2022 CPL Playoffs — Semifinal Leg 1
Cavalry FC vs. Forge FC
October 15, 2022 at 2 p.m. MT/4 p.m. ET
ATCO Field in Calgary, Alberta
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The Canadian Premier League’s first rivalry writes another high-stakes chapter this week, as Cavalry FC and Forge FC prepare to square off in the first leg of their playoff semifinal.
Saturday’s game at Spruce Meadows will be the nineteenth meeting of the Calgary and Hamilton clubs in all competitions, and if previous encounters are prologue to this one, fireworks are expected. From trophies to red cards to a midfielder playing in goal, this matchup has pretty much seen it all, but every time these teams converge it’s appointment viewing.
The lore of Cavalry versus Forge is better than any other fixture in the CPL. In the league’s inaugural year, their second-round Canadian Championship clash was fiery prelude to another two-legged battle in the CPL Final. With two home-and-away knockout ties in their past — one each won by Cavalry and Forge — this third meeting is an all-too-familiar feeling for the 14 players who remain from 2019.
“To be honest I think it’s two teams who really despise losing, we both want to win but we despise losing,” said Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis of the rivalry. “It’s not something that we like, it’s not something that has been in the DNA from the first day these teams came into the league or the league started. The expectations are high for both teams.”
Even this year, though, Cavalry-Forge matches have been electrifying. They traded highlight-reel goals for a 2-2 draw at Tim Hortons Field, then Forge took a back-and-forth 2-1 win from ATCO Field. The third time around, both sides scored in the last 10 minutes but it was Mikaël Cantave who bagged three points for Cavalry. Lastly, for this regular season, a 2-1 Forge win at home also produced three red cards as tempers boiled over in a way they hadn’t since that first season.
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Neither of these two teams head into the playoffs in their best form, although this matchup seems to bring the best out of both sides. Forge managed to lock up second place with a 1-0 win over HFX Wanderers on the last day, but prior to that they’d won just two of their last 10.
Still, a 14-5-9 record and 47 points (just three fewer than last year’s first-place campaign) indicate that Bobby Smyrniotis’ side remain one of the best in the league. The Hammers have shown the capacity to dominate opponents this season, but have also at times been vulnerable when their attack isn’t clicking.
Cavalry, meanwhile, landed in third place with an identical record to Forge. Unfortunately for them, their +6 goal differential was well off the Hamilton side’s +22, so they lose the tiebreaker and thus host the first leg of this semifinal.
They finished the season with a three-game homestand, winning their last two against Pacific and Valour but dropping a 3-1 result to Atlético Ottawa three weeks ago. Tommy Wheeldon Jr.’s men were up and down over the final few months of the year, with five wins, one draw, and four losses since the beginning of August.
Cavalry FC head into the playoffs as healthy as they have been all season. Sergio Camargo will still be absent for at least the first leg of this tie, but Tom Field recently returned to full training after missing the entire 2022 season through injury. Both Wheeldon Jr. and Trafford mentioned how important this has been not only for the depth of the squad but also for preparations as the quality and intensity of training have increased.
Bobby Smyrniotis will also have nearly a full complement of players as he heads into Saturday’s match. There is one notable absence for Forge, however, as central defender Daniel Krutzen is making progress on recovering from injury, according to Smyrniotis, but will not be available this weekend.
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3 THINGS TO WATCH
- Discipline required in two-legged knockout tie: While the fireworks that usually accompany clashes between these two sides are undoubtedly entertaining, the players need to be careful about letting emotions get the best of them. We’ve seen a lot of bookings at key moments before — goalkeeper Quillan Roberts was sent off in the 2019 Canadian Championship and missed the second leg; Tristan Borges and Joel Waterman both saw red in the 2019 CPL Final (though Borges’ was rescinded before Leg 2). The last time these sides locked horns, three players — Kyle Bekker, Joseph Di Chiara, and Mikaël Cantave — were shown red cards in a game that truly boiled over at the end. In 18 total matches between Forge and Cavalry across all competitions, 91 cards have been shown — a staggering average of just over five per game. In this two-legged semifinal, discipline will be important. These teams do not like each other, so expect a physical, heated affair on Saturday, but players can’t afford to step over the line and get suspended for Leg 2. “What you’ve got to hope for is that players have fire in their hearts and ice in their minds,” said Cavalry manager Tommy Wheeldon Jr. “That they can play through this at a competitive level, but be able to control emotions.”
- What is Forge’s first-choice attack? On paper, this Forge roster boasts perhaps the deepest group of attackers in the entire CPL. The septet of Woobens Pacius, Terran Campbell, Tristan Borges, Jordan Hamilton, David Choinière, Emery Welshman, and Chris Nanco comprises players who could all probably get starting minutes anywhere in the CPL. Trouble is, Bobby Smyrniotis can only fit three (or four if Borges plays as a number 10) into his XI. In recent weeks, Forge has struggled somewhat to find the most effective combination of attackers for their lineup, and the goals have dried up a bit. Since the start of August, Forge have scored more than one goal just twice in 12 games, and they’ve been held scoreless four times. They still led the league in goals this season, but they haven’t been playing the most free-flowing attacking football of late. Smyrniotis will be hoping the group he chooses to start on Saturday can begin to click, and quickly.
- Cavs look to finally leap playoff hurdle: Cavalry FC have played two CPL playoff games at Spruce Meadows, and they’ve lost them both. The Cavs watched Forge win a championship on their pitch in 2019, and last season they saw Pacific move on to the Final after scoring in extra time. In the 2021 semifinal, the Cavs ended up eliminated because of Kunle Dada-Luke’s controversial goal — some Cavalry defenders thought the ball had gone out at the end line and stopped playing — so this year, “Play to the whistle” has been a mantra for Tommy Wheeldon Jr. and co. Over four years of the CPL, no team has more points than Cavalry, but they have no trophies to show for it. This time, the Cavs are desperate to get over that hump and finally get their hands on the North Star Shield. “It’s a testament to the club and what we have done consistently over four years,” said Cavalry captain Mason Trafford, “but now it is time to take the [North Star Shield]. It’s the playoffs, it’s the final, and let’s do it. This club deserves it I think and we will do everything we can to bring that trophy back to Calgary.”
ALL-TIME SERIES
Cavalry wins: 6 || Forge wins: 9 || Draws: 3
Previous match:
September 10, 2022 — Forge 2-1 Cavalry