Final Score: Valour FC 0-2 Cavalry FC
Goalscorers: Bevan 6′, Ntignee 90′
Game of the 2023 season: 50
CPL match: 417
Match in a minute or less
Valour FC lost at home for the first time since July 30, 2022 on Saturday afternoon, falling 2-0 to Cavalry FC after a goal at either end of the 90 minutes. Myer Bevan opened the scoring just six minutes into the match, redirecting a low cross from Fraser Aird past Valour goalkeeper Rayane Yesli. The play started with a long pass down the pitch from Daan Klomp, before Aird was able to get to it and create the scoring opportunity. A long pass down the right side would be the cause of Cavalry’s second goal as well, as Ben Fisk chased one down before playing a low pass to Goteh Ntignee at the back post, who fired home Cavalry’s second. With the Canada Day victory, Cavalry are up to third in the Canadian Premier League table, one point back of Forge FC for second place, with two matches in hand. They have also picked up back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Three Observations
Seventh-minute goal sets the tone early, Ntignee doubles it up late as Cavs win second match in a row
Both Valour FC and Cavalry FC came flying out of the gates on Saturday, keen to make a good first impression on a match that was always going to be well-fought between two teams in decent form. It was Cavalry who took advantage of an early opportunity, however, as Myer Bevan scored his league-leading seventh goal of the season to make it 1-0 in just the sixth minute of the match. Daan Klomp played a long pass wide to Fraser Aird, who didn’t strike his cross as cleanly as he would have liked, but it still ended up at the feet of Bevan. The New Zealand international striker also didn’t make the best contact with the ball, but did enough to redirect it on target, past Rayane Yesli to open the scoring early.
Getting off to an good start was important, and they don’t get much better than that for Tommy Wheeldon Jr’s side on the road. “Really good, and there was opportunities that we’d looked at that we could get down the sides, we could look at Fraser’s quality at putting the ball in,” said the Cavs head coach after the match. “And Myer, he just needs half a chance, and that’s what he’s had because he didn’t have a ton of other opportunities after that. “We had to suffer a little bit longer because they came after us, and we did, and that’s where Marco (Carducci) and Klompy (Daan Klomp) were resilient for us. We had to grow into the game again, and in the second half we were a bit better.” Grow into the game again is exactly what they did. They were challenged defensively for the remainder of the first half and for portions of the second half, but they were able to hold strong and, eventually, find a second goal to really put the game to bed. Ben Fisk ran onto another long pass up the pitch from Daan Klomp, and played a low pass into the box — quite similar to how the first Cavalry goal was set up. It had the same result as well, as Goteh Ntignee smashed the ball at Rayane Yesli, who couldn’t get a strong enough touch on the ball to prevent it from ending up in his net.
With the win, Cavalry have picked up the maximum three points for the second match in a row, and the third time in their past four matches. Those account for three of their four wins on the season, and they have back-to-back wins for the first time in 2023. They are also the first team to win away from home at IG Field in nearly a year — Pacific FC were the last team to do it, back on July 30, 2022. It is a win that gives them confidence, as they now sit one point back of Forge FC for second place in the CPL table, with two games in hand over the struggling Hammers. “Everyone knows that we couldn’t string two wins together this season, so that win for us today is massive,” said Aird after the match. “At the end of the day we’ve got to get points on the board, we’re looking up at teams, and to get two wins in a row is massive for us. Hopefully we can kick on and build from it.”
Valour respond well to early setback, but missed clinical finishing
While it won’t show up on the scoresheet or any stats websites, the effort from Valour after conceding the early goal must be commended. Some teams would put their heads down and allow themselves to get rolled over, but this Valour group has shown all season that they are resilient and able to fight through adversity, after dealing with a string of injuries. After Myer Bevan made it 1-0 inside six minutes, the game opened up a bit, with Valour the team coming out of it on the front foot. In the next fifteen minutes, Valour had five cracks at Marco Carducci’s goal and didn’t allow a single shot, really bringing the game to the Cavs. Juan Pablo Sánchez had two shots blocked by Eryk Kobza in the eleventh minute, before a Pacifique Niyongabire volley was pushed over the bar by Carducci a minute later. Guillaume Pianelli was left frustrated from the ensuing corner, as he had a wide open header in the box but couldn’t keep the ball down to get it on target. Diego Gutiérrez also came close to scoring from a set piece, getting a free kick past Cavalry’s defensive wall, but Carducci was there to punch the ball away as the last line of defence. It was a frustrating half for Valour, who knew the chances were there, but were struggling to take advantage of any.
