Gameweek 3 Recap and Gameweek 4 Preview

Story of the Last Few Games

Canada v USVI in Bradenton - Sept. 7, 2018

First off, big congrats to Alphonso Davies! Tough to believe just 2 years ago we were watching him with about 300 others in Bradenton, beating up on the US Virgin Islands and taking pictures after the game with excited kids (he’d just signed for Bayern). First of more Canadians to come hopefully, but there’s no one better suited to being such an ambassador for Canadian soccer. If he can get Drake on board……

On a more somber note, the CanPL family lost two members over the weekend. Our condolences go out to the families and friends of Ottawa defender Brandon John’s father (so much kudos to John for playing Sunday), and former FC Edmonton captain Chris Kooy. My first Eddies game (and first Canadian professional game period) was the 3-0 Voyageurs Cup loss to TFC at Commonwealth in 2011, and Kooy captained the side. Despite that performance, there was something about those early teams that hooked us in through the rough years that followed…

In the league, we saw our first goalless draw of the Island Games (and definitely the least entertaining game so far), between Valour and York - probably a better result for Rob Gale’s side than Jimmy Brennan’s. As expected, Pacific - Forge was a barnburner, with Forge snatching a 97th minute winner just moments after Terran Campbell hit the bar with a cheeky chip over a crouched Triston Henry. Ottawa - Edmonton also had no shortage of drama, with both teams really needing a win. It saw both early and late goals, including the earliest in CanPL history, before ending in another 2-2 draw. Cavalry and Halifax rounded out the weekend’s games, with Cavs strolling to a relatively entertaining 2-1 win.

We’re now basically at the halfway point of the Island Games, and Cavalry and Forge have picked right back up where they left off - at the top. For the rest, there’s still all to play for.

Gruntled Thoughts

• Late goals - 3 of the 4 games saw a goal in stoppage time, with Ottawa-Edmonton adding an 88th minute goal (and a 1st minute one!). This speaks to the entertainment factor of these games so far, particularly in relation to last season. Sure, there was some late drama last year (Nico Pasquotti against Forge, anyone?) but especially in the middle of the year, a number of games just dragged on to their conclusion. The ‘every game matters’ sense of this tournament plays into this, and it’s a great thing in our opinion. The 5-sub rule also plays a role, with Ottawa-Edmonton a case in point - Mista again used only 2 subs, while Paulus used all 5, and subs Boakai and Caceres were key in the late comeback.
  

• Like Halifax last gameweek, Pacific caught our eye this week with an impressive performance against Forge, albeit one that ended with 0 points. The West Coast club’s passing is such a joy to behold, and they have a few guys who have a good dribble in them too, even oldtimers like de Jong! In fact, if only Victor Blasco hadn’t skied a great chance in the 73rd minute following a penetrating de Jong dribble and some great interplay between Blasco, Díaz, Dixon and Verhoven, we’d likely be talking about the best team goal in CanPL history. Alas, we know how the game ended...

Disgruntled Thoughts

• Keeping with the Pacific them, what will it take for Callum Irving to get a start? We’re not blaming Nolan Wirth for Forge’s late winner on Saturday, but the giveaway for Chris Nanco’s well-placed strike is another story. Wirth is not a bad keeper, but Pacific have a Canadian international with a relative ton of professional experience at the USL level waiting in the wings, while Wirth had just 13 career professional appearances coming into the Island Games, all from last season. In these 13 games, Wirth kept one clean sheet (against Valour - does that count?), and allowed an average of 2 goals against/game. In contrast, combining USL and Voyageurs Cup, Irving’s played 88 games since 2016, with 24 clean sheets and an average of 1.3 goals against/game. We’re not saying Wirth shouldn’t get a chance to develop, but if Pacific is serious about wins in this tournament, they should be looking at Irving over the next few games.
  

