Final Score: Cavalry FC 1-0 Halifax Wanderers
Goalscorers: Nimick (OG) 90+1′
Game of the 2023 season: 59
CPL match: 426
Match in a minute or less
Cavalry FC and the Halifax Wanderers kicked off the second half of their CPL campaigns this weekend, as they did battle at Calgary’s ATCO Field on Saturday.
A cagey matchup, it’d be a tight-fought battle for most of it, too, as both teams looked eager to build on strong recent runs of form, having each won four of their last six respective league games.
In the end, however, it’d be Cavalry that’d claim a fifth win in seven games, as they forced a 91st-minute own goal off Halifax’s Daniel Nimick thanks to a dangerous Ben Fisk free kick, allowing them to temporarily climb to second in the CPL table with the result.
Three Observations
Lack of finishing touch nearly proves costly for both sides in tactical chess match:
With two tactically astute sides, this matchup promised to be a tantalizing battle from that perspective, especially based on their first two meetings this season.
In those matchups, a 2-2 draw and a 3-1 Halifax win, they ended up being back-and-forth affairs, as both teams did well to adjust to the other within the game itself.
Because of that, it was no surprise to see that this game ended up being a similar battle, even if the score indicates a cagier matchup at first glance.
Despite the lack of goals, both teams did well to take over moments in the match, while making sure to not falter in the phases in which they were stuck to defend and play off the ball.
At one end, there were the hosts, Cavalry, who really tried to play on the front foot in possession, pushing into their aggressive 3-4-2-1 on the ball, while remaining committed in their 4-4-2 off it.
Then, on the other, Halifax would do well to push back in moments where they won back the ball, as they attacked in a fluid 3-4-2-1 that also sometimes became a 4-3-2-1, while defending in a rigid 4-4-1-1 when they did lose the ball.
As a result, the game often alternated between one team being on the front foot and the other remaining in a good defensive posture, with both teams doing a good job of not opening things up too much within that.
That’s reflected statistically, as the possession split ended up being 50.1-49.9% for Cavalry, while shots ended up being 11-10 for Halifax, with the xG being 0.89-0.72 for Cavalry, showcasing an even game.
Cavalry did end up having the more dangerous opportunities, as eight of their shots were inside Halifax’s box (compared to three for the Wanderers), and they did end up testing Halifax’s Yann Fillion with two shots on target (the Wanderers had none), but the game was still relatively even despite that.
Really, all that was lacking was a finishing touch from both teams, as despite each generating a pair of big chances, the game seemed destined to end 0-0, a fitting scoreline given the scale of the tactical battle.
Yet, while a draw felt like the fair result, it also felt like both teams could have been in the lead had they not been wasteful with their opportunities to win the game, as it was sitting there for the taking, just begging for one team to step up.
In the end, however, that’d be Cavalry, who managed to muster up the late own goal. It was far from the best goal they’ll score this season, but after a loss midweek where they fell to Ottawa late after a similarly cagey game, they won’t complain that they got this one over the line thanks to such a marker, and they expressed as much after the game.
“We felt relief, more than anything,” Fisk said afterwards. “We definitely created enough chances to win in much easier fashion today, I think we’ve made it a little hard on ourselves.”
“But it’s always special to get a winner in the late parts of the game at home, in front of (our supporters) the Foot Soldiers there, you honestly have to be there to understand what it feels like, as it was incredible.”
Sometimes, in a cagey matchup, you just need that one moment of magic to get things over the line, and Cavalry would be able to do so with their late marker, much to the agony of Halifax.
“Somebody has to lose sometimes, unfortunately,” Wanderers head coach, Patrice Gheisar, said afterwards. “And it was difficult to digest, especially since it’s a 90th-minute own goal, you can’t get a worse story (for us), but we’ve been on the other side where we’ve won it in the last minute, so you’ve got to appreciate that, look forward and get past it.”
“It doesn’t matter how, it just matters how many you score more than the opposition, and that was us today,” Cavalry’s head coach, Tommy Wheeldon Jr, said with a wry smile.
“But it’s also nice to have a bit of luck go our way in those moments too,” he finished with a smirk.
Fraser Aird leads strong performance for Cavalry from right flank:
From the beginning of this match, Cavalry had a clear idea of what they wanted to do on the ball – get it out wide, and try and cross it into the box.
A reasonable strategy, given that they employ some dangerous wide players, and have the leading scorer in the league in Myer Bevan, they were not shy in their intentions of funnelling balls into the box right from the first minute.
As a result, they finished with a whopping 29 crosses, compared to just four from Halifax, giving an idea of how eager they were to get the ball to wide areas and then into the box.
Yet, to their credit, it’d pay off for them, as some of their best chances came off such balls, while their eventual winner came off a wide set-piece.
In particular, Fraser Aird was a bright spot in that regard, really shining with his delivery in this game. That’s reflected in his numbers, as he finished with four chances created, including one big chance, completing five out of 12 of his total crosses.
