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“We knew it was going to be difficult coming into today,” York9 coach Jimmy Brennan said after the game. “With Piatti back as well, he’s a game-changer. … They made it difficult for us, but I thought our guys did well. We had a couple of chances there. I’m proud of these guys.”

Photo by Paul Chiasson / THE CANADIAN PRESS

York9 is one of seven teams in the Canadian Premier League, which started play this year, and certainly gave the Impact a scare. After losing its last four games in MLS play, a loss to a team from a lower league that is just starting out would have been a big blow to the Impact.

“It’s a first step back to what we can do,” Impact coach Rémi Garde said. “We don’t have to forget that Nacho was playing for the first time in a long time. In the second half we should have scored two or three goals.”

The Impact finished the game with seven shots on target, while York9 had only one.

Before the game, Brennan said there was no pressure on York9 and his team played that way, taking it to the Impact early and putting the MLS club on its heels. Nine players in the York9 starting 11 were Canadians, while the Impact only had three Canadians. The Canadian Premier League was formed to give Canadian talent a place to shine and York9 did that against the Impact.

“When you watch the Canadian Premier League, it’s good football,” Brennan said before the game when asked to compare the difference between its quality of play and MLS. “But the difference is we’re only allowed seven foreigners … the rest of our roster is all Canadians. For me, the standard of play isn’t as big a gap as some people are talking about. Our guys can play football and the Canadian Premier League has some good talent.”