Final Score: Vancouver FC 0-1 York United
Goalscorers: Higgins 4′
Game of the 2024 season: 84
CPL match: 568
Match in a minute or less
York United provisionally climbed back into third place in the CPL table on Friday, as they defeated Vancouver FC 1-0 at Willoughby Community Park.
Nyal Higgins opened the scoring for York just four minutes into the game, as he rose highest to meet a perfect corner delivery from Jorge Guzmán to make it 1-0 early on.
From there, he and his teammates did what they needed to in order to grind out a victory, snapping a three-game winless run in the process.
Three Observations
Higgins the surprise hero for York as they climb back into title race with key victory:
Just weeks ago, Nyal Higgins was looking to claw his way into York’s lineup in any way possible.
After playing over 200 minutes across York’s first four games of the CPL season, minutes had been hard to come by for Higgins since, as he’d played just four minutes across York’s next 15 games, making three substitute appearances.
Then, his opportunity came a few weeks ago after an injury in York’s back line. That has led to an opportunity for Higgins to shine, with this Vancouver game being his third consecutive start for York.
He made the most of it, too. Thanks to his early goal, his first in the CPL, his team was able to set the table for a crucial victory, one that could prove to be massive for them in their hunt for the CPL Shield.
Led by strong defensive performances from Higgins and his teammates that helped York secure the victory, it was a strong team showing from the visitors, who were made to work for their result.
It wasn’t always easy, as Vancouver mustered up a strong second half push, but despite that, they managed to hang on, grabbing the crucial victory.
Yet, in a game like this, it’s fitting that Higgins was the hero. It hasn’t always been an easy campaign for the 26-year-old, but he’s kept his head down and hasn’t stopped working, ensuring that he’d be trusted when his next opportunity came up.
That mentality has paid off for a crucial time for York, who are at a point of their season where they’ll be looking for wins in any form they come.
At the same time, this is a credit to the work they’ve done as of late, as they’ve done well to create an environment where new faces can step up and shine at any moment. Having put an emphasis on strong team defence, timely offence and hard work, they know that they need all of their players to be pulling the same way if they’re to find victories while following that formula.
That extends across the entire squad, too, as players have to be ready when their number is called, knowing what they have to do to keep their team rolling.
As of late, Higgins has been a prime example of what that looks like, and he’ll now look to carry that forward, with his teammates hungry and eager to follow his example.
“He has been on the bench in a lot of games,” York’s head coach, Benjamín Mora, said of Higgins. “He hasn’t always come in, he hasn’t been in the squad in two or three games, and he was always the same player. Always training 100%, being a good example, quiet and respectful with the team, but then always giving his best in trainings, and this is what he gets because of what he’s given to the team, not because what he did today.”
“What he did today was an effect of his cause, that he was always giving his heart and his mind for the team, that he works in the service for the team, and I really love what he’s been doing.”
“He’s just the perfect example of character and strength,” York’s Elijah Adekugbe added. “He came in when we needed him after Frank (Sturing) went down, and he hasn’t played much since the early part of the season, so just looking at his (recent) performances after not playing that many games, to me, that’s a perfect example of staying down and being prepared for when the opportunity comes.”
Vancouver gets unwanted déjà vù with early goal against:
When tucking into this game, one might be excused for thinking they were watching a replay of Vancouver’s last game, a 1-0 loss to Atlético Ottawa.
Also a game where they conceded early before falling 1-0 as they struggled to break down their opponent, it was a frustrating loss for Vancouver, one they wanted to put behind them.
Instead, they’re left to wonder how they’ve repeated the script from that one, putting up a nearly identical performance in this match , with the goals they conceded across both games even both coming off set-pieces.
Especially given that it’s now the third time in the past four games in which they’ve conceded a goal inside the first six minutes of a match, that’ll add to that sentiment of frustration, as starting games stronger has been a key point of emphasis for them as of late.
Yet, that’s why this result will be so frustrating for Vancouver. It’s one thing to concede early once, as that can happen throughout a season – early errors can happen that force team to chase games earlier than anticipated.
For it to happen multiple times, however, is tough. Especially given that they likely spent most of the week highlighting what they can fix from the Ottawa loss, for them to then find themselves in essentially the same situation just minutes into their next game will hurt them even more.
Ultimately, it can make it tough for them to execute their game plan, because while teams will always have multiple iterations of that plan ready for different sequences of the game, it’s hard to plan to have to chase a game that early.
Plus, this is doubly true for a team like Vancouver, who has remained their most dangerous when they can attack teams in transition, as they thrive when there is space to attack.
When conceding early, that space can be at a premium, especially when faced off against a side like York, who did an excellent job of limiting space between the lines in this game once they had their lead.
As a result, Vancouver was left to rue another night where they were unable to get going offensively, finishing with just seven shots for a total of 0.38 xG despite holding 55.4% possession in this game. After mustering up just 0.34 xG on five shots against Ottawa, that’s made for a two tough games for Vancouver’s attack.
Yet, the slow starts remain a key issue they’ll want to address going forward as they get set for a crucial stretch to end their campaign. Offensively, there’s no doubt of what they can do when they get going, but they’ve now been held scoreless in eight of their 22 games this season, as they’ve continued to be “boom or bust” in the attack.
When looking at that stat, it’ll put pressure on them to start games stronger, as the last thing they’ll want to do is to keep having to chase games when they’ve been at their best when things open up naturally, which can be rare to see when an opponent grabs such an early lead.
