Canadian Premier League — Match #27
York9 FC vs. HFX Wanderers FC
June 22, 2019 — York Lions Stadium (3:30 p.m. ET)
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca

York9 FC and HFX Wanderers will meet for the second and final time in the Spring season on Saturday when HFX heads York Region and York Lions Stadium.

The Wanderers were officially eliminated from Spring contention on Wednesday when they dropped a 2-1 result to the league-leaders Cavalry FC at Wanderers Grounds. HFX started slow, but eventually grew into the game at Wanderers Grounds, showing life against an undefeated team.

York9 FC was also in action Wednesday, playing out a scoreless draw with FC Edmonton at home. The Nine Stripes are in the middle of a four-match homestand that leads into the Fall season, a competition head coach Jimmy Brennan is already directing attention to.

The reverse match ended in a 1-1 draw at Wanderers Grounds. Rodrigo Gattas netted an early penalty for Y9 before Peter Schaale equalized soon after for the home side.

Both teams will focus on midweek opposition following Saturday’s tilt. The Wanderers travel home to host Valour FC on Wednesday (6:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. AT/OneSoccer), while York9 are set to host Cavalry (7:00 p.m. ET/OneSoccer) for a third home match in seven days.

KEYS TO THE MATCH

• Starting slow: The Wanderers take a while to settle into matches. Stephen Hart’s side has scored the first goal only once (in a 2-0 win over Valour in the Canadian Championship) in their last eight matches, and the gaffer is looking rectify that. Watch to see how the Wanderers adjust to playing on York9’s undersized pitch for the first time.
• Up the middle: How will HFX deal with the smaller pitch? They could focus play up the middle, compressing the space in front of a somewhat shaky centre of defence with in-form midfielders such as Kodai Iida, Andre Rampersad and Elton John. Bulky fullbacks Nzemzela Langwa and Andre Bona could be poised to do extra defending along the wings, too, as the smaller pitch gives attackers less space before the touchline.
  
• Who scores?: York9’s struggles in front of goal continued in midweek against the Eddies. The Nine Stripes have gone six matches without scoring in open play, with an own goal from Pacific FC’s Ryan McCurdy being the closest they’ve come to creating a goal.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

York9 FC: Nathan Ingham; Diyaedinne Abzi, Daniel Gogarty, Luca Gasparotto, Morey Doner; Wataru Murofushi, Emilio Estevez, Manuel Aparicio, Kyle Porter, Ryan Telfer; Simon Adjei

HFX Wanderers FC: Jan-Michael Williams; Andre Bona, Peter Schaale, Matthew Arnone, Ndzemdzela Langwa; Mohamed Kourouma, Elliot Simmons, Andre Rampersad, Akeem Garcia; Kodai Iida, Thomasz Skublak

HEAD TO HEAD

May 29 – HFX Wanderers FC 1-1 Valour FC

STATS LEADERS

Luis Perea, Akeem Garcia – 2 goals (HFX Wanderers FC)
Rodrigo Gattas – 2 goals (York9 FC)

INJURIES

Wataru Murofushi (York9 FC) – Doubtful
Chakib Hocine (HFX Wanderers FC) – Doubtful
Luis Alberto Perea (HFX Wanderers FC) – Doubtful

INTERNATIONAL DUTY

None

SUSPENSIONS

None

ACCUMULATION
(Players are suspended after 4 Yellow Cards)

None

REFEREES

Referee: Fabrizio Stasolla
ARs: Sean Hornsby & Gabrielle Lemieux
4th Official: Filip Dujic

FANTASY PREDICTOR
Download the Centre Circle app to play predictor ahead of each match. 

1. Will the team with more possession win?

Typically the home side tends to dominate the match possession-wise. This coupled with the higher-seeded team being at home for 2 out of the 3 matches this weekend means it’s a safe bet for teams such as Cavalry and Pacific to both win and have more possession.

2. Which team’s goalkeeper will claim more crosses?

Simply put, a goalkeeper who makes more saves tends to have to do more work during the match. Meaning that a ‘keeper such as York9’s Nate Ingham, who leads the league in saves, is much more likely to be claiming crosses.

3. Will an outfield player have a 100% pass accuracy?

While this may sound like a very hard achievement to come by, 3 players in this week’s York9/Edmonton match managed to do so. All players came into the match late as a substitution, providing them with a lesser chance of having passes go array.