“This team has grown a lot when it comes to that, we are a team that has been on the ball in many games, including today.” said Valour boss Phil Dos Santos after the match. “We had very good spells of possession, we get into very good areas. It’s not that we are possessing the ball in areas that are not productive, I think we do get in very good spaces. It’s that final product, it’s that final ball, it’s players believing a little bit more, players capitalizing on their chances. “I go back to Cavalry’s first goal. It’s a ball put in the box and a player that finished the action. We’ve had the same chances, some of them even more clear, and we weren’t able to finish them. Happy with the progression and the way the team responds when we go down, but we need to start scoring goals. That for me is a problem that is recurrent and at the end of the day that’s what football is all about. “You can defend well for big spells of the game, you can control the ball for big spells of the game. That means nothing at the end if we can’t finish the actions, and today was one of those games again,” Dos Santos concluded.
Klomp and Kobza becoming a strong centre-back pairing, also contribute in attack
With Callum Montgomery still watching from the sidelines as he battles with a long term injury, Cavalry head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr has had to mix things up in the middle of his backline a bit. When Udoka Chima hasn’t started, the solution lately has been to play 21-year-old midfielder Eryk Kobza beside Daan Klomp. It has been no secret for a few years now that Klomp is one of the best defenders in the Canadian Premier League — good on the ball, but also a solid presence defensively as well — and that certainly hasn’t changed in 2023. Kobza, however, has perhaps surprised a little bit with just how good he’s been. After coming through the Vancouver Whitecaps academy, playing for a couple of teams in the lower divisions in Poland, and for the University of Calgary Dinos, Cavalry seem to have unearthed a gem after selecting him 14th overall in the 2023 CPL-U Sports Draft. Standing at 6’3, and next to the 6’2 Klomp, Kobza has won the trust of Tommy Wheeldon Jr thanks to his calmness on the ball, solid defending, and versatility to play at centre-back or in midfield. That was on display again versus Valour on Sunday. Kobza led the team with both 43 attempted passes and 36 completed passes, as well as with three interceptions and four clearances. He also blocked three shots, including two in quick succession in the eleventh minute as Valour desperately pushed for an equalizer. Klomp had a good game as well, making four clearances, winning three tackles, one interception and also completing over 80% of his passes. While they won’t show up on the scoresheet, Klomp also played an instrumental role in both of Cavalry’s goals, as it was long passes to the right wing from the back that found Fraser Aird in the first half and Ben Fisk in the second half. Both players would then go on to assist the two Cavalry goals, both started by quick plays out of the back to catch Valour on the counter-attack.
The charts below show Klomp’s involvement in the two goals. Note that the second graphic says that Klomp’s pass was incomplete because it grazed the top of Abdou Samaké’s head, but it did end up at the feet of Ben Fisk as the video above shows.
It was a great all-around performance from the two Cavalry centre-backs, who received glowing reviews from their head coach afterwards. “Solid, aren’t they?,” Wheeldon Jr said with a smile after the match. “You need that because they’re both comfortable in possession, but both made a lot of blocks and headers. You’ve got to have both in this game, you’ve got to be able build when you have possession, but they’ve got to know first and foremost that they’re defenders. “They’ve got a really terrific relationship and Kobza has been a really good addition to our squad this year. Klompy’s grown into the other side. We’ve always known he’s a good passer, but he’s grown into a better defender, and I think as he matures you’ve seen the other side of him this season.”
CanPL.ca Pla****yer of the Match
Daan Klomp, Cavalry FC
Cavalry’s Dutch centre-back put in a strong defensive performance, and played an important role on both of his team’s goals.
What’s next?
Both of these sides are on the road next weekend. Cavalry head west to Langford to take on Pacific FC on Saturday (6 pm PT/7 pm MT), while Valour will be in the nation’s capital to take on Atlético Ottawa on Sunday (3 pm ET/2 pm CT). Watch all CPL 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.