Goalkeepers steal the show as Cavalry, Wanderers battle to draw | MATCH ANALYSIS

Match in a minute or less

Both Cavalry FC and Halifax Wanderers FC saw their winless streaks continue on Saturday, as neither could find a breakthrough in a scoreless draw at ATCO Field.

Marco Carducci and Rayane Yesli were the heroes for their sides on the night, making five and six saves respectively to keep clean sheets at either end of the pitch. Cavalry did find the back of the net in the second half when Tobias Warschewski headed the ball home to finish a set piece play, but the goal was called off after Rayane Yesli made contact with Goteh Ntignee and went to ground.

Neither side is satisfied with a draw, but a point in the bank is valuable with York United losing to Forge FC earlier on Saturday. As a result, Cavalry moved into sole possession of third place and the Wanderers tied York on 24 points but remain in fifth on tiebreakers.

Three Observations

Frustrating winless runs continue for both sides

As a result of Saturday's scoreless draw at ATCO Field, Cavalry's winless streak has now hit four matches, and Halifax's is now at five games.

Snapping streaks of consecutive losses was important for both teams, but as they remain winless, frustration continues to grow. There are positive signs that both teams are on the verge of turning a corner and getting back to winning ways, but the execution has not been there yet.

For Cavalry, it is the first time in 2025 they have been held off the scoresheet in back-to-back league matches, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. The hosts had 14 shots in the match, six of them on target, including a couple they will want back. There was no better example of that than in the 80th minute, when Diego Gutierrez had an initial shot stopped by Rayane Yesli before the ball fell to Goteh Ntignee, who smashed the follow-up effort off the post.

Ntignee, who also had a chance to score on a breakaway about ten minutes earlier, has shown flashes of the brilliant best that earned him a move to Europe from Cavalry in 2023, and if his side is going to break out of this slump he will be one of the key players in unlocking the Cavs attack. They will get a boost next weekend against Pacific with the expected return of Ali Musse from suspension, while Caniggia Elva's return will also be welcomed with open arms if Tobias Warschewski's goalless streak continues for much longer.

Warschewski thought he opened the scoring in the second half with a header from a corner, but the goal was called off for an alleged foul by Ntignee on Yesli, which Tommy Wheeldon Jr made his frustration clear about in his postgame media availability.

Halifax, meanwhile, had their fair share of chances as well, as has been the case throughout this recent slump, but again they too were unable to take advantage. They outshot the Cavs 15-14, but just five of those were on target and none could beat Marco Carducci.

Taking advantage of your opportunities is a lot easier said than done, but it could just be as simple as that for both sides as Cavalry host Vancouver FC next weekend and the Wanderers head further west to take on Pacific FC. They are both doing a lot of the right things, but now it's time to string them all together and get results as the battle for third place in the table heats up between these sides and York United.

Goalkeepers step up for both sides in scoreless draw

Saturday's match was all about the goalkeepers, with both Marco Carducci and Rayane Yesli keeping their sixth clean sheets of the season.

Carducci made five stops in the Cavalry net and Yesli made six for Halifax, earning praise from each other in the postgame press conferences. Both were quick to humbly deflect praise and remind the media that it's a team game and they were just doing their jobs, but the game was ultimately decided by some great stops on both ends of ATCO Field.

Carducci's first half diving stop to deny Lorenzo Callegari his first CPL goal set the tone for the rest of the game, and was met by Yesli's two stops in two minutes at the other end of the pitch -- first to push a driven shot from Sergio Camargo around the post, and then denying Callum Montgomery from about ten yards out on the ensuing corner.

Both were busier after halftime as the two sides pushed for the breakthrough, but again they held strong, making four saves each in the second half. Yesli's best was denying Goteh Ntignee on a breakaway late in the game, and he got a bit of help from his post at one point as well, with the woodwork turning away a shot from Ntignee after Yesli had made a lunging initial stop on his former Valour teammate Diego Gutierrez.

Carducci was called into action to stop a header from close range off the head of Tiago Coimbra three minutes after halftime, moments after the Wanderers striker failed to hit the target from the exact same position following an early corner after play had resumed. Carducci's best save, though, might have been when he dived to his left to clear away a shot from Vitor Dias that seemed destined for the back of the net. Wanderers boss Patrice Gheisar complimented the Cavs netminder after the match, and said Dias' shot is one that many goalkeepers in the CPL might not get to.

Keeping clean sheets lays a strong foundation for any team, and it was needed after the losing streaks both sides were on prior to Saturday. The next step for both sides is beating the other goalkeeper to start racking up the points again in this crucial stretch of the campaign.

Rea makes good use of his opportunity to start

When Sean Rea impressed off the bench for the Halifax Wanderers on Monday against Vancouver FC, questions were asked to Patrice Gheisar about when he might get a chance in the starting lineup to see what he can do with a longer runway. Gheisar gave Rea that opportunity in Calgary on Saturday, for 85 minutes before replacing him with another player looking for more minutes, Alessandro Biello.

Rea led the Wanderers with five shots in the match, including a powerful effort from outside the box in the first half that skimmed the top left corner of Marco Carducci's net. He also hit the target just before the hour mark with a shot from outside the box at a tight angle, but Marco Carducci was able to keep it out. Rea also led the team with four touches in the Cavalry box, tied in that regard with Tiago Coimbra, who will also come away from this game wondering how he did not find the net with a few of his opportunities.

One of them was a header in the 49th minute, after a floated cross from Rea into the box. Coimbra had no problem beating Eryk Kobza to the ball in the air, and his technique was good to keep the ball down and on target, but the placement was not good enough as Carducci made another of his five stops. Rea's three chances created were tied with Ryan Telfer's tally for the Wanderers' team lead.

Rea has yet to hit the heights of his 2022 season in Winnipeg in which he set league records with nine assists and 71 chances created that still stand to this day, winning the U21 Player of the Year and earning nominations for Player and Players' Player of the Year in the process. There are signs that that same player can still be unlocked, though, and if Gheisar continues to give him opportunities to do what he does best, there's every chance that he can hit his stride during the leadup to the 2025 CPL Playoffs.

What They Said

"It's an entertaining game that's unfortunately got missed chances. I thought Marco, in fairness, saved some good chances from them but that was his job today and he did and we kept a shutout." — Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr

"I thought the guys did well, of course you want to win. I think at the end of the day, if we score all of our chances we win, but that's not the way it plays out, and we'll take a very important point and move forward and get ready for next week." — Halifax Wanderers FC head coach Patrice Gheisar

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Marco Carducci, Cavalry FC

The Roman Wall, as he's affectionately known in Calgary, stepped up for his hometown club and made five big saves in his sixth clean sheet of the season.

What’s next?

Halifax head further west next weekend, visiting Pacific FC at Starlight Stadium on Saturday (3 p.m. PT/7 p.m. AT). Cavalry hosts the other British Columbia club Vancouver FC at ATCO Field on Sunday (5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT).

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.