elijah Adekugbe finished for his first as a Nine Stripe.

The hosts would go on to add three more goals in the second half; Juan Cordóva scored another from outside the box with a shot that took an deceptive bounce right in front of the goalkeeper. Mo Babouli made it 3-1 shortly after by dribbling into the box himself and finishing with a deflected attempt. Finally, Brian Wright saw the game off on the brink of full time as he scored his eighth of the year with a counter-attack that made it 4-1 and put the match fully out of reach for Ottawa.

With the win, York are now undefeated in their last seven games at home, and find themselves two points back of first place.

Three Observations

York make statement in table-top battle, lay claim to contender status

At what point is it no longer a new manager bump?

York United have played eight matches under Benjamín Mora now, winning five of them and losing just one. On Friday night, they didn’t just beat the team in first place; they did so resoundingly, becoming the first side to put four goals past Atlético Ottawa since June 24, 2023.

The momentum York have been building at home has already been discussed extensively, but it seems to just keep going. They’re unbeaten in their last seven at York Lions Stadium with a 6-1-1 record overall. With 19 points in eight games at home this year, they’re already well ahead of last year’s total of 14 in 14 matches. They’ve been playing at a rate of just under two points per game since their third match of 2024, which would be worth 54 points in a whole season — more than Atlético Ottawa had the year they won the regular season title, and one fewer than Cavalry FC had last year.

All that’s to say, things feel different around York United at the moment. Several of their players and staff — particularly since Mora took over — have spoken about how they believe this team can contend for trophies, but games like this are real evidence that they may be right.

“I don’t know how it’s going to end up at the end of the year, but I know I can now count on the guys to give their best,” York midfielder Elijah Adekugbe said postmatch. “We live by the process, not by the result, and our process is to try and be the best. I have full belief that all the guys that are there with me are on that train with me, and I’m grateful to be surrounded by like-minded people.”

In the past two months, almost all of York’s players have been operating at a high level, but a few key individuals in particular have stepped up their games. Juan Cordóva, of course, now has three goals under Mora. Brian Wright is neck-and-neck in the Golden Boot race, having caught up to Rubén del Campo with his goal on Friday.

And the captain, Mo Babouli, is starting to look closer to the game-breaking player he’s shown he can be. With a goal against Ottawa, he now has four goals and an assist in his last six games, after just one of each in his first six (with a stretch of five matches missed in between).

However, Mora stressed that the key to his team’s success has not been any individual’s impact, but rather the fact that they have come together collectively and bought into his system.

“They work as a team, we don’t rely on one superstar or player that is going to help us win,” Mora said. “The team is the most important, we have a team full of men that know that as long as they are together, we can go very, very far. If they want to go fast, they need to go alone, because it’s teamwork. At the end of the day I’m really happy that we can prove that we are in a good path, and that we are capable of fighting and playing good football.”

For Adekugbe, nights like these have been a long night coming; he called the goal and the win over first-place Ottawa probably the biggest moment of his York United career so far. He added some perspective in his postmatch comments, pointing out that they’ve come a long way from last season, when the club had no proper ownership group and the future was uncertain.

“Coming into this season we had the feeling that it was a rebirth,” Adekugbe said. “Last year it sort of felt like we were the rejects; we had no owners, such turmoil, such chaos, but we had good players. We had no clarity in what we were doing, and I think we all sort of suffered.”

He added: “I feel grateful because it just feels like we’ve gotten a second chance at life, and we’re able to do what we love at the highest level that we can. You get nights like this where you’re 4-1 up, you have a legend there in Jorge Campos watching you, the stands are packed. I coach a U-9 team, they were there today. These are the moments that you live for as a player.”

This York team is increasingly feeling like a team with legitimate playoff credentials, particularly if they keep up this form at home.

Atlético Ottawa let York back into the game, lose control

It started out so well for Atlético Ottawa.

The visitors scored in just the sixth minute, and for a while it seemed like the current league leaders might be en route to batting away their closest competition to cement themselves at the top.

