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Myer Bevan of Cavalry scores the tying goal on a penalty against the Halifax Wanderers (Photo: CFC Media/ Mike Sturk)
MATCH ANALYSIS: Cavalry and Halifax split the points after late Bevan penalty
2023-05-14
by
Benedict Rhodes, CanPL.ca Contributor (@BTFR17)
News

Final Score: Cavalry FC 2-2 Halifax Wanderers FC
Goalscorers: Musse 19′, Bevan 78′ (PK); Collomb 45+1′, Fernandez 45+3′
Game of the 2023 season: 18
CPL match: 385

Match in a minute or less

Cavalry FC and Halifax Wanderers FC recorded their fifth-consecutive ties to open the 2023 Canadian Premier League season on Saturday evening, drawing 2-2 at ATCO Field in Calgary.

After Ali Musse opened the scoring for the home side in the 19th minute with a powerful shot into the bottom left corner, it seemed as though Cavalry would go into halftime up 1-0, but a late onslaught from the Wanderers flipped the script. Théo Collomb got his head on a cross into the box 32 seconds into first half stoppage time, redirecting the ball into the bottom left corner, moments before Zach Fernandez gave the visitors the lead moments later with a well-placed shot into the top right corner.

Myer Bevan tied things up at 2-2 with a 78th minute penalty after the referee determined that the ball struck the arm of Wanderers defender Cale Loughrey. Bevan buried it into the bottom right corner before pushing and shoving ensued as frustrations boiled over for both teams. Ethan Beckford nearly won the match for Cavalry with a free kick in the seventh minute of second half stoppage time, but his effort hit the post.

The match would end 2-2 as both teams remain unbeaten, but winless, to start the season.

Three Observations

Wanderers turn the game on its head with pair of goals in first half stoppage time

So far in 2023, the story for the Halifax Wanderers has been conceding goals late in halves to drop points. An Ollie Bassett goal in first half stoppage time saw the Wanderers draw 1-1 in Ottawa on the opening day of the season, Woobens Pacius scored an 89th minute equalizer a week later in Hamilton, and Shaan Hundal tied it at 1-1 for Vancouver FC in the Wanderers’ home opener on matchday three.

This time, however, it was Halifax who turned the game around when it seemed as though Cavalry would go into the break up 1-0 as the clock reached the 45 minute mark. Théo Collomb tied things up 32 seconds into stoppage time, getting the slightest of touches on a cross into the box from Lorenzo Callegari, redirecting it past Cavalry goalkeeper Marco Carducci for his second goal of the season.

Playing hard until the final whistle, something that head coach Patrice Gheisar has been drilling into their minds, the Wanderers then scored a second goal — completely turning the game around in the blink of an eye.

Collomb was involved again, picking up the ball down the left flank before crossing it in for Aidan Daniels, who laid it off to Zachary Fernandez. From the edge of the penalty area, Fernandez did well to open up his hips and perfectly place the ball into the top right corner with his first touch, giving Halifax a remarkable 2-1 lead on the road out of nowhere.

While Halifax weren’t able to hold on for their first win of the season, Gheisar insisted that it was another step in the right direction and that his team did well to get themselves back into the game.

“One of the things we addressed in the first three games was giving up the goals in those key moments like the 46th, and now we turned it and we’re the one that scored two goals in that span of minutes,” Gheisar said after the match. “I’m really proud of the guys, and any time you always have the same scenario and you always score first, when the opponent scores first it kind of gives you a shock.

“It could’ve gone two ways, we could’ve taken three steps back and they come back with a second and third, but I was really proud of the guys, they came back and responded with two quick goals, so it’s part of the learning. Knock on wood, we’re undefeated, they’re a great team, so we just keep going and hopefully get the win next week.”

Musse stars again for Cavalry, scores brilliant first half goal

Cavalry FC attacker Ali Musse opened his 2022 goals account on Saturday evening, the reward for a game in which he was one of the focal points from start to finish. In the 19th minute, Musse picked up the ball at the edge of the penalty area, cut to his left and unleashed a rocket of a shot into the bottom left corner of the net from distance, one that the diving Yann Fillion couldn’t get to in time as the home team opened the scoring.

The Winnipeg-raised Somalia international was all over the pitch once again for the Cavs, impressing with the ball at his feet and working hard off the ball to get himself into good positions or draw defenders away from teammates.