After getting a bit of rest in midweek, playing just 12 minutes against Ottawa off the bench, it was a strong performance from the veteran, who continues to step up big after the loss of full back Roberto Alarcón to a long-term injury.
Himself coming off a big injury of his own last year, it’s taken Aird some time to find his feet again to start the year, but the 28-year-old has really come on as of late, reflected in the fact that he scored a great goal last week in a 2-1 win over Pacific, after nabbing an assist the week prior in a 2-0 win over Valour.
Even if he didn’t get a goal contribution in this game, this might’ve been the brightest performance of the lot for him, too, further highlighting his recent strong form.
That’s having a big effect on his teammates, as well. Ben Fisk certainly ended up being a beneficiary of that in this game, as he made his first start of 2023 after battling injury, combining well with Aird on several occasions throughout the match.
Because of that, he was full of praise for his teammate afterward, making sure to shout out his hard work on the day.
“Fraser allowed me to come inside and save my legs a little bit and try and get on the ball,” Fisk said. “He’s a great player, and he and I go way back to our days with the Canadian National Team and everything and I’ve always enjoyed playing with him.”
Therefore, look for Aird to continue to build off this.
Given some of the players that Cavalry has in wide areas, they’ll want to keep attacking those spaces in games, and Aird could be central to that if he continues to play like this, even if Wheeldon Jr has to manage Aird’s minutes as he continues to get up to full speed fitness-wise.
“Yeah, it’s good to see,” Wheeldon Jr said. “He’s a player that was out almost all of last season, and we needed to rest him in midweek, as after being out for a year, I don’t think three games in a week would have been smart.”
“That allowed young Michael Harms, our 17-year-old local lad that was brilliant against Ottawa to give Fraser the rest he needed, and Fraser showed his quality there today. So it’s nice when you’re able to do that.”
Late heartbreak spoils strong defensive performance from Halifax:
Sometimes, this sport can be incredibly cruel. Just ask Halifax’s defence.
Riding a strong performance throughout the 90 minutes, it makes it heartbreaking for them to see that the winning goal went in off the back of their centre back, Daniel Nimick, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time at the time.
Especially given that in the rest of the match, he and the rest of his defensive group hardly set a foot wrong, making it almost cruelly ironic that it’d be a defender who’d be the one to inflict the fatal blow to his team’s winning hopes.
Having done so well to keep a clean sheet up until that point, even putting their bodies on the line like Cristian Campagna did in the 78th minute with a great block, they’ll feel that they deserve better than what they got out of this game.
Yet, while the goal will frustrate them as they reflect back on the game, they’ll have every reason to be proud of their defensive performances.
One that they needed to put up, as they’ve struggled a bit defensively away from home, they’ll be encouraged by what they showed, as it proved that they can frustrate opponents in that area of the pitch in other team’s grounds.
Despite facing a dangerous Cavalry attack away from home, where Cavalry can often be so dangerous, that Halifax kept them to less than one xG is no small feat from them.
Yet, that’s a credit to the work Halifax did off the ball. In particular, they were very strong in midfield, as the pivot of Mo Omar and Lorenzo Callegari did a lot of important work out of possession to stay organized, before Andre Rampersad did well to replace Omar and not skip a beat in that regard in the second half.
Unfortunately, they were a bit sloppy with defending crosses all game long, making it fitting that’s the way that Cavalry broke them down, as that was probably their lone area of struggle defensively on the day, really.
“To give that goal up in the 90th minute, it’s an absolute killer,” Gheisar said. “It hits you right in the gut, but we’ve got to be better. I don’t think it’s the free kick, but it’s the actions before we gave up the free kick. So we just have to be smarter (in those moments).”
Yet, that’s also the reality of this level, where good teams can find ways to punish you for the smallest of mistakes, and Halifax learned that the hard way in this game.
Therefore, look for them to build off this, as it was still a strong defensive performance, while also looking out to clean those little mistakes that can prove costly in these sorts of matches.
Especially as they hunt for their first road win, they’ll need to keep playing like this defensively, knowing how key that could be in their ability to grab a result in future matches.
“We got to pick each other up and then go again,” Rampersad said afterwards. “Unfortunate circumstances, but it happens, and now it’s on us to help the player it happened to, and move forward as a team.”
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Fraser Aird, Cavalry FC
As mentioned earlier, it was a strong performance from Aird on the flank, as he was very active offensively, finishing with four chances created. Plus, as a bonus, he also up to the task defensively, too, chipping in with one clearance and four recoveries, marking an overall solid game from the veteran full back.
What’s next?
Cavalry will head out west next, as they get set to travel to BC to take on Vancouver FC at Langley’s Willoughby Community Park on Saturday, July 22nd (4:00 p.m. PT/5:00 p.m. MT). As for Halifax, they’ll head home, as a battle with Atlético Ottawa awaits them earlier that same Saturday at Wanderers Grounds (3:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. AT).
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