Final Score: Cavalry FC 2-1 York United
Goalscorers: Musse 1′, Akio 47′; Bayiha 63′
Game of the 2023 season: 81
CPL match: 448

Match in a minute or less

Cavalry FC finished the weekend at the top of the Canadian Premier League table after a hard-fought 2-1 home victory over York United.

Just like they did last Friday, Cavalry scored early in both halves. In fact, incredibly early in the first half as Ali Musse’s header gave them the lead after just 34 seconds. Substitute William Akio scored the winner just two minutes into the second half, and Cavalry held on despite a 63rd-minute goal from Clément Bayiha.

They now move a point ahead of Pacific FC, who they host next weekend at ATCO Field, and into first place. York United, meanwhile, remain in sixth, three points out of the fifth and final playoff spot having played one more match than every team in the league minus Forge FC. The Nine Stripes have now lost seven of eight visits to Spruce Meadows.

Three Observations

Cavalry’s substitutes, tactical tweaks, help them see out a crucial three points at home

Sunday’s match didn’t exactly go to plan for Cavalry FC. To start, a bout of illness had worked its way through the team this week, according to manager Tommy Wheeldon Jr., affecting the squad’s fitness as a whole.

Then, in the 31st minute, Cavalry were forced to make an early substitution to bring on Jesse Daley in place of the injured Charlie Trafford and tweak their tactical plan with Daley playing a more advanced role. Halftime brought further changes as a result, with William Akio coming on and a formation switch closer to their usual 4-2-3-1.

In the end, however, Sunday was an example of just how many impact players Cavalry now possess in their roster at multiple positions. Daley came into the match and instantly gave Cavalry more quality in possession, completing 24 of his 28 passes on the night — including 15 in the final third. He was also key defensively, winning seven of eight duels, winning two tackles and making two interceptions.

“I thought Jesse came in and calmed us down and gave us real good discipline in terms of our ball retention and discipline in defending,” said Wheeldon Jr.

Akio, meanwhile, scored just two minutes after his introduction. It was the attacker’s fourth goal in five appearances with Cavalry, as he is certainly impressing in his return to the league. Akio put in an absolute shift as well after his goal, contesting 13 duels and winning possession twice in the final third.

“We knew that in bringing [Jesse], Willy and Sergio [Camargo] into the group you are bringing on starters,” said Wheeldon Jr. “I think we knew that with York they would give us everything that we got and we needed another layer and another level in the second half where they have been scoring their goals.”

Critically, despite a late push from York, this group helped Cavalry to hold on for a massive three points on Sunday — a week after they had blown a two-goal lead and lost in Winnipeg.

Flippin' fantastic 🤸‍♂️

William Akio scores AGAIN for @CPLCavalryFC and it's 2-0 early in the second half!#CanPL I 📺 @onesoccer pic.twitter.com/4fB8AbmQRJ

— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) August 20, 2023

There were also some new faces among the starting eleven as well, which saw four changes from last week’s loss to Valour.

Sunday saw a key return to the Cavalry lineup from a defensive standpoint, as big offseason signing Callum Montgomery made his first CPL start since the club’s opening match against Forge FC. Montgomery looked solid in his first full 90 minutes since returning from injury.

“It felt amazing, it was a lot longer of an injury than I initially thought it was going to be and it is tough to watch week in and week out,” he said. “Just felt amazing to be back out there with the boys and what a collective performance and it was amazing — long road.”

Finally, Cavalry put in a solid 69 minutes from midfielder Maël Henry in his first start for the club. Henry could prove to be an important player for the Cavs with Goteh Ntignee out as a U-21 and played an important role in Cavalry’s opener while looking dangerous offensively on multiple occasions.

Cavalry debut new 3-4-2-1 formation in first half, to mixed results

Knowing how effective York have been on the road this season, and wanting to tailor their formation to the players they had available, Cavalry started Sunday’s match in something of a 3-4-2-1.

