Final Score: Vancouver FC 5-1 Cavalry FC
Goalscorers: Díaz 10′; Bevan 7′ (PK), Klomp 24′, Camargo 37′, Fisk 55′, Musse 84′
Game of the 2023 season: 64
CPL match: 431

Match in a minute or less

Cavalry climbed to the top of the Canadian Premier League table on Saturday, as they defeated Vancouver 5-1 at Langley’s Willoughby Community Park, allowing them to leapfrog Pacific in the standings in the process.

A feisty clash, one that finished with Cavalry going down to 10 players and Vancouver down to nine, the action got started early and often in this one. As a result, Cavalry got on the board within 10 minutes, as Myer Bevan won a penalty and forced a red card from Vancouver’s Eugene Martínez, before doing well to then slot home his spot kick to make it 1-0.

Despite going down a goal and a player, however, Vancouver would respond nearly immediately, as less than five minutes later, new arrival Alejandro Díaz slotted home a great Min-Jae Kwak assist to make it 1-1 with his second goal in two games since his return to the CPL.

From there, however, it’d be all Cavalry the rest of the way, as they’d make it 3-1 by half time through well-taken goals from Daan Klomp and Sergio Camargo, before Ben Fisk and Ali Musse put the game to rest in the second half, capping a dominant end to the game from the new league leaders.

Three Observations

Resilient Vancouver nearly survives red card, before Cavalry pulls away to go atop the table:

Through three meetings in their history, one lesson has become clear when these teams play – don’t turn away during the first few minutes.

This game was a prime example of why.

Just minutes in, it’d be Cavalry who’d manage to get off to the races early, doing well to win an early penalty and draw a red card, even if the latter was a bit harsh. From there, they’d make no mistake with the spot kick, allowing them to grab an early lead.

Yet, while it felt like Cavalry might quickly pull away after scoring that goal, Vancouver would do well to respond quickly. Like when these last teams met in Langley, where Cavalry would open the scoring after an early Vancouver red card, they’d do well to remain in the game, equalizing things.

Despite being up against the wall, they found a way to conjure up the most powerful thing any team can have, belief, and it paid off for them with their response.

Unfortunately for Vancouver, that’s where the parallels between that first game, a 1-1 draw, and this one would end. Eager not to let another opportunity at three points slip, Cavalry would put the pedal to the medal, ensuring that they’d finish the day in first place.

Doing well to ride a dominant offensive performance, one that saw them generate 3.1 Expected Goals (xG) from just 11 shots (nine on target), Cavalry did not mess around in that pursuit, either.

Now up to six wins in their last eight games, not much has been able to slow down Cavalry as of late, however, and this game was another example of that, as it was one tey could’ve easily slipped up in despite being up a player.

Just the fact that they dropped points in a similar situation earlier this year is a prime example of how far they’ve come since then, showing why they now sit in first at this stage of the campaign.

They’re managing key moments much better now, and it’s paying off for them, as they’re not getting too high or too low in games, riding the waves as they come.

“We’re finally finding our form, and we’re starting to be ruthless up front now,” Klomp said afterwards. “So we’re seeing some progress game after game.”

“We’ve got some really nice things about us,” head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr added. “It took a while because we’ve actually been trying to implement a few different things than what we’ve done in previous years, and sometimes to adapt you have to be brave, and we had to be brave, we drew five times in a row, and everyone was starting to question who we were, but with the glimpses we showed today, the confidence, the boys are coming together.”

As for Vancouver, however, they can still hold their heads high after this result. Despite having to play much of the game down a player, they never let up, deciding to go out on their sword.

It could’ve been easy just to accept their fate after their early frustrations, but they instead kept at it, which isn’t always easy to do.

Especially for a young team, that shows impressive togetherness and team spirit, something they’ll need to keep tapping into as they continue their evolution as an expansion outfit.

For all of the learning they’ll still have to do tactically, as well as building chemistry and partnerships, you can’t teach that spirit, and they’ve got it in spades.

“We did well as a team, we didn’t stop running,” Díaz said afterwards.

“I want to really congratulate our players,” Vancouver’s head coach, Afshin Ghotbi, added. “They reacted as well as they could’ve, they responded beautifully with an equalizer, they then even created a very good chance to go up a goal after, and even after taking the second goal and third goal, they kept fighting today.”

Cavalry maintains flank dominance once again:

A week ago, Cavalry did well to pick up a win over Halifax, and a big reason why? Their strength in wide areas, as they completely dominated the flanks in that game, doing well to break down the Wanderers in those areas.

Seeing that, one can only imagine the message for this week was “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it”, as they tried to build off that result.

Safe to say, they did well to follow that mantra, as they once again were very strong in wide areas in this game.

Despite a slight personnel change, one that saw the return of Ali Musse to the right wing after missing out last week, Cavalry picked up where they left off against Halifax.

Knowing that Vancouver’s got some younger players in wide areas, and players playing outside of their natural positions, Cavalry decided to go right at them, giving them no chance to find their feet in the game.

As a result, wingers Ben Fisk and Ali Musse were very active right from the get-go, as the pair even linked up inside five minutes to nearly open the scoring, before Fisk did well to set up Bevan for the early penalty.

