If ever you needed an example on how the game of soccer can be complicated, and its narratives, ever-winding, this weekend’s “Spring-deciding” matchup between Cavalry FC and Forge FC is the perfect one.
On an unbeaten run in league play, Cavalry went into their Saturday tilt against Forge needing just one single point to wrap up their Spring campaign and book a spot in the 2019 CPL Championship.
But, as we found out … things aren’t always quite so straightforward in the beautiful game.
Here’s what else we learned in Week 8:
7. The Spring sprint is nearing its end
Forge played spoilers on Saturday, defeating Cavalry 1-0 at Spruce Meadows, and now? Things just got interesting.
Two matches remaining for Cavalry FC, and just the one for Forge in this 10-match Spring portion of the 2019 CPL season means we’re down to the wire here, where every single remaining point on the board is precious between these two final contenders. Forge’s job is relatively simple: Defeat FC Edmonton on June 26, hope that Cavalry falters against York9, and then sit back and relax on Canada Day as the final match of this opening stanza spells your fate in the competition.
We’ve broken down the permutations in detail here, but, essentially, it boils down to Forge winning its last match and Cavalry losing its final two fixtures – or drawing one of the two to force a tie at the top with 22 points each, in which case a series of other tiebreakers play into effect.
So, with a 1-0 loss against Forge, Cavalry must regroup and try to pick up a win away at the Nine Stripes or, at the latest, away at Pacific FC on Canada Day. Now 7-0-1 for the season, the Calgarian outfit’s perfect record is no more; and, interestingly enough, Tommy Wheeldon Jr. also suffered his first personal defeat at home since a match against Seattle in the PDL way back in 2015. Amazing.
6. Beland-Goyette sounds off on Valour
Are there signs of discontent brewing in Winnipeg?
“It’s one defeat too many,” said Valour midfielder Louis Beland-Goyette following his side’s 2-1 loss to Pacific FC at IG Field on Thursday – his team’s fourth in a row – and perhaps he’s right. Valour, unlike the rest of the CPL’s outfits, have been something of a mixed bag, capable of utterly dominating matches, and certainly capable of scoring, but are also seemingly fragile at the back, and subject to many a gut-punch concession against the run of play.
“To be honest, I’m fed up with talking about it,” Beland-Goyette continued. “We talk about (being a) possession-team, possession-team, but we’re not winning games. I don’t know when we’re going to wake up and just win the game. We have to stop talking about possession and talk about winning games, not only about attractive football. That’s it.”
This is an interesting train of thought, for a couple of reasons: Beland-Goyette is right that, sometimes, clubs must balance short-term success with long-term visions, and in this instance, perhaps an insistence on playing a certain kind of football comes with the consequence of growing pains, which, as a player, can be tough to swallow.
But, Rob Gale’s long-term view can also open the door to a brand of football that can be unmatched in this league, as Valour boasts some of the CPL’s most technically-gifted players, and in healthy stock.
The other point worth talking about? Beland-Goyette’s dismissal of possession as a meaningful metric. Too often, in blossoming soccer circles, the easy thing to do is point to possession as an indication that a team “deserved” a result that they didn’t get – and, to speak candidly, it’s just plain wrong. Possession is a meaningless stat unless it’s in the extremes. If a team with 80%+ loses 4-0, there’s a narrative there. But if the margins are slim, the only metric that counts is the scoreline.
5. Have the floodgates opened for Edmonton?
587 minutes.
That’s how long it took for FC Edmonton to find the back of the net, after enduring a scoring drought over the course of six matches. When that goal finally came courtesy of Tomi Ameobi, the Eddies added two more, and ran away with a 3-1 win over Pacific FC at Westhills Stadium on Sunday. Sometimes, all it takes is the one goal to get the rest pouring out of your team. Before this match, Paulus was puzzled – his team was scoring goals in training with no problems. Afterward, he explained to our Steven Sandor that he set “four goals” in training that his team had to reach, in order to address this scoring slump. The big one? They took a look at shooting zones in European football and discovered a deficiency in their own decision-making. It’s been addressed now, we presume!
On the topic of time, a fickle friend to those who aren’t patient, York9 looks like they’re starting to gel together wonderfully with each passing game, too. The challenge now is turning those burgeoning connections into goals, but that’s all part of the process, and, as we’ve heard one too many times in the world of sporting platitudes, you’ve got to trust the process, right?
4. HFX, Pacific FC, and the unfortunate reality of injury woes
HFX Wanderers FC are without Luis Alberto Perea and Juan Diego Gutierrez; Pacific FC, without Marcus Haber and Lukas MacNaughton.
Injuries have run rampant through both of these coastal Canadian clubs.
What to do, what to do? Well, if you’re Michael Silberbauer or Stephen Hart, the answer is simple – you play the players that you’ve got.
In soccer and, really, in sports, it’s easy to fall into certain traps in the narrative; if the Golden State Warriors had a healthy Kevin Durant … who knows? But this is the reality of the world we’re in, where injuries are a part of this competitive space; so, while missing a key player or two can be a major disadvantage, winning teams keep finding ways to win.
3. What a time to be Canadian
Last week, we touched on the early signs of success that both the Canadian men’s and women’s national teams were displaying as they opened their Gold Cup and Women’s World Cup campaigns, respectively. Now one week further into those tournaments, and it’s become clear that Canadian soccer fans are truly in the middle of a renaissance period, where both outfits are putting in commendable showings. Even Canada’s loss to Mexico in Gold Cup play wasn’t the sort of blowout one might have normally expected, and a 7-0 drubbing of Cuba secured John Herdman’s side a spot in the Quarterfinals.
At the same time, Christine Sinclair added another goal to her nearly-record-breaking tally, as the CanWNT defeated New Zealand but fell to the Netherlands, getting out of Group E and now squaring off against Sweden in the Round of 16. Kenneth Heiner-Moller’s side continues to challenge and show well, and now they’ll have a chance at making a run in these knockout stages.
2. Can we talk about …
… Cavalry’s creative ace, Sergio Camargo? The 24-year-old attack-minded No. 10 has found his feet for Cavalry in recent weeks, scoring in back-to-back matches and helping his team secure a 2-1 win over HFX Wanderers FC in midweek. His dynamic and exciting play is the sort that isn’t necessarily common in Canadian soccer, so seeing him express himself and produce for his side isn’t just a case of a player being a game-changer or being influential; it’s also proving the mission of the CPL – developing exactly these sorts of players. And, speaking of Camargo’s influence …
1. Your photo of the week
