Final Score: Cavalry FC 2-1 Forge FC
Goalscorers: Warschewski 32′ (pen.), Camargo 38′ ; Achinioti-Jönsson 52′
2024 CPL Playoffs
Final

Match in a minute or less

After years of playoff heartbreak, much of which was handed to them by rivals Forge, Cavalry FC finally defeated the Hamilton club in a CPL Final, 2-1 to lift their first North Star Cup.

An outstanding first half made the difference for Cavs, as they took advantage of relentless pressure to take a two-goal lead, with Golden Boot winner Tobias Warschewski converting from the spot in the 32nd minute, and Sergio Camargo adding a second six minutes later. Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson scored the lone Forge goal in the 52nd minute.

Cavalry are the league’s third different champion in its six seasons, joining Forge (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023) and Pacific in 2021.

Three Observations

‘Pain to Champagne’ as Cavalry FC finally lift the North Star Cup

As Marco Carducci hoisted the North Star Cup over his head in front of a sold-out ATCO Field at Spruce Meadows, it felt like a moment of rapturous relief as much as celebration.

The last time a final was played on this pitch, it was Carducci who watched helplessly as David Choinière pushed the ball over him in stoppage time to clinch Forge the 2019 title. Then last year, he again saw the ball loop over his head as Tristan Borges’s Olimpico winner curled into the back of the net.

On Saturday, however, Carducci and his Cavalry teammates took control of their own script, penning a championship story that the city of Calgary won’t soon forget.

“It’s hard to find the words,” said Carducci. “It’s a special feeling. I think I go first to the fact that I got to hoist the trophy with my brothers behind me, with my founder, and my friends all around, with 7,000 people who’ve been supporting us all year, with the city at our back, it’s extra special.”

One brother, in particular, has been with him since the very start, as it was one of the club’s first-ever signings, Sergio Camargo, who scored the game’s winning goal. Having it be a Cavalry original, who has been with the club through all the ups and downs of the past six seasons, felt fitting.

Despite having significantly more pressure on them after all the times it had been right there for them in CPL Final matches, Cavalry played as a side unburdened by their history. They inflicted all the damage they needed in the first half, and then bent but didn’t break in the second to claim their first playoff championship.

“They’ve felt the pain, now they can taste the champagne,” said Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

It is the second consecutive year that Cavalry have been able to hoist a trophy in front of the fans at ATCO Field, after hoisting the CPL Shield as regular season winners last year. But this one was on another level.

“We’ve been at the doorstep over and over,” said Wheeldon Jr. “We won the regular season last year. But this is way more fun.”

Relentless first half the difference for Cavalry FC

If there were any nerves as Cavalry FC kicked off the 2024 CPL Final, they weren’t evident. From minute one Cavalry charged into battle, using their flanks to create a number of early opportunities, trapping Forge deep in their own territory.

With their first attempted shot coming in the third minute, they had seven inside the opening 20 minutes, when Jay Herdman forced a good save from Jassem Koleilat. When they didn’t have the ball, Cavalry were relentless in winning it back, suffocating the Forge side with an energetic press.

Musse in particular was outstanding all match long in the press, as the Cavalry attacker won possession back a stunning 10 times during the game. Camargo won the ball back four times as well, and Shamit Shome in particular was outstanding in midfield at breaking up anything that beat the initial line of pressure.

“I was more or less a spectator in the first half,” said Cavalry goalkeeper Marco Carducci. “Which is always fun to be.”

Cavalry finished the first half with a stunning 1.9 expected goals, 13 shot attempts and 28 touches in the Forge box.

As good as they were, what made the difference was that they made all of those chances count. Their ninth shot of the half came from the penalty spot, as CPL Golden Boot winner Tobias Warschewski won and then converted a crucial opener for the hosts. Six minutes later they added a second goal from Sergio Camargo which stood as the winner.

“You need insurance,” said Wheeldon Jr. “When we went to their place, we won 1-0 and were able to see it out. But two gave us an opportunity that if a call went our way, if a moment went their way, and it did, and it tested us, and we had to change and we had to adapt.”

Despite carrying that two-goal cushion into the break, Cavalry still had plenty to do in the second half. Regardless of the fact that their opponents Forge had never come back from down two goals to win a CPL match, the Hamilton club have shown a knack over the years for overturning scorelines in historic fashion in the game’s biggest moments.

Cavalry know this all too well, as still the only of the league’s 27 all-time CPL playoff matches to be lost by the team who scored first was them against Forge in the 2023 Final. When Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson scored in the 52nd minute to cut Cavalry’s lead to a single goal, the stadium sat in stunned silence.

Their team on the pitch, however, did an outstanding job of seeing out the match, slowing it down whenever they had the opportunity and denying the visitors any ability to create momentum. Forge had 68 per cent of the possession in the second half, but Achinioti-Jönsson’s effort was the only shot which went on target, as Cavalry’s league-best backline did an outstanding job of limiting their opportunities.

With all that weight of history on their shoulders, Cavalry stood tall in the game’s decisive moments and now they get to call themselves Champions because of it.

Forge FC unable to write a happy ending to their ‘special’ 2024 season

For once, in a CPL playoff match, it felt like Forge dug themselves a hole in the first half that was too deep to claw out of.

The Hamilton club were outclassed in the opening 45 minutes, incapable of getting the ball out of their own half with any regularity and lacking the usual big-game composure which has made them so dominant in their four previous final victories.

“One team worked a little bit harder in the first 30 minutes of the game, if you watch the game, that’s obvious,” said Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis. “You can see that, and when you do that, you give an opportunity to your opponent to get an edge.”

Forge came out of the gates in the second half with significantly more energy, putting more pressure on the Cavalry backline and not allowing them to move the ball so easily up the pitch. They were nearly instantly rewarded, as in the 51st minute Forge’s Alessandro Hojabrpour was able to redirect a loss ball in the Cavalry box into the path of Alex Achinioti-Jönsson who stretched to push it past Marco Carducci.

That was as close as they came on the night, however, as the Forge equalizer that always feels inevitable in these sorts of matches never came.

“I’ve gotta be proud of my guys in the second half,” said Smyrniotis. “We flipped the script, we scored early, we’ve been able to apply pressure but that second magical goal wasn’t there.”

After the match in the Forge locker room captain Kyle Bekker addressed the team, making sure that even if the way it ended was heartbreaking, that his teammates still understood how special this season has been for the club.

Starting the season with a strong showing against Chivas Guadalajara in Concacaf, beating CF Montréal and then putting up a good fight against Toronto FC in the Canadian Championship, all in the midst of winning the league’s regular season.

The full perspective of the year will start to set in more in the coming weeks, but for now, this result will certainly sting for a club that has played on the final day in all six of the Canadian Premier League’s seasons, and isn’t used to accepting the runners up medal.

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Tobias Warschewski, Cavalry FC 

The CPL’s Golden Boot winner was again the x-factor for Cavalry in the CPL Final, winning a penalty in the 30th minute before converting it himself in the 32nd. He assisted on Sergio Camargo’s match winner, and finished the match with 10 duels won, and three successful dribbles.

What’s next?

Both Forge and Cavalry will start their 2025 campaign in the Concacaf Champions Cup. They will find out their opponents on Tuesday, Dec. 10 when the official draw takes place.

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