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Photo Credit: Zachary Rubio-Paret
CPL Matchweek 23 Recap – Unleash The Goals
By Five games and 21 goals: just another week of chaos in the ol’ Canadian Premier League, eh?
With only five rounds left to go, we’re seeing strengths being flexed and weakness being exposed to the extreme. With Cavalry extending its lead at the top of the table and goals seemingly being freely traded in the majority of this week’s matches, let’s take a look at who is left standing after the dust settles.
Vancouver FC 3 – 3 Inter Toronto
Kicking off the matchweek with a six-goal thriller, Vancouver and Toronto exchanged blows in a contest that had it all: two stoppage time goals, a missed penalty, and a whole lot of fight between two teams nearing do-or-die time to lock in a postseason spot.
Morey Doner opened the scoring for the hosts after just eight minutes, putting Vancouver ahead early in front of its home supporters as he coolly finished his own rebound:
Ecuadorian winger Ariel Almagro – who has been in great form of late – capitalized on some sub-par defending to equalize for the visitors in the 24th minute:
Mauro Eustaquio’s side would take a 2-1 lead heading in to the break, with midfielder Steffen Yeates providing the goal. This marked his sixth goal contribution of the season, tying his career high record bagged with Toronto FC II several years ago.
The second half looked to be going in Inter Toronto’s favour, but Kian Proctor had other plans: the 21-year-old sent Willoughby into raptures with a thundering header with 20 minutes still on the clock:
The late drama kicked off with a penalty opportunity with just three minutes to go: big striker Tomasz Skublak was brought down by Callum Irving in the box, earning a spot kick for the visitors.
Up stepped the clinical Ollie Bassett, but Irving – one of the league’s best penalty stoppers – kept his record between the sticks strong to deny Inter Toronto the go-ahead goal.
Vancouver looked set to snatch all three points with Kiwi forward Luis Toomey firing the side ahead in added time, beating Antonio Campos at his near-post from a tight angle:
Incredibly, the game would see a sixth goal to mark an even split between both sides, with Beni Badibanga picking out a nice run from Tomasz Skublak. The aerial ball saw the big man kept onside by Arsene Wenger’s daylight offside trial, with Skublak getting the better of Irving to snatch a point for Inter Toronto:
Cavalry FC 6 – 0 FC Supra du Quebec
Back-to-back six-goal games, in my CPL? It’s more likely than you think.
It was an absolute clinic from Cavalry as they put a defensively-struggling FC Supra side out to pasture at ATCO Field in what fate would dictate as Nick Razzaghi’s final match as Supra’s head coach.
What was a lowlight for Supra was an absolute highlight for Cavalry, with Ali Musse recording the first hat-trick in club history as Tommy Wheeldon Jr.’s men strengthened their grip on first place.
The hosts needed just seven minutes to get on the scoresheet, with Musse converting a penalty after Loic Kwemi was called out for a handball inside the box.
The hosts would find their way into the back of the net just eight minutes later, with Supra newcomer Zachary Brault-Guillard getting dusted by Goteh Ntignee. The winger sent in a low cross to the unmarked figure of Nathaniel Edwards, who dutifully produced a straightforward finish – too easy:
While we know the game ended as a six-nil demolition, the pace of goals slowed down and nothing happened until the 62nd minute mark. That’s when Cavalry brought forth a set piece classic, with a corner being nodded back across goal for Amer Didic to finish:
That exact same strategy would pay dividends again just moments later: another corner, another nod back across goal, and another close range finish to secure Musse’s brace.
With seven minutes left to go, Mael Henry was fresh off the bench and unleashed an absolute ripper to bury the opposition:
A nice slice of Cavalry history would cap off the match, with Ali Musse completing the club’s first-ever hat trick in stoppage time – not bad for a guy who initially wasn’t re-signed until March, eh?
With Cavalry extending its lead at the top of the table in such dominant fashion, Wild Rose country is absolutely blooming in CPL. For Supra, however, the match meant funeral flowers for its head coach and his assistant.
