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Photo Credit: John Jacques
Canadian Championship Recap: York United Lumps It On Laval
By When York United head coach Mauro Eustaquio said he knew his semi-professional opponents in tonight’s cup match were tough, all the signs were there for a respectful, careful lineup – and given that it included the likes of golden boot contender Julian Altobelli, that’s exactly what we got.
York United cooked up quiet a cup performance to secure its first home win of the season, besting reigning Ligue1 Quebec champions FC Laval five-nil on Tuesday night. The visitors had some intriguing faces in their midst, like former Wanderer Obeng Tabi, who helped procure cup magic against his former side last year, and former Eddies draft pick Quentin Paumier.
Eustaquio had said he wasn’t a coach to change things ‘for the sake of change’, with the Nine Stripes playing exactly the kind of ball we’ve seen in league action: plenty of attacking flair from all sides, with the gaffer saying he wanted to see the squad focused for the entire duration without any lapses.
The first half saw FC Laval absorb York United’s pressure well, with the underdogs courageously committing numbers up the middle of the park when the Nine Stripes weren’t pressing. As half-time approached, however, Julian Altobelli – who else – opened the scoring with a smartly-controlled ball giving him space for a right-footed effort from the middle of the box, marking his sixth goal for the club in just as many games.
The visitors let the moment get to them, and it cost them dearly before the half-time team talk could arrive: Max Ferrari scored a near-identical goal to the one he bagged against Master’s FA, coming in from the right and loosing an effort that beat out the keeper, with Ferrari jumping off into the northeast corner just as he had in the 2021 iteration of the tournament:
The second half saw things get worse for the Quebecois visitors very quickly, with Max Ferrari once again proving potent from the right flank. Taking a heavy touch inwards to beat his market, Ferrari floating a ball into the opposition box that was played in back to an open Adonijah Reid, allowing the forward to bag his first York United goal in simple fashion.
He wouldn’t be the only player to bag their first for the club on the night, with Portuguese forward Bryan Rosa – who has had a relatively quiet introduction to the team – scoring just ten minutes later after a sharp turn beat his defender. He fired a sharply-angled low ball that beat out the keeper, making the score four-nil in favour of the hosts.
Rosa would be involved in York United’s fifth and final goal not long after, finding himself tripped up in the box. While he prompted the foul, it was Massimo Ferrin who stepped up to take the spot kick, with the midfielder becoming the third YUFC player to open their club account against the semi-professional visitors.
The victory continues York United’s spotless record against semi-professional opposition, with the Nine Stripes having deposed AS Blainville and Master’s FA in the preliminary rounds of this competition in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
FC Laval has had two goes in the competition, falling against York United tonight and Forge FC back in 2023. Given that CS Saint-Laurent provided a cupset last year, there would have been hopes that La Belle Province could provide similar drama, though CF Montreal seemed to provide that against Toronto FC.
York United will now face Atletico Ottawa in the quarter-final stage.
Header Image Photo Credit: John Jacques