• Is Brennan over-managing York, are the teams they’ve played that good, or do they just not have the personnel? They’ve struggled with injuries early on, and seeing injured-then-healthy Michael Petrasso leave after half an hour on Saturday was a huge blow. But the thing is, look at York’s squad and they should be able to get past these injuries. Telfer’s been healthy throughout, but something seems off with him (or he’s trying to do too much himself). On the plus side, Brennan brought on Jace Kotsopoulos instead of Vasconcelos against Valour (let’s be honest, Vasconcelos was shit in his only appearance so far). The loss of Mannella so far has been a big one, but a midfield three of Aparicio, Murofushi and Di Chiara should be more than capable in this league. With Forge up tomorrow, things aren’t getting any easier.

Team of the Gameweek

FW - Malcolm Shaw (Ottawa)

We’ve been fans of Shaw since before the season, and he’s shown he’s up to the level of this league in Ottawa’s first three games. It was his interception and perfect pass that set up Ottawa’s first-minute opener against Edmonton, and he threatened throughout the game. He had a nice backheel pass along the left flank, and his intelligent movement opened up space for Acuña and Fisk. There weren’t a lot of standout forward performances this week so Shaw makes it in the team, but we hope to see more goals in PEI.

FW - Hanson Boakai (FC Edmonton)

What is there to say about Boakai’s substitute appearance against Ottawa? In less than 30 minutes on the field, he singlehandedly sparked a comeback from 2 goals down in the last 5 minutes of the game. Not stuck out wide like he has been so far, he was given a pretty free role in behind Ongaro, and used this position to test Ottawa’s backline with a number of short passes and some strong dribbles - the most noticeable of which led to a shot on target that was parried by Zabal, only for Alemán to slam home to start the comeback. This was truly a glimpse of the old Boakai.

MF - Kyle Bekker (Forge)

Credit where credit is due - we find Bekker gets juuust a little overrated from time to time, but he was everywhere on the pitch against Pacific in arguably Forge’s toughest game yet (they haven’t really had any easy ones, have they?), and he topped it off with a 97th minute winner on a great run into the box. This is after playing every minute for Forge so far, in 4 games over 9 days! Pretty incredible, really. Where would Forge be without him?

MF - Francisco Acuña (Ottawa)

As correctly predicted by many (not necessarily us :|), Acuña has been a step above so far in the Island Games, and this was especially notable in the first half against Edmonton. He scored the quickest goal in CanPL history after Malcolm Shaw intercepted an Erik Zetterberg pass and played him in, and added another 15 minutes later - taking a beautiful Malyk Hamilton through ball on the run, and slotting home just inside the post. Whether he can last the full 90 minutes has been a big question so far, but there’s no question he’s Ottawa’s catalyst at this point.

MF - Aboubacar Sissoko (Halifax)

Last gameweek, we heaped praise on Andre Rampersad and this time around it’s his central mid partner, Ivorian Aboubacar Sissoko. He’s been getting praise from all corners for his performances in Charlottetown, and rightfully so. Against the top team in the table, Sissoko’s passing was impressive, and he racked up 9 recoveries to boot. Halifax was in this one right to the end, and Sissoko was a main reason for this.

MF - Elijah Adekugbe (Cavalry)

Adekugbe’s been sharing time with newcomer Elliott Simmons for most of the tournament so far, and against Simmons’ old team he put on a show. Playing the full 90 minutes, Adekgube more than held his own against arguably the strongest midfield in the league - making his trademark driving runs, a few tough tackles, and recycling possession. He topped it off by assisting Jordan Brown’s 90th minute finish, which ended up being the winner.

MF - Noah Verhoeven (Pacific)

We’ve been waiting for a performance like this from Verhoeven this season, and he delivered against tough opposition in Forge. Verhoeven adds another dimension to Pacific’s midfield, with a positive mentality and a range of passing that few in the league possess. He drove Pacific forward after they went down early, and was instrumental in most of the club’s offensive moves before coming off just after the hour mark. We’re expecting to see him back in the starting lineup again against Valour tonight.

DF - Marcel de Jong (Pacific)

Having de Jong healthy this year is huge for Pacific, and makes you wonder what last season could have been for them with less injury troubles. Against Forge, he organized an otherwise young backline that was steady throughout, minus a goalkeeping error and a late counterattack. He added in some offense, with a number of good runs and his trademark solid left foot passing.