From there, the pair would be dominant the rest of the game, as Cavalry alternated running possessions down either of their sides. That’d pay off for them – Fisk would then add a goal for his efforts, while Musse would directly create Cavalry’s third marker, before scoring a fantastic goal for his team’s fifth, capping off a solid night from the pair.

In terms of wide performances, it doesn’t get much better than that from them, showing how important the pair were to their team’s success.

Plus, they weren’t the only wide players to thrive in this game, either – Fraser Aird was once again excellent on both sides of the ball at right back, while quasi-left back Bradley Kamdem also had some huge defensive interventions on his end, too. Along with the performance of substitute William Akio, who had some bright runs in his Cavalry debut, and there was a lot to be encouraged about for Cavalry in those areas of the field.

“Yeah, it’s been great,” Klomp said. “Ali Musse scored one of the goals of the season with his right foot, which was unbelievable, Ben Fisk is finally back from injury, so it’s been good to see him get goals and assists.”

“Then, we had Akio on for 20 minutes, and we saw what he can do, as we knew from his time with Valour, so yeah, we’re very good in wide areas, there’s Fraser Aird with his delivery, too, you also have Michael Harms as a backup, so yeah, we’ve got a lot of players in the wide areas who can deliver for us.”

Yet, that’s something that they’re happy to see, as it’s a key part of their game for a reason. Knowing the strength that they have in wide areas, they’re comfortable unleashing them in games, as they did in this one.

The fact that they continue to dominate in those areas, even as other teams around the league pick up on their desire to play in those spaces, just shows why that should remain a staple of their game for weeks to come, too.

“We’ve got dynamism in this team,” Wheeldon Jr said. “And we just needed to have that bravery come with it, (and it has).”

Díaz continues to pick up where he left off in CPL return:

It may be hard to find silver linings after losing the last two games 8-2 on aggregate, but there will be one development from those matches that Vancouver will find joy in – the quick integration of new signing, Alejandro Díaz.

Last year’s CPL golden boot winner despite only playing half the season, there’s no doubt that he can score goals, but it was wondered if he would take time to find his feet with a new club after returning to the league following a stint in Norway.

Having not played that much this year, fitness was a big question mark, as was his form, which would’ve made it natural for him to have a bit of a slower integration process.

Clearly, however, he didn’t get that memo – now, in just two games, he’s already got two goals, which has already put him in a tie for second on the team.

Not only that, but he scored a huge goal in this game, too, scoring a clinical goal at a perfect time to keep Vancouver in a game where they could’ve easily faded out early.

Yet, that just shows the value that Díaz has quickly brought to this team.

Despite his recent arrival, he’s immediately provided a jolt to Vancouver’s attack, bringing a ruthlessness that the team has sometimes lacked in the attack this year, as seen in moments such as this goal.

“I’ve seen his quality in training, and I also see the man that he is in the way that he approaches his job,” Ghotbi said of Díaz. “Even with a few chances, he scores goals, and we talked about that in training and in meetings, saying that if he just gets the right delivery from the side channels, he will he will score goals, and today he did that with a beautiful goal on a great combination from the cross to the finish.”

Of course, the team already has a pretty ruthless finisher in the form of Shaan Hundal, the team’s leading scorer with six goals, but the team has lacked much of a threat beyond him, and even Hundal himself hasn’t necessarily brought the same ruthlessness that Díaz has.

A striker that likes to create volume, leading the league in shots, Hundal’s strengths have come in his ability to make things happen in the final third.

Sometimes, however, Vancouver’s lacked someone to step up and put chances away when they’re creating opportunities in games, and that’s where Díaz’s arrival has been key.

Plus, he’s continuing to form a nice partnership with Hundal, too, so it’s not as if the pair are clashing in their styles on the field – in fact, they seem to be getting a lot out of each other, even if Díaz has been the bigger beneficiary with the goals so far.

Therefore, look for Vancouver’s attack to continue to grow off the back of Díaz’s arrival, especially given that Díaz himself has another level to hit. As seen when he, Hundal and Mikaël Cantave link up, they can really cause problems for opponents, so look for them to continue to build on that going forward.

“I’m super motivated to come back for this new opportunity with this project,” Díaz said. “It’s helped as I knew some players here, and everyone’s been so nice and easygoing with me, so it’s been really easy to fit into the team, so hopefully I can keep getting better.”

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Ben Fisk, Cavalry FC

After a strong performance last week, Fisk was even better this time out, putting up a dominant performance at left wing for Cavalry. That’s reflected in his numbers, as he finished with one goal, one chance created, one big chance created and two shots in an active offensive performance for the veteran.

What’s next?

Vancouver will head to Ontario next week, as a date with Forge awaits them at Tim Hortons Field on Friday, July 28th (4:00 p.m. PT/7:00 p.m. ET). Meanwhile, Cavalry will also head to Ontario, but slightly more to the east, as they get set to face Atlético Ottawa at TD Place on Saturday, July 29th (5:00 p.m. MT/7:00 p.m. ET).

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