Good things come in threes…
Three teams — Vancouver, Forge and Pacific — remain unbeaten as we head into week 3 action across the league; all three will also have a chance to maintain those records going into a 1-2-1 configuration this weekend!
Looking to the week ahead, York and Vancouver kick off the weekend, going under the lights at York University on Friday. Halifax will get their home opener against Ottawa on Saturday, with a double-header staying out east as Valour travel to Forge. The weekend wraps up on Sunday with Cavalry’s home opener against Pacific.
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York United vs Vancouver FC
At near-opposite ends of the table, York will play host to Vancouver on Friday, as the Eagles continue their eastward journey from BC to Alberta to Ontario, after a quick stopover in Canadian Championship action midweek.
Still in the hunt for their first win of the season, Martin Nash will be looking for much more from his side after a disappointing outing against Forge in front of a crowd of 2,654 at York Lions Stadium this past weekend, the eighth-highest in club history.
Despite a crowd buoyed by new ownership and a raft of offseason signings to bolster the squad’s playoff hopes, they wouldn’t have much to cheer for beyond the first 20 minutes or so, being undone just before the break by a David Choinière strike after the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu native was slipped in by Monterrey loanee Daniel Parra. “Naïve defending”, in York United head coach Martin Nash’s words, saw the Nine Stripes give up two more just past the hour mark, as Béni Badibanga and another David Choinière finish would double, then triple their 905 Derby rivals’ lead as they headed back down the QEW with all three points.
It was a tough outcome for a side who drew their largest crowd since 2019, as in those first twenty minutes or so — and in the aftermath of the second Choinière marker — York really appeared to have been on the front foot. Clément Bayiha saw an early chance parried away by Forge goalkeeper Christopher Kalongo, while Brian Wright was himself inches away from connecting on a Bayiha cross for a potential opener. Forge would get their mojo back after that, though, tightening up to limit York to just nine shots throughout the entire match, four of which were on target.
On a positive note, former York University Lions midfielder Christian Zeppieri made his home debut on a familiar pitch for the Nine Stripes, coming on for Josué Martinez just on the other side of half time. The industrious midfielder completed 20 of his 22 attempted passes on 32 touches, succeeded on two long diagonal switches and collected a batch of defensive actions. Zeppieri also saw his energy complemented post-match by both Martin Nash and fellow York Region local Max Ferrari, with the latter saying post-match, “I said to him when he came on, 'bring that spark', and right away, he took the ball, dribbled 20 yards and gave it to [Babouli] for a breakaway."
York United:
Form: L L - - -Last match: York United 0-3 Forge FC
YRK:
FOR: Choinière 45’+1, Badibanga 61’, Choinière 67’
It’s no rest for the weary of Vancouver, meanwhile, as the Eagles come off a moderately-sized dent to their preseason aspirations after being knocked out of the reckoning for the Voyageurs’ Cup, following a 1-0 loss to a Cavalry side playing their first home match of the season at Spruce Meadows.
Away on the road for the first time this season, Vancouver supporters will be hoping that the loss won’t be indicative of results to come, after failing to score in a match for the first time in 2024, made worse given Cavalry were reduced to ten after Shamit Shome was shown red on the hour mark by Pierre-Luc Lauzière.
Again Cavalry, Ghotbi’s side didn’t have the best of times in front of goal, with just three of their eleven shots being taken inside the box, while only Moses Dyer found the frame of the eight shots taken from outside the 18. This, also in spite of the fact that Vancouver had the majority of the possession, and both attempted and completed more passes than Tommy Wheeldon Jr’s side, whilst also adding another 33 (!) crosses attempted to their tally on the season.
In the process, Vancouver also lost key defender Kadin Chung in the process, with the right-back needing to be helped off just before the end of the first half following a crunching challenge. Luckily for Vancouver (and Chung), head coach Afshin Ghotbi told media on Thursday that the injury “was not as serious as it looked” and that he hopes [Chung] will be back “very quickly” — though not as quick as Friday’s clash against York, after flying back to Vancouver for X-rays.
Before that, Vancouver had secured another league win with a 2-0 result over Halifax thanks to a Rocco Romeo header and an Alejandro Díaz finish, in front of a smaller crowd of 2,702 at Willoughby Community Park, sending them atop the #CanPL table with a better goal difference than both Forge and BC rivals Pacific.
