Welcome to week six of the Canadian Premier League, as we check in on the matches played, look to the future, and examine the triumphs and heartbreaks.  

Ottawa vs. Valour (5-2)

Ottawa was coming into this game confident with a big win over Pacific the past week, while Valour was still chasing their first win this season.

Ottawa showed their intentions immediately with Samuel Salter roaming forward, but the first goal was Valour’s, as just four minutes in, Shaan Hundal grabbed a loose forward ball, positioned himself in a moment and fired it in.

After this opening exchange, the match settled into its pace, with Ottawa relying on possession and quick passing, while Valour played a tough but often defensive game, getting into the space of Ottawa players to break up attacks, and launching breaks up the pitch when opportunities presented themselves. Sam Salter was able to exploit a Valour give-away, however, equalising the score just before half an hour played.

Valour kept up the energy and fired off a series of “nearly there” chances, but none would connect, and shortly before the end of the first half, a long goal kick forward landed right at Salter’s feet, allowing him to bring the score to 2-1 against a shell shocked Valour side. While Valour tried to hold out until half time, the interplay of Mendes Antinoro and David Rodriguez paid off and the half would end 3-1 Ottawa.

The second half would open to a flurry of activity, as first Ottawa(Salter for the third time) and then Valour, through Kelsey Egwu, scored goals bringing the score to 4-2. Anyone who had anticipated a boring day of football was clearly proven quite wrong.

However, as Salter managed his fourth goal at 58 minutes, it seems the fight finally went out of Valour. Holding the lines as best they could with frustrations mounting, they hauled themselves over the finish line to a 5-2 Ottawa win: The highest scoring game of the season so far. The post match stats showed a dismal 30% possession for Valour, though they had managed to get a fair few shots out of it. 

Halifax vs. Cavalry (0-3)

Another undefeated team, Halifax, faced off against a Cavalry side that still felt like they were trying to get their season off the starting blocks.

Cavalry is often a team that can put forth a systematic and tough play style, and they were able to generate more chances, though most of the first half was a seesaw battle in the midfield, with the teams roughly evenly matched in both duels and possession. However, the attacks the Cavs were able to put through often came in a bit disorganised, and as we know, Wanderers can present a good defence.

It seemed as if the whistle would blow on a 0-0 score, but in the first minute of stoppage of the first half, a rash collision awarded a penalty kick to Cavalry, and Tobias Warschewski kicked it into goal confidently, bringing it to 0-1 Cavalry. 

The second half saw a Halifax squad that felt more consistent and confident, trying to win back an equaliser, but despite more time on the ball and some superiority in the midfield, the final moments kept not working out for them. When an attacker would get through, the shot either did not materialise or was fired wide of target. The hope stayed alive, however, until Ali Musse doubled the advantage, with Cavalry eventually adding a third.

Shell shocked, there was little left to do for Halifax, but to pick up the pieces and ponder the rest of the season, as Cavalry away fans celebrated. 

Pacific vs. York (2-1)

Two teams with a rough record since the start of April, so a win in this match would be significant for the morale of squads and fans alike.

The first half played out as a contrast in style, with York trying to play more directly and more physically (and earning a fair few fouls in the process) while Pacific tried to be a bit more tactical and retain possession, though at times having difficulty decisively advancing up the field. I was actually surprised that Pacific had greater possession, as York often felt more decisive than the stats might have dictated. 

Gabriel Bitar showed some of what he could do just after twenty minutes, as he picked up a deflected header, danced his way through the Pacific defensive line, and scored bringing the game to 1-0 York.

Not content to sit back, Pacific tried to equalise matters, but most of their opportunities came through set pieces (not withstanding Marco Bustos firing one off the top bar from long range) and set pieces would be the saviour, as a perhaps a light touch awarded Pacific a penalty at the last minutes of regular time in the first forty-five. The resulting penalty kick was rudimentary, but that was all it had to be, closing the half at 1-1.

The second half saw both teams get stuck in, with York pushing early and having more time on the ball, but still coming off worse in a lot of the duels. As a result, while York was able to produce a number of shots, they were often from long range and perhaps not convincing. Pacific fell into a strong pattern towards the end, as their footwork continued to produce set piece chances, with a solution finally coming as Emanuel Montejano was able to head it in during the final minutes. Pacific would secure a huge win, 2-1.

