As we near the season half-way mark, another weekend of CPL excitement is behind us. Did your team gain ground? Did your guy score? Pour a coffee or tea and have a read.

Halifax vs. Vancouver (1-0)

Much has been voiced about the current state of Vancouver, with a very difficult start to the season and open questions whether they can even contend the playoffs at all, or if it is time to focus on gaining experience with the squad and looking towards the next season. 

Then again, you can never write anyone off in football, and I am not here to doom-say. I suppose I AM here to note how remarkable Halifax has been: After missing play offs twice in 3 seasons, they are keeping pace with the “big boys” in Forge and Cavalry. 

The confidence was evident on the pitch, as Halifax made it difficult for Vancouver to advance while pushing Jason Bahamboula forward on the flanks, where he had multiple duels with Allan Enyou. 

Vancouver continued to feel restless on the attack, with difficulty finding targets for their crosses, though defensively they were more consistent. A special shout out must go to Callum Irving who accounted for 5 saves, and at times it felt like he was keeping the Eagles in the fight on his own. 

A question keeps coming to mind when watching Vancouver play: I am a big fan of Kunle Dada-Luke but what exactly is his expected role? He is always set up as a defender and he often assists defending deep in the Vancouver third, but he also often seems to spend as much time aiding attacks on the wings. He certainly has plenty of energy, but surely there must be offensive players available? 

On the Wanderers side, by the middle of the second half I was surprised to see both Ryan Telfer and Giorgio Probo be substituted out. It felt perhaps that Halifax had gotten stuck in a bit of a rut and a fresh perspective was in order. It seems to have paid off because shortly afterwards the lone goal of the match came, bringing Halifax to 1-0, which would be the final score. 

Ottawa vs. York (0-0)

York is in a peculiar position having a healthy cushion of points above the team below them (Pacific six points below) and Cavalry above them having much the same situation. Sitting in the 5th spot of the table is enough to get into the playoffs, but not all that secure. Meanwhile for Ottawa, a win here would help ensure they remain comfortably at the top of the league. 

Their last encounter was a scrappy performance with 5 goals in total, but this one would take place in 33 degree heat, with enough humidity to count as 44 degrees. Water breaks were mandated by the league as they have been in some games now, but we would also see players using pauses due to injuries to stock up on hydration.

These two teams have a history of scrappy, physical matches, and the first yellow card flew before 10 minutes were on the clock. It would continue throughout the first half with shoves, grabs, and hard tackles. 

York pushed a pretty active approach, with Julian Altobelli roaming forward and trying to make opportunities, no doubt he is an avid reader of our Golden Boot entries and knows what is at stake!

Ottawa exhibited their usual sturdy play style, though they did not feel like they produced a lot of energetic attacks in the half. Whether this was due to heat, playing the long game to wear York out, or York being able to push them back up the pitch would be determined in the second half.

After the break, the tide slowly turned towards Ottawa, as they were able to contain the game mostly in the middle and push things into the York side. Ivan Pavela got a work out, as York produced fewer and fewer chances over the course of the half. 

The high water mark for Ottawa came early at 53 minutes, as Salter came 1 v 1 with Pavela but the attempt was blocked, while York got theirs a few minutes later, as a rushing Massimo Ferrin was in a similar situation, but a moment of hesitation allowed a tackle to disarm him. As the stiflingly humid air took its toll, the game also slowed down with the last 10 minutes of regulation time seeing players trudging after the ball and shirts soaked through with sweat. 

Five minutes of stoppage did not produce any more result, so both teams would have to satisfy themselves with a point each from a 0-0 draw.

Cavalry vs. Pacific (1-0)

Delayed a day by heavy rains and flooding in Calgary, the field still looked quite soaked when the match was finally played. I hope any of our readers in and around Calgary are quite safe!

Cavalry has shown itself to be quite the villain for Pacific: Their biggest loss this season was to Cavalry and followed late season losses in 2024 as well. So the question that was on fans minds may well have been: “Can Pacific beat Cavalry?”. 

The game was a fairly sedate affair in terms of play, with the field showing signs of moisture still and pace was perhaps not all that high, though Pacific came equipped to play a pretty physical game and win duels, a game that Cavalry is usually happy to indulge in. The refs whistle blew pretty frequently with 10 fouls called in the first half, leading to a pretty stop-and-go half. 

