A point earned from a goalless draw against visitors Vancouver FC was enough for Cavalry FC to book their place in the knockout rounds of this year’s Canadian Premier League. 

Their opponents, however, were in far greater need of three points at ATCO field in Calgary on Saturday and are still not sure if they will be one of the five teams challenging for the North Star Cup.

Centre back Daan Klomp returned to the starting XI for the hosts following his suspension, while midfielder Charlie Trafford returned to the bench. Vancouver head coach Afshin Ghotbi made five changes from his team’s previous defeat against Forge. 

With Vancouver’s results going against them, the team seemed to occasionally resort to the dark arts to stop the Cavs, the first incident coming as early as two minutes in, when Olivier Rommens had his hands around Sergio Camargo, the latter choosing to respond by flinging his Belgian counterpart to the ground, the referee intervening before things flared up so early in the game.

Rommens and Camargo clashed again, the latter claiming a penalty as a pass was played into the Vancouver box before the referee waved the claims away. Wahling’s attempted strike at the ball was met with only thin air, and the German was involved a few minutes later, hoping Ali Musse would pick out his ghosting run into the box instead of curling wide. 

Vancouver, however, continued to employ robust, rather questionable tackles to stop their opponents, Paris Gee receiving a talking to for impeding Diego Gutierrez illegally in the 18th minute. 

James Cameron, meanwhile, was excelling at left-back, his firm but fair tackles halting both Musse and Michael Harms from opening up their right flank. In terms of goalmouth action, though, there was little to write home about, until Warschewski’s 23rd minute speculative effort from just outside the box almost threatened to sneak into the net, but for a smart save from goalkeeper Callum Irving.

Vancouver’s dark arts had already forced the referee to intervene a few times, and he decided to finally take action when Wahling was felled by Austin Ricci. For a moment, the question on everyone’s lips was not whether there would be a card, but what colour the card would be, before he was ultimately shown a yellow in the 26th minute.

As the match wore on, it always looked like Cavalry were unable to (or unwilling to) find the killer pass to prise open the Eagles defence, with the visitors sometimes requiring to deploy last ditch tackles to prevent their hosts from finding the back of the net. Despite Cavalry enjoying more than 60 percent possession, they were able to register nary a dent in their opponents’ defensive line. 

When the referee blew the whistle on a first half that could be described as tepid at best, both teams knew they would need to do more in the second half to find the back of the net. Consequently, Vancouver introduced Mikaël Cantave at half time, the Haiti international replacing Grady McDonnell. Cavalry also made a change, Jay Herdman coming on for Wahling.

Both clubs certainly showed a bit more urgency in the second half: Musse’s speculative effort in the 50th minute going narrowly over, with Cantave’s long-ranger a minute later bouncing just in front of the Vancouver goal before bobbling wide. Camargo’s effort just afterwards was a bit more serious, with Irving requiring the help of the post to smother his effort.

But it was the 18-year-old right-back Harms who came closest to scoring: he orchestrated a superb 56th minute run followed by a give-and-go with Musse, before cutting in past his marker in the box and drilling a shot goalwards, only for Irving to get down low and prevent what would’ve been the opening goal. From the resultant corner, Warschewski’s looping effort thudded the crossbar, but refused to go in. 

Keen to inject more momentum into his side, Ghotbi made two more changes, Vasco Fry and Austin Ricci coming off for the more attack-minded Gabriel Bitar and Ayman Sellouf around the hour mark. 

Former Cav Cantave came closest to troubling the Cavalry goalkeeper in the second half, spooning his effort just above Marco Carducci in the 68th minute. 

The hosts, meanwhile, continued to remind audiences of the big bad wolf against the third little pig: they huffed and they puffed, but Vancouver, in their alternate cherry blossom-inspired strip, refused to wilt under the Albertan sun. 

Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. made his second roll of the dice when he brought on two fresh players from the bench in the 77th minute, with Eryk Kobza and Lowell Wright replacing Callum Montgomery and Shamit Shome. 

The hosts continued to knock at Vancouver’s door: Warschewski sent a blistering effort goalwards in the 79th minute, from a long ball into the box. Irving, who has made the most saves in the CPL this season, ensured it stayed closed. Seconds later, Vancouver’s top scorer Alejandro Diaz was hauled off for TJ Tahid, in the hope that fresh legs up front would provide Vancouver the cutting edge they so badly needed in the final throes of the game.

Warschewski continued to remain a thorn in the Eagles’ side, trying to sneak one past Irving in the 88th minute. Irving, though, remained wise to his antics. Seconds later, Lowell Wright galloped forward, bearing down on goal, only for the excellent Cameron to shepherd him away.  

With the board going up for five minutes of added time, Cavalry committed all their resources towards piercing the back of the net. Instinctively, Vancouver retreated into a rearguard action, restricting the hosts – primarily Musse – to speculative shots from distance. 

Desperate to curry favour from the referee en route to finding a goal, Camargo made the most of a barge in the Vancouver box in the hopes of winning a penalty. Once again, however, the powers that be were unfazed.

That would prove the last move of note in the game, as stout rearguard action meant Vancouver kept a rare clean sheet, while Cavalry confirmed their presence in the knockout stages of the CPL.

BOX SCORE

Lineups 

Cavalry FC: Carducci; Harms (Chanda 89’), Klomp, Montgomery (Kobza 76’), Field; Gutierrez, Shome (Wright 76’), Musse, Camargo, Wahling (Herdman 46’); Warschewksi

Vancouver FC: Irving; Gee, Romeo, Norman Jr., Cameron; Rommens (Campagna 90’), Garcia, Fry (Sellouf 60’); McDonnell (Cantave 46’), Ricci (Bitar 60’), Diaz (Tahid 80’)

Goals

None

Discipline

21’ – Yellow: Austin Ricci (Vancouver FC)
90’ – Yellow: James Cameron (Vancouver FC)
90’ – Yellow: Ali Musse (Cavalry FC)
90’ – Yellow: Jay Herdman (Cavalry FC)