Final Score: Cavalry FC 1-0 York United
Goalscorer: Escalante 55′
Game of the 2022 season: 83
CPL match: 333
Match in a minute or less
As has continued to be the case all season long, Cavalry FC and York United left no love out on the grass at Calgary’s ATCO Field on Saturday, as they combined for yet another tight-fought game, one that Cavalry narrowly edged 1-0 in the end thanks to a key José Escalante second half goal.
After a strange first half, in which a hefty storm delay threw a wrench into both teams’ plans, Cavalry came out strong in the second half, grabbing the lead through Escalante early on in that stanza.
From there, they then managed to see the result over the line, thanks to their defence plus the reliable hands of goalkeeper Marco Carducci, who ensured that Cavalry kept pace in the tight top four race currently brewing in the Canadian Premier League.
Three Observations
Escalante narrowly edges N’Sa in good battle down flank:
Right from the beginning, this game promised to be a good battle. In the first three meetings between the two sides, York had edged two, one at home and one on the road, while Cavalry had edged one, which came on the road, meaning that should Cavalry win this game, it was going to make it a perfect split on the season.
Because of that, when José Escalante slotted home what turned out to be the winner from close range in the second half, it almost felt inevitable that Cavalry would finish the job, as it marked the end of a strong series between these two sides.
Plus, it was fitting that it was Escalante that scored, too, because as much as the two teams combined for a good battle over the course of the season, he had combined for a good battle in this game with York’s Chrisnovic N’Sa, one that was quite entertaining to watch.
With Escalante deployed at his usual spot over on the left wing, while N’Sa deputized over at right back, it meant that the pair were lined up directly against each other, in a matchup of two of the more balanced wide players in the league.
As a result, it felt only right that the pair would drive at each other on several occasions, creating some good tussles, in which both players got some good licks in.
From some strong challenges from N’Sa defensively (he won one tackle and three ground duels), to some similarly heavy challenges from Escalante (who also won one tackle to go along with two ground duels), there was no love lost from either of them down their flank in this game.
Plus, they had some fun offensively, too, as while Escalante scored Cavalry’s goal, N’Sa came close to a worldie for York on his left foot in the first half, and also set up his teammates for a few good chances throughout the match.
“Those were two great competitors,” York’s head coach, Martin Nash, said of the pair afterwards.”Both went right at it in the game, and both got the better of each other at moments.”
Yet, their matchup is just an example of what this battle has now become this season. With a few players on the pitch who have swapped sides over the course of the league’s four-year history, such as Cavalry’s Joe Di Chiara, as well as York’s Dominick Zator and Oliver Minatel, there is a strong connection between the two clubs, one that has building for a while now.
Now, especially with Nash now having also joined York this season after three years as Tommy Wheeldon Jr’s assistant with Cavalry, this matchup has all of a sudden become a very competitive one, as both sides look to get the one-up on the other every time they meet.
Therefore, much like how Escalante was able to get the one-up on N’Sa this time out, Cavalry was able to grab a win, but the tides could very well turn the next time these teams meet, whenever that may be, making it a matchup to keep an eye on in the future.
“Terrific. These games have been terrific, they’ve been one-goal games for the majority, too,” Wheeldon Jr. enthused afterwards. “Martin’s added a lot of great things to that team, he’s got options, he’s changing things and that’s good.”
“You give him his time, and they’ll be competitive.”
York continues to show that they won’t go out easily:
It hasn’t always been easy sledding for York this season. From their lengthy early-season offensive drought, to their goalkeeping carousel, as well as their historic amount of injuries, it’s been hard for them to find consistent form this season.
Yet, despite having to deal with all sorts of adversity throughout this season, they have only gotten stronger as the year has gone on, especially as of late, where they had gone on that run that had seen them pick up four wins in their last six games heading into this matchup.
That’s full credit to their team, who despite having to deal with all of those changes, have kept at it, showing the potential for what could be to come when everyone is healthy and the plan is fully put into place.
This game was just another example of that.
Of course, at the end of the day, they didn’t get the result that they wanted, which will sting, but considering that they went into the stadium of the team with the best home record in the league, to only fall 1-0 as they did is a solid effort.
Especially given that they actually won the Expected Goals (xG) battle quite handily, 0.91-0.22, while out-shooting them 10-7 and winning 52.7% of their duels, showing that they both played well and competed, that shows how much York has progressed as of late.
No matter who is in the lineup these days, they’ve managed to be very much in games, sticking to the game plan no matter how things end up cracking.
For example, in this game, despite going down 1-0, they kept at it right to the end, and could’ve easily scored one or two goals at the end on another day, allowing them to exit with a point (or all three) had they brought their finishing boots.
