After a shaky start to the match, York United FC rallied back to score three unanswered goals in the second half to earn a 3-1 win over Valour FC and three points at home. It was a milestone matchup as it was the 500th CPL match since the inception of the league in 2019.
Valour opened the scoring in the 15th minute after Dante Campbell found an opening and struck the ball in the back of the net to give the visitors the lead.
Despite conceding the early lead, The Nine Stripes regrouped and made an aggressive push up the pitch. It almost paid off as a link up play resulted in Wright nearly scoring an equalizer. However, a trailing Campbell slid in to make an outstanding save on the goal line and bail out his goalkeeper.
York had a number of attempts but they lacked the finishing touch to even the scoring and energize the fans in attendance at York Lions Stadium.
After failing to capitalize on their chances early in the second half, York finally got on the scoresheet in the 67th minute. Mo Babouli struck a corner-kick that ended up bouncing off Noah Abatneh’s back and into the net to even the scoring.
The Nine Stripes weren’t done there as they gained the lead in the 74th minute after Brian Wright maneuvered his way around goalkeeper Darlington Murasiranwa and struck the ball into the empty net.
York sealed the win in injury time after an excellent play that began with goalkeeper Thomas Vincensini and ended with Babouli receiving a cross and finishing with a fantastic strike to extend their lead to 3-1. It was a result that The Nine Stripes desperately needed as they haven’t gotten off to the best of starts this season and had a 1-3 record coming into tonight’s match.
The win gets The Nine Stripes back on track in the CPL standings as they now sit fourth in the table. York is back in action next Saturday, when they travel to Calgary, Alberta to take on Cavalry at ATCO Field at Spruce Meadows.
Check out the full match highlights:
