Cavalry FC and Forge FC will both have a chance to qualify directly for the CPL Final on Saturday at ATCO Field, as the league’s first and second-place teams from the regular season go head-to-head in the latest chapter of a fascinating saga between these two sides. Managers Tommy Wheeldon Jr. and Bobby Smyrniotis both spoke to the media on Friday afternoon as they make final preparations with their sides. Here’s what both gaffers had to say.
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Tommy Wheeldon Jr., Cavalry FC
On Cavalry’s playoff record against Forge:
“Thank goodness for new records to be made. Had it not been for that opportunity, I’d still be listening to Thriller from Michael Jackson, because that was the first record I got. That’s the thing with history, there’s new history to be written. This group has taken on an opportunity to look at it that way. Old history is what it is; fair play to Forge, who can celebrate their previous successes, but this is a different team. This is a different year, different moment, different playoffs. New records are there to be made.”
On relishing the opportunity:
“This one’s not an elimination game per se, but it’s an opportunity. That’s the word we’ve used every time for the team we’re playing; it’s an opportunity to play against the best. We knew that last week against Pacific, they needed that result and they didn’t want to play in that fourth-fifth game, but they had to because it was an opportunity for us to play against the best. When we do preseason, you’re sifting through and not playing the right games until the season kicks off. Now, we know we’re going to play Forge’s best. They haven’t had a good run of games in the last couple of games, they’ll be smarting and looking for a chance to defend their trophy.”
On the chance to host a final in Calgary:
“I said to our players after Saturday’s game, it was a special moment that will live long in all of our lives. The pictures, the media, it was spectacular. The Monday when we’d reflected upon it and had that day to celebrate, we said, ‘Right, enjoy that, big smiles and all that; did you like that feeling? It took us 28 games to win that award. To win the next one and have a similar feeling, it’ll take two. So let’s focus on the next game.'”
On adjusting to a playoff mindset:
“I don’t know what it is about this group, now the games seem to be big game after big game — our road swing was big game after big game, our home swing was big game after big game. It’s another big game, and that’s the way; when you want to be a champion, you’ve got to play big game after big game. We went down a goal against Valour, scored two. Scored two goals against Pacific, scored a third near the end. We’ve been in scenarios that are the best scenarios you want going into playoffs. It could be a 120-minute game, it could be PKs, it could be a 3-0 blowout. We don’t know. All we’ve got to do is keep playing that game. “That’s how we try to stay grounded. We’ve been through the disappointments of the beginning, of not winning until our sixth game, to now going on a winning run. This group has resilience, it has talent, it has camaraderie, and they’re the secret ingredients that you take into a playoff game.”
On a tactical chess match with Bobby Smyrniotis:
“I think Bobby’s a terrific coach, he’s developed very, very well with his teams over the years. We’ve had some good matchups this year, I think we’re unbeaten against them this year which is always good. They’re the kind of ingredients that go into this one: Will they overthink about things? Will they do something a bit different that they haven’t done the last couple of games? “We’ve faced each other four times, so we’re getting almost like we were in 2019 where you start seeing each other over and over again, so you have to throw in a bit of a curveball. That’s what I’m looking forward to, is what curveball are they going to throw and what curveball are we going to throw? Best brings best; I’ve always appreciated Bobby’s work and enjoyed competing against him and his teams.”
Bobby Smyrniotis, Forge FC
On the possibility of hosting a final in Hamilton:
“You always want that advantage of being able to play at home. I’m not going to lie to you; a trophy is a trophy, so wherever you can get it that’s good. But of course, we know the importance of this game and giving us that home field for the final match. It’s something that we really want and we’ve done this before. We’ve had one at home that got away from us in a very busy season in 2021, so it would be great to do this again back home.”
On finding attacking consistency:
“The problem always in football is when you don’t create. That’s the biggest one, because you’re always trying to find the solution of where things are going to come from, how they’re going to come, process and so on. We’ve been very good in creating, it’s sometimes about the moments. We’ve got an excellent tactical plan and preparation for tomorrow’s match, and I’m sure they do as well. But sometimes in these games the plans go out the window and the ball bounces one way or another and it’s in the back of the net. “That’s the important thing; in any playoff game you need to take your chances as they come. We’ve played in these games a lot and they can be very tight when you’re playing in the playoffs. Nobody wants to go down in these games. But the most important thing is we’ve been playing good football, we’ve been creating opportunities.”
On prematch excitement and anxiety:
“These are exciting matches, that’s the biggest thing. A lot of people talk about these matches and whether there’s nerves involved and so on; for me, for the staff, for the players, I think it’s all about excitement. These are the games you play for, you’ve played a long season to be able to get to this point and be able to play these types of games with this type of positive pressure. We have a history of playing a lot of different competitions, and we hope that helps us in tomorrow’s match as well.”
On the midseason emergence of Béni Badibanga:
“It’s an important piece that we’ve added midseason. There’s no hiding the fact that we’ve missed a guy like David Choinière midseason, he’s played I think half of the matches, with Tristan Borges’ lingering injuries and trying to manage that those are two players that probably combined had 17 goals or assists for us last year and they haven’t featured as much as we’d like due to injury. We needed another impact player, and Béni’s been able to do that. “Scary thing with Béni is he probably hasn’t been at his best yet as a player. He’s come in here and within a couple of weeks thrown into the fire, maybe not as prepared as he needs to be, and I think he’s starting to hit full stride right now.”
On the uniqueness of this 1st vs. 2nd game:
“You approach it with a one-and-done mentality. That’s the way you need to do it, not thinking of scenarios and different things. We’ve had scenarios help us out in the last week, you don’t usually get a lot of those as you keep on going forward so you have to take care of business as it is at hand. “With these matches it’s not about what’s happened in the past, it’s literally about what’s going to happen in those 90 minutes. Doesn’t matter how many trophies we have, whose record is what, how many times we’ve played each other. It absolutely means nothing.”