With Montgomery back in the lineup, he slotted into the left side of a back three that also included Daan Klomp and Eryk Kobza. Bradley Kamdem and Fraser Aird then played higher up the pitch as fullbacks, with Charlie Trafford and Shamit Shome forming a double pivot in midfield.

“Me, Kobza and Klompy we can all defend, we are all mobile, and it also is a great base to play from,” said Montgomery. “We have some very dynamic midfielders and it gives us some width out wide with I guess you could say wingbacks. So it is a great formation, I really enjoy playing on the left, it is a position where you can drive in and find the guys in the pockets. Klompy is one of the best in the league and he has been fantastic this year at stepping and kind of breaking that wave of pressure on the build.”

The attacking three of Myer Bevan, Mäel Henry and Ali Musse played incredibly narrow, allowing Aird and Kamdem to have plenty of space to make overlapping runs out wide. This paid dividends almost immediately in the match, as Kamdem was able to get high into a crossing area and the more central Musse made a run into the box to score a header after just 34 seconds.

Ali Musse wastes no time at all!@CPLCavalryFC lead less than a minute into the match 🐎#CanPL I 📺 @onesoccer pic.twitter.com/0d6Mylfumd

— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) August 20, 2023

Despite the early goal, the system did show some flaws as the half wore on. In particular, Cavalry struggled to hold possession and get out of their own half of the pitch, especially with both Trafford and Shome playing so deep. When Daley came on and took up a more advanced position that changed slightly.

“Sometimes though we give spaces out wide is kind of the one flaw of it in transition moments, we just weren’t letting the ball stick today at times,” said Montgomery. “When we go forward we need to hold it up a little bit better and kind of get under it and build from those platforms. So I think that is one thing that we can look at and try to be better next week.”

At the half, partially due to personnel, Cavalry shifted back to something closer to their usual 4-2-3-1. But with the personnel they have, the three at the back especially could be an intriguing option that they can use in future matches.

Early mistakes, lack of purpose in possession, cost York United

Eliminate the first two minutes of both halves on Sunday, and York United might have been singing a very different tune as they exited ATCO Field. Instead, they are left to lament a match in which they actually did a lot of positive things, especially in the opening half, but lacked the quality to make up for their mistakes.

“The way we started both halves was criminal really,” said York United manager Martin Nash after the match. “We put ourselves in a predicament. I think for large parts of the games we were the better team but you can’t gift teams goals and we gifted them two goals to start each half and once you are down two goals it is a long way back.”

Despite going down just 34 seconds into the match, York responded well, finding spaces down the flanks as Clément Bayiha and Kévin Santos both created chances. In the end, however, despite a rare 58.2 per cent of possession on the road, they were unable to turn that into dangerous chances often enough.

“We had a lot of possession today, a lot more than we are probably used to and we played slow with the possession, if you are going to have possession, and teams are going to allow you to have it at times, you’ve got to play quick and move them,” said Nash. “It was one of our keys to the game to be able to move their block. When you play slow and they can stay in front of you it is hard to penetrate.”

Despite conceding two goals in the 48th minute, York would have known they had a chance to get back into the match given what Valour did just a week ago in similar circumstances. In the end, however, they failed to put Cavalry under enough pressure late after scoring their lone goal through Bayiha in the 63rd minute, managing just two non-threatening shot attempts thereafter.

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Daan Klomp, Cavalry FC

Klomp was outstanding at the back for Cavalry on Sunday evening. The central defender made several key interventions, winning seven of nine duels (including all three aerially), while completing 36 of his 39 passes.

What’s next?

Cavalry FC remain at home, where they host rivals Pacific FC next Sunday, August 27 (3:00 p.m. MT /5:00 p.m. ET) — who they sit just a point ahead of at the top of the CPL table. York United will take on Vancouver FC at York Lions Stadium on Friday, August 25 (7:30 p.m. ET).

Watch all CPL 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.