Especially against teams at the top of the table, who have all proven capable of being able to lock down games, that’ll be something for Vancouver to watch out for, as those are going to be the teams they’ll have to face if they reach the playoffs.
“When we’ve played against the teams that are above us in the standings, I don’t think they’ve been better than us,” Vancouver forward, Ayman Sellouf, said afterwards. “We were better than them in the game, but then again, if they score the first minute, they’re obviously also going to change their plan (and adapt).”
The good news is that they continue to retain a firm grip on a playoff spot, and control their own destiny in that regard, but they’ll need to find some quicker starts in the games to come if they’re to maintain it, and that’s not lost on them.
“For me, if this team wants to achieve greatness and success, we need to become mentally stronger, and we need to deal with setbacks and failure in a better way,” Vancouver’s head coach, Afshin Ghotbi, added. “We need to constantly challenge ourselves to recognize that in life and football, they don’t always give us what we want at the time we want.”
“So when things don’t go your way, be patient, keep fighting, keep working, never give up and find solutions to improve yourself.”
Emergency York back line re-finds defensive solidity at crucial moment:
It could’ve easily been a moment of disaster for York.
Already missing Frank Sturing, who has been a key piece at centre back for them this season, York will have been worried to see Noah Abatneh get subbed out just 16 minutes into this one due to an injury, as he’s been another key piece for them defensively.
With no other centre backs on their bench, it forced Elijah Adekugbe back into their defensive line, as he slotted in between Higgins and Oswaldo Léon in a makeshift York back three.
A role that Adekugbe has played before this season, it wasn’t anything unusual for the midfielder, who has been a key piece under Mora. At the same time, it certainly wasn’t ideal given that York were defending a lead, meaning that they were going to have to spend most of the game on the back foot as Vancouver pushed.
Despite that, it didn’t faze York, who knuckled in and settled in to enjoy the challenge. Instead, Adekugbe assumed his role without much complaint, as did those around him, and they started to chase after their next objective – a clean sheet.
Knowing that they already had the lead in their back pocket, the math was simple for them – they keep Vancouver off the score sheet, and they win.
From there, they committed themselves fully to the defensive cause, and got stuck in. It wasn’t always easy, as they contested over twice as many tackles as their opponents, and put in some impressive numbers on their fitness tracking monitors, but in the end, they got the job done.
Fittingly, they celebrated that task, too. In a bit of an unusual sight, wing back Max Ferrari got down on both of his knees at the final whistle and emitted a scream that could be hard around Willoughby Community Park, and a few of his fellow defenders quickly followed suit.
“I think just in playoff football and football towards the end of the season, clean sheets means you don’t lose,” Adekugbe explained. “And I think that’s the most important thing, the confidence you gain from not using whenever you get a clean sheet, you just know you have a chance.”
He added, with a smile: “And you can see that in the 92nd minute, Thomas (Vincensini) goes up to catch the ball, and then I gave him a kiss on his head, and for me, that just shows our pride as we celebrate our goals the way we celebrate our clean sheets.”
Certainly, they were all pleased with the win, as all of their teammates were, but it just seemed to mean more for York’s defenders, who were beaming with a smile that suggested they were more than satisfied with a job well done.
That’s a credit to their mentality, as some can often see defending as a chore, something that’s necessary to do even if it doesn’t lead to joy, but that certainly didn’t appear to be the case for them in this game.
“What I love about this group is it’s a group,” Adekugbe said. “It’s the togetherness (…) It doesn’t matter who has to play there, we’ll do whatever it takes to the best of our ability to grind out the result, and if you talk about the clean sheet, that’s so invaluable.”
Thanks to that, York was able to claw out a result in a game where it was always going to be tough to leave with any points.
It wasn’t always easy, and they’ll certainly be some sore bodies on the plane back to Vancouver for a group already reeling physically after having to play across the country in Halifax just days prior, but they’ll be able to board that plane knowing that they fought hard for the result.
With that, they can build some key confidence going forward, too. There’s nothing that can rally a team closer than a win in adverse conditions, and the shift that this makeshift back line put in in tough conditions certainly seems to qualify as the sort of victory that York will be able to cling to as they get set to tackle the last six games of their title push.
“This game has two main phases of the game, in possession and without possession, right?” Mora explained. “And then there are the transitions on both sides, and then there are set pieces – those are the four total phases of the game. Our guys know that I demand to win the duels, to win the high balls, to win the challenges, to win the split balls, and in order for us to win a game, we at least need to win 6.5 or seven balls out of 10, and that is a target that we have in the game.”
“Every ball we win, that’s a checkmark for us, so they feel that we are achieving targets along the way, right? (It doesn’t matter) if we’re compact at the back with five, with four, it doesn’t matter, as long as everybody does his job and his role, they are happy because they feel they feel comfortable and they are convinced of what we’re trying to do.”
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Nyal Higgins, York United
Higgins played a big role for York at both ends of the pitch in this game, chipping in with the winner offensively while putting in a shift defensively.
In particular, his defensive numbers really stood out, as he finished with two tackles, one block, five clearances and won eight out of 12 duels in a gruelling showing to help his team secure the clean sheet.
What’s next?
Vancouver will head out on the road for their next match, but won’t have far to travel, as they get set for a Salish Sea Derby clash against Pacific FC at Starlight Stadium on Saturday, September 14th (2:00 p.m. PT). Meanwhile, York United will return home for a clash against Valour at York Lions Stadium on Friday, September 13th (7:00 p.m CT/8:00 p.m. ET).
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