Final Score: Forge FC 0-1 Cavalry FC
Goalscorers: Warschewski 27′
2024 CPL Playoffs
Qualifying Semi-Final

Match in a minute or less

Cavalry FC earned the right to host the 2024 Canadian Premier League Final on Sunday afternoon, as they defeated Forge FC 1-0 at Tim Hortons Field in the qualifying semi-final.

It was a fairly open game in the early going, but the Cavs broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark. Goalkeeper Marco Carducci sent a long ball down the pitch to Tobias Warschewski, and the German forward brought it down well, holding off a defender and dribbling around Forge keeper Jassem Koleilat before rolling it into an open goal.

From there, Cavalry’s defence weathered a storm and held firm, hanging onto the clean sheet and the 1-0 win for their first victory at Tim Hortons Field since November 2021.

Three Observations

Resilient Cavalry impress with clean-sheet win to earn CPL Final hosting rights

This was, in many ways, a masterclass from Cavalry in how to win a tight playoff match. They found their goal early on a quick break, and after that it was a matter of locking down the clean sheet.

Although Forge did end up with 16 shots, five of them on target, it seemed Cavalry got increasingly solid defensively as the match progressed and they absorbed more pressure. By the end of it, when they weathered seven minutes of stoppage time, the Cavs were seriously frustrating the Forge attackers.

The Cavs’ defensive performance was almost perfect; they attempted 24 tackles and successfully completed 20 of them, also making 32 clearances — 12 of them by Callum Montgomery alone. Plus, Marco Carducci was excellent in goal when he needed to be, commanding the air to claim many of Forge’s 34 crosses as well as making five saves.

“It was a well executed tactical performance,” Cavalry head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said after the game.

“I’ve been focused a lot more on this team this year, we know things have happened in the past but this is a different team than I’ve worked with. Over the first half of the season it was very tough; we’ve grown stronger and stronger, and I think that resilience early has made us tougher. So when you’ve got to suffer in the second half like that, you do so as a group, and collectively I thought they were superb. We knew we’d get our chances, Forge have a lot of numbers and they get numbers around the ball, and they work their patterns very well, but we knew that today we had to be outstanding defensively. I think that was the key, because the chance we did get, we took it away.”

Cavalry have been haunted by Tim Hortons Field recently; they hadn’t won in Hamilton since 2021, and the memory of last year’s CPL Final defeat loomed large.

However, Wheeldon Jr. said after the game that he’d had a good feeling that this would be the day his team slayed the dragon in Hamilton.

“It’s funny, because I knew we were going to win,” he said. “I don’t know why, I’d just seen the way we trained, we kept ourselves to ourselves. I’ve worked with this group of lads this year, this team, and the amount of things they’ve had to go through on and off the pitch and still be here just shows me they’re a tough group. When it comes down to playoffs, no matter who you play — I guess in particular Forge — you’ve got to bring your best self, and I thought they did that today, so when we won, like I said, I fancied us before the game so I’m not shocked.”

Now that this massive hurdle has finally been jumped, Cavalry will undoubtedly be locked in over the next two weeks as they prepare for the Final on home soil. They have the advantage of training on their grass pitch, and acclimating to the chilly weather that we’ll likely see in Calgary on Nov. 9.

It’s been an odd season for Cavalry — they were out of the playoff picture for a while, struggling to turn draws into wins in the first half of the season. It’s the first year they’ve never been first in the league table.

However, none of that matters at all, nor do the Cavs’ past playoff losses. Now, they will play a final at home, where they could well find themselves lifting the North Star Cup for the first time.

“The past is the past,” Wheeldon Jr. said.

“What is it Natasha Bedingfield said? The rest is still unwritten.”

Forge frustrated by missed chances, fail to break Cavs defence

This was just the second time ever that Forge have failed to score in a CPL playoff game, and it was absolutely a frustrating night for their attacking players.

Nine different players had a shot on Sunday — although only three put theirs on target — but by the end of the game the Hammers were unable to break through, and a lot of their attempts came from increasingly difficult locations.

Although they had 10 shots and 61.7 per cent possession in the second half, nothing they threw at Cavalry was able to beat them — including the eight corner kicks, from which Forge are typically very dangerous.

