An electrifying match took place at York Lions Stadium on Friday night when the Nine Stripes saved a point against Atlético Ottawa after tying 1-1.
Malcolm Shaw scored the first goal of the game from the penalty spot at the beginning of the second half, and after several attempts, Jordan Wilson got a late equalizer for York United during extra time.
This result didn’t allowed Jimmy Brennan’s side to fully take advantage of an HFX loss to Forge FC on Wednesday, with both clubs now separated by two points.
“We are disappointed with the result,” said the coach during the post-game presser. “Players wanted to win the game, and we managed to safe something in the end there, but I expected them to get a couple more goals.
“The team is still in the playoff position, but this was a game where we needed the three points, and we feel we should have won because we had around 17 shots in the end.”
Given how the game turned out, it is easy to understand the disappointed faces in the stands of the stadium when the referee blew the final whistle.
During the first 45 minutes it was a very tight match, with no team being able to capitalize any of their seven chances. They both tried to establish themselves in control of the midfield, making it a very fractioned half.
This scenario by itself was not very promising for United, as they were facing the bottom club in the standings.
It turned even worse when, just after the break, Ryan Telfer was tackled in York’s box between Chrisnovic N’Sa and Dominick Zator. A clear penalty that Malcolm Shaw transformed into a goal, putting York in a very difficult position for the remaining of the match.
The home team looked for the draw in every possible way but were lacking that final touch to put the ball in the back of the net.
Nine Stripes were getting clearly frustrated at the minutes passed, as every time they got near Ottawa’s box, they found themselves against a block of six or seven players.
It was only after they got a corner in the second minute of added time, that the cross found N’Sa on the far post and he gave the ball a subtle touch to find Jordan Wilson’s head.
The defender got his second goal of the season, unleashing the madness on the pitch and on the standings.
“It is a mixture of feelings for us,” said Wilson after the game. “We are happy we got the point in the end and that we keep our unbeaten streak in the League, but at the same time we know we could have won.”
Notes: York United have now gone eight-straight unbeaten games in the Canadian Premier League … They will go on the road for their next encounter against Cavalry Football Club on Oct. 14, looking to extend their advantage over HFX Wanderers.