AGR's High Press: Emil Gazdov's stepping up for Pacific | Gabriel Bitar shows importance to Vancouver's attack
It’s nearly the halfway point of the 2024 CPL season, and the table seems to only get tighter each week.
Over the last few matchdays, however, most of the focus has been on the bottom end of the table, as the gap between those in the playoffs and those out of a spot continued to narrow.
This week, however, things have also started to narrow at the top, as all of a sudden just five points are all that separates first place Atlético Ottawa and second place York United.
And with all of the top six teams set to face off this weekend, that’s huge, as some more movement might be on the way, given that just eight points are what separates first and sixth now, too, a gap that might only get tighter with how the last few weeks have gone.
Yet, as Cavalry’s head coach, Tommy Wheeldon Jr., recently said, there’s a reason why the summer can be so tough in the CPL. It’s where the rubber hits the road, so to speak, as teams find their form and start to show their final form, while also showing what they’ve learned from their first few matchups between each other.
As teams start to face each other for the third, fourth and even fifth times in some cases, this is where those who have been progressing and growing will separate from those who have stagnated, which is why the next few months will be exciting.
With all still to play for in the playoff race, the table will only continue to change, which should make for a fascinating run-in, something the past few weekends have offered a glimpse of.
Speaking of, here’s what stood out from the CPL this past matchday in the latest edition of “High Press”.
Emil Gazdov stepping up for Pacific:
Pacific received a big boost for their clash against Atlético Ottawa this past weekend, as Emil Gazdov started his first CPL game since June 1st, having battled illness for most of June.
Having had a strong season so far, Gazdov was sorely missed, as the 20-year-old has taken a massive step forward for Pacific in 2024.
He showed that again in this most recent match, in which Pacific won 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal from Zakaria Bahous.
Despite facing 1.3 xG on six shots on target per WyScout, he stood tall to each attempt, picking up a clean sheet, keeping his fifth in eight starts.
Emil Gazdov what a stop 👏
— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) July 7, 2024
He picks up the @AllstateCanada Save of the Match 🤩 #CanPL | 📺 @onesoccer pic.twitter.com/qrGaxpkWm8
Yet, this was just the latest of a strong string of performances from the youngster, who has been pretty rock-solid for Pacific when healthy, allowing just four goals across the nine appearances he’s made.
Plus, the underlying numbers have been in his favour, too - he leads the CPL in prevented goals with 2.93, having allowed those four goals on 6.93 xG. Certainly, Pacific deserves credit for how they’ve defended in front of him, as he’s faced less than 1 xG per game, and has faced some of the lowest average xG per shot, but he’s still had to make some massive five-alarm saves on some big chances across his games. 
To be fair, however, he’s always had that magic in him - dating back to last year when he became Pacific’s full-time starter, he found a way to make some big stops in games. What eluded him, however, was consistency, as he also allowed some goals he’ll have wanted to forget.
Of course, however, as a 19-year-old, it was important to remember that he was getting full-time reps at a position where players typically peak much later, making some wonder if Pacific might be better off limiting his opportunities to allow him time to grow.
They stuck with him, though, knowing that those experiences would be valuable if they protected him, and so far they’ve been rewarded for that patience, as he’s done well to bring some consistency into his game along with his shot-stopping.
His presence at the top of the prevented goals chart shows that, as well as his clean sheets numbers.
Naturally, some credit has to be given to Pacific for how they’ve defended in front of him, which plays a huge factor in that success, but it’s also important to remember that it can be tough to play as a goalkeeper for a team that doesn’t allow a lot of shot volume. It tests your concentration to know that you might only be made to work a couple of times a game, or that you might only be asked to make one big stop a game.
For a position where rhythm can be key, it’s hard to get into that groove with sporadic work, which is why Gazdov’s consistency has been impressive, as that can often be hard for younger goalkeepers to find.
Yet, that’s why Gazdov has proven to be a perfect fit for Pacific this year, who have continued to look at their best defensively when their young goalkeeper is patrolling the box. He's still got a lot of growth still left to come, but he’s quickly proving his worth among those in the CPL, and Pacific will hope that he can now help them continue to push up the table now that he’s fully healthy once again.
