York United fell 1-0 to the HFX Wanderers in the first game of the 2022 Canadian Premier League season. The Wanderers controlled most of the game until taking a 1-0 lead thanks to Joao Morelli converting from the penalty spot. After this, a combination of score effects and the introduction of Diyaeddine Abzi and Isaiah Johnston for York lead to things tilting more in favour of the Ontario side. But the Wanderers held on for a deserved 1-0 victory. York lined up in a fairly standard 4-2-3-1 while HFX commanded the midfield with a 4-3-3.
Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Lowell Wright
- Nationality: Canadian
- Age: 18
- Date of Birth: 19/08/2003
- Current Club: York United
- Career: Woodbridge Strikers
- Position: Striker
- Preferred Foot: Right
Lowell Wright showed some flashes of skill but I believe he still has a lot of questions to answer if he is going to make the step up to the next level. The appeal of Wright is very clear, he is young, has a strong physical profile, and a dash of technical ability makes him quite tantalising. But in this match, we also saw many of the problems with his game that, at this point in his career, have held him back from being a top player at the CPL level. In the first half, with York struggling to get a hold of the game, Wright frequently dropped deep. He looked frustrated that he was not receiving the ball and this resulted in a couple of shots from poor positions when he really should have looked to find a teammate. He could also be seen trying to play out of his defensive 3rd. He did show some good dribbling skill to play out of tight situations and the strength to hold off opposition players who tried to push him off the ball. but the upshot of this was that he was rarely in the box to receive passes. Often there were at least a couple of York United players more advanced than him. Although Wright did look good with the ball at his feet once he had it under control, he did have several heavy first touches that led to him giving the ball away. In the last 30 minutes of the game, with York controlling more of the game, Wright was occupying more of the positions you would expect of a striker. But his movement in the box looked a bit static. He was a little bit slow to hit the dangerous areas of the box with his runs. He did have one very good chance, which he rattled off the post, but that was the result of a pass being deflected, not necessarily due to his incredible movement.
Rating: B2
Wright showed flashes in this game but there were also quite a lot of areas for concern. He is 18 so there is still lots of time for him to develop but he is going to have to show a lot more in all areas of his game if he is going to move to a higher level than CPL.
Mamadou Kane
- Nationality: Canadian
- Age: 18
- Date of Birth: 12/10/2003
- Current Club: York United
- Career: CF Montreal (Y)
- Position: Winger
- Preferred Foot: Right
The C.F Montreal academy graduate showed some flashes of skill but struggled to break down the HFX backline. The main thing that stood out was his first touch, close control, and off-the-ball movement. Kane did a really good job of receiving the ball in space in wide areas and combining with overlapping fullbacks. Kane showed the ability to find players making runs into space, including a very nice outside of the foot pass to an overlapping fullback. But when it came to breaking into the box he struggled a little bit. He had a few attempts at a ball in behind but in both cases, his pass was slightly overhit. He never really attempted to take players on, instead preferring to try and progress the ball with his passing. His dribbling will be something to watch out for in future viewings. Although he got into good positions, his teammates struggled to find him with the Wanderers controlling most of the play while he was on the pitch. There were lots of times when he was well-positioned for a diagonal pass in behind the opposition fullback but the pass didn’t come or was not played well enough to reach him. There were also a few times when he was making a run to the back post but a cross did not reach him. Kane is quite big for a winger, especially an 18 year old one, standing 6’0 tall. He was not in a huge amount of physical duels but he never seemed to be overawed by the physicality of the game. Similarly, there were not a lot of opportunities for him to show his speed as usually, he was receiving the ball to his feet rather than into space. Kane showed a really strong work ethic. He was usually the first York forward to press and he kept up his defensive work the whole time he was on the pitch.
Rating: B2
Kane didn’t see a huge amount of the ball in this game but when he did he showed some skill. After the introduction of Abzi and Johnston York showed a lot more attacking intent. I strongly suspect that if Kane had not been withdrawn he would have had the chance to do some damage during the latter parts of the game. But I would have to see him play a couple more times to be sure of that suspicion.