York United completed quite the comeback as they defeated Vancouver FC 2-1 in a thrilling Friday night matchup at York Lions Stadium.
Vancouver FC got on the scoresheet early as Mikael Cantave took advantage of a giveaway by York defender Max Ferrari and spotted teammate Gabriel Bitar, who struck the ball in the back of the net.
Mo Babouli did well in creating space for his teammates to score the equalizer, which almost paid off as he struck a powerful shot that ranged off the crossbar. York had a few promising moments in their attack later in the half, but couldn’t get a clear shot on target.
Ferrari redeemed himself after the early giveaway and was both defensively sound and assisted the attackers with his creativity off the wing. He was a strong presence when he joined the attack off the wing and had several crosses that could have resulted in goals had the strikers got a better touch on the ball.
The Nine Stripes were awarded a penalty kick in the 68th minute after a mistimed challenge in the Vancouver box. Babouli stepped up for York and made no mistake as he calmy struck a perfectly placed penalty kick to level the scoring at 1-1.
York had a noticeable boost in energy following the goal and the crowd in attendance became louder and passionately cheered as their squad shifted the momentum into their favor.
Adisa De Rosario got the start as for York United as the club look to meet the required U-21 minutes for the season. He had plenty of impressive moments throughout the match, where he made timely saves that ensured Vancouver didn’t regain the lead.
York were close to scoring the go-ahead goal in the 78th minute after Austin Ricci received a through ball and struck the ball past the goalkeeper, but trailing defender Rocco Romeo managed to get back with a slide tackle in the nick of time to keep the score 1-1.
Shortly after, Ricci had another opportunity and this time, scored a wonderful goal to give the Nine Stripes the 2-1 lead with 10 minutes remaining.
York maintained possession and secured the crucial win and three points, which keeps their playoff hopes alive.
Photo credit: York United FC (@yorkutdfc – Twitter)