Ultimately, it wasn’t a poor performance from Forge — though they were certainly second-best to the Cavs — but it was an afternoon where they were punished for not being clinical enough with the opportunities they did have.

“The opportunities were there, chances were there — clear chances were there,” head coach Bobby Smyrniotis said postmatch. “Most days they go in. On the days they don’t, this could be the outcome. I told the guys, I thought although in the first half we weren’t our best, we created three very good opportunities, and given up a pretty uncharacteristic goal there. In the second half, we’ve reacted well. It’s not just chances, it’s clear chances to goal from quality players in and around the box. It wasn’t there, and when it’s not there that’s the result. The path to success isn’t always linear; we’re used to doing it one way, now you do it a little bit differently.”

Defender Alex Achinioti-Jönsson echoed his coach’s sentiments, saying he felt his side had been the better team for large stretches, but were unable to capitalize on their advantage.

“If you look at what we were doing in the game, we were doing some good things,” he said. W”e were a little bit too weak defensively in the first half, and maybe let them get [their goal] a little too easy. We were dominating big parts of the game, I think we were dominating up until the goal, but that doesn’t really matter in playoffs. It’s not one and done luckily, we get a second chance now next Saturday, and that’s what we’ve got to look ahead at.”

Indeed, Forge do have a second chance — such is the luxury of finishing top of the league. They’ll still be at home next Saturday when they host Atlético Ottawa in another semi-final, but they know the margin for error is now gone, and a loss would mean the first ever year without Forge in the CPL Final.

Smyrniotis did not seem particularly concerned, though; he reiterated his confidence in the side to beat Ottawa and set up a rematch in Calgary.

“There’s a reason this team this year has been the top team in this league,” Smyrniotis said. “There’s a reason this club has been the top club in the CPL for the past six years. You’ve got to have that confidence, but nothing is guaranteed. The story just doesn’t rewrite itself, you have to write it, so it’s what you put into it, the effort you put into it, and sometimes it’s not going to work out the way you want. That’s football, that’s sports.”

Warschewski dazzles in another outstanding performance up front

Tobias Warschewski is the most in-form player in the Canadian Premier League right now. After scoring on Sunday, he now has six goals in his last four games, continuing his red-hot run after snatching the Golden Boot last weekend.

His goal was an impressive display of his attacking skillset — the touch to bring down the ball, and the strength to hold off the defender, and the skill to keep the ball stuck to his feet and get it around the goalkeeper.

The goal from Tobias Warschewski that sent @CPLCavalryFC back to the Canadian Premier League Final 🐎#CanPL I @onesoccer pic.twitter.com/i07RZfJi13

— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) October 27, 2024

It wasn’t just that one goal that made Warschewski central to Cavalry’s victory, though. Despite his centre-forward position, he’s one of the most important defensive players on the pitch, leading the press that’s a trademark of Cavalry’s style of play.

Warschewski contested a whopping 27 duels on Sunday, winning possession five times. He made four successful dribbles and created three chances, also winning three fouls. The German striker was outstanding in all sorts of ways for the Cavs, pushing them forward and preventing Forge from getting into a rhythm when trying to play out of the back.

“I think Tobi was our front three today,” Wheeldon Jr. said of his striker. “He’s that good; he drifts into different areas, he affects some pressures, he can start the press, he can drop into midfield, he can get fouls, he can dribble you up the pitch. I think his legs were starting to go, but with him you always know that you’ve got an opportunity to score. And what a special goal, and what a great pass from Marco — credit to Marco and our keeper coach, Jake Davis.”

Warschewski will be central to Cavalry’s hopes of winning the championship in two weeks, and either Forge or Atlético Ottawa will have their hands full trying to contain him.

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Tobias Warschewski, Cavalry FC

Warschewski was outstanding both on and off the ball for Cavalry, scoring an excellent goal while also making life very difficult for Forge’s defenders playing out of the back with his pressing.

What’s next?

Cavalry FC now go directly to the CPL Final, which they’ll host at ATCO Field on Saturday, Nov. 9. Meanwhile, Forge turn their attention to the other semi-final clash, which they’ll play against Atlético Ottawa next Saturday, Nov. 2 at Tim Hortons Field.

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