Coming in with a similar game plan, Vancouver would attempt 13 crosses against Halifax — but connected on just two of them, from Vasco Fry and Ben Fisk. Reminiscent of times gone by, much like their 4-4-2 shape to start the season, they’ll be up against it, considering York’s 6’2” centre-back pairing of Noah Abatneh and Nyal Higgins.
Vancouver FC:
Form: W W - - -Last match: Cavalry FC 1-0 Vancouver FC (CanChamp)
CAV: Shome 61’ red, Warschewski 66’
VFC:
So, how can York defeat Vancouver this week? Well, returning to their nine shots against Forge, the Nine Stripes struggled to get their front four engaged close to goal — and even moreso, in the box. Between Wright, Bayiha, Babouli and Ricci, York’s attacking group had just three shots (one saved, one blocked, one off-target) inside the 18-yard box, going alongside a bevy of incomplete passes and crosses. Taking a page out of Cavalry’s book midweek (and Valour’s, from opening weekend), York could also stand to profit if they’re able to get wide players Orlando Botello, Max Ferrari, Austin Ricci and Clément Bayiha on the ball in transition behind their Vancouver counterparts when the latter go up field to be involved in the Eagles’ attack.
As for Vancouver, hopefully, Cavalry was just a blip on what’s otherwise been a successful season so far. Standing in the way of that, though, is their first long-distance road-trip of the season, tacking over 3300 kilometres onto their odometers, whilst being down Kadin Chung for at least this week (though, James Cameron, Chung’s likely replacement, showed to be a more than capable U21 option for the Eagles last season). They’ll also need to be careful again, as they seem to will need to be all season long, to not be caught off-guard on the flanks when in transition — not too dissimilar to how Tobias Warschewski was able to sneak in at the back post in their midweek loss.
DATE: Friday, April 26, 2024
TIME: 7:00 p.m. ET | 4:00 p.m. PT
FORECAST: Sunny, 10°C
VENUE: York Lions Stadium — North York, ON
TV: OneSoccer, fuboTV, TELUS Optik ch. 980
OFFICIATING:
REF: Renzo Villanueva
AR1: Peter Pendli
AR2: Vasyl Dzikh
4TH: Scott Bowman
AVAILABILITY:
YRK: Oswaldo León (MCL, doubtful), Matthew Baldisimo (shoulder, doubtful), Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy (knock, questionable)
VFC: Zach Verhoven (out), Kadin Chung (out)
U21 MINUTES:
YRK: 318 (Abatneh 180, Voytsekhovskyy 96, Zeppieri 42)
VFC: 37 (Tahid 25, Crawford 12)
Halifax Wanderers vs Atlético Ottawa
As of the start of this week, 7th hosts 3rd in the first match of Saturday, as the Wanderers return home to Halifax for the first time this season, in need of some home cooking against an unbeaten Atlético Ottawa.
Following up an tough 1-0 loss against Pacific on opening weekend, the Wanderers were once again uncharacteristically, based on the heights they reached in 2023, second-best against the high-flying Vancouver in Langley on Thursday.
Aside from being held scoreless for a second match in a row, maintaining the unwanted record of being the only team yet to score this season, the Wanderers struggled to put together more than a couple spells of pressure on the Eagles’ backline.
Coupled in those stints, a pair of individual mistakes on their own backline saw both Rocco Romeo off a misguided clearance, and Alejandro Díaz, by way of a Moses Dyer pickpocketing of key defender Dan Nimick which somehow came back off the post, slot past an outstretched Yann Fillion.
Sticking to the three-back formation that head coach Patrice Gheisar debuted against Pacific, the Wanderers also elected to throw Lorenzo Callegari in up top — in an attempt seemingly to get the French playmaker more involved in attacking phases. Results were middling, however, with Callegari seeing more passes backwards, sideways and onto the flanks — especially with the team also only completing just four of 19 attempted crosses.
Things did look more lively for the Wanderers following second-half switches for Massimo Ferrin, Tiago Coimbra, Giorgio Probo and later on, Vitor Dias — but it was too little, too late as Vancouver held on for the win and clean sheet.
