Final Score: York United FC 0-1 Cavalry FC
Goalscorers: Camargo 39′
Game of the 2023 season: 101
CPL match: 468
Match in a minute or less
Cavalry FC extended their unbeaten run to seven with a third straight victory on Saturday at York Lions Stadium, beating York United 1-0 to move even closer to securing the CPL regular season title — which they officially did later Saturday night thanks to Forge FC’s win over Pacific FC.
Although York responded well after recent losses and went toe-to-toe with the CPL’s top team, Cavalry shut things down effectively and needed just one goal to take all three points. A quick piece of build-up play five minutes before halftime sent Myer Bevan in behind the York backline, and he sent it across the box to Sergio Camargo who finished the play and put Cavalry ahead for good.
With the clean-sheet victory, the Cavs moved up to 49 points on the season and lengthened their lead atop the table, knowing that by the time they next play at ATCO Field, they will have already clinched the CPL Shield.
Three Observations
Cavalry inches from regular season title with seasoned away win
At the full-time whistle, Cavalry FC were not officially regular season champions, but they knew they could arrive home with that title later on Saturday night. Ahead of the evening’s matches, the Cavs knew if Pacific FC fail to beat Forge FC at Tim Hortons Field, they’d mathematically clinch the Canadian Premier League Shield.
This game was yet another chapter in the multifaceted story of why Cavalry have been the best team in the CPL this year. Charlie Trafford, speaking to media after the game, suggested that it hadn’t been the club’s best performance of the season — not close, according to him — but they nonetheless got the job done.
“It was maybe out worst performance of the year, actually — not our strongest for sure,” Trafford said. “But our team unity is so good; we’re family out there, we’re fighting for each other. We know we can suffer together, we know when we go into that low block we’re hard to beat.”
On paper, Trafford’s assessment makes sense. Cavalry had just over 40 per cent possession, won only 44.8 per cent of the duels, and had 38 final third entries — their lowest of the season so far.
Still, in the second half when Cavalry began weathering more and more pressure, they held firm. Most of their best attacking moments were in the first half, and they had some success with quick, direct balls to play through a reasonably well-organized York side.
Myer Bevan did a lot of running to try and get in behind, and off the ball they had Bevan and Sergio Camargo doing excellent work to press and defend on the front foot. The first half saw Cavalry defending at times in what looked like a 4-4-2, with Ali Musse sitting alongside the midfield on the right while Bevan and Camargo had reign to put pressure on York’s centre-backs.
“It was a gritty performance versus a pretty performance,” coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said postmatch. “I think this is what this team’s about, there’s a humbleness and a hunger about them. We haven’t won anything just yet, so we’re still hungry for that. We were good first half, average second half, but we thought if we’re not going to connect our passes, we’ll just see the game out.
“We relied upon that a little bit too much; I encouraged them afterwards but so many of them went up to me and said, ‘Sorry gaffer, wasn’t my best performance today, we can be better,’ and that’s the spirit you want going into the business end of the season.”
This Cavalry team has become extraordinarily difficult to beat this year, and nobody’s done it successfully since Valour on Aug. 11.
To be the best team, you don’t necessarily have to be at your best every day, which Cavalry may not have been on Saturday. What separates the elite sides from the rest, though, is finding a way to get the job done regardless.
Cavalry certainly got it done at York, and now find themselves so close to a trophy they can almost touch it.
York improve from recent losses with major selection shake-up
After opening this four-game homestand with back-to-back decisive losses (to Valour and Pacific), York United desperately needed a response in this game, entering the weekend one point out of the playoffs. Martin Nash set a tone with his selection after his side’s lacklustre performance last week, bringing six new players into his starting XI — including handing a first start to 20-year-old Kadin Martin-Pereux, and bringing Osaze De Rosario back into the squad up top.
Certainly, York’s performance was far more spirited than last week’s; they went toe-to-toe for vast stretches of the game and pressed quite well, forcing some uncharacteristically sloppy moments in possession from Cavalry. The final ball they needed to put one in the goal never did arrive, but to cause problems for the CPL’s top side as they did will be encouraging for Martin Nash, whose major gripe about the performance against Pacific was a lack of energy and effort required to win in this league.