York United’s strong home record:
It’s always important to win at home, especially in a league with as much travel as the Canadian Premier League.
Certainly, you don’t need to be excellent at home to make the playoffs, but dominant sides tend to pick up points at home regularly, which puts less pressure on them to perform on the road.
York United saw that first-hand in 2023. There, they had the second-worst home record in the CPL, picking up just 14 points in 14 games, winning just four of those matches.
They were still able to squeeze into the playoffs as a fifth-place team thanks to an elite road record, as they amassed a staggering 24 points in 14 games, but that almost made their home record more frustrating, as a better home record could’ve made them one of the top teams in the league.
Because of that, a big priority for them this year was turning York Lions Stadium into a fortress, giving them more of an opportunity to push up the table.
So far, it’s mission accomplished at the halfway point of their home schedule, as they’ve amassed a league-high 16 points in seven home matches after their recent 2-1 win over the Halifax Wanderers this past weekend. Thanks to that, they sit second in the CPL table with 20 points in 13 games, five points behind first place, despite only accumulating four points in six road games.
GOAL👑@yorkutdfc are up 1-0 early vs. Halifax thanks to this header from Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy on a perfect corner from Mo Babouli
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 6, 2024
🔴Watch #CanPL LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/KhrPTQ0i2L
Yet, that further shows the importance of being strong at home, and what that can do for a team's title aspirations.
Of course, York would like to return to their elite ways on the road, as that would help them massively in a title push, but their home form gives them plenty to be pleased with, especially when it comes to how they’re grabbing the results. 
In 2023, they struggled to score at home, mustering a league-low 11 goals for, while conceding 23 goals against, which was second-worst in the CPL.
By comparison, they’ve scored 14 goals in 2024, second-best in the CPL, while conceding eight goals, which despite being 5th-best in the CPL, is far better than the 23 they conceded a year prior.
They’re doing well to find the net more, but are also keeping the ball out of their own net, which as most know is a pretty solid way to win more games.
Now, of course, they’ll have a lot to build off going forward. The arrival of new Benjamín Mora has provided a big boost for the team, as they’ve won three and drawn one of the five games they’ve played since his arrival, but their underlying numbers remain a concern, as they’ve allowed the second-most xG against in the CPL, and have generated the second-fewest xG for, per WyScout.
GOAL👑👑
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 6, 2024
Juan Córdova has doubled @yorkutdfc's lead with a thunderbolt, hammering home a shot from close range to put his team up 2-0 over the Halifax Wanderers in the 58th minute
🔴Watch #CanPL LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/gtrwsTqwMy
Given that they’ve only won the xG battle once since his arrival, generating 2.84 xG and conceding 6.48 xG across the five games he’s been in charge for, they’ll want to keep improving that as they continue to assimilate their new manager’s tactical plans, helping maintain this strong start.
Thanks to their success at home, they’ve given themselves a runway to do that, allowing them to push for the title if they can build off it.
Gabriel Bitar finding form for Vancouver:
Vancouver picked up a crucial road point this past weekend, as they drew Forge 3-3 in an entertaining match, and were made to work for it. Having taken the lead twice in the first half, they then went down a player while up 2-1 in the 53rd minute, as Vasco Fry earned a straight red card.
From there, against a Forge side who were already looking unlucky not to be up, it felt inevitable that their lead would slip away, making it hardly a surprise to see Forge tie the game in the 66th minute before taking the lead in the 85th minute, which seemed to all but confirm victory.
With that, it seemed to kill any hope of Vancouver being able to grab anything out of the game, even as they continued to push to regain a point.
There, however, is where Gabriel Bitar stepped up. Having already scored a goal-of-the-season candidate earlier in the game to open the scoring, finding the top corner with a rocket of a shot from distance, he found a way to rescue his team late.
