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Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League
CPL Matchweek 3 Recap – Daylight Arrives
By The third time was the charm for the Canadian Premier League, who finally got to see Arsene Wenger’s daylight offside rule put into practice for the first time. Interestingly, the top half of the table remains undefeated, while the west coast sides occupy the bottom two spots in what has been a tough – but not fruitless – open for SixFive Sports’ two sides.
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Let’s take a look at how matchweek three of the 2026 Canadian Premier League season went down:
Halifax Wanderers 2 – 2 Pacific FC
The CPL’s Coast-To-Coast Clash brought a moment of sporting history through the league’s first-ever successful use of Arsene Wenger’s daylight offside law, with Bul Juach rescuing a point for the Tridents with a last-gasp equalizer with a moment of individual brilliance.
Pacific entered the match hungry after dropping the club’s first two matches, striking first blood 20 minutes in through a set piece opportunity from Marco Bustos. Aftrer Carducci made his initial save, the ball eventually rebounded to Alejandro Diaz, who was a half-step ahead of the defender and pinged in the rebound. While his positioning would have been offside by traditional rules, the league’s trial of the daylight offside rule meant that the Mexican striker’s goal was valid:
Whatever Vanni Sartini said to the squad at half-time must have had some gusto in it, because the squad came out firing on all cylinders in the second half. In fact, it took them less than 15 minutes to bag an equalizer. Isaiah Johnston had been having himself a strong game, and showed some nice vision to cross in the ball to loanee striker Cyprian Kachwele, who finished the chance and floated the ball beyond Sean Melvin and tie things up.
Halifax’s Finn Linder would earn the hosts a strong opportunity to advance after being pulled down in the box by Pacific captain Josh Heard, with Isaiah Johnston stepping up for the spot kick following an unsuccesful coach’s challenge by Pacific FC. Up stepped the midfielder, sending Melvin the wrong way to put the hosts in front.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts when captain Josh Heard lost his cool and kicked out at a Wanderers defender right in front of the referee, with a red card coming out of the ref’s pocket in a matter of seconds. Down a goal and now down a man, it was looking at Vanni would set of his first home match with three points and a proper kitchen party.
James Merriman had brought Ronan Kratt and Bul Juach to try and bring something different to Pacific’s attack, and the move ultimately rescued his side a point: Australian striker Bul Juach went on an absolute ripper in the 97th minute, finding himself surrounded by three Haligonians before nutmetting one to break into the box and sending the ball beyond Carducci to procure an equalizer with the very last touch of the match:
Forge 0 – 0 Cavalry FC
See full match recap here.
A fiery fixture that has only ended scoreless once before in 37 attempts managed to repeat the feat on number 38. Forge opened the stronger of the two sides but saw fortunes change with the eviction of Rezart Rama following a second yellow card, with former Forge man Harry Paton nearly sending the visitors in front in the second half.
The match marked the first time the Paton brothers played against eachother throughout their careers.
Forge nearly found a winner just minutes before the final whistle, with substitute Brian Wright getting his head on a cross from Jensen but ultimately sending the ball wide despite the striker having been left unmarked in the box.
All-told, Nathan Ingham was the busier of the keepers, but both sides did well to keep the rivalry match scoreless, with the league seeing its first scoreless fixture of the season.
FC Supra 0 – 1 Atletico Ottawa
The first FC Supra du Quebec match to take place on Quebecois soil took place in front of a sellout 4,965 spectators at CEPSUM Stadium. The hosts came out strong right from the gate and looked destined to score, putting Ottleti shotstopper Garrisone Innocent under plenty of pressure.
While Innocent had an unconvincing start to his Atletico Ottawa career in the Champions Cup, this time the the Haiti international stood on his head to keep the FC Supra onslaught from sinking the the Ottawa visitors, making an immense ten saves as FC Supra fired some 22 in his general direction.
While highly-touted Atletico Ottawa addition Santiago Lopez started, the hosts would snatch a surprise winner in the 95th minute of added time through local defender Tyr Duhaney-Walker, who wasn’t really challenged on a freekick and fired his header home to give the reigning champions their first win of the season against the run of the play.
Atletico Ottawa hasn’t had much by power of shots through the club’s first three games, so taking all three points against an attack-minded FC Supra side is a big reprieve for the red-and-white as they retool their offensive organization. For FC Supra, another opportunity to win at home will come next week.
Inter Toronto 1 – Vancouver FC
Martin Nash’s return to York Lions Stadium got off to a rock start when Inter Toronto fired home the go-ahead goal just six minutes in: Shola Jimoh loosed a ball from the left wing that found its way to Gabriel Bitar, who sent a deflected ball beyond Callum Irving to give ITO an early lead.
Vancouver FC used their first coach’s challenge to appeal the validity of the goal, but it stood upon review. Nash would use his second early in the second half for a potential penalty following a collision between Elage Bah and Luke Singh. The appeal proved fruitless, with Nash then having used up both of his challenges with nothing to show for it.
Vancouver FC, who certainly looked hungry for points after opening with two straight losses, provided a few scares for the the home fans who braved the wet weather. Doner looked to have provided an equalizer on a platter after an inch-perfect cross was found by Aboubacar Traore, but the attacker’s subsequent effort went wide.
In the game’s final moments, Vancouver went for broke on a corner kick opportunity and sent goalkeeper Callum Irving up. The shostopper got his head to the ball, sending it just wide and acquiescing possession to the hosts. With no one in net on the opposite end, the ball was quickly played to Inter Toronto’s Jesse Costa, who took several touches forward but opted to play the ball in to Ollie Bassett, who stalled to long on the ball and lost possession to a retreating Callum Irving.
With the final whistle, a slim win for Inter Toronto sees the club remain undefeated, while Vancouver FC has nothing to show from its first three at-bats, with the side evidently lacking a clinical finisher up top.
The third match of the 2026 Canadian Premier League season sees perennial heavyweights Forge and Cavalry landed on top of the table, though must of the rest of the early results are a mixed bag: Atletico Ottawa and Pacific broke their losing streaks, though Vancouver FC will once again feel hard done by following a third straight one-nil loss as a lack of goals continues to sink the side.
The fourth matchweek will kick off on Friday with FC Supra hosting Halifax Wanderers, while Saturday will see Cavalry return home to host Inter Toronto. The week will conclude with two games on Sunday as Atletico Ottawa hosts Vancouver FC in a battle of two sides who haven’t mustered much up top, while Pacific will host Forge to close out the weekend.
Header Image Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League
