York United FC solidified their position in second place on Saturday, as they improved to 4-1-1 under Benjamín Mora with a well-earned 2-1 away win against Cavalry FC at ATCO Field.

On a sunny afternoon in Calgary, Cavs manager Tommy Wheeldon Jr. opted to field a lineup with two changes from the side that beat Valour last weekend, as Callum Montgomery joined the defence in place of Eryk Kobza, while Jesse Daley slotted back into midfield. York, meanwhile, made only one personnel change — that being Oswaldo León — but the Mexican defender’s insertion meant a broader formation change, as York played with three centre-backs and allowed Max Ferrari and Kadin Martin-Pereux to get higher up the pitch on the flanks.

The first half took a while to get going, as the two sides spent the first half hour or so mostly trying to feel one another out and establish themselves in the game. York had the better early chances with three shots in that stretch, then properly threatened when Mo Babouli turned around Daan Klomp and unleashed a good shot from distance, but Marco Carducci was able to get low and save it.

Cavalry’s best chance of the first half was an opportunity that — sort of — fell at the feet of Tobias Warschewski, who had flicked it over York ‘keeper Thomas Vincensi coming well out of his box, but Warschewski couldn’t quite track the ball down to put it in the empty net before he ran out of room at the end line, putting it off the outside of the goalpost.

After a largely uneventful first half, York head coach Benjamín Mora decided to take the initiative to change the match. He took Noah Abatneh off in favour of forward Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy, switching his formation to a back four with a more attacking outlook.

The first 15 minutes of the second frame were similarly uneventful, prompting Wheeldon Jr. to make an interesting change of his own: He gave a CPL debut to German forward Nicolas Wähling, who replaced Niko Myroniuk to join the Cavs’ attack and try to make an attacking impact.

At last, it was York who broke the deadlock, in the 63rd minute. Brian Wright drove toward the box and battled with Callum Montgomery, leading to the Cavalry defender fouling the York forward. The build-up to the free kick was long, as York made a couple more substitutions, which gave Mo Babouli plenty of time to eye up the distance to goal.

The York captain struck it perfectly, lifting his set-piece over the Cavalry wall and off the underside of the crossbar, beating Carducci to give the Nine Stripes a 1-0 lead.

With less than 10 minutes to play, the Nine Stripe sealed their road victory in style. Wright barrelled his way into the penalty area, keeping the ball at his feet to get into space — enough to cut it low across goal, where 16-year-old Shola Jimoh was sprinting into the box and smashed the loose ball into an open net and made it 2-0.

Cavalry would manage to get one back at the very end of the contest, as Warschewski knocked one past a rushing Vincensini once again, this time finding the net — in the eight minute of stoppage time. That was the final kick of the game though, as the referee blew for full time and concluded a victory for York.

Seeing off the victory over last year’s regular season title winners, York United kept themselves secure in second place for another week, as they moved up to 23 points at the halfway point of the 2024 season. Cavalry, meanwhile, will remain in sixth place, as they suffered their first loss at home of the CPL campaign.

BOX SCORE

Lineups

Cavalry FC: Carducci; Aird, Klomp, Montgomery, Field; Shome (Trafford 68′), Daley (Brooks 68′), Gutiérrez (Henry 82′), Myroniuk (Wähling 59′), Warschewski, Shaw

York United FC: Vincensini; Abatneh (Voytsekhovskyy 46′), Sturing, León; Ferrari, Martínez (Jimoh 62′), Adekugbe, Cordóva (Higgins 90+5′), Martin-Pereux (Botello 62′); Babouli, Wright (Esprit 90+1′)

Goals

63′ — Mo Babouli (York United)
82′ — Shola Jimoh (York United)
90+8′ — Tobias Warschewski (Cavalry FC)

Discipline

18′ — Yellow: Brian Wright (York United)
24′ — Yellow: Noah Abatneh (York United)
34′ — Yellow: Oswaldo León (York United)
34′ — Yellow: Fraser Aird (Cavalry FC)
52′ — Yellow: Daan Klomp (Cavalry FC)
61′ — Yellow: Callum Montgomery (Cavalry FC)
78′ — Yellow: Frank Sturing (York United)