Instead of letting Cavalry run them over and grab a few goals, as Cavalry tends to do when they score first at home, York pushed back right to the end, showing why they’ve been able to pick up some positive results as of late. And that’s key.
The playoffs will now be a long shot, especially after this result, but at least they’ll go down fighting, which is key.
“Yeah, we’ve been playing well lately,” Nash said. “Today, though, Cavalry did a good job of eliminating our chances, and in the end, they finished theirs, while we didn’t ours.”
Plus, with a lot of this team being so young (York is by far the league leader in U21 minutes), just in their first year under Nash’s tutelage, this will certainly pay off for them next year, when they’ll have all of their pieces back and healthy ahead of the 2023 season.
Therefore, while York will continue to push right to the end in 2022, they’ve been setting themselves up nicely for 2023 while doing so, with this latest run just providing a taste of what could be to come for them in the future.
“Yeah, it’s been big,” York midfielder, Noah Verhoeven, said of his team’s recent performances. “Guys are trying to finish off the season as strongly, this last quarter of the season is what we’re looking at now, as we want to make some noise, play a big part in the playoff race, no matter what that holds for us.”
Lightning strikes (again) in Calgary:
It’s not been a great seven days for electric storms around the city of Calgary.
After their matchup versus Atlético Ottawa saw a lengthy weather due to a lightning storm last Sunday, Cavalry had lightning (literally) strike twice in the span of seven days, as this game saw a delay of nearly two hours due to another electrical storm in the era.
Plus, unlike the delay against Ottawa, which came at half time, just giving both teams a lengthy mid-game break, this storm came right at the beginning of the game, leaving both teams to have to head off after just 15 minutes of play.
Because of that, it then meant that when play resumed, they then had 30 minutes to finish the first half, before launching into a normal half time break, further disrupting play.
As a result, it led to an interesting game, as the first 45 minutes took just under three hours to complete from kick-off, while the second half was completed as planned, really making this game a tale of two halves.
You add in the heavy rain that the storm eventually brought, and it certainly ensured that this late-summer game would feel like anything but that, yet, if anything, that just shows the diversity of climate in Canada.
The good news for Cavalry? After watching Ottawa take advantage of the storm last week, coming out of the break with a storm surge of energy, they ensured that this time they’d be the ones to capitalize on the break, taking what they learned from last week into this win.
After sitting and lamenting missed opportunities in both boxes against Ottawa, as offensive and defensive breakdowns left them wanting more, they ensured that the one big chance they got offensively this game wouldn’t go to waste, while doing just enough defensively to see this over the line.
“We looked at that performance and how we could build on that, what we needed to change and today went out and did just that,” Cavalry’s Charlie Trafford noted. “And then we had to adapt and overcome and be a bit ugly today.”
“To have to go and sit in the locker room for two hours, it’s not easy, but that’s one of the strengths in our group, our ability to adapt and overcome.”
Add some big timely saves from Marco Carducci in there, as well as some brave aerial performances from Mason Trafford and David Norman Jr., and that’d be all that Cavalry would need, allowing them to see this over the line. And that’s exactly what they needed from this game.
Despite losing the xG battle, only narrowly winning the possession battle (55%-45%), and getting outshot and losing 52% of their duels, they found a way to win, which as they get set for the playoffs, is the exact sort of mentality that they’ll want to channel.
Of course, you want to win in style, with overall performances like the one they had against Ottawa (3-0 loss withstanding), but as this Cavalry team has shown throughout this season, they’re also okay if the game goes into the trenches, and when the weather delay did that (both figuratively and literally), they stepped up, allowing them to take care of business in the end.
“It was terrific today,” Wheeldon Jr. said of the win. “Because (it doesn’t matter if it’s) pretty or gritty – it counts as three points.”
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Marco Carducci, Cavalry FC
He might not have been the busiest man on the pitch in this game, only having to make two saves on three shots on target, but he certainly made sure that they were big saves, including one in the last five minutes versus York’s Sebastián Gutiérrez that ensured his team would win in the end. Along with his solid distribution and good communication, that overall capped off a good night at the office for Cavalry’s main man between the sticks, who earned the plaudits of Wheeldon Jr. afterwards for his efforts.
What’s next?
Cavalry has a tough trek ahead of them now, as they must travel across the country to face the Halifax Wanderers in a Labour Day clash at Wanderers Ground on Monday, September 5th (12:00 p.m. MT/3:00 p.m. AT). Meanwhile, York United will also set out on the road, as they must head to Vancouver Island to take on Pacific FC at Starlight Stadium on Saturday, September 3rd (2:00 p.m. PT/5:00 p.m. ET).
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