A little-used Pacific FC backline tandem of Paul Amedume and Eric Lajeunesse, and 19-year-old goaltender Emile Gazdov who had been riding the bench, combined to keep host York United off the board in a scoreless Canadian Premier League draw Friday night in the Greater Toronto Area.
“[Amedume and Lajeunesse] are young but hungry and want to show they deserve more than a sniff,” said veteran Tridents midfielder Manny Aparicio.
“And Emil Gazdov was good and clean and commanding on the corners.”
PFC head coach James Merriman singled out Amedume for being “very strong” and credited veteran defender Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, a sa国际传媒 selection for 2020 CONCACAF qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, as holding the whole thing together in the back.
The game featured teams looking to overcome recent setbacks.
First-place Pacific FC (7-3-5 in wins-losses-draws) was looking for a response after consecutive 2-1 losses against Cavalry FC at Starlight Stadium in Langford last Saturday and versus the HFX Wanderers in Halifax on Tuesday. Fourth-place York United (6-7-3) was humbled 4-0 in its last outing by Forge FC of Hamilton.
“We created good chances and pushed toward the end of the match, but our slow start was again disappointing. I don’t know what we’re waiting for,” said Merriman.
York United, coached by 38-time sa国际传媒 capped Victoria product Martin Nash, was also sailing along with PFC until hitting recent bumps with a win, two draws and three losses over the last six games.
“We gave a good account of ourselves against a quality side,” said Nash.
“We had a good start and controlled the tempo in the first half. They made some lineup changes that changed the game a bit in the second half.”
PFC was dealing with game density — three games in less than a week — with coast-to-coast travel thrown in.
“It’s a challenge being in Victoria and on Vancouver Island and playing three games in seven days with big trips. It’s a difficult stretch but we’re not making any excuses,” said Merriman.
Aparicio, a former MLS prospect with Toronto FC, was returning to his hometown and asked whether he is proud to see the success players from the GTA are having. They are all over the CPL and MLS and were dominant on the Canadian roster at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, eclipsing sa国际传媒’s long-ago dominance as the producer of such players in sa国际传媒.
“The Toronto guys stick together,” said Aparicio.
Nash was asked if it’s special playing PFC because he was raised on the Island.
“It definitely is an added factor when we go back to Victoria to play PFC because I have family and friends there. But here, it’s just another game,” said the St. Michaels University School graduate.
PFC returns to Starlight Stadium to face second-place and defending CPL champion Forge FC of Hamilton, Ont., in a key game next Friday.