Halifax Wanderers:
Form: L L - - -Last match: Vancouver FC 2-0 Halifax Wanderers
VFC: Romeo 17’, Díaz 52’
HFX:
Ottawa, on the other hand, narrowly missed out on a perfect 2-0-0 record to start the season after an unfortunate Kris Twardek own goal in the final minutes. That goal saw them settle for the first draw of the season in the #CanPL.
After a middling first half between the two sides which amounted to just less than 0.8 xG combined, former Pacific centreback Amer Didic gave the 4,569 supporters in attendance at TD Place on Saturday something to cheer, heading home his first goal for the club off an Ollie Bassett delivery from the corner flag just after the break. This, following on from fellow teammate and also former Pacific midfielder Manny Aparicio’s first for the club last weekend.
Cavalry would claw back into the match after the goal, however, going on an extended spell of pressure that saw no less than eight shots towards goal, including one off the boot of Sergio Camargo that dipped just narrowly over the crossbar.
It would take until the 90th minute for the away support to celebrate, but Cavalry would eventually get their dues — having generated 1.53 xG by the time the final whistle rolled around — as Fraser Aird spun a cross towards the back of the Ottleti six-yard box. That cross, aimed at Lleyton Brooks, would come off week one hero Kris Twardek’s leg with the Canadian and the Aussie both jockeying for position at the back stick and past Nathan Ingham into the Ottawa goal.
Brooks, narrowly missing out on his debut goal in the CPL, would get a second chance just minutes later with a potential match-winner on his head… but would end up sending it well wide of the mark from the top of the six as referee Mathieu Souaré called time on the afternoon.
Atlético Ottawa:
Form: D W - - -Last match: Atlético Ottawa 1-1 Cavalry FC
ATO: Didic 47’
CAV: Twardek 90’ og
One thing’s for certain: it’s a Wanderers home opener, and the east coast support will be there for it. Even with the somewhat slow start, a sold out Wanderers Grounds will be welcoming the team back to Halifax for this one. For Ottawa, that means preparing for the raucous crowd that HFX are so well known for across the league — one that Ottawa supporters we’re sure will argue is rivalled (if not bested!) by the Dub.
Aside from that though, there remains the ‘small’ issue of Halifax still chasing their first goal of the year with a first-choice attack that seems to still have some ways to go in terms of gelling together. That job may also be made harder this weekend by injury and availability issues throughout the squad, as reported on Friday by the lovely Josh Healey over at the Wanderers Notebook.
Other notes: Ottawa will debut their 2024 away kit this weekend, showing off their “Soccer Culture” alternate option as they go on their first road trip headed East.
DATE: Saturday, April 20, 2024
TIME: 2:00pm AT | 1:00pm ET
FORECAST: Sunny, 8°C
VENUE: Wanderers Grounds — Halifax, NS
TV: OneSoccer, fuboTV, TELUS Optik ch. 980
OFFICIATING:
REF: Ben Hoskins
AR1: Gérard-Kader Lebuis
AR2: Travis Lefebvre
4TH: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin
AVAILABILITY:
HFX: Kareem Sow (out), Tomas Giraldo (out), Tiago Coimbra (out), Vitor Dias (out)
ATO: TBA
U21 MINUTES:
HFX: 34 (Coimbra 30, Giraldo 4)
ATO: 8 (Walker 8)
Forge FC vs Valour FC
A difficult start to the season continues for Valour, as they double back east on their extended road trip to face Forge, who’ve done just about two hours’ worth of travelling through the first three games of the season.
It’s been largely business as usual in the Hammer, as Bobby Smyrniotis’ side has once again began to show their ability to pivot from strength to strength in the face of offseason outs, picking up a 3-0 win over 905 rivals York United to go with their 2-1 opening weekend win against their perennial title-challenging counterparts, Cavalry.
Whether its the likes of Terran Campbell and Malik Owolabi-Belewu continuing to make strides, new arrival Daniel Parra hitting the ground running, or the broader returns of Tristan Borges and the aforementioned Choinière from injury problems in 2023, there seems to be a never-ending supply of fuel for the well-oiled orange machine.
Choinière, in particular, showed well in their win last weekend over York, coming up with a goal either side of half-time on 58 touches and an 84% pass completion rate. The Quebec native was joined by fellow francophone Béni Badibanga on the scoresheet, with the Belgian finishing one of Forge’s five big chances during the match with a beautiful curling shot across the face of Thomas Vincensini’s goal.
