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Photo Credit: Halifax Wanderers FC
CPL Matchweek 12 Recap – Goals, Guts, Glory
By With Canada’s historic World Cup run coming to an end against Morocco, the eyes of a nation – or, at least, some of its more hardcore faithful – now return to Canada’s own professional soccer league.
With a Rogers television deal brewing and summer in full swing, the Canadian Premier League will be hoping to get more eyes on the league and more butts in seats as the league’s eighth season nears its halfway mark. If goals are what might seduce the casual fan, consider the peacock feathers on full display.
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While last week’s tally of 16 goal goals in 3 games was an improbable benchmark to match, this week still produced 15 in 4, with no games having less than three apiece. It was a good week for the league’s top sides, and a continuation of the drastic rise and fall of Vancouver FC and Inter Toronto, respectively.
Without further ado, let’s recap what went down this Canadian Premier League matchweek:
Cavalry FC 3 – 0 Atletico Ottawa
Despite missing their last game through a weather delay, Cavalry didn’t miss a step as the club travelled to the nation’s capital and quickly set the tone against the reigning champions.
Cavalry captain Sergio Camargo kicked things off with his third of the season as Cavalry continued their set-piece capitalization, with a flicked-on ball teeing up the veteran midfielder for a close-range finish. He was happy to oblige, delivering a well-placed header that Kalongo had no chance of keeping out:
The visitors would double their lead under ten minutes later as an errant pass allowed Cavalry to quickly press and move the ball to Ali Musse, who egressed into the opposition box. While the striker’s shot was kept out by Chris Kalongo, the rebound was left on a plate for Goteh Ntignee to make it two-nil from close range:
Tommy Wheeldon Jr’s side would add a third in the first half through Caniggia Elva, who pinged a great ball out wide to Ntignee. The winger cut his way down the left flank before delivering a nice looped ball back over to him. Elva had made a smart run centrally, heading it home to finish the chance in the 39th minute:
The second half would offer little to the spectators on a warm afternoon, with Atletico Ottawa not mounting much of a comeback and Cavalry happy to absorb some of the pressure.
The Ottleti defeat marks Drew Beckie’s first defeat as interim head coach, with the gaffer still having yet to see a match with fewer than three goals. For Cavalry, the win would help them keep within touching distance of table-topping Forge FC in what proved to be a comfortable experience on the road.
Vancouver FC 4 – 0 Inter Toronto
For Inter Toronto fans, it was the worst Saturday: Canada fell in the World Cup, and within moments of this game’s kickoff afterwards, it was clear that Inter Toronto weren’t going to provide any joy either.
In a first half that proved an absolute demolition – particularly following Inter Toronto’s last two games which saw them concede nine goals overall – it took under one minute for Vancouver FC to establish dominance. A quick interception by former Inter Toronto (then York9 FC) man Morey Doner led to a completely exposed flank for the visitors for Bah to blitz through. Seeing Nicolas Mezquida running central, he pinged in a low ball that the Uruguayan finished from point blank:
Inter Toronto wouldn’t last another five minutes before conceding again, though Vancouver’s second needed a little bit of luck. A three-on-four counter saw Burundian forward Mohamed Amissi carve into the edge of the box and fire a right-footed effort that caught the outstretched boot of Frank Sturring, redirecting the ball beyond a quite unfortunate Diego Urtiaga:
The first half of nightmares would get worse for Mauro Eustaquio and company, who had little luck going forward in front of net. After a few spurned chances, the Eagles struck again as a sequence of successful duels in the middle of the park allowed Bah to gain possession out right. While Inter Toronto had numbers back this time, it played out just like the first goal: Bah saw a teammate in front of the net, and he pinged it into the box for quick tap-in from Amissi:
The Burundian baller wasn’t done there, however, recording a hat trick for himself to cap off a sequence of atrocious defending from the visitors. A bad touch from Oswaldo Leon actually played the ball into his own box, and while Urtiaga put his body on the line for a point blank force, the visitor’s bad luck continued as the ball went straight to Amissi. He fired it right back in the direction it came from, with his hat trick making it four-nil:
The second half offered a tempo reset of sorts, and while Vancouver FC still threatened on several occasions – and Inter Toronto had a good set piece chance through Tomasz Skublak – there would be no more action to come after the frantic first half concluded.
It’s been a real Jekyll and Hyde season for Inter Toronto, who went undefeated in their first six games before dropping to sixth in league standings after four straight lopsided losses. For Vancouver, who always felt their xG had been good, they rise to fifth and look good to challenge for a playoff spot.
FC Supra du Quebec 1 – 2 Forge FC
Two sides who favour their attacking chances met on a sunny weekend in La Belle Province, with table-topping Forge FC emerging victorious as both clubs found the net.
