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Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League
CPL Matchweek 8 Recap – No Invincibles
By Ten goals in four games restored plenty of parity to the league table, with only three points now separating third from sixth. Defeats to Cavalry and Inter Toronto mean none of the league’s eight clubs are undefeated, with Forge reclaiming their spot at the top of league standings.
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From windswept, rainy chaos in Quebec to a stunning comeback from the capital city, the eighth round of Canadian Premier League action had a lot to offer. Let’s take a look at what unfolded this weekend:
FC Supra du Quebec 3 – 1 Inter Toronto Football Club
Diyaeddine Abzi helps hand his old side its first defeat of the year.
Quebec’s Canadian Premier League side entered the match in need of momentum boost and certainly got what it was looking for in wild and wet second half that, literally and proverbially, opened the floodgates. While FC Supra had dominated the match, Inter Toronto had held back the French invasion – that is, until the fast feet Sean Rea of sent in a nice ball to Safwane Mlah, who fired it beyond Diego Urtiaga to give the hosts the lead in the 66th minute:
Just three minutes later, FC Supra du Quebec doubled their lead. David Choiniere capitalized on a bad clearance from Oswaldo Leon, sending the ball through to Loic Kwemi. The striker blasted in the ball into the back of the net to have Diego Urtiago scooping it up for the second time in just three minutes.
The visitors showed a glimpse of why they were undefeated entering the match, however, with Beni Badibanga providing a nice air ball to Tomasz Skublak just moments later. The big man chested the ball down, got the better of his marker, and fired in a nice ball beyond Joakim Milli for his fourth of the season:
FC Supra would close out the game with an insurance goal just four minutes from time, with previous provider Sean Rea getting himself on the scoresheet. meeting a corner kick from former ITO man Diyaeddine Abzi at the edge of the box, Rea blasted in Supra’s third to hand the hosts all three points:
Halifax Wanderers 1 – 0 Vancouver FC
It’s a kitchen party as Halifax docks three points at home for the first time this season.
Wanderers Grounds was a riot at full-time after a late but great finish from Tavio Ciccarelli brought all three points to the hosts, giving Vanni Sartini his second league win as manager – with his first having also come against Vancouver FC in matchweek one.
Following a first half that saw the visitors look more likely to score – that is to say Halifax had yet to register a single shot attempt – the Haligonians came alive in the second 45, with Johnston nearly teeing up Victor Akinwale with a tidy cross. Alas, the striker was a step behind, continuing a dodgy start to his time in blue.
While Vancouver continued to force Carducci into action, it would take 83 minutes of play for Halifax to muster an actual shot against Callum Irving. That was soon followed by a penalty shout for a potential handball on Marcello Polisi, but after Vanni’s FVS challenge failed, the match felt destined for a draw.
Against the odds, Halifax scored in the final moments of the game with a fast counter from substitutes Miguel Arilla and Tavio Ciccarelli. Arilla did well to push down the right flank, sending in a nice ball to Ciccarelli. With no defenders around him, he coolly slid the game-winning goal between Irving and Doner to hand the hosts all three points.
Pacific FC 2 – 2 Atletico Ottawa
Pacific rise under pressure, but a late comeback from Ottawa snatches a draw.
With Pacific announcing Terry Dunfield as its new head coach – though he won’t arrive until July due to his coaching and World Cup media commitments – a Tridents squad led to Yiannis Tsalatsidis looked en route to bagging Pacific’s first win of the season before Ottawa stormed back in the game’s dying minutes.
The Long Road Back: Ronan Kratt Ready To Rise Again With Pacific
The first ten minutes was all Ottawa, with the visitors carving apart the Pacific defense and generating plenty of chances. Pacific’s answer came against the run of play in the 13th minute, however, with club captain Josh Heard feeding a nice ball to Ronan Kratt, who let the ball drop to his feet (a moment the Ottleti defenders will want back, certainly) before firing it low beyond Tristan Crampton for his first goal of the season:
For what must have been a breath of fresh air, Pacific built on this momentum and kept knocking at the door of the reigning champions. Kratt found himself involved in Pacific’s goal in the second half, sending Yann Toualy in to bag a second goal for Pacific with an acrobatic celebration following as the Starlight Stadium faithful went into raptures:
Atletico Ottawa has been a late-goal club this year, so it is never wise to count them out. True to form, the capital city club rallied back to narrow the deficit through a corner kick twelve minutes from time. Up rose Loic Cloutier to bring the visitors within one-goal of a late draw.
Pacific, who had much of the momentum throughout the match, suddenly found themselves on the back heel as Joshua Belluz was ejected from the match after picking up a second yellow card. It was the second time the defender has picked up a second yellow in eight games played, while Pacific has endured four red cards in that time overall, the most of any side.
The visitors would bag one back with what appeared to be a fairly soft penalty, with Ballou Tabla showing some gamesmanship to draw a foul from Pacific forward Bul Juach as added time ticked onto ten minutes. Tabla, who bagged a hat trick against Toronto FC not long ago, stepped up sent his spot kick into the net to rescue an unlikely draw for the hosts:
Forge FC 1 – 0 Cavalry FC
Antoine Batisse scores his third of the year to restore Forge to the pole position over rival Cavalry.
It was only one week ago that Cavalry scooped the top spot in CPL standings from Forge for the first time this season, but a second-half header from French defender Antoine Batisse – who is now good for three goals in eleven games through all competitions – brought Forge back to the top while handing Cavalry its first defeat of the season.
After a shell-shock start saw Cavalry nearly put themselves in front right away, Bobby Smyrniotis and company restored some defensive resolution that saw the first half pass by with no further significant chances for either side.
The second half was a different story, however, with Forge continuing to punish other clubs on set-piece opportunities. Tristan Borges – one of the best in Canada’s top flight – whipped in a fine ball for big centre-back Dan Nimick, who deftly nodded the ball across goal for Antoine Batisse to finish with a tidy flicked header.
Cavalry, who struck the post once throughout the match, will be disappointed to have conceded from one of Forge’s only two shots on target in what was a fairly even match and, of course, a contest for the top of the table – especially with Bertaud denying a close-range effort late in the game to mark his sixth clean sheet in eight games.
With the results of matchweek eight now in, there are three clear groups in the standings: Forge and Cavalry are the leaders, while Inter Toronto, Atletico Ottawa, FC Supra du Quebec, and Halifax Wanderers are now all in a tight pack in the middle. Down at the bottom is SixFive Sports and Entertainment’s club duo of Vancouver FC and Pacific, with the west coast sides struggling in 2026.
See Also: Ousted Vancouver FC Coach Settles Lawsuit With Former Employer
That tees up some exciting matches for round nine. Vancouver will host an Atletico Ottawa side that is on a clear resurgence, while FC Supra du Quebec and Pacific will clash with both sides desperate to build more momentum. Cavalry will host Halifax out west, while the first 905 Derby of the season sees Inter Toronto and Forge – each with only one defeat apiece – duke things out in York Lions Stadium.
Oh, and let’s not forget the World Cup will grace our country in less than two weeks. Here’s the Canada FIFA World Cup Roster if you need to catch up on that!
Header Image Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League
1 Comment
Unfortunately it looks like another season of Forge and Cavalry being a step ahead of everyone else.
Encouraging start from Inter but they’re stumbling a little bit now. Some poor defensive performances and carelessness with the ball this weekend. Head to head matches with the top two will really tell how they’ve come along this season. Nice to see a threat from more than Altobelli this season.