Cavalry FC vs. FC Supra du Québec
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Firmly at the top of the standings and already qualified for the playoffs, Cavalry also boasts the league’s best attack, with 42 goals scored, and the best defence, with just 13 goals conceded. Cavalry became the first CPL team to clinch a playoff spot this season with a 1-0 victory over Pacific FC on Matchday 21.
Cavalry are riding a nine-match unbeaten run, with seven wins and two draws. This season, Tommy Wheeldon Jr.’s side have lost just twice in 22 matches.
Supra, sixth in the standings and six points out of a playoff spot—with one more match to play than fourth-place Vancouver FC and fifth-place Halifax Wanderers—have scored 31 goals and conceded 38. They have also lost half of their matches, 11 out of 22.
And yet…
All three previous meetings between the two teams have been closely contested. Cavalry have taken seven points from a possible nine against Supra, but none of those victories came easily.
Tobias Warschewski gave Cavalry the win in the first meeting with an 88th-minute converted penalty. Amer Didic tipped the balance in Cavalry’s favour in the second match with a 90th-minute goal, while Caniggia Elva rescued a point for his team in the most recent meeting with another 90th-minute goal.
The match promises to be a competitive one, and as Supra continue to find ways to limit their late-game struggles, depending on the match, Friday’s encounter could once again go down to the wire.
The pursuit of collective objectives coincides with the chase for individual honours for several players on the pitch.
Loïc Kwemi, who has scored 11 goals this season, is tied for the CPL Golden Boot lead with Halifax Wanderers’ Isaiah Johnston. The two players are being chased by Cavalry’s Tobias Warschewski, who has found the back of the net nine times.
Warschewski, who was sent off against Forge FC, is suspended for this match. That is good news for Supra, as the German forward is not only dangerous in front of goal but also leads the CPL in assists with nine.
For Warschewski, the suspension comes at an unfortunate time. In addition to potentially losing ground to Loïc Kwemi in the scoring race, improving his statistics could have strengthened his case for the CPL Player of the Year award, for which he is a legitimate contender. He will therefore not have the opportunity to do so against Supra.
Defensively, Cavalry also have the opportunity to help Nathan Ingham claim the league’s most clean sheets. With nine shutouts, Ingham currently ranks second in the league. Only Forge FC’s Dimitry Bertaud is ahead of him, with 10 clean sheets.
Finally, this match could provide an opportunity to get a closer look at two players who recently joined their respective clubs.
Veteran Jack McInerney, 34, who has enjoyed a long career across MLS, made his FC Supra debut by coming on during stoppage time against Atlético Ottawa.
On the other side, Hassan Ayari played 15 minutes against Pacific FC but was not included in the squad for the following match against Forge FC.
Both players could have an opportunity to see more minutes in this important match for both teams.
NEWS & NOTES
- Keesan Ferdinand, who was absent against Ottawa, is questionable for the match against Cavalry.
- Tobias Warschewski (suspended), Caniggia Elva (international duty) and Harry Paron (injury) are unavailable for Cavalry
Projected XIs
Cavalry: Ingham; Kamdem, Klomp, Didic, Pearlman; Baldisimo, Kobza; Edwards, Camargo, Musse, Graham-Roache
FC Supra: Milli, Brault-Guillard, Chrétien, Auguste, Abzi; Sissoko, Mlah, Rea; Choinière, Kwemi, Condé
Key quotes
Nick Razzaghi (FC Supra head coach): “We focused on our game and on what we want to put in place. Cavalry are a good opponent. We’ve played three very good matches against them. All the games have been at an even level, in my opinion, but it’s going to be a very difficult match because they’re fighting for first place in the league. It’s up to us to come back strong after Sunday’s win [against Ottawa]. It’s a relief for the group to have won that match because there are plenty of games we deserved to win, even if we didn’t score the goals we needed or conceded important goals at difficult moments. [The win against Ottawa], and the fact that we played a complete match the way we did, is simply a validation of the work, another step forward, a completely deserved victory, even though there are things to correct.”
Bradley Kamden (Cavalry player): We know that against Supra, we’re going to have a lot of 1-v-1 situations to deal with defensively, a lot of duels. We know we have to stay focused because we have to win those duels.
Tommy Wheeldon Jr. (Cavalry head coach): Supra are playing to try to get a good opportunity to make the playoffs. They have incredible players and are difficult opponents to play against. For us, it’s another opportunity to play against a team that has to give its best. We’ve taken four points there, which is huge, and we’ve won here. So we found a way to approach them the right way, and that’s what we’re going to try to do again.