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Cavalry FC Hands York9 FC Its First Defeat At Island Games
By The second match of the Canadian Premier League’s first double-header of the weekend saw Cavalry FC take all three points over York9 FC in a single-goal affair.
The Nine Stripes entered the game knowing that earning at least a draw would likely see them through to the Group Stage, with the club entering the pitch as the only undefeated side in the tournament.
Despite only having lost on the final day of regular season at The Island Games, York9 FC will now need to see how tomorrow’s matches go to see if the club will stay in the top four and enter the group stage.
Cavalry FC, meanwhile, started the match in second place in league standings knowing that a win could prevent any tie-breaker scenarios that might create an off-chance that at could force the club home depending on tomorrow’s results. They ended the match in first place without any such worries.
For perhaps the first time at The Island Games, York9 FC fielded what looked like a fully healthy roster: both Mannella and Petrasso got starts, with Abzi continuing to be deployed on the left wing with Segawa behind him.
Tommy Wheeldon Jr. opted for a back three consisting of Trafford, Wheeldon, and Zator, with both Mavila and Farsi operating as wing-backs on either flank. Golden boot co-leader Jordan Brown started up top between Oliver Minatel and Nico Pasquotti.
The opening minutes saw Roger Thompson and Oliver Minatel clash hard just outside the York9 FC box, with the Brazilian forward appearing to have fractured his right leg. After a few minutes with paramedics on the pitch, he was stretchered off in the twentieth minute after sustaining what looked like a very serious right leg injury.
Jordan Brown came close in the thirty-third minute, firing a shot just wide with the striker ending up a half-foot offside regardless. The Alberta-based side came close again ten minutes later, with Ingham punching away a close shot and a follow-up cross being cleared by the Nine Stripes, who themselves didn’t have much going forward in attack.
The eleven minutes of added time nearly saw Telfer net a goal against the run of play. Moments later, Pasquotti ran into space to fire off a tight shot that went agonizingly wide of the post.
Nathan Ingham pulled of a game-saving save in the sixtieth minute, denying a fast header from Marcus Haber to keep the scores level in a situation where one would have expected a goal.
Manny Aparicio made space for himself in the Cavalry FC box, but his near-sided effort lacked the pace it needed to give the Nine Stripes Captain his third goal in just as many games.
The sun that kept shinging in Ingham’s eyes may have had big ramifications when the goalkeeper couldn’t hold onto a shot from distance from Nathan Mavila, with the rebound dropping straight to target man Marcus Haber. The big man wasted no time in firing the effort home.
Cavalry FC had the lead, and it meant that the Nine Stripes’ progression to the group stage was in big danger.
A tricky move by Abzi saw York9 FC nearly respond with an immediate goal, but Carducci was able to scoop up his own rebound after making the save.
The final whistle blew to call an end to a match where the Nine Stripes never really got going, with Cavalry FC capitalizing on a mistake by Ingham to secure itself all three points tonight.
Cavalry FC continues its run of never having lost against York9 FC with today’s result, which pushes the Alberta-based side to the league table’s pole position with thirteen points. The club becomes the second team to qualify for the group stage after Forge FC booked its place on the previous matchday.
York9 FC could see itself pushed out of a postseason spot depending on how tomorrow’s match between Pacific FC and FC Edmonton goes, but for the moment Jim Brennan’s team still occupies the third position in the league table after suffering its first defeat of 2020.
Header Image Photo Credit: OneSoccer / Nora Stankovic