Island Games: Team of the First Round

WIth the first round of games over, take a look at our Team of the First Round. Some expected names, and some less so - but don't worry, we've got the stats to back 'em up.

ST: Akeem Garcia - Halifax

The Golden Boot leader at this point in the tourney is an easy choice to lead the line in our team of the round robin. Garcia has proven himself as one of the league’s most reliable finishers, with 4 goals from 8 shots on target (tied for the league lead). His intelligent runs set him apart from most other strikers in the league, and 2 of his goals - against Forge and Ottawa - came off of these diagonal runs onto through balls. Garcia also showed signs of a promising partnership with Brazilian João Morelli (who could have ended up in this team if he hadn’t been suspended for a third of the round robin) against Edmonton. No other forward was as consistently productive in the first 7 games.

LW - Victor Blasco - Pacific

One-third of the best attacking trio in the league, the Spaniard built on a solid 2019 to become a driving force in Pacific’s offense from the left wing in Charlottetown. With 2 assists, Blasco’s tied for the league lead so far, and he added a goal against Valour to round out a solid output so far. He should have added another one against Forge that we touched on earlier, but his team made it to the second round so we’ll forgive. Blasco brings a rare flair to the league, and compliments Bustos on the other wing, giving Pacific an effective two-pronged attack.

RW - Marco Bustos - Pacific

We questioned if he’d live up to the hype in our pre-season preview, and by the end of the round, he kind of made us look silly… Bustos is currently tied for second-leading scorer with 6 other players, and is the only player of the 8 with 3 or more goals to also have recorded an assist so far. Add to this the fact he’s leading the league in shots with 15, and his impact is clear. Who would have thought Pacific would be where they are with Terran Campbell goalless? Bustos put an exclamation point on the first round with his late curling winner against Edmonton, and he’ll be the key man if Pacific are to make it to the final two.

CM - Andre Rampersad - Halifax

Only Pacific’s Baldisimo and Ottawa’s Fisk (if you count him as a mid) played more minutes as midfielders in the first round than Halifax’s captain and driving force, and Rampersad has been a main reason for the Wanderers’ success so far. Sporting an 85% passing success rate, tied for the league lead in assists with 2, tied for 3rd in the league in interceptions, 3rd in recoveries and tied for the league lead in duels won, Rampersad has been everywhere across the stats sheets. His midfield partner Aboubacar Sissoko has gotten most of the plaudits, but Rampersad deserves just as much attention. He’s our low-key favourite to be one of the next to move to a stronger league.

CM - Francisco Acuña - Ottawa

The only player in the league with multiple goals and multiple assists, it was certainly not due to the Mexican midfield talisman that Ottawa isn’t moving on in the Island Games. In many games Acuña showed himself to be a level above, especially technically. His shot on the run from Malyk Hamilton’s perfect through-ball against Edmonton was a perfect example of this. Acuña constantly pushed his teammates forward, sometimes in vain, but his quality was clear. If Ottawa can give him more of a supporting cast next year, they’ll be well-positioned for success.

CM - Kyle Bekker - Forge

Although the MLS rumours are a little bit over-the-top for the 29-year-old, there’s no doubt Bekker has been far and away Forge’s best player so far at the Island Games. Bekker potted 3 goals in the first round, and had a knack for important ones. Recall that if Bekker hadn’t scored that last-gasp winner against Pacific, the Hamilton club would have actually finished in 5th, losing the tiebreaker to York (assuming of course that all other results went the same). With some underwhelming performances among his teammates thus far, any further success for Forge will likely come off Bekker’s boot, but he’s so far shown no aversion to that kind of pressure in the CPL.

LB - Nathan Mavila - Cavalry

Tied for second in the league in goals so far - not bad for a leftback! Two of these goals came from the penalty spot and the other from a swerving rightfooted cross/shot that caught Jason Beaulieu out, but without Mavila’s attack-minded play and composure from the spot, Cavs simply wouldn’t be where they are now. The Englishman also played a big role in Cavalry finishing top of the table, as it was his long-range shot that stung Nathan Ingham’s palms, allowing Marcus Haber to tuck home the winner against York last time out. His defensive shortcomings are acknowledged, but in a league of few outstanding leftback performances, Mavila made himself stand out in the first round.

CB - Luca Gasparotto - York

Listen, it’s certainly not Gasparotto’s fault York are out after 7 games. The Canadian international is still the only player to play every possible minute in the CPL, and he formed a strong partnership with Roger Thompson to keep York tied for the lowest goals-against of the round robin, with Cavs and Halifax. Add to this that Gasparotto is at or near the top of the league in several defensive categories, including clearances (43), blocks (4), interceptions (14), and aerial duels won (23 of 29). With Gasparotto at the back, York have one of the league’s best centrebacks - they just need to surround him with better talent.

CB - Dominick Zator - Cavalry

Zator often operated as the right-sided centreback in a back 3 for Cavs in the first round, a situation that has him a bit lower in some of the defensive statistics, but where he was able to display some offensive prowess. Zator actually led the league in attempted passes with 491 - 46 more than the closest competitor - and just over 80% of his passes were successful. This points to the importance of Zator in the Cavalry system based on possession, a system which resulted in the club topping the “regular season” table for the second year in a row. Zator also added an important goal that kicked off the season against Forge off a corner. He’ll be counted on to continue contributing at both ends of the pitch in the second round.

RB - Kadin Chung - Pacific

What more can be said about this kid? He made most of our ‘teams of the gameweek’ after a string of impressive performances, and he gets into this team of the round ahead of Malyk Hamilton and Chrisnovic N’Sa, who were both also incredibly impressive in the first round. Throughout Pacific’s climb up the standings, Chung displayed confidence on the ball, an eye for a pass, and strong defensive positioning beyond his years. He topped this off with a surging run at the Eddies defence before a perfectly-timed pass to Bustos, who did the rest. In the second half against the Eddies, especially later on, it seemed as if Chung was singlehandedly driving the team forward to the 3 points they needed. He’s another to keep an eye on for a move to a stronger league, and with good reason.

GK - Christian Oxner - Halifax

It was neck and neck between Oxner and Pacific’s Callum Irving (interesting since both moved into the starter position halfway through the first round), and Oxner’s performance against Ottawa in the last game sees him through here. Malcolm Shaw will be seeing him in his nightmares after a couple of those saves… Oxner made 14 saves once he came in in the fourth game, and only let in 2 goals in the 4 games he played, adding a penalty save (albeit off Tomi Ameobi) for good measure. With 5 punches (leading the league), he also showed a strong command of the area despite his smaller stature. While he’s seen criticism in the past, there’s no doubt that he’s made the starting position in Halifax his own, and has established himself as one of the league’s top-tier goalkeepers.

Honourable Mentions: Callum Irving (GK) - Pacific; Malyk Hamilton (RB) - Ottawa; Chrisnovic N’Sa (RB) - Halifax; Peter Schaale (CB) - Halifax; Raphael Ohin (CM) - Valour; Joe di Chiara (CM) - York; Mohammed Farsi (RWB) - Cavalry; Malcolm Shaw (ST) - Ottawa; Jordan Brown (ST) - Cavalry.

Dud of the Round: Ryan Telfer (York)

As always, thanks for reading! Keep an eye out in the next few days for an obituary on the teams eliminated so far, and a deeper dive into some of those underrated names in the honourable mentions, among others. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for some half-decent CPL betting tips!