| Final Score: Vancouver FC 0-0 Cavalry FC Goalscorers: N/A Game of the 2025 season: 55 CPL Match: 651 |
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Match in a minute or less
Vancouver FC and Cavalry FC just can't seem to solve one another over 90 minutes this season, as in Langley on Sunday, they drew for a fourth straight match.
This time, neither side managed a goal in a 0-0 draw that lacked clear chances and moments of quality from both.
Despite a red card to Nicolás Mezquida in the 62nd minute, Cavalry were held scoreless for a second consecutive match in the league.
With the single point, Cavalry FC remain in fourth, while Vancouver sit in the eighth and final position, but are now level on points with Valour FC.
Three Observations
Disappointing draw a huge missed opportunity for both sides
Both Vancouver FC and Cavalry stepped onto the pitch on Sunday night in Langley with a great opportunity to pick up what would be a crucial three points for their season.
The Eagles will be the happier of the two sides after the match, given the context of holding the defending CPL champs to yet another draw, even despite playing the final half hour down to ten men.
But after beating Cavalry on penalties on Tuesday, Sunday's match represented an excellent chance to build momentum on that result and carry it into what would have been a crucial three points in the league. Instead, with York United winning earlier in the day their gap to the playoffs has increased to ten points.
For Cavalry, meanwhile, they were looking for a response after Tuesday's disappointment in the Canadian Championship, and in the end gave an uneven account of themselves and left two points on the board.
That will feel like an even bigger chance wasted because all the teams around Cavalry in the top four dropped points, with Atlético Ottawa and Forge drawing 1-1, and the Wanderers losing to Pacific.
What might feel even bigger, however, was the lack of desperation and fight from a team that really needed to respond to a result that they have consistently called a 'failure'.
In the end, Sunday's result didn't change much for either side in the league, and given the recent form of both sides, that will be seen as a big missed opportunity.
Where have the goals gone for Cavalry FC?
For the first time since July 22, 2022, Cavalry FC were held scoreless for two consecutive CPL matches after Sunday's 0-0 draw.
For a side that boasts some of the league's best attackers, including last year's Golden Boot winner, Tobias Warschewski, Ali Musse and Sergio Camargo, they have scored just three goals in their past five matches in all competitions.
Their only goal in the past three games was an incredibly fortuitous bounce off of injured Vancouver FC defender Aidan O'Connor, who was lying on the ground at the time, in their loss on penalties earlier this week.
On Sunday, Vancouver got the ball into decent areas throughout the match, and were given even more space with Nicolás Mezquida's sending off. But if anything, that made their buildup even more rushed and careless turnovers all the more glaring.
Cavalry finished with 60 final third entries and a stunning 34 touches in the Vancouver box, but just three shots on target and no goals to show for their efforts.
"A goal," said Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr., of what the team is missing. "It's that simple. How many chances? The reality is we're taking too many touches in the box. Maël had one at the end, Kobza had one on the goal line. Sergio had a chance. Wähling broke away. It's not through a lack of creating, it's just a clinical edge, and that's something that we have to rectify for the second half of the season."
Even more frustrating is the fact that the team's key offensive players have been incredibly quiet lately. Warschewski has now gone goalless in seven matches in all competitions. Musse has just one in that time frame as well. No other Cavalry attackers have picked up the slack, either.
"At some point we have to have players that will step up and be the difference," said Wheeldon Jr.
The below graphic shows how many touches Cavalry FC had in the Vancouver FC box, which will make the fact that they were held scoreless all the more disappointing for the Calgary club.
Vancouver FC keep first clean sheet of the season despite being down a man
For a club who had allowed 26 goals so far this season heading into Sunday's match, Vancouver FC's defensive performance felt like a significant step in the right direction.
Lining up in a compact 4-4-2 formation defensively, with Paris Gee and Elage Bah playing as wide midfielders in front of full-backs Allan Enyou and Kunle Dada-Luke, it was clear from kickoff that nothing was going to come easy for Cavalry FC on Sunday in attack.
A club like Cavalry are always going to create chances, even on days where they aren't at their best. But Vancouver's defensive commitment, especially given this was their third match in seven days in three different provinces, not to mention they were down a man for half an hour, was commendable.
When Cavalry did have chances, especially getting behind the Vancouver backline on a few occasions, the Eagles' defenders made some lovely last-ditch tackles, with both Enyou and Dada-Luke getting back to stop partial breakaways in the first half.
As the defensive partnership between Matteo Campagna and Aidan O'Connor, in particular, starts to solidify, Vancouver are getting more and more difficult to break down.
Sunday's clean sheet was a deserved reward for all of the work they have put in defensively of late, as well as perhaps the lack of luck they have had. Vancouver came into Sunday's match having conceded own goals in three consecutive matches.
What They Said
"I think first and foremost there's so many positives. Our first shutout of the season in a very difficult match. Played a man down for almost a half an hour plus, I thought we had the best chance of the game late in the first half with Bah's pass to Vasco. Obviously, there were a lot of tired legs and a lot of tired players on the pitch, but I'm very proud of the grit. I'm proud of their spirit that they show game in and game out." -- Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi
"We're just in one of those slumps right now, our striker is not really getting goals, and it's not just on him, it's everyone on the team. We've got to contribute goals from the midfield to the backline, to set plays. He can't be the only one to come bail us out every week. So collectively, we know we need to do better." -- Cavalry FC defender Fraser Aird
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Aidan O'Connor, Vancouver FC
Another solid shift at the back for the Vancouver FC central defender saw him complete 37 of 42 passes while winning five of six duels. He also made five clearances and two interceptions while helping his side to their first clean sheet of the season.
What’s next?
Vancouver FC are in Ontario next, taking on York United on Saturday, July 19 (1 p.m. PT). Cavalry, meanwhile, travel to Winnipeg, where they meet Valour in the CPL on TSN game (1 p.m. MT) on Sunday, July 20.
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