Both teams carved out a handful of opportunities in the first half, but Forge would strike first blood after an FVS Challenge from Bobby Smyrniotis led to a penalty decision. Boughanmi was found to have pulled down youngster Aromatario during a corner kick.
The big frame of Dan Nimick trod towards the penalty spot, shuffling up to fire a well-placed shot that Joakim Milli had guessed the correct side on, but ultimately couldn’t keep out.
For the second match in a row, Forge would make an inexplicable unforced error to pass the ball to their opposition. Aromatario sent a cross-field pass that went right into the grateful path of Clement Bayiha, who pinged the ball forward for Loic Kwemi. Still with a lot to do on the right of the box as a defender bore down on him, Kwemi unleashed an absolute rocket that burned beyond Bertaud to even things up:
Unfazed by the moment, however, Forge would strike back ten minutes later. Having just come on from the bench, Maxime Filion ran into the box as a floated ball in from Borges caused all kinds of trouble for FC Supra du Quebec. It bounced once in between Milli and Ferdinand, allowing Filion to head home the matchwinner in a little Quebec-on-Quebec violence:
That would prove to be the last goal of the match, with Forge FC retaining its lead on the table’s top while FC Supra du Quebec drift down to seventh as their inaugural season learning curve continues.
Pacific FC 1 – 2 Halifax Wanderers
With Terry Dunfield still wrapping up his obligations at TSN, Pacific still finds itself adrift of a win as interim head coach Yiannis Tsalatsidis suffered defeat to Halifax in back-to-back matchweeks, making Pacific winless in its last 23 matches.
The Tridents had lost 5-2 over on the East Coast last Friday, hoping that homefield advantage at Starlight Stadium might be boost enough to carve out a result from the coastal clash. While the result was closer, they still copped a 1-2 loss against a heavily-rotated Wanderers side.
It took under twenty minutes for Halifax to re-establish dominance through Tavio Ciccarelli, who had scored in the reverse fixture. The 19-year-old found himself on the end of a sharp cross from Bahamboula, who danced in from the flank and sent in a teasing ball that the youngster was able to meet and redirect over the line:
The second half had only been underway for a few minutes when a handball call against Halifax’s Jefferson Alphonse allowed Pacific to get back into the game. Up stepped Alejandro Diaz, who wrong-sided Carducci on the spot kick to equalize for the hosts and extend his lead as the league’s all-time top goalscorer:
Just as Pacific were growing back into the game following the equalizer, however, Halifax would retake the lead. Miguel Arilla, who had come up big for Halifax last week, came off the bench this time around to send in a nice ball to Lorenzo Callegari, who was running free into the box after beating his marker. The midfield talisman would make no mistake from there, placing it perfectly beyond Sean Melvin to restore Halifax’s lead:
Try as they might, the Tridents couldn’t find an answer to that goal. Ronan Kratt – who has always looked like an offensive spark when he’s come on – tested Carducci multiple times, but was unable to help his last-placed side earn a point as Halifax did a quick double over them.
For Halifax, the back-to-back wins are a nice confidence boost to Vanni Sartini’s side following a hot-and-cold opening stanza to the season. For Pacific, it’s been the same old story: bottom of the table, and still winless for almost an entire year now.
We’re really starting to see some movement in the middle of the table here. While Forge and Cavalry are well in front of the pack, just six points separate third from seventh. Inter Toronto still has a two-match advantage over that grouping, though they have the worst form table out of them all.
Pacific FC is still sunk at the bottom with a paltry three points, zero wins, and worst goal differential, leaving the club a far cry from their 2021 championship-winning season.
There’ll be no Canadian Premier League this weekend, but that’s only because we’re getting spoiled with four Canadian Championship games on Wednesday and most of their reverse fixtures over the weekend.
As if the World Cup wasn’t bringing enough action, we’ll have a double-header in Quebec on Wednesday as Saint-Laurent hosts Forge at 3:00 PM with FC Supra and Atletico Ottawa following at 7:00 PM.
The full day of football continues out west as Vancouver FC hosts CF Montreal at 10:00PM, with an overlapping match as the Vancouver Whitecaps take on Cavalry at 10:30PM. That’s a delicious double salvo of CPL-vs-MLS action.
The quarter-finals are two-legged affairs, and those legs are immediately returning over the weekend (with one odd exception). Forge hosts Saint-Laurent in Hamilton at 4:00 PM this Sunday, while CF Montreal plays Vancouver FC at 7:30 PM. Monday will then see Cavalry welcome the Whitecaps to ATCO Field at 9:30 PM, while all the away awkwardly out on August 11, Atletico Ottawa faces FC Supra du Quebec to close out the quarter-finals stage.
The Canadian Premier League will return the weekend afterwards.
Header Image Photo Credit: Halifax Wanderers FC