Halifax Wanderers 0 – 1 Atletico Ottawa
An early strike from Ballou Tabla was the only thing the Kitchen saw cook in a tight affair that saw Halifax lose out to the reigning champions on Saturday.
The game’s lone goal came early after an aerial ball into Halifax’s box caused troubles for the backline, with an errant clearance allowing former Barcelona man Ballou Tabla to put the visitors in front after just five minutes:
While Vanni Sartini’s side got back into the game and looked threatening throughout, there would be no other action of note as Atletico Ottawa snapped its three-game winless streak. It’s an important win for the capital city club, putting them four points ahead of Vancouver FC, while Halifax remain seven points below the Eagles – and the last playoff spot.
Vancouver FC 1 – 1 Forge FC
Having saved a penalty midweek, Callum Irving repeated his spot kick heroics against the visiting Hamiltonians as VFC finished the matchweek with two points from two games.
Having made his debut off the bench last week, Lucas Cavallini was thrust into a starting spot and nearly found an early goal if not for a goal-line stop from Morey Doner. The hammers would take a first-half lead, however, with defender Manjrekar James smashing home a goal from close range following some absolute chaos from a Forge corner kick:
The second half would see Morey Doner bag his second goal in just as many games: the absolute engine of a full-back sent in a great diagonal ball to Terran Campbell, who broke into the Forge box and sent the ball back to Doner to tap in the finish:
The hammers will rue not finishing off the game following a successful FVS challenge from Bobby Smyrniotis, with Lucas Cavallini stepping up to take the spot kick. Irving proved why he’s the best penalty-stopping specialist in the league, however, diving left and catching Cavallini’s shot. Irving is 100% on spot kick saves this year, having been called to task on four of them.
The draw has big ramifications on the playoff race: Vancouver now has a seven-point lead over Halifax for the fourth and final playoff spot, while Forge now trails Cavalry by six points at the top of the table.
Inter Toronto 3 – 4 Pacific FC
A first half of absolute calamity saw seven goals split in Pacific’s favour as Inter Toronto’s backline finished the week with seven goals conceded in two games, with team captain Oswaldo Leon earning a red early on in Sunday’s closer.
Leon’s marching orders came just a few minutes into proceedings, with his foul allowing Marco Bustos to step up and open the scoring from the penalty spot:
To their credit, Mauro’s men fought back quickly and were rewarded for their gusto with a set piece equalizer in the fifteenth minute, with centre-back Frank Sturing getting himself on the scoresheet:
Perhaps taking a leaf from the Cavalry playbook, Inter Toronto would go up a goal after an aerial ball into the box was floated across the face of the goal, and while it wasn’t the prettiest finish, they all count the same:
Pacific would equalize before the first half came to close, with Taras Gomulka rising to deliver a wonderful header on what was a truly beautiful curving ball into the box:
Then, Ronan Kratt – who scored in Pacific’s visit to this exact ground a few weeks ago, scored on the exact same side with a move kept onside through the league’s trial of Arsene Wenger’s daylight offside rule:
Now in the 51st minute of the first half – yes, we know – Ollie Bassett made amends for having his penalty saved in the last match against Vancouver. This time, he made no mistake to level the score from the spot:
…all for it to come undone with the first half’s seventh goal, with Marco Bustos putting away a penalty of his own to lock in what would ultimately become a slim, though high-scoring, road win for Pacific.
Truly, this was a first half of the ages in Canadian Premier League lore, with the round ending just as it began: with goals going in left and right.
With Cavalry now holding a six-point lead at the top of the table, things are looking good out west. While Vancouver FC holds a seven-point lead on the final playoff spot, every club behind them has at least one game in hand, and most have two: suffice to say, players in Langley are looking over their shoulder as the draws keep racking up.
The next round kicks off in midweek with Atletico Ottawa welcoming Cavalry in a repeat of the 2025 CPL Final on Wednesday (less snow this time, though). Cavalry’s legs will be tested as the side then heads to Ontario to face Inter Toronto on Saturday, with Forge welcoming Halifax later on. Sunday’s lone fixture sees Kyt Selaidopoulos make his home debut as Supra’s head coach, with Pacific FC coming to La Belle Province.
