Corner kick class carries Valour past Cavalry | MATCH ANALYSIS

Match in a minute or less

Valour FC defeated Cavalry FC for the first time in eight matches on Tuesday night at Princess Auto Stadium with a big 2-1 victory.

Both Valour goals came from corners on either side of half-time, as Zachary Fernandez headed home to open the scoring in the 23rd minute, before Myles Morgan did the same in the 56th. Former Valour midfielder Diego Gutiérrez replied for Cavalry.

Having made up their game in hand on the league, Valour are now up into sixth place, remaining ten points back from the fifth and final playoff spot but closing that gap further. For Cavalry, meanwhile, there is that same margin between them and the top spot.

Three Observations

Set-piece magic leads to back-to-back wins for Valour

The framework for Valour FC's victory on Tuesday night against Cavalry FC was a complete team performance.

But what really brought it to life was their set-piece execution, with both of their goals on the night coming off of exceptional deliveries from Themi Antonoglou on corner kicks. Valour FC head coach Phil Dos Santos credited the work Daryl Fordyce has been putting in on set plays -- but a lot of credit for Tuesday's goals as well goes to Valour players in the box just wanting it more.

In the first half, Zachary Fernandez rose highest to head home a curling delivery and give Valour a deserved lead.

The match winner came off the head of Myles Morgan, a just reward for a player who has really stepped up while playing on the left wing in recent matches. Valour coach Phil Dos Santos admitted there was some pause in moving him to that position on the defensive side of the ball, but he has been impressed by the work rate of his young attacker. The 20-year-old contested an incredible 27 duels in the match, winning 14, attempted six tackles and made three interceptions.

"He's good in the air, you see his timing jumping with the opposition, and he's allowed us to, when we need to, be a bit more direct," said Dos Santos. "He's a player that fights, he's good technically.

"I think he's deserved to have this stretch and this spell with the team. I think that he's done a great job."

The joy from Morgan's goal did not last long, however, as just a few minutes later Diego Gutiérrez cut the lead to one for Cavalry. Dos Santos admitted his team had a habit of maybe "trembling a bit" when goals like that happened earlier in the season, but instead they did an outstanding job of seeing out the match.

With the exception of a backpost tap-in that Sergio Camargo really should have converted on in the 68th minute, Valour did a really good job of limiting the chances of one of the CPL's most dangerous and dynamic attacking units.

Crucially, they didn't just sit back and absorb pressure, but kept pushing up high and choosing their moments to attack as well. By the end of the match, it seemed just as likely that Valour would score a third as it did that Cavalry would equalize -- and as a result, the hosts were rewarded with a huge three points.

For Valour, it was back-to-back wins for the first time since August 4, 2024. While they have a significant amount of work to do, continuing Friday against undefeated Forge at Hamilton Stadium, it is an important spark from which they will look to ignite a second-half run.

New-look front four shines for Valour

A key shift in Valour FC's victory on Tuesday was the way they lined up their front four.

From the start, it was clear the Winnipeg club intended to press the Cavalry backline wherever they got the opportunity -- setting up their players in slightly different roles in order to make that happen.

Attacking midfielder Kianz Froese led the line as a false nine, with Bruno Figueiredo, usually a holding midfielder, shifting forward himself into the ten in a 4-2-3-1 with Myles Morgan on the left and Kris Twardek on the right.

"Bruno is a player that is a bit of a maverick," explained Phil Dos Santos. "When he gets between lines and he has a chance to turn and attack spaces, it could be extremely dangerous."

The group did an excellent job of forcing Cavalry into turnovers and bad positions on the pitch. There was a good balance of attacking intent thereafter as well, with the group recognizing well when it was time to attack in transition, or to possess the ball and look to play through the lines.

When they had possession, Morgan would shift centrally to join Froese in a front two, and give Valour more options centrally, with full-back Themi Antonoglou able to get forward and create opportunities from out wide down the left.

Down the right, Kris Twardek was direct and dangerous as always, giving Cavalry fits all match long with his powerful runs down the flank.

"We knew that with those four guys up top, we could be dangerous, but also in our phases in possession, when either of them would get the ball in pockets and start running at defenders," said Dos Santos. "So it worked well for us."

Cavalry miss big chance to make up ground in CPL regular season race

While Valour FC celebrate winning back-to-back games for the first time in nearly a year, Cavalry FC lost back-to-back CPL matches for the first time since a three-game skid culminating on July 27, 2022.

Cavalry also drop to 0-5-5 in all competitions this year when they fail to score first in a match, a statistic that will surely irk them given the quality and mentality they possess as one of the league's top teams.

In the past few matches, however, uncharacteristic mistakes have cost Cavalry, both in attack and defence. Chances that usually would have been slotted away have inexplicably been sent wide, or simple defensive mistakes, such as their coverage on set pieces on Tuesday night, have let them down.

"We haven't been good enough in either box, and we've been hurt for that the past couple of games," said Cavalry FC captain Marco Carducci. "That comes down to us, scoring, finishing our chances, and also getting back to clean sheets, getting back to blocking shots, saving shots, preventing opportunities."

For Cavalry, Tuesday was a big chance to use their game in hand to gain three points on the rest of the league, particularly the top two of Forge FC and Atlético Ottawa, the latter of whom now leads them by ten points with an equal number of games played.

Still, there is no panic for a Cavalry team who have been here before, and been able to find their way back. More than anyone, this is a team with perspective that the CPL regular season is a marathon, not a sprint, and there is a lot of race yet to be won.

"Trophies aren't won in July and August," said Carducci. "So we'll stay focused on our task... there's a long season ahead, and we know in the last couple of years we've found our way entering the last bit of the season. And that's where trophies are won."

What They Said

"I think we played a solid team performance. I think I told the guys a couple of weeks ago that better to lose together than to win alone, because I know that in the long term, when you're a team, your chances to get results are higher, bigger, and in the long-term process, it's going to happen. And that's what we were out there. We were a team." -- Valour FC head coach Phil Dos Santos

"We've got to be better in our finishing. We've had how many entries into the box? I haven't looked at the data. We've had opportunities to take a shot, finish back post. So that's on us." -- Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Themi Antonoglou, Valour FC

Antonoglou set up both Valour goals on Tuesday with quality crosses from corner kicks. He finished the match with 22 of 23 passes completed, completed three dribbles, and won five of nine duels.

What’s next?

Valour are off to Hamilton on Saturday, August 2, where they take on Forge FC (6 p.m. CT). Cavalry head to Starlight Stadium to take on Pacific on Monday, August 4 ( 4 p.m. MT).

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.