Final Score: Cavalry FC 3-0 HFX Wanderers FC
Goalscorers: Musse 51′, Musse 56′, Camargo 60′
Game of the 2022 season: 56
CPL match: 306
Match in a minute or less
Cavalry FC matched their biggest win of the 2022 season to date, 3-0 against 10-man HFX Wanderers on Thursday night. It was their club-record 11th straight match unbeaten and gives them a perfect 5-0-0 record at Spruce Meadows. After a solid start to the match for the visitors, Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé was sent off during a scrum in the 27th minute. Halifax would not register a shot on target during the match and has now gone scoreless in three straight matches. All three Cavalry goals came in the space of eight second-half minutes, as Ali Musse scored a brace within four minutes before Sergio Camargo added a third.
Three Observations
Ruthless second-half performance as the league-leaders dominate 10-man Halifax Wanderers
After going into half-time up a man, but tied on the scoreboard, only nine of the dressed Cavalry players who entered the room returned to the pitch. Instead, before the whistle signalled the start of the half the substitution board signalled a double-sub for the hosts as they brought on Ben Fisk and Elijah Adekugbe. “I didn’t like our shape in the first half, even before the sending-off,” said Tommy Wheeldon Jr. “I wasn’t happy with it, I thought we were off balance in our build-out, couldn’t create an overload and even [with the red card] we didn’t respond, I thought we were too chaotic.” Fisk and Adekugbe (who completed 98 per cent of his passes on the day) instantly added stability to the midfield, and were able to exploit the area vacated by the sent-off Gagnon-Laparé. “What that ended up doing is we played more of a controlled performance and that allowed us then to slip balls through to Ali [Musse], to Sergio [Camargo], to our fullbacks, just give us better balance,” said Wheeldon Jr. It worked, as starting in the 51st minute, Cavalry scored three goals in the space of eight minutes. It could have been more as well, as they had six shots on target, and 11 attempts in the second half, eight of which came inside the box. The below chart shows all of the shot attempts Cavalry managed in the second half alone.
Part of this offensive success came from a new attacking wrinkle for Cavalry: they have started playing Musse and Camargo together. The pair, who in the past had often played somewhat interchangeably as attacking midfielders, could be found in similar positions on the pitch at times, but both found ways to be dangerous. Musse scored twice, and had four shots on target, while Camargo scored and created four chances. How those players got the ball also changed in the second half, as Cavalry were able to find space out wide through their fullbacks. All three goals were set up by defenders, with the final two coming from their defensive width. “It has come from our fullbacks, and that was one of the things, as soon as they went into their 5-3-1, we knew our overload and our plus one would be our right back and our left back,” said Wheeldon Jr. He praised left-back Bradley Vliet, in particular, for this brilliant ball to set up Camargo’s goal.
Roberto Alarcón was excellent in his first Cavalry FC start
The embarrassment of riches Wheeldon Jr. has at his disposal when picking a lineup looks like it has added another jewel in the form of Spanish fullback Roberto Alarcón. In his first start for Cavalry FC, the 24-year-old looked like he had been playing with the side for multiple months during a tidy performance. He completed 92 per cent of his passes, including 13 into the final third, and created three chances. He was also solid defensively when called upon, winning possession five times and two tackles. It is worth noting he was a little reckless with those challenges at times, something that earned him a yellow card in the 25th minute. “He is a good addition to the squad for sure,” said Musse. “We saw it in training right off the bat when he came in he was looking sharp, he was getting forward and his delivery is good.” This ability to deliver a ball was demonstrated multiple times, but most notably on Musse’s second goal as Alarcón’s cross from the end line hung up well in the air for the attacker to head towards the goal. While Musse needed the rebound to ultimately score the chance, the willingness and confidence from Alarcón to get forward this early in his Cavalry career is a good sign.
He showed that confidence early in the first half when he had the host’s first shot attempt of the game, a long-range effort that while high and wide was certainly worth attempting at that stage in the match. Alarcón is a player that Wheeldon Jr. said Cavalry have been scouting for a long time, having played for John Galas, a friend of the Cavalry FC head coach, for FC Tucson in USL League One. “He just gives us a totally different dimension,” said the Cavalry coach. “I think behind the scenes, we’ve got our systems of play, we’ve got our tactical adjustments, but our recruitment is very good and we bring in quality players and quality people.” That recruitment has continued to bolster a very deep squad, which will help as this was the first of five matches Cavalry will play over the second half of July. It also means that the competition for playing time is perhaps more intense in Calgary than anywhere else in the league. “We have a very good team, our squad is very deep, every player can play on this team,” said Musse. “Week in and week out you just have to do your best and make sure that you get into the squad and keep going.”
Halifax has to “look in the mirror” as difficult stretch continues
Halifax wasn’t willing to use the second red card they have been shown in three matches to fully excuse yet another lopsided loss. Thursday was the third time this season they have allowed three or more goals in a match, as they are now tied for the second-worst goal differential in the league at -8. While the defence has had their off days of late, it has been the attack that has disappeared most frequently, as they have been shut out in four of their last five matches. They return home from this road trip with plenty of questions about their side and its identity going forward. “I think we still have to go home and take a look in the mirror, every individual on this team, it is not just about today, it is about our recent form,” said Wanderers’ defender Peter Schaale. “I think we have to demand better from each and every one of us and we are in a tough place right now in the season and we have to dig ourselves out of that hole. Going forward we have to try to figure things out.” One factor that certainly didn’t help on the night was the weather. While they actually played quite well in the opening half, even after going down a man, they ultimately had a tough time in Calgary, which is currently under a heat warning. “We go down a man in this heat, obviously missing a man you have to run more so on a day like this it is really, really hard to make up,” said Schaale. The good news for Halifax is that they will have a bit of time now to rest and regroup and to see if the training pitch can solve their woes. They only have one match remaining in the month of July, at home against an FC Edmonton side who they have already defeated twice this season on the 23rd. “I still believe in this group, like I did from day one,” said Schaale. “I think we can figure it out. We will take it from here, we will regroup and we will look forward, that is all we can do from this point.”
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
**Ali Musse, Cavalry FC **
There were a lot of strong performances on the day for Cavalry, but with a brace in the space of four second-half minutes, Musse deserves the honour. He was excellent against a tough-to-break-down Halifax backline, with four shots on target and six attempted dribbles during the match.
What’s next?
Cavalry FC is quickly back in action as they host York United on Tuesday, July 19 (9:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. MT) during a busy stretch for them. Halifax meanwhile, only have one remaining match in the month of July, on Saturday the 23rd when they host FC Edmonton (1:30 p.m. ET, 2:30 p.m. AT). Watch all matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.