That’s not how it played out, though; after Ollie Bassett’s goal, Ottawa did not go hunting for a second to put the game out of reach. They stepped back a little and let their foot off the gas, especially after the first 15 minutes. They out-shot York 5-0 in the first quarter of an hour, and York had a 4-2 advantage in the rest of the first half.

“We started to drop and we let them dominate,” head coach Carlos González said postmatch. “We conceded too many set-pieces, too many corners. … I think they scored the second goal and psychologically it was an impact on the team. After that we tried to chase the game again and we had situations with the crossbar, with the post that probably with a little more luck, the result would be completely different. But I have to see the game again calmly because only taking conclusions from the result I think would be a bit unfair.”

Ottawa were frustrated in many ways by the method of York’s goals; they did not mark Adekugbe well for the first, and they gave far too much space to Cordóva for the second — not to mention the bounce that stymied Nathan Ingham, perhaps unluckily.

It wasn’t that York over-ran their opponents necessarily; they had a possession advantage of just 54.3 per cent while Ottawa had a 12-9 lead in shots overall, with five on target apiece, but the home side took their chances and the visitors did not.

Atleti hit the woodwork twice in the second half and had a further two shots on target, but still it didn’t feel like they had a wealth of good chances beyond the first 10 minutes or so after halftime.

Still, the league leaders remain thus in spite of the lopsided result, and still control their own fate. This loss to York was a setback, and a major feat for their opponents, but Ottawa weren’t getting too low after the defeat.

“Though I think today was a meaningful game, it’s not the game that is going to make the difference at the end of the league,” González said. “We’re still in midseason, still a lot of games to play; it has been an important game for us and for them, but I think we are in a privileged position and we have a lot of things to do.”

Jorge Guzmán plays creator in surprise debut

A surprise that greeted York United fans as they arrived at the stadium on Friday was the inclusion of Mexican forward Jorge Guzmán in their team’s starting XI. The 20-year-old’s loan from Liga MX side Atlas was officially announced just a few hours before kickoff at York Lions Stadium, although he’d been training with his new club for just over a week.

Guzmán slotted into York’s attack on the left wing, ostensibly, although he covered plenty of ground elsewhere on the pitch, drifting to the middle and dropping deep in search of touches.

He was successful in doing so, finding 52 of them. Guzmán had a 90 per cent passing accuracy, which is an impressive feat as an attacking player in particular, rarely playing with his back to goal.

The youngster provided a new energy to York’s attack, as he helped stretch the pitch and create spaces, running into dangerous areas either to receive a ball or bring a defender with him.

For that workrate, Guzmán was rewarded, as he finished with two assists: first, the excellent cross for Adekugbe’s goal, where he set up perfectly on the edge of the box as part of a corner routine. Then, he was one of several players making a lung-busting run up the pitch in the 90th minute to receive a pass from Cordóva’s counter-attacking run, and then unselfishly squaring it across to Wright for the final goal.

Surprisingly, Mora revealed postmatch that Guzmán very nearly didn’t play at all.

“He trained for 20 minutes [yesterday] because he was doing his paperwork,” Mora said. “He didn’t train the day before because he was doing his medical. So he was committed; when I asked him if he’s ready to go he said, ‘I’m ready to go 100 minutes.’ He is a young boy with a lot of courage, with a lot of willingness and eagerness to help me and his teammates.

Guzmán did indeed go almost 100 minutes on the pitch with stoppage time included. His talent is evident; such is clear from the fact that he’s played 25 first-team games for a Liga MX team at the age of 20. His effort and commitment, though — right off the bat at York United — are what could propel him into becoming another hugely impactful piece for the club.

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Elijah Adekugbe, York United FC

The midfielder was visibly emotional after scoring his first goal for York United to equalize in the first half, and getting his name on the scoresheet was a deserved reward for Adekugbe. He finished with a sterling 95 per cent passing accuracy, winning possession five times, making two tackles and winning three fouls — not to mention the excellent headed finish for a much-needed goal.

What’s next?

York will head out on the road for another Friday night match next week on Aug. 2, when they’ll be on the west coast to play Pacific FC (7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET). Ottawa, meanwhile, return home to take on Cavalry FC on Saturday, Aug. 3 (7 p.m. ET).

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