This somewhat paid off for the visitors, allowing Pacific to mostly hold Cavalry at bay, with the one Cavalry goal being a rather daring long ball from near the centre finding Ali Musse. Yet, it did not allow Pacific to build up much of an attack themselves, as Cavalry were content to hold possession and fight it out. Yann Toualy did a brave job on the far left flank, getting knocked about a few times for his trouble, but there just was no finishing energy for PFC. For those of you who value xG, Pacific had 0.04 for the first half, versus 0.44 for Cavalry. 

If hopes were a bit slim for the Tridents at the break, they did not improve much in the second half, despite heavy work by Marco Bustos and others. Cavalry retained control much of the game and prevented much from really developing, though Pacific’s defence was up to the task of frustrating Warchewski and Musse as well. When the final whistle blew, the score would remain 1-0. Pacific had once again failed to beat their nemesis, though they had held their own and prevented a blow out as well. That has to count for something.

Two notes: First, shout out to the group of kids chanting “Lets go Cavalry” throughout the second half, loud enough it was caught on the broadcast. Second, I was surprised Pacific did not start Josh Heard, instead bringing him on in the final third of the match. Good decision? Bad decision? Leave your thoughts in the comments. 

Valour vs. Forge (0-5)

Forge has been a defensive success story this season, but on their first meeting of the season, Valour played them to 1-1 draw. However, recent form has been variable for Valour while Forge appear unable to lose games. 

The Forge defensive formation is dense and they are rarely afraid to play physically, forcing teams to find other solutions. In Valour’s case it was to try to make fast runs and quickly move the ball to open up chance opportunities, hoping a player like Kris Twardek could find their way through. Forge seem to have anticipated this, as they were ready to drop back quite deep with the nominal 4-2-3-1 formation often becoming 5 in the back at times.

However, as many a wise man have said, the best defence is ultimately a good offence. An early lead meant Forge could sit comfortably, and Brian Wright accounted for two goals inside 15 minutes, both with the timely aid of Daniel Nimick, leaving Forge in a highly advantageous position. This was only cemented further when a penalty allowed Wright to kick it in for a 3-0 lead before half time.

Can you come back from being down 3? Possibly. Can you do it against a team that has only conceded 7 goals in 11 games? Not likely. Can you do it with a team that has scored 9 goals in the same number of games? Very much not likely.

After a lengthy break due to weather, the handful of Valour supporters who had not fled the storm gods witnessed a fourth goal go in and finally an own goal from a defender trying to block it out, though in the defence of Zachary Fernandez it was probably a goal if he did not touch it, and it hardly lost the game.

5-0 is not a score you see very often, but here we are. Kudos to Wright for the hat-trick. 

CPL Golden Boot competition

8 Goals – Salter (Ottawa)

7 Goals – Altobelli (York)

6 Goals – Wright (Forge)

5 Goals – Musse (Cavalry), Rodriguez (Ottawa), Warschewski (Cavalry)

4 Goals – Camargo (Cavalry), Coimbra (Wanderers), Tabla (Ottawa)

The biggest change this week is Brian Wright shooting up 3 goals to put him third among the contenders, with Musse moving up behind him. 

Did You Know?

Post-COVID season, Forge has finished the regular season with the most points twice while Cavalry and Ottawa have done so once.

Up Next

A tied game puts Ottawa at 25 points with the seemingly unstoppable Forge now at 23 points, and with Cavalry and Wanderers at 21. From there there is a gap down to York at 14, currently holding the fifth playoff spot. Near the bottom we find Pacific and Valour at 8 points, and Vancouver at 6.

Friday sees Pacific and Vancouver meet at Starlight. The two prior meetings have been a win for each and certainly both teams need the points if they are going to contend for the 5th spot in the table. Both teams have had a difficult recent run of games as well. Maybe a bit of derby spirit can liven things up?

Saturday has ample scope for drama as Cavalry host Ottawa. Ottawa beat them handily last time they met, but Cavalry has certainly reached their peak form by now and only 4 points separates the two sides in the table.

Sunday, Forge will turn their attention to York. To catch up to Ottawa and keep the Cavs at bay, Forge needs a win here, but York played them to a draw the first time they met this season, and York has shown they can tussle with the big boys. Make the predictions you want, but I think this could surprise.

Finally, Tuesday will see Valour visit the Wanderers. It’s hard not to imagine Halifax seeing this as easy points, but it’s one thing to say it and another to do it.

See you soon!