Nash earns first win against former club 

By Robert Belardi 

York United manager Martin Nash earned his first win as a head coach in the Canadian Premier League last Friday against his former club Cavalry FC. 

Nash, who spent three seasons under Tommy Wheeldon, Jr. in Calgary, got the better of his former bench boss 2-0 at York Lions Stadium last Friday. 

“Credit to Martin and his group, I think the right team won. We got no complaints,” Wheeldon Jr. said in the post-match press conference. 

“This is football. You've got to put your hand up when you don't deserve to win and I don't think we deserved to win because their details were right.” 

Using a 4-4-1-1 formation on the day, Nash used youngster Isaiah Johnston in a different role the midfielder is used to.

Johnston, played in behind Osaze De Rosario in an attacking midfielder role. This match was also the return of Max Ferrari to the starting lineup as he slot right into the right-midfielder position like he was previously accustomed to. 

In the early moments of the game, Johnston immediately made an impact. In the 18-minute mark, Johnston broke free into the box, but his shot was stopped by Cavalry keeper Julian Roloff. 

In the 35th minute, Johnston made another substantial impact, this time resulting in a goal. 

He chipped the ball into the box and found a streaking Oliver Minatel.

The Brazilian international's diving header swooped past Roloff into the far corner to give York United the lead. 

“I think it's more instinct inside the box. So, as I soon as I saw Isaiah turn, I made my run. He put a great ball in and there you don't have much time, it's instinct,” Minatel said. 

With York falling behind in possession, the Nine Stripes exploited vulnerable areas and hit Cavalry on the counter attack. Ferrari and De Rosario began linking up near the end of the half, as Ferrari slid the ball across the box to De Rosario only to have his shot heroically blocked by Karifa Yao. 

In the 73rd minute, on the counter-attack, Diyaeddine Abzi sprung free De Rosario and the young forward cut in towards the top of the 18-yard area and thrashed the ball into the back of the net for his second goal of the year. 

“I thought we were really good in the first half. I thought we could have had two. Maybe even three. We created a bunch of chances. What I'm really pleased about in the first half is we didn't let them create much. They didn't have a lot of great chances. We got in some really good areas but we snuffed them out well. Really good on the defensive end,” Nash said. 

“The biggest thing for me, was how we went about the game today. I thought it was a fantastic performance from our team. Start to finish.” 

The Nine Stripes will kick-off a two-game home stand beginning tomorrow. York United will take on Atletico Ottawa at 7.30 p.m. at York Lions Stadium, before facing arch rivals Forge FC on May 6.