A few minutes later, he nearly set up a second goal, playing the ball through to Miki Cantave with a pinpoint pass between a couple of Wanderers defenders. Cantave hit the target, but perhaps could have taken another touch to try and get himself into a better position to beat the in-form Yann Fillion. Moments later Fillion came up big again, this time to deny Musse’s curling shot toward that same bottom left corner that he scored into minutes earlier, making a big diving stop to keep the ball out after the Cavalry attacker danced around a defender and got a shot away.

Musse has evolved over the past couple of seasons to become one of those footballers that you can’t usually stop, but you can certainly try your best to contain.

“He’s terrific, and I think he’s one of, if not the best attacking wide players or central players in the league,” Cavalry head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said after the match. “He’s entertaining. I always think of it from a fan[‘s perspective], you want players like that. In a league of parity, he’s the one that can get an action or create something out of nothing.”

“Musse’s Musse, you know?,” Myer Bevan said after the match. “You’ve seen him week in, week out. He does what he does, and today he got his goal, it’s good for him to get that goal and get him rolling in the season. I’m sure you’re going to see a lot more of that coming.”

Both teams frustrated by 0-5-0 records, but happy to remain unbeaten

After both teams started the 2023 Canadian Premier League season with four draws from four matches, a draw between Cavalry FC and the Halifax Wanderers always seemed like a real possibility, and that’s exactly what ended up happening on Saturday evening. Both sides feel as though they probably deserve better after playing well, but the results just haven’t been there for two ambitious team that end the night on the outside of the early playoff picture looking in.

“Definitely a frustrating one, I thought we started the game well,” said Wanderers midfielder Mo Omar. “We came into this match knowing all of our roles and responsibilities, our coaching staff laid out the plan for the match and I thought we were executing it pretty well. Obviously we went a goal down, but I’m so proud of this group for being resilient and just showing a level of fight that is what you need in this league to get results. To get two goals in such quick succession really set the tone for the second half. I’m really proud of this group, and I’m proud of the way we responded, because playing away at Cavalry is not an easy task, they’re a good side.

“Cavalry and Halifax, we both have five draws now, so that’s obviously frustrating searching for our first win, but a performance like today, that’s what you need in this league to get wins, and we’re going to keep at it when we get back to Halifax, keep training and doing what what we need to do to and we have so much belief in this group and so much belief in this coaching staff that once we get that first win we’re really going to get the ball rolling.”

Both sides have struggled with giving up leads this season as well, so it was fitting in a way that both did so in this match before setting for yet another draw. Creating chances to score hasn’t been the biggest problem for these teams in 2023, but both have been let down at times by a lack of clinical finishing to extend their leads and put games out of reach.

Going into next weekend — where Halifax will host York United and Cavalry will host Atlético Ottawa — both sides know that they need to be better to take that next step in order to hold onto leads and turn one of these draws into an absolutely crucial first victory.

“We’ve conceded quite soon after scoring this year, and it’s something that we need to work on as a group,” said Cavs goalscorer Myer Bevan afterwards. “I thought we were brilliant for 41 or 42 minutes in the first half, there’s just that lapse of concentration towards the end of the half. There was five minutes today that hurt us, but other than that I thought we were good, solid.”

Bevan’s head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr, despite joking that Cavalry and Halifax combined have more ties than he does in his wardrobe, was also keen to point out that it’s not all doom and gloom at the club, even if being winless for over a month is frustrating.

“We moved the ball well, we created opportunities, and then we had to show guts and refuse to lose,” Wheeldon Jr said after the match. “If we’re going to come here and teams are going to take the lead on us, we’ve got to make sure we take something out of it, and we did.

“I’m happy with the performance, but we’ve got work to do on defending.”

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Ali Musse, Cavalry FC

The Cavalry FC star showed once again that he is one of the best attackers in the Canadian Premier League, scoring the game’s first goal and nearly creating a few more.

What’s next?

Next weekend, the Halifax Wanderers return home to Wanderers Grounds to host York United on Saturday afternoon (3 pm AT/2 pm ET). Cavalry will stay at home this week, before hosting Atlético Ottawa on Sunday at ATCO Field (5 pm MT/7 pm ET).

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