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Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League
Recap: ‘The Outcome’ Of Canadian Premier League Season Closer
By The Canadian Premier League closed its regular season action with four simultaneous matches, calling curtains on an absolute bloodbath for the fifth and final playoff spot, while Cavalry and Atletico Ottawa duked things out for a second-place finish.
With the dust now settling, we can see that Pacific has managed to snatch the final playoff spot, while Cavalry has booked itself a play-in ticket against Forge for the 2024 CPL Final.
Here’s a look at what went down in each match:
Pacific Pounces On Final Playoff Spot
James Merriman and has team walked into The Outcome as favourites for the playoff spot: a win or draw against Forge would guarantee fifth place, with a first half goal from Dario Zanatta – who has now scored five in his last eight after going 16 matches without a goal – sending them to the promised land.
Forge exit the regular season as champions despite back-to-back losses, though the suspension of Daniel Parra has come at an inopportune time for the Hamilton-based side. Pacific, meanwhile, has booked itself a four-versus-five match against York United, whom they bested two-one just a week ago. They’ll be hoping to repeat the feat and spoil what will be York United’s first-ever home playoff match.
Halifax Hail Mary Ends Low Season On High Note
The Outcome’s only true rubber match saw Halifax Wanderers best York United 2-1 at home, though they had to fight back from behind to do it. The Nine Stripes got the go-ahead goal courtesy of a tasty play in the first half: a back-from-injury Mo Babouli did well to get beyond his man on the flank, sending in a ball that Golden Boot contender Brian Wright sent sailing towards net. It struck Nimick, deflecting beyond the line to give the visitors an early lead.
Halifax came out stronger in the second half, with the hosts bagging an equalizer through a nice sliding finish from Massimo Ferrin, who has been one of Halifax’s brighter sparks throughout the season.
The home momentum boosted Patrice Gheisar’s side to a late win, with Tiago Coimbra capitalizing on a brave rush by Thomas Vincensini to cap off the season with a nice Kitchen Party for the fans in attendance at Wanderers Grounds.
The Halifax Wanderers have been fairly successful at home but disastrous on the road, and overall the club’s season hasn’t seen a lot of sunshine. While they rose to sixth place with the win, they were the first to be eliminated from playoff contention and entered the night with the most domestic U-21 minutes needed to hit the league’s required minimum on deadline day. As the match unfolded, we saw the recipe for success there, but there’s a lot of work to do in the offseason if they’re to crack playoffs next year.
Valour Put In Big Shift, But It’s Not Enough
The Canadian Premier League’s tiebreaker rules left Valour as the biggest underdog of the night: if they were to qualify for playoffs, they’d need to beat Cavalry and hope that both Pacific and Vancouver FC failed to pick up wins. Phil Dos Santos’ team got off to a dream start, with Abdul Binate delivering them a quick goal, even nearly bragging a brace from a nice high-press minutes later.
Unfortunately for the Winnipeg-based side, Tobias Warschewski was not to be denied in the second half, volleying in an equalizer to deny the hosts all three points and put Cavalry firmly back in second place contention.
Warschewski would steal Golden Boot honours after Yusri Rudolf awarded the visitors a penalty in the game’s final minutes, with the German confidently stepping up for the spot put and concisely ending Valour’s hopes of a comeback.
Valour’s season wasn’t even finished with that gut punch, with head coach Phil Dos Santos receiving a red card shortly afterwards, meaning he wasn’t pitchside to see Winnipeg’s season close out at the final whistle.
Even if Valour had taken the game, Pacific played spoiler in their result, so Valour FC would have been eliminated from playoff contention anyway. The Winnipeggers remain the only launch team who haven’t had a taste of postseason yet, and while they finished the season strongly, a calamitous spring ultimately led to their downfall.
For Cavalry, a strong second half secured second place, teeing up a tantalizing CPL Final play-in round against league rivals Forge FC.
Atletico Ottawa Lands Stalemate With Vancouver FC
The nation’s capital witnessed an Ottleti side battling for second place and a Vancouver FC hunting for their last-gasp chance at playoffs. Afshin Ghotbi’s side – who trained late at TD Place last night – couldn’t ultimately get the job done, with a draw eliminating them from playoffs.
Atletico Ottawa needed to go for the win, and will be absolutely furious with the match ending with Ruben Del Campo having been in a one-on-one when the referee concluded the match. With the controversial whistle, the hosts officially wrap up the regular season in third.
The hosts also saw Maxim Tissot come off the bench for a regular season farewell, with the Ottawa captain set to retire at the conclusion of the club’s campaign.
The 2024 Canadian Premier League season has finished with the traditional favourites, Forge and Cavalry, in first and second respectively. The playoffs will also include Atletico Ottawa, York United, and Pacific FC, with today’s matches seeing Vancouver FC and Valour FC officially eliminated, joining Halifax Wanderers to watch playoffs as spectators.
While Ruben Del Campo entered the matchweek in pole position for the Golden Boot, a second half brace from Tobias Warschewski has locked his name as the sole winner for the soapstone carving. It also saw Cavalry secure a second-place finish over Atletico Ottawa.
The playoff action begins quickly with York United hosting Pacific FC in a fourth-versus-fifth playoff battle on Wednesday, October 23. The game will be available on OneSoccer, fuboTV, and Telus Optik.
Header Image Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League
1 Comment
What a wild finish to the regular season! Pacific FC snagging that last playoff spot was thrilling, but it’s a bummer to see them get eliminated. Dario Zanatta really turned things around, and it was great to see him back on form after that goal drought!
As for Atlético Ottawa, what a turnaround! Beating York United FC in penalty kicks was huge, especially after that nail-biting moment with Ruben Del Campo’s near chance against Vancouver. Now, it’ll be exciting to see how Forge FC and Atlético Ottawa perform in their upcoming match, as the winner will face Cavalry FC in the finals. Here’s hoping for a great showdown! (https://tickets.canpl.ca/?_gl=1%2A17jj6zw%2A_gcl_aw%2AR0NMLjE3Mjk3MjE2NjkuQ2owS0NRand2ZUs0QmhENEFSSXNBS3k2cE1KMjBFdmtpVGlUNWdLdEdsb0x2eHUwWGl0eUZWQ01hamt2ZWFYQnBZaEdRNFg2RFBvTkp4a2FBbnNwRUFMd193Y0I.%2A_gcl_au%2AMTcwMzM0NTQ1NC4xNzI0ODc3MjE4)