Recap of the Island Games Kickoff

Story of the First Few Games

The CanPL kicked off the Island Games tournament in Charlottetown with a fake stadium, no fans, and a barnburner rematch of last year’s championship final between Hamilton’s Forge and Calgary’s Cavalry. The 2-2 opener has been followed by four more games, with 16 total goals, 5 penalties (all converted), and one red card. Needless to say, there’s been no shortage of entertainment and the level of play has been high considering the lack of pre-season.

There were plenty of storylines through the first set of games, from the renewed Forge-Cavs rivalry to the fact the league is playing at all in the pandemic. For us though, the big story is one that didn’t seem likely only eight months ago: CanPL is now an eight-team league. Considering that Ottawa only had 14 players on its roster until late June makes its debut draw against York that much more impressive, with the team controlling the play until a red card early in the second half. Aside from the team itself and the fact that the league now has a team in the county’s fifth-largest metropolitan area, the importance from a fan standpoint is having an even number of teams: every team can play every gameweek, and there shouldn’t be any strange schedule gaps for teams like we saw last year.

Gruntled Thoughts

• 127 total players appeared in the first 5 games of the tournament (keeping in mind Cavs and Forge both played twice), with 86 of them being Canadian - 86 Canadians playing professionally over one weekend! The 5-subs rule along with expanded benches is already having a positive impact in terms of Canadian players getting on the field.
  

• Of the 127 players to play in the league’s first 5 games, 53 were complete newcomers to the league, and of these newcomers, 33 were Canadian. Interestingly, Valour saw even more league newcomers hit the pitch in their first game than expansion side Ottawa (13 to 10) despite Ottawa having only 4 players on their entire roster with previous CanPL experience - an indication of the turnover Rob Gale’s side had this past off-season.

Disgruntled Thoughts

• Can we talk about Hanson Boakai’s corners and crosses? Did a single one make it past the first man? I seem to remember him operating more centrally in his first go-round with the Eddies, which would play more to his strengths of dribbling and clever passes, rather than crosses. Just a thought Jeff! Related: in researching Boakai it was interesting to see that he and Keven Alemán were reunited this year after being teammates at the 2015 Pan Am Games!
  

• Ottawa was the sole club to use only 3 subs, a bit strange given they were also the only club to go down a man and it was for nearly half the match. Don’t want to read too much into it, but if Mista continues to show a reluctance to use his depth players, his starters are going to be ragged by the end of the tourney.

Team of the First Few Games

ST - Marcus Haber (Cavalry)

The Cavs newcomer came off the bench against Forge to cause havoc, forcing a great diving save from Triston Henry before the Calgary side equalized at the death. He earned his first start against Valour and scored a trademark headed effort to open his account. With Jordan Brown ineffective thus far and Jair Córdova injured, Haber could stake a claim as a regular starter.

LW - Mohamed Farsi (Cavalry)

Really a wingback, we’re putting newcomer Mohamed Farsi at left wing here as he spent so much of the Valour game high up the pitch, not to mention his late sub appearance against Forge. It was Farsi that supplied Haber for his goal with a beautiful cross from the left after a driving run by Bruno Zebie, and he also caused the equalizing penalty against Forge. The 20-year-old from Montreal, predicted to be an x-factor for Cavs in our season preview, is already turning heads around the league.

RW - Zach Verhoven (Pacific)

Verhoven changed the game for Pacific when he came on against Halifax on Saturday - scoring a classic FIFA 20 goal (a dragback in the box before firing home) to equalize, and setting up Marco Bustos’ first for Pacific. Verhoven is on a two-game goalscoring streak going back to last year, and we expect him to start for Pacific today.

CM - Francisco Acuña (Ottawa)

The versatile Mexican midfielder showed his class in Ottawa’s debut, setting up Malcolm Shaw’s goal to make it 2-0, and generally being all over the pitch until he was subbed following Neufville’s sending off. With ~120 games in the Mexican top tier, Acuña’s quality was clear, and I'd be surprised if this was his last appearance in these teams.

