It was perfect weather but the outcome was less than perfect for Vancouver FC fans at Willoughby Community Park on Sunday afternoon, July 2, as York United outshot the home team to win 2-1 in a fast-paced match.
It was an entertaining holiday matchday that got off to a quick start, as York’s Oussama Alou opened the scoring after just four minutes of action, before Vancouver’s Shaan Hundal responded with an equalizer moments later in the sixth minute.
After that, Vancouver came closest to scoring when Hundal nearly found his brace with a great chance early in the second half, while Brian Wright had York’s best opportunity on a breakaway not long after that.
In the end, however, York got the winner in the 79th minute, as Osaze De Rosario fired a strike from inside of the box, one that would deflect off a defender, and in, to give York the victory.
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It marked the debut as a Vancouver FC attacker by Mikaël Cantave.
The 26-year-old winger most recently played for Cavalry FC but has also represented Haiti on the international stage. Cantave arrives at VFC after the club have agreed to an intra-Canadian Premier League player swap for Maël Henry.
“The challenge of turning things around and helping the club move up in the standings is what excites me the most,” said Cantave about the opportunity at Vancouver FC. “I think I’m always up for a new challenge.
Having scored a league-low 10 goals heading into the Sunday game, only finding the net twice or more in a game three times this season, Vancouver was looking to improve their attacking.
Right from kick-off, Cantave was a threat for Vancouver, finishing with one shot and one key pass, while also playing a key role on other attacking moves.
“The experience and confidence he brings is key,” coach Afshin Ghotbi said of Cantave. “Even off the field, he’s always talking to the younger players to keep it up, talking about how close we are as a team.”
“I think that’s invaluable, and that’s what we’re missing in this team, so we’re hoping that with a few more additions (like that) in different areas of our team, we can make the team much stronger.”
“He brings that experience,” Vancouver’s Hundal said of Cantave afterwards. “He’s got skill and he’s talented, yes, but he just brings calmness into the final third.”
“Offensively, there were times where he just took on guys, but then he also calmed the game down, but that just shows what he can do. When he does that, he opens a lot of space for me, Gabriel (Bitar) and TJ (Tahid) up front, so I’m excited to see what we can do over the next couple of games.”
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Next, Vancouver FC will host the Halifax Wanderers at Willoughby Community Park on Friday, July 7 at 7 p.m.
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