Nash’s lineup changes weren’t solely swapping players out in like-for-like positions; his midfield, in particular, was set up with a very new dynamic, as Brem Soumaoro and Matthew Baldisimo lined up in a double pivot — which put the left-footed Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé into a more attack-minded number 10 role.
Gagnon-Laparé was able to flourish in that advanced position, leading all York starters with 92.5 per cent pass accuracy, creating one chance and offering a slightly different tempo to their attacking build-up to York’s normal.
“I got the response I wanted, I thought there was improvement,” Nash said postmatch. “Other than the goal, I don’t think they had a shot inside the 18 [yard box], so I thought we did a lot better there. We created chances, especially in the second half we had them pinned in, just nothing fell our way. … I got the effort I asked for, now we need to produce that again because we’re not out of this yet.”
The result of course didn’t fall York’s way, at a part of the season where ultimately the points are all that truly matter — and depending on how the Atlético Ottawa-Valour FC game goes on Sunday, they’ll either find themselves one or four points out of the playoffs next Sunday when Ottawa come to York Lions Stadium.
However, with genuine improvement shown from York against Cavalry, the belief might well have returned as they approach that do-or-die contest against Atleti. They know that, if they can win that match, then no matter what they’ll be mathematically alive on the final day of the season when they head to play at Vancouver FC.
“Ottawa is everything,” Nash said. “No matter what they do [this weekend], if we can win it comes down to the last game. If we win, they have to win, so everything to play for. That was my message to the guys, we’re not throwing in the towel by any means; we’re going for it. Even if it’s a must-win, go for the win. We’re not going to lay down until it’s mathematically impossible.”
Cavalry weather second-half storm for hard-earned clean sheet
There seemed to come a point in this match where Cavalry FC realized that they weren’t having as much success as they’d like breaking down York and getting into attacking areas. Their passes were a little long, their touch a little heavy, and the hosts were winning a lot of battles for the ball.
Sometime around the hour mark, Cavalry entered lead protection mode, looking to attack more through counter-attacks than possessive build-up.
Wheeldon made a couple of key substitutions to alter his side’s defensive shape, bringing Fraser Aird in to play right-back and adding centre-back Callum Montgomery to the mix, pushing Bradley Kamdem out wide to more of an out-and-out left-back role than his previous spot on the left of a back three.
“It’s never our plan to sit back and accept pressure, but [York] are fighting for playoffs, it’s a scrappy field — it was sticky today, it was hard to play on. We knew there could be moments like that,” Charlie Trafford explained postmatch. “Like I said, we’re never to planning to do that, just sit back and go down low, but if it comes, it comes. We know if it does come, we sit back — I don’t want to say with a smile on our face, but we’ll sit back there and take pressure.”
Cavalry had quite a few moments of individual defensive effort to help get them over the line; they made 11 clearances overall, and made 12 tackles — as a team, they only missed two all day.
Defenders Daan Klomp and Eryk Kobza, in particular, were outstanding as they consistently have been in this back three Cavalry have been playing in recent weeks. Kamdem was phenomenal as well and sprang quite a few counter-attacks, and Montgomery was very capable of helping lock things down after he came into the game as well.
It’s this kind of defensive performance that might serve Cavalry very well in the fine-edge games to come over the next few weeks. All the talk right now is, naturally, around them and their march to the regular season title, but this side will have playoff games to think about very soon. Cavalry’s ability to win one-goal games — this being their ninth one-goal win this season — could be a mark of a team primed to get the job done in knockout football as well.
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Charlie Trafford, Cavalry FC
The imperious midfielder won a lot of battles for Cavalry in the middle of the park, helping shore things up defensively and dictate tempo where necessary. He won seven of 10 duels (and all three aerial duels) and went a perfect three for three on attempted tackles, also helping keep things organized once Cavalry went into their more defensive shape.
What’s next?
York will remain on familiar ground next weekend, wrapping up this homestand with their final match at York Lions Stadium of the 2023 campaign — on Sunday, Oct. 1, against Atlético Ottawa (1 p.m. ET). Cavalry, meanwhile, return home as well, taking on Valour FC on Friday, Sept. 29 at ATCO Field (7 p.m. MT/9 p.m. ET).
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