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Photo Credit: Phil Lariviere
CPL Matchweek 14 Recap – A Week Of Firsts
By What a round of action for Canadian Premier League fans, eh?
With 15 goals from 4 games, a hat trick hero, and plenty of league history made, there’s a ton of action to recap from Canada’s top flight – and we’ve got every goal and every moment for you right here.
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As we hit the exact midpoint of the season, we are seeing a lot of flux: Vancouver is continuing its rise, Inter Toronto is sinking, and the jury is still out on if Terry Dunfield can deliver a miracle for Pacific – though for now, even just one win would do.
Let’s take a look at all the action from matchweek fourteen:
Vancouver FC 1 – 0 Cavalry FC
For the first time in Canadian Premier League history, Vancouver FC had the better of Cavalry FC as Martin Nash beat his former boss in Langley.
Fresh from a dominant 5-1 thumping of FC Supra du Quebec, Vancouver still found themselves on the backfoot early on as the visitors came close through Kobza, Warscshewski, and an acrobatic effort from Daan Klomp.
Defender Erik Kobza would pick up his marching orders just before the second half by way of a second yellow, however, teeing up a resurgence for the Eagles in the second forty-five.
What followed was a back-and-forth opening that saw Amer Didic whiff a good chance in the box (though credit to Kian Proctor for a wonderful block), with veteran Nicolas Mezquida spurning a few chances the other way shortly after.
The Eagles would not be denied on the night, with young firecracker Damiano Pecile blasting a shot that struck the crossbar before falling to former Premier League baller Lys Mousset, who finished from close range to secure a history-making night in Langley.
While Cavalry typically bury the chances if you give them away, the match concluded with an uncharacteristic miss from Tobias Warschewski, with the German missing a wide-open net in the game’s dying minutes. With that, Vancouver continue to rise up the form rankings, while Cavalry were forced to watch as Forge extended the gap at the top of the table.
Halifax Wanderers 2 – 3 FC Supra du Quebec
The history-making continued on Canada’s East Coast as FC Supra du Quebec mounting an entertaining comeback that saw a career-first hat trick for Loic Kwemi, bursting into the golden boot race’s pole position.
The opening stanza of play saw Halifax the more comfortable of the two, testing goalkeeper Joakim Milli a few times before Miguel Arilla – who has really come into form – found an unmarked Cyprian Kachwele for the Whitecaps loanee’s second of the season:
FC Supra du Quebec were struggling to put together consistent pressure, with a spattering of individual errors allowing the Wanderers to feel comfortable.
Halifax would double its lead just before half time, with Arilla once again sending in a nice ball for Finn Linder for the defender to head it beyond Milli and make it 2-0:
The second half, however, would be a chaotic reversal of fortunes. Enter Loic Kwemi.
The former Valour man has looked a different player for Supra, and bagged one back for the visitors after Ryan Telfer brought down Alessandro Biello in the with just under a half hour to go:
Spectators could feel a change in the air as FC Supra launched forward in attack right after play resumed, with Kwemi firing in an immediate brace after his shot was deflected beyond Marco Carducci:
Incredibly, FC Supra du Quebec would bag a their following a video review penalty decision. It was decided that Thomas Meilleur-Giguere had fouled Ibrahima Conde in the box, so up stepped Kwemi – soon to be a hat-trick hero:
With just 12 minutes separating Loic’s first goal from his third, the Quebecois striker makes history with the league’s fastest hat-trick, while also catapulting him to the top spot in the golden boot race.
While Vanni Sartini urged the Halifax attack on – and they dutifully put Milli under immense pressure – Supra would pull away with a much-needed win, etching them up to sixth place above Inter Toronto and Pacific. Halifax, meanwhile, continues to be pure hot-and-cold when it comes to results.
Atletico Ottawa 3 – 2 Pacific FC
Terry Dunfield’s first match at the helm of Pacific was a dramatic road trip to the nation’s capital, where it took late drama and a fresh face for Ottleti to rescue three points against their west coast visitors.
