Another Friday night matchup saw Vancouver Football Club travel to ATCO Field to take on Cavalry Football Club. The match would finish 3-1 in favour of Cavalry, as they remain undefeated against the Langley based club.
It was match day #4 in the CPL, and it was a chance at redemption for VFC. Coming into this game, Vancouver was trying to turn the page after a disappointing week which saw them get bounced from the Canadian Championship by Cavalry, and then lose 3-0 to York just a few days later. Ghotbi’s men pressed hard against Cavalry last week, yet despite an opposition red card, and the Eagles dominating the possession and the shots column, they were helpless to prevent the game from ending in a disappointing 1-0.
On the other side of the ball, Tommy Wheeldon Jr’s men also came into this home game trying to flip a page of their own. Despite knocking VFC out of the Canadian Championship the week prior, they’ve had a poor start to the league with 1 draw and 2 losses. Having pretty much the exact same squad as last year when they were the CPL Shield winners, you would expect Cavalry to turn it around and start adding up some numbers in the win column.
Ben Fisk reclaimed his spot in the VFC Starting XI for this match, as he once again lined up against the club where he made 65 appearances over 3 seasons. As for the rest of the squad, Ghotbi chose to line up differently for the first time this year, choosing to set his team up in a 4-3-3 formation. The front three consisted of Fisk-Dyer-Diaz, and then a midfield of Kibato-Garcia-Fry. The former Whitecaps academy player Matteo Campagna got his first start with his new club as he lined up at right back, with Romeo, Norman Jr, Gee, and Irving all occupying their natural positions.
Wheeldon Jr decided to line his team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, making only two changes from their previous match with VFC. Sergio Camargo took back his starting spot in attacking midfield, and 23 year old Aussie international, Lleyton Brooks, got his first start for Cavalry at left wing.
From the start of the game, Cavalry’s offence looked more potent than VFC, and to make matters worse their defence were up for any challenge that the Eagles threw at them. Cavalry dominated the wings and made Vancouver pay for it. In the 8th minute, with Ali Musse bombing down the side of the pitch, Norman Jr was forced to take decisive action and received a yellow card for his challenge on Musse. This would turn out to be a common theme for the match, as in the 26th minute, Musse would find Fraser Aird making a run down the wing, and Aird would swing in a cross to the far post where Warschewski was waiting to head the ball home for the first goal of the match.
Ghotbi’s men would get into the attacking third a few times throughout the first half; however, they just couldn’t manage to find the quality that was needed to be threatening enough. In the 39th minute, Charlie Trafford picked up the ball in the centre circle, and proceeded to make a run to the top corner of Irving’s 18-yard box, and slot the ball in the far corner of the net. A few minutes later, Norman Jr would be forced to come out as he was dealing with a nagging injury he picked up earlier in the game. To replace him, another former Whitecaps academy player, Elage Bah, would come on to the pitch and play right back, while Campagna shifted to centre back.
The half would end in a deserved 2-0 for the home team. VFC had some chances, but they just couldn’t stay composed and find the creative spark that was needed to keep them in the game. As the second half started, Miki Cantave was subbed on for Alejandro Diaz against his former club to try and be that creative spark on offence. This would not turn out the way that Ghotbi would hope though. A 55th minute free kick would provide a good opportunity for the Eagles to capitalise, but a missed opportunity would see Campagna get a yellow card a few minutes later for a handball inside his own penalty box. Warschewski stepped up and slotted a rocket of a penalty kick into the back of the net to make it 3-0 for Cavalry.
Kembo Kibato & Ben Fisk would both be subbed off for Grady Mcdonnell & Jose Navarro shortly after the goal. The Eagles started to push harder and more effectively after this point, and it would eventually lead to a goal for them, but not before Matteo Campagna was forced to come off with a nagging leg problem. To replace him, the Coquitlam talent who was drafted from Trinity Western University, Thomas Powell, would come onto the pitch to make his first professional appearance in the CPL. As mentioned, VFC would eventually put one in the net for themselves, when in the 81st minute, Dyer came crashing into Carducci and managed to get to the ball before the keeper could get full possession. VFC would make a few more attempts on goal but that would result in Dyer collecting a yellow card of his own, when he again crashed into Carducci in the 88th minute.
Added time would come and go, and Tommy Wheeldon Jr along with his team, managed to stay undefeated against Vancouver FC. Cavalry were the better team throughout the game, showing that they indeed are the same team that won last year’s CPL Shield. Ghotbi and his squad will make the trek back to the west coast, where next week on May 12th, VFC will host Atletico Ottawa and do their best to get back to winning ways.
(Image Credit: Tony Lewis)