| Final Score: Vancouver FC 2-1 York United FC Goalscorers: Ndiaye 31', Gee 44'; Ferrin 40' Game of the 2025 season: 96 CPL Match: 691 |
Match in a minute or less
Vancouver FC capped off a big week in style on Sunday, as they defeated York United 2-1 at Willoughby Community Park in Canadian Premier League action.
After Vancouver opened the scoring through Pathé Ndiaye in the 33rd minute, York did well to quickly respond with a 40th-minute equalizer from Massimo Ferrin, making things interesting right before half time.
From there, though, Vancouver did well to regain the lead before the break thanks to a Paris Gee goal in the 45th minute, and they'd hold onto that 2-1 scoreline the rest of the way to secure all three points on the day.
Three Observations
Rotated Vancouver builds off massive cup win:
After picking up a massive result in midweek, it was always going to be interesting to see how Vancouver FC would respond in their next matchup, especially on short notice.
Given how tiring their midweek match was, as they battled Atlético Ottawa in the second leg of the Canadian Championship semi-final on Thursday (losing 1-0 on the night but winning the tie 3-2 on aggregate to advance to the final), they knew that they were going to have to dig deep to find the energy needed for this match.
Plus, when considering where they sit in the table, too, having entered this weekend as the lone team eliminated from playoff contention in the CPL, it will have felt doubly as tough to go from the high of a high-stakes cup match to a league game where they didn't have the most to play for.
Yet, having had a big momentum boost after that big result in the cup, it felt like Vancouver had new life in this game, and that allowed them to pick up a massive result.
Granted, they literally had to inject new life into their lineup, making seven changes from the team that played in Ottawa on Thursday, but those changes ended up giving Vancouver a big boost, giving them a bit of a different look on the day.
Set up in a 4-1-4-1 instead of their usual 4-2-3-1, Vancouver tried to pressure York in the midfield and were more direct in possession, and that ended up working to their advantage in this match.
In particular, they really seemed to catch York by surprise in the first half, as they leaned on those fresh legs early - and that even led to their first goal, which came from some link-up between two of those new starters in Abdoulaye Ouattara and Pathé Ndiaye, with the latter scoring after an assist from the former.
Naturally, Vancouver did eventually tire out, making for a cagier ending to the game - after keeping the shots to 7-5 for York in the first half, Vancouver were outshot 8-3 in the second half - but thanks to the work they did in the first half, they were able to defend their lead the rest of the way.
Therefore, while on paper this result might not mean as much for Vancouver, as it keeps them at the bottom of the table, they'll be pleased with the result as they prepare for the Canadian Championship final against local neighbours Vancouver Whitecaps on October 1st - a game they'll want to enter in the best form possible.
A win like this is a step towards them doing that - and it doesn't hurt that it's their first home league win in over a year - so look for them to keep building on the momentum of their recent cup exploits as they look to finish the year on a high note, which they can certainly do in that final.
"The game we had against Ottawa, and getting to the (Canadian Championship) final, really fuelled this whole team," Gee said afterwards. "And I think it showed on the field today."
Little mistakes hurt York in frustrating defeat:
On paper, York entered this game as favourites, and understandably so, as they sit well ahead of Vancouver in the table, and have a pretty favourable head-to-head record against them - in 12 all-time meetings before this one, York had remarkably won nine of them, drawing two and losing one other.
You add in Vancouver's fatigue on top of that, and that was another factor in York's favour - unfortunately for them, however, they were unable to seize those advantages and use them to secure a victory.
After coming off what they felt were two strong performances at home, one being a 3-1 victory over Cavalry and the other a 2-2 draw vs. Atlético Ottawa, this defeat will frustrate them a lot, too, as it couldn't have come at a worse time for them.
With Cavalry FC and the Halifax Wanderers both winning this weekend, this York loss means that they now sit six points behind third-place Cavalry and two points behind the fourth-place Wanderers. Given that their goal is to finish third in the table, helping them avoid the #4 v #5 playoff they've played in the last two years, they'll now have to finish the year quite strongly to achieve that goal, making these three points they dropped loom quite large.
It does help that they'll play the Wanderers in two weeks, at least giving them a chance to make up some ground in that regard, but with no more matches against Cavalry, York's now going to need some help from others to finish third, even if they finish with a run of wins.
What this shows, however, is the challenge of a game like this, which ended up being a classic trap game between a side that had everything to lose and one that had all to gain.
Yet, when reflecting on where York came up short, two big ones will come to mind - they didn't manage the ball as well as they liked, especially in the first half, and they weren't as dangerous as they could've been offensively.
To start with that first point, both Vancouver goals started with transition moments after York's mistakes on the ball, as they weren't able to find the spaces they wanted to attack in possession. That was surprising to see, as York's typically done a great job of that this season, and weren't bad in that department during this game, but they lost their way for a period in the first half, and that's where Vancouver burned them in transition.
