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‘There’s no love lost’: Y9 keeper Ingham relishes CanChamp clash with former club

YORK REGION – With no league matches last weekend, and none scheduled for the weekend to come, York9 FC have their focus squarely on their Canadian Championship Qualifying Round 2 tie against FC Edmonton, which begins on Wednesday at home (7:00 p.m. ET/OneSoccer). 

Winless in CPL action, the Nine Stripes sit outside the list of contenders for the 2019 Spring title. However, having already survived QR1 in the Canadian Championship and now coming face-to-face with another struggling CPL side, York9 have a lot to play for against the Eddies.

“(The CanChamp) is where we’ve got our only win right now, and we’re looking to get our ship right,” said goalkeeper Nathan Ingham, referring to York9’s 1-0 win over AS Blainville in the first round.

“You want to be a good cup team, you want to go far. You have Montreal waiting for the winner of this match, and that’s a big incentive for a lot of guys.”

This particular tie has a little added incentive for Ingham, who played for the Eddies in 2017 during their final NASL season. He’s a former teammate of current FCE players Tomi Ameobi and Allan Zebie, and he has fond memories of his first pro club.

“Going back to play at Clarke (Stadium) where I played my first professional games is going to be a little bit emotional,” Ingham admitted to CanPL.ca. “But there’s no love lost there. I’m a York9 guy and I’m really happy where I am.”

“It’s just another game for us if I’m being totally honest,” he added.

So, Ingham’s attention has turned to eliminating his former club en route to a third-round clash with the Montreal Impact. Both clubs are hungry to prove themselves right now, and both certainly fancy a trip to Stade Saputo to test themselves against MLS opposition.

Before they can think about what lies ahead, though, Ingham and the Nine Stripes have a 180-minute contest to win. Despite the Eddies’ four-game scoring drought, York9 are paying a lot of respect to their opponents’ attack. This week marks the first of three consecutive Wednesdays with a York9-FCE clash, with this two-legged tie followed by a meeting in league play on June 19th. 

So, it’s in York9’s best interest to figure out just how to break down FC Edmonton, who sit just a point ahead of the Nine Stripes in the CPL table.

“I think they’re a bit similar to us, just trying to get themselves sorted out,” Ingham said. “They’ve had good attacking ideas the last few games that I’ve watched, they just haven’t had that final pass or that final ball.”

“I know they like the wing play, they like to whip balls in, so we’ve just got to be aware of that, and deal with their pace.”

Playing a wide game at York Lions Stadium may be a little tough for FCE, with the pitch’s unforgiving sidelines. Eddies coach Jeff Paulus has had his team training on a narrow field in preparation for Wednesday’s tilt, though, so they should be well-prepared for that peculiarity.

Still, Ingham is confident in his team’s ability to extend Edmonton’s goalless streak. He singled out Daniel Gogarty and Luca Gasparotto, York9’s two constants at centre-back amid a fair amount of squad rotation, as key to a backline that he’s been happy with so far this season.

“Our defensive group has been very good since the first game,” said Ingham. “Forge really struggled to break us down in the opener, and Cavalry only broke us down on set pieces, which is something we’ve been working on. In the run of play, teams have had a very hard time scoring against us.”

York9 have been right to focus on defending set pieces — of the eight goals they’ve allowed, five have come either directly off of, or shortly after, a corner or free kick. Plus, one of the Eddies’ two goals this year came from a corner as well.

Ultimately, this tie might come down to which side can get their offence in gear first, with both York9 and the Eddies looking a little snakebitten in front of goal recently.

With just one goal in two home matches, York9 have a chance to truly turn things around in this tie, starting on Wednesday night (7:00 p.m. ET/OneSoccer).