Final Score: Cavalry FC 1-0 Pacific FC
Goalscorers: Klomp 90+1
Game of the 2024 season: 78
CPL match: 562
Match in a minute or less
Cavalry FC are now winners of five straight matches, as they move up into third place in the Canadian Premier League table following a dramatic 1-0 victory over Pacific FC at ATCO Field on Saturday. The Cavs left it late, but after a relentless second half, Daan Klomp scored in the first minute of stoppage time to give the hosts a huge three points. With the win, they moved just two points behind rivals Forge at the top of the table, and moved ahead of York United. Pacific, meanwhile, are now winless in their last six and remain three points below the playoff line.
Three Observations
Cavalry take big opportunity to gain ground in CPL Shield race
For 90 minutes on Saturday, it looked like Cavalry FC had missed a significant opportunity in the Canadian Premier League’s regular season title race. With first-place Forge FC and third-place York United having tied 0-0 on Friday, and Atlético Ottawa held to a draw in Halifax earlier on Saturday, there was a big chance for the Cavalry team to make up some big ground on their top-of-the-table rivals. They left it late, but Daan Klomp’s fourth goal of the season in the 91st minute could be looked upon as an incredibly significant one in the side’s CPL season. It saw Cavalry gain two points on all three teams who were ahead of them going into this weekend — passing York United and moving into a tie on points with Atlético Ottawa, who remain ahead in second on total wins. Cavalry are also now just two points behind Forge at the top of the table. Adding to the importance of the moment is the fact that the three points came at home, where Cavalry haven’t quite been up to their usual standard this season. While they have won four straight on the road, Saturday’s win was just the second in their past five at home. They have also dropped more points at home (13) than they have in either of the past two CPL seasons. But now with back-to-back home victories for the first time in 2024, they are creating a bit of positive momentum, knowing positive results at ATCO Field will be crucial to how they finish this season. To get the late win in front of a stellar crowd of 5,043, a regular season ticket record for Cavalry, made it all the sweeter, and with just four home games remaining in 2024, including next Friday when they host Valour, it was a memorable moment to build on. “We’ve always talked about wanting to be a team that dominates at home and that was something we said we needed to fix,” said Cavalry FC goalkeeper Marco Carducci. “We needed to be better and the atmosphere today was incredible. I get a moment to kind of celebrate by myself, and it just erupted when we scored.”
Relentless Cavalry FC attack eventually finds winner after torrid second-half
Despite coming into the match in significantly better form than their opponents, Cavalry FC were left a bit frustrated as they headed into the half-time break with the match still tied 0-0. Instead of lecturing his side on what had been an at times lacklustre first-half performance, where the visitors had arguably had the better chances, however, Tommy Wheeldon Jr. and his coaching staff chose to preach patience and persistence. It paid off during a dominant second half, in which after attack and attack, Cavalry FC finally found the breakthrough against a resilient Pacific FC side desperate to hold on to a point on the road. “You could sense that our lads knew the opportunities were there, and perhaps were a little bit frustrated,” said Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. “So we just calmed them down, and said keep going, keep going. And that we’re going to live in their half the whole time, and if it takes us until the 95th minute, which it almost did, we’ll play till [we score]. And the boys were persistent, resilient, and had a high degree of quality today.” Cavalry had their first shot on target just five minutes into the second half, a warning sign for what was to come. In total, they fired a stunning 17 shots, six of which were on target, and had 28 touches in the Pacific box. The Tridents meanwhile, didn’t have a single touch in the Cavalry box during the second half, much less a shot attempt. The territorial advantage was significant, an incredible 39.1 per cent of the action being played in the Tridents’ final third.
Even after Pacific’s Emil Gazdov had made seven saves, and they had fired 18 total shots at his net between two halves in vain over 90 minutes of action, Cavalry did not give up. That impressive resolve, trying different things from set pieces, to open play combinations to dribbles and long shots — until they finally found their breakthrough, earned the decisive goal. Just two minutes after Gazdov had denied him from point blank, Klomp was the first to a loose ball in the Pacific FC box. It was his fourth shot attempt of the game, but finally broke the deadlock. On another day, Cavalry’s second-half performance could have seen them explode for multiple goals. But on Saturday, one was enough for a crucial, and well-earned, victory.
Pacific FC show significant defensive improvement and fight, but fall at the final hurdle
With a busy week ahead, including Tuesday’s Canadian Championship semifinal against Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place, and Forge FC in Hamilton, Pacific chose to rest several key players on Saturday. Thomas Meilleur-Giguère and Kunle Dada-Luke were on the bench, while captain Josh Heard did not travel. What resulted was a resilient defensive performance from Pacific, one that has perhaps been missing in recent weeks as their previously league-best defence has shown concerning holes. Collectively and individually they committed to the cause, and frustrated the hosts for most of the 90 minutes — looking much more like the Pacific side that drew Cavalry 0-0 at ATCO Field in April in the midst of a league-record five straight clean sheets. Central to Pacific FC’s strong defensive performance were a pair of young players who put in impressive shifts on Saturday. On the left flank, 19-year-old fullback Christian Greco-Taylor had a tremendous performance going up against one of the league’s most dangerous combinations — Ali Musse and Fraser Aird down the Cavalry right. The Calgary-born Canadian youth international showed really good positioning and composure throughout the game — making four interceptions and winning four of seven duels. His teammates also did a good job of making sure he was supported, with the ever-dependable Cédric Toussaint and Steffen Yeates shifting across to provide cover. “[Christian] did an excellent job today against Ali Musse, who’s a top wide forward, and we know Fraser Aird likes to get around him. They create those overloads but he managed the moments well,” said Pacific FC head coach James Merriman. “He was composed when he needed to be, he got out and put pressure on the ball, he made it difficult in one-v-one situations. He’s very intelligent tactically, which makes up for his physicality. He’s still growing, he’s still young, but he shows his quality and he shows his potential today.” Behind the backline, meanwhile, goalkeeper Emil Gazdov was outstanding again for the Tridents. He made a stunning seven saves, many of which came through a sea of bodies and limbs blocking his view. Ultimately, as the match wore on, however, Pacific got pinned further and further back, and once Zakaria Bahous and Devin O’Hea were removed in the 61st minute struggled to find an outlet to play to out of that pressure. Every time they cut out a Cavalry chance, it seemed like the hosts created another moments later. Still, for 90 minutes it looked like they had done enough to earn what would have been a pretty confidence-building point on the road. That will both come as a promising sign for Pacific, but also make Saturday’s conclusion all the more crushing as Klomp’s stoppage-time winner meant that all that effort still resulted in a loss. “I think we had a plan coming into the game, and we tried our best to respect that plan, and just the way we take that goal at the end is a little cheap, after working so hard for 90 minutes,” said Pacific FC midfielder Pierre Lamothe.
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Daan Klomp, Cavalry FC
Klomp scored his fourth of the season, and was immense at both ends of the pitch. He won seven of ten duels, including four of five in the air, and possession seven times. He also completed 76 of 85 passes attempted, playing a big role in maintaining possession and tempo for the hosts.
What’s next?
Pacific FC’s wild week continues as they take on the Vancouver Whitecaps in leg two of their Canadian Championship semifinal on Tuesday, August 27 (7:30 p.m. PT / 10:30 p.m. ET). Their next league action comes away against Forge FC at Tim Hortons Field on Friday, August 30 (4:00 p.m. PT / 7:00 p.m. ET). Cavalry, meanwhile, remain at home where they host Valour FC on Friday, August 30 (7:30 p.m. MT/ 9:30 p.m. ET). Watch all CPL and Canadian Championship matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.