Then, to the second point, York did have 15 shots, generating 1.65 xG off those attempts, but they weren't as clinical as they would have wanted with those opportunities. In particular, it stands out that they only turned one of those shots into a big chance - which was their goal - as despite having almost double the final third entries as Vancouver (82-47), they only had 23 touches in Vancouver's box (the hosts, by comparison, had 16).
The good news for York? With a squad that is about as healthy as it's been all year, they'll have the ability to push their group ahead of their next match, which could lead to some lineup changes.
In fact, they showed what this newfound depth can do for them in this game, making three changes at half time to wrestle back control of the match, showing that they can tweak things from game to game and even half to half.
Certainly, as they tackle these last four games, finding a way to stick to their identity will be the big goal, as that'll be a big difference-maker when the playoffs come around - and speaking of, York also missed an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot this game, giving them another reason to be frustrated with this result, one where they just felt off their game.
"In the first half, towards the end, we kind of let go of the game, but I think in the first 15 to 20 minutes, I thought we were the more dangerous team," York midfielder Luca Accettola offered afterwards. "We just didn't put chances away; we were trying to make the last pass and not putting the ball in the back of the net, so we've got to be more ruthless in these games and put them away early."
Vancouver finding new solutions defensively at right time:
For a side that has struggled defensively all year long, it stands out that in their match against Ottawa in the Canadian Championship and in this matchup against York, Vancouver didn't concede a single second-half goal across either game.
Having dropped two points just a week ago in a 1-1 draw against rivals Pacific FC, doing so via a stoppage-time equalizer, it's been a remarkable turnaround, and it's been one that's come on short notice.
Yet, one big change that Vancouver has made over the last two games is their approach at the end of matches, specifically.
Not always the most comfortable with sitting back and absorbing pressure in their back four, they tried going to a back five to close out their game vs. Ottawa, and that worked wonders for them, as it gave them a lot more protection at the edge of their box as they withstood a barrage of Ottawa chances.
Therefore, when faced with defending a lead in this York game, they went back to that approach again, and that allowed them to see out the victory quite nicely.
That's no small feat, because after their draw against Pacific last weekend, that meant they'd lost a league-high 22 points from winning positions in 2025, showing why they'll be so pleased to have seen this victory out against a York side currently in a playoff spot.
Because of that, look for them to build some more familiarity in this new-look back five, one that they might need to employ from the start of their Canadian Championship final instead of at the end of the match, given the strong attacking ability of the Whitecaps side they'll face on that day.
Now, with just one more game before then, Vancouver won't have much time to build on what they showed in this one, showing why what they showed in this game was quite important.
It wasn't easy for them to see out this victory, given the fatigue they were dealing with, but they showed good character to get the job done.
After struggling to defend all year, that's no small feat - now, look for them to build on this as they get set for a massive two weeks.
"We went to a back five for the last 15 minutes to see out the game," Vancouver's interim head coach, Martin Nash, said after. "It worked the other night, and I think it allows us, with the players we got, to stop the opponents playing in pockets, but also when we win it, we then also have some really good players in transition."
What They Said
"It was a good opportunity for guys to step up and say: 'Look, I'm ready for minutes, I'm ready to do more, I want to get my opportunity'. So guys got their opportunity, and now they made it so that I'll have to make some tough decisions, which is great, that's what I wanted (...) It was a fantastic team effort. Everyone worked as hard as they could and gave everything they had." -- Vancouver FC interim head coach Martin Nash
"I think we weren't clear in our play with the ball. We had the ball, but we were blank on our ideas. (...) It's not like they broke us down; it's not like they had a lot of possession. They had a couple of good chances with the ball, which is normal, but in those last 20 minutes of the first half, they were more aggressive, and that's where they got the transition goals; we missed opportunities to win a 50-50 ball or to foul, and we didn't, and so they came down (and scored). We had 20 minutes where we weren't sharp with our transition moments, we weren't sharp with our tackles, we weren't sharp with stopping their momentum, and that cost us." -- York United head coach Mauro Eustáquio
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Paris Gee, Vancouver FC
The Vancouver full back relished the opportunity to play against his old club, as he picked up the winning goal, coming as part of a bright performance on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, he had two shots and completed five passes into the final third; defensively, he also chipped in with one tackle, one block, four clearances, one interception and one recovery.
What’s next?
Vancouver will be back at Willoughby Community Park for their next match, which will come against the Halifax Wanderers on Sunday, September 28th (3:00 p.m. PT/7:00 p.m. AT). Meanwhile, York United will be back at home for their next game, which comes against Valour FC at York Lions Stadium that same Sunday (2:00 p.m. CT/3:00 p.m. ET).
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