As noted previously, newcomer Daniel Parra also showed his quick settling into the side, getting high up the wing to supply the through-ball on Choinière’s opener in added time at the end of the first half. Parra, incidentally, was one of three Monterrey loanees to feature in this match, with fellow left-back Orlando Botello and midfielder Josué Martínez both getting the start for the Nine Stripes.
Forge FC:
Form: W W - - -Last match: York United 0-3 Forge FC
YRK:
FOR: Choinière 45’+1, Badibanga 61’, Choinière 67’
Given what is quite a close all-time history between these two sides — nine wins for Forge, seven wins for Valour and two draws — the Winnipeg side will be hoping that today will be the best chance yet at picking up their first points of the year.
In a parallel to their opening day clash against Vancouver, Phil Dos Santos’ XI again weathered the first period of the match, entering with the scores level at half.
Unfortunately, they would also repeat conceding the eventual match-winner just two minutes after the break. This time, following some intricate passing to get out of a high Valour press, Josh Heard would send the 2,851 fans at Starlight Stadium into celebrations with a three-pass sequence seeing the ball travel the length of the pitch and into the back of the visitors’ goal within a 15-second span.
Late interventions would keep the scores from getting out of hand, including a goal-line clearance from ex-Pacific defender Abdou Samaké, though Pacific would eventually find an insurance marker through Sean Young on his 100th career appearance.
It would also be another busy day for wingbacks Themi Antonoglou and Roberto Alarcón on both sides of the ball, with the former especially finding significant joy working down the left flank. The two A’s (for Antonoglou and Alarcón) have combined for nearly 200 touches over Valour’s first two matches, with the former being a major outlet for their attacking exploits — something to focus on for Saturday, as an outlet that should be well-travelled again as they look to find a way around Forge’s likely full-back pairing of Daniel Parra and Malcolm Duncan.
Valour FC:
Form: L L - - -Last match: Pacific FC 2-0 Valour FC
PAC: Heard 47’, Young 79’
VAL:
Further impacting this match on Saturday, is the prospect of rain showers throughout the afternoon in Hamilton. With the Donut Box’s reputation for being a wind tunnel — something that Bobby Smyrniotis has said his team have trained for in the past — whether the weather (pardon the rhyming) cooperates for the two teams’ arrivals will add just another layer of intrigue, particularly when it comes to how crosses behave in the air, as expressed by Afshin Ghotbi midweek.
DATE: Saturday, April 20th, 2024
TIME: 4:00pm ET | 3:00pm CT
FORECAST: Light rain, 13°C
VENUE: Tim Hortons Field — Hamilton, ON
TV: OneSoccer, fuboTV, TELUS Optik ch. 980
OFFICIATING:
REF: Michael Venne
AR1: Jason Vaillancourt
AR2: Paulin-Junior Vanié
4TH: Bradley Doubrough
AVAILABILITY:
FOR: TBA
VAL: Raphael Ohin (doubtful), Tass Mourdoukoutas (out)
U21 MINUTES:
FOR: 44 (Poku 27, Kane 13, Schiavoni 3)
VAL: 182 (Binate 92, Hanson 54, Sánchez 36)
Cavalry FC vs Pacific FC
Cavalry FC:
Form: D L - - -Last match: Cavalry FC 1-0 Vancouver FC (CanChamp)
CAV: Shome 61’ red, Warschewski 66’
VFC:
Pacific FC:
Form: W W - - -Last match: Pacific FC 2-0 Valour FC
PAC: Heard 47’, Young 79’
VAL:
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 2024
TIME: 3:00pm MT | 2:00pm PT
FORECAST: Partly cloudy, 17°C
VENUE: ATCO Field at Spruce Meadows — Calgary, AB
TV: OneSoccer, fuboTV, TELUS Optik ch. 980
OFFICIATING:
REF: TBA
AR1: TBA
AR2: TBA
4TH: TBA
AVAILABILITY:
CAV: Jesse Daley (unknown, questionable), Maël Henry (unknown, out), Callum Montgomery (foot, out)
PAC: none
U21 MINUTES:
CAV: 31 (Dias 31)
PAC: 315 (Gazdov 180, Amedume 107, Lajeunesse 28)