MENU
PREVIEW: Valour FC vs. York9 FC – Match #94

Canadian Premier League — Match #93
Valour FC vs. York9 FC
October 16, 2019 — (8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. MT)
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca

Valour FC and York9 FC will play out an unofficial battle for third spot in the CPL Fall season Wednesday when they meet at IG Field in Winnipeg.

York9, a point ahead of Valour, can clinch a top-half finish with a win. Valour, meantime, will look for a win to hop out of fourth in the final week of the season.

Finishing third in the Fall could be useful for 2020 Canadian Championship seeding. This year’s tournament saw three CPL sides receive a bye into the second round. While unofficial, the chance to escape a first-round matchup via a third-place finish will be enticing to CPL managers.

Valour gets set to close their inaugural home account after an 11-day break from action. Their last encounter was a positive one, with Rob Gale’s side grabbing a comprehensive 3-1 victory over FC Edmonton at IG Field. Dylan Sacramento and Calum Ferguson will be unavailable for Gale after the pair were granted “early leave” from Valour camp to pursue playing opportunities in New Zealand.

York9 FC, meanwhile, are coming off the high of demolishing 905 Derby rivals Forge FC 4-0 on the weekend. Goals from Joseph Di Chiara, Simon Adjei, Rodrigo Gattas and Diyaddine Abzi saw the Nine Stripes grab their first win against their Ontario rivals in 2019 and overtake Valour for third in the Fall.

Valour FC and York9 will close out their 2019 campaign on Saturday, starting in York Region with an early afternoon tilt vs. HFX Wanderers (1:30 p.m. ET, available on OneSoccer). Valour, meanwhile, will head to VanIsle to clash with Pacific FC late in the day (6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 PT, available on OneSoccer).

KEYS TO THE MATCH

  • Keep it rollin’: Both York9 and Valour could still get to a .500 record with two of final matchweek wins, something few thought was possible from any team not named Cavalry FC or Forge FC. They are both fresh off big wins against tough opponents, so this mid-October stretch offers a chance for them to build towards 2020.
  • Goals: There are always goals in this tie, dating back to Morey Doner’s blast and Tyler Attardo’s header on Canada Day. Both sides are clicking offensively, too; York9 has scored multiple goals in four of their past six games – including four against Forge – while a relatively healthy Valour side put on three well-worked moves for goals against the Eddies. The pressure is on either backline to contain the likes of Michael Petrasso, Marco Bustos, Rodrigo Gattas and Ryan Telfer.
  • Bustos, Bustos, Bustos: Here’s a matchup to watch for: Marco Bustos vs. PFC’s entire midfield and defence. Alexander Gonzalez will likely be stuck on Bustos as a defensive midfielder, but the tricky Valour attacker will likely still get space in and around the box. The size of Lukas MacNaughton and Hendrik Starostzik as centre backs could cause problems, but again, that hasn’t guaranteed defensive success for Cavalry or others. How do you contain him? We’ll see what answer PFC puts forward.
Editorial-Finals-Ad
Tickets on sale now: 2019 Canadian Premier League Finals

PROJECTED LINEUPS

Valour FC: Tyson Farago; Diego Gutierrez, Skylar Thomas, Yohan Le Bourhis, Raphael Garcia; Ali Musse, Jose Galan, Dylan Carreiro, Marco Bustos, Michael Petrasso; Michele Paolucci

York9 FC: Nathan Ingham; Morey Doner, Luca Gasparotto, Daniel Gogarty, Diyaeddine Abzi; Joe Di Chiara, Wataru Murofushi, Manny Aparicio; Rodrigo Gattas, Simon Adjei, Ryan Telfer


HEAD TO HEAD

July 1 – Valour FC 1-3 York9 FC
August 10 – York9 FC 0-2 Valour FC
September 15 – York9 FC 4-2 Valour FC

STATS LEADERS

Rodrigo Gattas – 8 goals (York9 FC)
Marco Bustos – 7 goals (Valour FC)

INJURIES

Cyrus Rollocks (York9 FC) – Doubtful
Michael Cox (York9 FC) – Questionable
Josip Golubar (Valour FC) – Out (ACL)
Martin Arguinarena (Valour FC) – Doubtful
Louis Beland-Goyette (Valour FC) – Doubtful

INTERNATIONAL DUTY

Emilio Estevez (York9 FC) – Chinese Taipei

SUSPENSIONS

None.

ACCUMULATION
(Players are suspended for one match 14 days after accumulating a 4th Yellow Card)

Luca Gasparotto (York9 FC) – 3
Steven Furlano (York9 FC) – 3
Diego Gutierrez (Valour FC) – 3

REFEREES

Referee: Sebastian Noshinravani
ARs: Chantel Boudreau & Peter Manastyrsky
4th Official: Nicolas Joubert