2022 CPL Regular Season — Match #50
FC Edmonton vs. York United
July 1, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. MT/ 6:00 p.m. ET
Clarke Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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On Friday, the 300th match in Canadian Premier League history will be played on Canada Day between York United and FC Edmonton.

York, then called York9 FC, was part of the league’s inaugural match against Forge FC in Hamilton, drawing Forge 1-1 on that day with York’s Ryan Telfer scoring the league’s first-ever goal three minutes into that match.

This is the first meeting between these two clubs this season in what is currently the battle of the basement in the CPL. Between the two sides, they have picked up just a single victory in the last 55 days — FC Edmonton’s lone win of the season to date against Atlético Ottawa on June 19.

Despite that, Friday remains a very intriguing matchup between an FC Edmonton side that has delivered a number of solid performances in recent weeks and a York United team who are treading water in the playoff race.

York, who not that long ago was as high as second in the table in the Canadian Premier League is now a full seven points out of the playoffs. Three of the four teams currently holding playoff positions have games in hand on the Nine Stripes as well.

A first away win of the season would go a long way towards helping York regain confidence. In fact, they have scored just once away from home so far this season, the lowest tally in the league.

The Nine Stripes are coming off of their worst loss of the season, 3-1 to Valour, this past weekend and will be looking to return to the defensive solidity that has been their calling card this season. They have also conceded the fewest road goals in the league in 2022.

Edmonton, on the other hand, has been at its best lately, both in results and performances. In their last three matches at Clark Stadium, they scored three goals against Forge, narrowly lost to Halifax and then ended Ottawa’s five-match unbeaten run before going on the road and showing well against Cavalry in the Al Classico.

“We went to Calgary last week and we outshot them, there’s not many teams that are going to go do that,” said FC Edmonton coach Alan Koch of his team’s recent play. “We were disappointed not to get anything out of that game, we are going to do everything we can to try to get a point, try to get three points.”

They have also scored in seven straight league matches, something the visitors can only look at with envy having scored just once in their last seven themselves.

The Eddies, however, have traditionally struggled against York. Their only win against the side came during what was ultimately an inconsequential second leg of the 2019 Canadian Championship second qualifying round. They are still searching for their first win against the Nine Stripes in CPL action.

Make your match picks prior to kickoff at canpl.ca/predictor for a chance to win prizes, including the grand prize of a trip to the 2022 CPL Final! To learn more about ComeOn!, click here.

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

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• York United and FC Edmonton to contest the CPL’s 300th match: As mentioned, tomorrow’s match will mark an incredibly special milestone for the Canadian Premier League. It is the league’s 300th match, a huge feat for a league that has had to get creative with scheduling and competition in recent years to account for the pandemic. Despite that, the young league has continued to grow and now in its fourth season is once again upping its standard week in and week out. In a callback, York’s team could potentially feature Cyrus Rollocks this week, who played in that inaugural CPL match against Forge and recently rejoined the Nine Stripes, coming off the bench against Valour. “It is a huge moment, I think it is an absolute honour to be part of that,” said Alan Koch. “It is part of why to be honest I chose to come back to Canada, I am a proud Canadian and to be part of a game that is a milestone like that, is an absolute honour for myself, for our club, for all of our players and all of our staff.”

• A matchup of young Canadian players: Tomorrow’s matchup will feature two of the top three sides in the CPL this year in terms of minutes allocated to U-21 Canadian players. Both clubs have given significant opportunities to young players, many of whom have become key parts of their respective sides. York lead the league by a solid margin with 3,042 minutes played so far in 2022 between Osaze De Rosario, Lowell Wright, Cedric Toussaint, Mouhamadou Kane and Isaiah Johnstone. That margin could increase further following the signing of 18-year-old Canadian youth international Ronan Kratt, who will be available for selection once the transfer window opens on July 8. Edmonton, meanwhile, has given significant playing time to Cale Loughrey, T-boy Fayia and Kairo Coore, while Kelsey Egwu, Darlington Murasiranwa and Ousman Maheshe have also made appearances. “Firstly I think this is a testament to York and their philosophy,” said Koch when asked about the number of young Canadians who will play in this match. “We embrace playing young players. I think if you went to U-22 minutes or U-23 minutes I think we would be far ahead of everybody else…we are a club that plays a lot of young players, we are giving players an opportunity and we are excited to see a lot of our young players get minutes again in the game tomorrow.”

• Can York build on good offensive moments?: At long last, York United scored a goal in the Canadian Premier League this past weekend, something they had not done since May 6. The goal came from De Rosario, as have four of the seven they have scored this CPL season. It also came straight from the blueprint that has led to most of their offensive success this season, getting balls out to their wide players and then finding their strikers in the middle. Max Ferrari, in particular, had an excellent game last time out against Valour and is again looking like a real threat having returned from injury. Johnstone also scored his first goal of the season midweek in the Canadian Championship semis against Vancouver so the club will be banking on that giving him an offensive confidence boost as well. Nash mentioned after the match against Valour how important these goals have been to the club regaining its offensive confidence, the biggest key to digging themselves out of their recent spell of poor form.

ALL-TIME SERIES

FC Edmonton wins: 1 || York United wins: 5 || Draws: 3

Previous match:

October 17th, 2021 — York United FC 1-1 FC Edmonton

KEY QUOTES

“We are excited. It is another game and we feel like we are making progress but the best way to show collective progression is to get three points and that’s going to be our goal in the game tomorrow.” — FC Edmonton head coach Alan Koch

“Edmonton is a tough task, they are quite organized and if we can break them down and get an early goal it will bode well for us.” — York United head coach Martin Nash