#CanPL. BANGERS. ONLY. 🦅@vanfootballclub take the lead against the run of play courtesy of a PHENOMENAL strike from Gabriel Bitar ☄️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 5, 2024
▶️ Watch the match for FREE on our Youtube channel pic.twitter.com/dnigAxbAic
After a routine Forge mistake, Bitar did well to pick up the ball and craft the space to unleash a clever shot, one he launched with confidence to tie the game.
It wasn’t quite the firecracker he launched earlier, but it was a crafty goal, the kind that Bitar has shown he can generate.
That’s why he’s quickly become the heartbeat of Vancouver’s attack, as he knows how to influence the game in different ways. In this match, he used his goalscoring ability that he was known for in U SPORTS, but he can also create chances for his teammates, making him a dangerous dual-attacking threat.
For a Vancouver team filled with dangerous attackers, it’s a nice combination to have, as he can free up space for the likes of Alejandro Díaz, Moses Dyer, Mikaël Cantave and Ben Fisk, but he can also step up and provide some key goals for his team, too. 
That can make him hard to defend, as he can punish you with his scoring if given too much space, but can still pick out his teammates when you allocate too much focus on him. That’s a credit to the work he’s put in over the years, having played as a striker and a midfielder, offering him a unique perspective of what to do when deployed as more of an attacking midfielder as he does for Vancouver.
But that’s why he’s now up to nine goals and seven assists since arriving at Vancouver last year, as he’s helped push this team forward into the playoff race this year.
GOAL 🦅🦅🦅@VANFOOTBALLCLUB EQUALIZE!! INCREDIBLE SCENES!
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 6, 2024
Gabriel Bitar takes advantage of the mistake to tie things up at Tim Hortons Field! 3-3! 🤯
▶️ Watch the match for FREE on our Youtube channel#CanPL pic.twitter.com/qgIVey5Zm5
Of course, credit has to be given to how much they’ve grown as a team, something they showed in this game, one it’s hard to imagine them getting much out of in 2023, but the growth and presence of players like Bitar is also key.
Having survived a busy year of roster turnover, it’s a sign of the belief they have in Bitar, who has continued to repay that faith with some big performances for this team.
Who caught my eye? Noah Abatneh
The 19-year-old Noah Abatneh has become a fixture at the back for York, doing well to keep his spot under Mora as his side has pushed up the table.
He put in another composed shift in York’s latest win over the Halifax Wanderers this past weekend, completing 66 out of 72 of his passes while chipping in with two blocks, two clearances, five recoveries and winning three out of six duels.
For a young centre back, he continues to make key progress each week and has helped York amid their recent run thanks to that.
What to watch: Forge vs Pacific
It’s a bit of a lighter week of CPL action, as there are just three games, but there are still some good matches, including one between the two sides juggling Canadian Championship responsibilities in Forge and Pacific.
Both coming off solid showings in leg one of their semi-finals this week, as Forge picked up a crucial 2-1 win over Toronto FC, while Pacific remains in the hunt after a 1-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps, it’ll be a good battle between two teams who have certainly proven their credentials at top CPL sides over the years, the only two to win CPL playoff titles (with Forge up to four, and Pacific sitting with one).
Given that they’re both not where they’d like to be in the table, partly due to how difficult it can be to balance a deep cup run with league responsibilities, this game will be a huge chance for them to prove they should be higher than they currently sit, with Pacific sitting fourth and Forge fifth, giving this potential to be a feisty match.
On a Zoom call, #CanMNT coach Jesse Marsch echoes Stephen Eustáquio's comments about #CanPL.
— Canadian Soccer Daily (@CANSoccerDaily) July 10, 2024
"Too many players' development arcs have launched too late." Says CPL must play as many young players (teenagers) as possible.
Marsch will attend #ForgeFC vs. #PacificFC on Sunday. https://t.co/aDb68ntSKb
You don’t need my word for it, either - CanMNT head coach Jesse Marsch will also be there, giving him a first-hand look at two teams who haven’t just won a lot over the years but have done so while developing young Canadians, several of which will feature in this game.