DF - Julian Dunn (Valour)

Dunn’s partnership with Andrew Jean-Baptiste so far has been a great story (especially for TFC fans), and they haven’t surrendered a goal in their last two games. Dunn plays a subtle game that you’d expect from someone much older, and is positionally very sound. Having a consistent partner at the back has been key, and should pay off in his long-term development as well. Valour has a tough task against Pacific tonight, and eyes will be on Dunn once again.

DF - Kadin Chung (Pacific)

Two weeks in a row for Chung, and with good reason. He’s so calm on the ball, eager to join the attack on the right, and defensively strong as well. Against Forge, he had several blocks in the box, and wasn’t at fault for either of the goals. Chung has been ever-present for Kah’s side in PEI, and if he keeps playing like this, he could be another that eventually moves on upward from the league.

GK - James Pantemis (Valour)

There weren’t many standout keeper performances this week, but both Pantemis and Nathan Ingham of York kept clean sheets in their teams’ bore draw. Pantemis did make a few solid saves, and has been consistent for Valour throughout. As well as being a strong shot-stopper, Pantemis has fairly good distribution - not always the best skill for CanPL keepers. Certainly an upgrade on Valour’s keeper “situation” last season.

Honourable mentions: Malyk Hamilton (Ottawa), Raphael Ohin (Valour), Jordan Brown (Cavalry), Kwame Awuah (Forge).

Big Questions

Will anyone seize the number 3 spot?

It certainly looks like Forge and Cavalry have the top two spots wrapped up already, which leaves two spots open for teams to move on. Valour is the only other team to even win a game so far, which is crazy considering we’re essentially at the halfway point. Halifax and Edmonton will both be looking at their matchup against each other as being a huge opportunity to move forward, with Edmonton looking to carry forward the momentum from a late comeback. Pacific will also see Valour as an opportunity to put 3 points on the board, hoping that they get the Valour from the Cavs game instead of the Valour from the Ottawa game. In any case, we’re going out on a limb and saying we’ll see another club join the wins column this gameweek.

Will Mista make more than two subs?

We mentioned this in our last recap, and he again used only 2 subs against the Eddies. With Paulus’ side scoring two late ones after using 5 subs, the question needs to be asked - is Mista’s reluctance to use his bench costing his team points? We’ll be watching closely again this week.

Will Forge or Cavalry lose in the round robin?

Both have come close so far - Cavs to Forge themselves, and Forge to Halifax and arguably Pacific as well, but their quality has shone through and neither has lost yet. At the risk of underestimating Ottawa, Cavs aren’t likely to drop all the points this week. Forge have another rivalry match this week - against fellow Golden Horseshoe-ers York9 tomorrow - and normally we’d think York have a chance at all 3 points. With their injury problems and their play this far in Charlottetown, though, we think Forge will remain unbeaten for another few days at least.

Predictions

Nailed-on Result of the Next Few Days: Pacific to beat Valour

We’re 0-for-2 in these “nailed-on results” so far - but they’ve all been close!! Arguably this should really be Cavalry over Ottawa, but I think there’s a saying about not betting on your team (which I’ve broken a time or two..). Anyways, if Pacific can get over the late loss to Forge, they have a lot of positives from that game to carry forward against a team that’s scored 4 goals against Ottawa and none against anyone else. Valour have looked much better the last two games, but they still lack creativity up front. At 2.10 odds on bet365, there’s actually some decent money in a Pacific win too.

Cheeky Punt of the Next Few Days: York 9 FC vs. Forge - 1-1 draw correct score

We’ve actually been closer with our cheeky punts than our nailed-on results haha. If Terran Campbell’s chip had gone in, we’d be laughing. This week, we’re looking at the York - Forge “derby”, whatever it’s called. With Forge sitting pretty in second place and York in need of a win, we’re expecting a push from Brennan’s side. But Forge is just too strong, and York hasn’t shown their good enough to get a win here. We do see some goals in it, so we’re calling a 1-1 draw, which is good for 7.50 odds on bet365 - pretty decent if you ask us!

Thanks for reading, and again, subscribe or check back with us after the next set of games to see how our predictions went!