It was a nervous opening for both sides as Terry Dunfield and Gustavo Leal both looked for their first CPL wins, and chances came at a premium in the first half. Both bosses would see coach’s challenges rejected for penalties, with Atletico Ottawa finally striking first blood at the cusp of half time.
Joaquim Coulanges sent in a great ball from the flank that Roni Mbomio rose to meet, though Tridents keeper Sean Melvin did well to parry. The rebound fell to Emiliano Garcia, however, with the Mexican proving lethal from close range:
Dunfield would go for broke with his second FVS challenge a few minutes into the second half, once again appealing for a penalty. This time it worked a treat, however, with the referee sending Alejandro Diaz up to the penalty spot. The veteran striker got the best of Kalongo to level things up for the visitors.
Pacific were on the front-foot following the equalizer and would get a go-ahead goal for their efforts after Yann Toualy broke into the box and cut the ball back to Marco Bustos, who snuck in a left-footer to put Pacific in front and a season-first win within grasp.
Gustavo Leal quickly dipped into his bench after going behind, handing hometown striker Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau his debut after bringing him in from Galway on a free earlier in the week.
The fast feet of Gabriel Antinoro allowed for an absolutely audacious breakaway counter attack, with his blocked effort quickly rebounding to the in-form Ballou Tabla. He made no mistake, sending the ball into the net to level things up with two apiece.
Pacific then came agonizingly close to a season-first win after Mattias Vales forced a low save from Kalongo, but it was pain for Pacific once again as Atletico Ottawa substitute Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau ran a total demolition of the Pacific backline, taking the ball all the way – and beyond many Tridents – to cap off his debut with a wonderfully-struck matchwinner just before the final whistle:
Inter Toronto 1 – 3 Forge FC
See full match report here.
In the only match going against the grain in our ‘matchweek of firsts’, it was the same old song and dance for the 905 Derby: Forge continued its dominant streak with another clattering of Inter Toronto, who gave their opponents too much space and paid the price for it.
The hammers looked to go in front early through Marko Jevremovic, but the Serbian’s goal was called back for an offside play in the buildup. Forge would grab a first half lead a few minutes later anyway by way of a Tristan Borges freekick that floated in to Nana Ampomah, who played spoiler for goalkeeper Ivan Pavela’s first start of the season:
Mauro Eustaquio’s side would strike back against the run of play, with Tomasz Skublak equalizing before the half-time whistle after being teed up by former Forge man Beni Badibanga, who was full of his usual flair with backheels and 360s aplenty.
Time wouldn’t dip too far into the second half before Forge retook the lead. A nice build-up saw Nana Ampomah place a fine shot beyond Pavela to secure his brace.
Forge carried most of the momentum as the second half wore on, though Inter Toronto did put together a few half-chances. The killing blow would come from the hammers, however, with Jevremovic sending in a nice ball to substitute Noah Jensen, who then played it up to another substitute in Ismael Oketokoun, firing in a delightful ball to cap off the match.
Inter Toronto would nearly bag a late consolation goal off the head of Max Ferrari, but it just wasn’t meant to be for the hosts. Forge clock in their 20th win in the 905 Derby, extending their lead at the top of the table to seven points above Cavalry. Inter Toronto drop behind newcomers FC Supra, ahead of only winless Pacific in league standings.
While Forge now holds a seven point lead at the top, the fourth and final playoff spot is perhaps the biggest eyebrow-raiser: Vancouver are positiong themselves nicely for what would be a league-first playoff position. That being said, fifth to seventh are separated by just three points as CPL parity continues to provide chaos – brave are the OneSoccer pundits asked to plop forth random gambling odds to appease the coffers of their gambling deities/sponsors.
With the first half of the season in the bag, the second half won’t just treat us to plenty of great action on the pitch, either: James Johnson has promised expansion news, with Rogers carrying the CPL also expected to come.
In the nearer future, the next matchweek brings Pacific home to host FC Supra du Quebec on a Friday night clash we expect will see goals. Saturday brings us two games with an intriguing clash between Vancouver FC and Atletico Ottawa followed by Cavalry hosting Inter Toronto, while Sunday rounds out the action with Halifax hosting Forge.
Header Image Photo Credit: Phil Lariviere