The game was rather scrappy with tensions getting high: 3 of the yellow cards were issued past the 90 minute mark, and 31 fouls were marked in total (and as CPL viewers know, CPL refs are often fairly lenient on fouls to begin with). 

An honourable mention goes to Sean Melvin, who got raked pretty badly by the studs in a late-game collision and had to have his shirt replaced.

York will go on another match without a win. In a lot of situations, Pacific players were able to outplay them up York in tight spaces, forcing them to rely on harder tackles that often awarded a free kick.

Forge vs. Ottawa (2-2)

Scheduling in CPL can sometimes be a bit erratic, and Tuesday saw Atletico Ottawa come out for another game, this time pitting them against Forge. Ottawa came into this with 3 convincing wins (and 11 goals between them) while Forge was sitting on a 3 tie run, with only 3 goals scored and conceded. As a bonus, a whole bunch of local school children had been given tickets, making for an extremely enthusiastic day of football. 

There is probably not a lot of argument that Ottawa would be the clear favourites, and they tried to play their usual possession heavy style while working forward through the Forge defences. However, the Hammers were able to absorb many of the attacks and allow relatively few chances, focusing on a dense defensive screen that did not give the likes of Samuel Salter a lot of space to work in.

Much of the half was a very “back and forth” affair as each team wrested possession and rushed up the pitch in a style that felt reminiscent of English football at times. The youthful crowd went haywire at 36 minutes, as David Rodriguez made a break for it and delivered the ball to Kevin Dos Santos, who easily cleared an out of position Forge goalkeeper.

However,only moments later, Brian Wright fought through the Ottawa backline, and presented the ball to midfielder Ben Paton, who fired a long ball to find Nana Ampomah and a decisive header made it 1-1.

The first half had saw Ottawa with the expected edge on possession, but the physical Forge defence had limited them to a tie, with each team taking only 5 shots. This time of play is difficult to sustain for 90 minutes, however.

As the second half got going, so did the physicality, with hard tackles and Forge continuing to press hard, while trying to keep Ottawa from fully finding their footing. An opportunity presented itself to Brian Wright but he missed, and at 57 minutes, Samuel Salter scored, putting Ottawa ahead 2-1.

There was still a lot to play for, and Forge clearly believed they could bring it home, as much of the second half was a heavy push that occasionally left Ottawa with a bit of a difficult time clearing decisively. At 75 minutes, in a tussle near the goal, Amadou Kone was able to find his opportunity and equalise 2-2.

The final 15 minutes were increasingly on edge, as calm began to run out, and tackles kept coming hard. A potentially decisive moment seemed to be when an altercation with the referee led to David Rodriguez getting a double yellow card and being sent off with 10 minutes plus stoppage to go. However, despite the final minutes being played with a one man advantage, Forge seemed to be as spent as their opposition.

What is coming next? 

Bear in mind that at any given time, teams have usually not played the same number of matches. This evens out over the course of the season. 

Ottawa remains well at the top at 17 points (7 games) and remains undefeated. Wanderers have 11 points (6 games) relinquishing their undefeated status. Forge sit in third at 10 points (6 games), being in the unusual position of having no defeats but only 2 wins. They have in fact also drawn more games than anyone else. Cavalry and Pacific are both at 7 points (5 and 6 games played, respectively). Vancouver sits at 5 points from as many games, while York is at 4 points (6 games). Finally, Valour is clutching a single point from 5 games.

Of particular note, Ottawa has scored the most goals, at 22, which is more than Wanderers and Forge combined. Meanwhile, Forge has conceded the fewest, just 5.

There are three games this weekend: Friday will see Valour and York United meet up for the first time this year. York has had a fairly porous defence, but have scored twice as many goals as Valour. Will this be a chance for Valour to get off the bottom of the standings?

Saturday sees Cavalry play Pacific. These are two teams equal in the standings, both coming off their second win, so it should make for an energetic encounter.

Finally, Vancouver FC will host the a reeling Halifax Wanderers, who will no doubt be looking to close the distance to Ottawa before it gets insurmountable. 

See you soon!