CM - Zetterberg (Edmonton)

The Eddies had a disappointing first match at the Island Games, losing 2-0 to Forge. Despite the score, it was a close game and Paulus’ side actually looked pretty good for most of it. A lot of this was down to Swedish newcomer Erik Zetterberg, who sat in front of the backline recovering the ball, recycling possession and pushing the ball up the pitch. He showed his passing range with a series of particularly impressive diagonal balls. Zetterberg should be ever-present for the Eddies.

CM - Marco Bustos (Pacific)

We weren’t exactly the friendliest to Bustos in our Pacific season preview, and he proved us wrong in the opener. With a goal and an assist on Verhoven’s opener, Bustos came as advertised, much to the delight of new manager Pa-Modou Kah. We’re looking forward to seeing him against stronger opposition this week.

LB - Vashon Neufville (Ottawa)

I can see some raised eyebrows - a team of the period selection for a guy that got sent off after 50 minutes?! Fair point, but up to that moment Neufville had been very impressive, bombing forward from leftback right up to the opposition byline multiple times. One of these runs resulted in Mohamed Kourouma opening the club’s account in CanPL, and we expect that won’t be the last we see of that in PEI. Watch the discipline though, eh, Vashon?

CB - Dominick Zator (Cavalry)

No surprise here - Zator picked up where he left off last year for Cavs with two strong performances. Against Forge, he was employed more as a rightback (much to our chagrin), and scored a perfect header off a corner to give his team the lead. He was solid throughout, but was caught out slightly on the deflected cross that led to Anthony Novak’s opener. In a more central role against Valour on Sunday, Zator didn’t give up an inch in the first clean sheet of the season. With a four day break, expect him to start again versus the Eddies on Thursday.

CB - David Edgar (Forge)

Another unsurprising selection, Edgar put in a typically commanding performance against Cavalry in the opener, particularly in the first half when Cavs were on the front foot. This trend continued against the Eddies, and he led the Hamilton side to their first clean sheet of the year. His partner Krutzen continues to get most of the plaudits, but Edgar is the real glue on Forge’s backline.

RB - Dean Northover (Cavalry)

This might be a bit of a homer pick, but after a year off injured and sporting a mustache and mullet that are straight out of your favourite craft brewery, Northover returned to the lineup for Cavs facing a Canadian international (Aird) and a Ligue 1 veteran (Bouka Moutou). He not only acquitted himself well, but really dominated that side of the pitch - even mixing in some Farsi-esque skill moves.

GK - Triston Henry (Forge)

No one would accuse us of being the biggest Triston Henry fans around, but his weekend performance was undeniably the best in the league between the pipes. His great save off Marcus Haber almost secured a win in the opener against Cavalry, and he kept a clean sheet against a dangerous FC Edmonton (with the assistance of his goalposts).

Big Questions

How does the condensed schedule affect teams?

We’ve already seen Cavalry and Forge pull out wins with just 3 days off, but as the tournament rolls on this will be something to watch, particularly with some of the unfortunate injuries we’ve seen already (Bouka Moutou and Đidić).

Is it just more of the same for Valour?

Keeping in mind the injury mentioned above to arguably their best player, Valour simply didn’t look good on Sunday. Some strange tactical decisions didn’t help (Aird and Levis as inverted wingers, Cebara at full back), and Aird was particularly disappointing in the opener. The Winnipeg club have a chance to get things back on track against Ottawa tomorrow, especially with the expansion side missing Neufville through suspension. If they don’t, it’ll be a short vacation on the island.

On the other hand, if you think they have a chance, bet365 is offering some nice odds on a Valour win at 16/5. Hell, I might give it a go just in case Aird & co. decide to prove me wrong!

Will FC Edmonton ever score?

It looked like they were going to pot one against Forge, but two posts kept them out. Easton Ongaro didn’t look in top form either - a worry for the Eddies, although Boakai and Alemán showed flashes (minus Boakai’s crosses). The potential loss of Đidić only adds to the offensive woes, as his range of passing and aerial presence earned him 3 assists last season - the most of any centreback in the league. Up against provincial rivals Cavalry on Thursday, it doesn’t get any easier for the Eddies, and another loss would leave them with an uphill climb to make the second round robin

Predictions

Nailed-on Result of the Next Few Days: Forge to beat Halifax

We wanted to give Ottawa some love here, but Neufville’s suspension made us pull back, as he’s clearly a big part of their tactics going forward. So, instead we’re falling back on old, reliable Forge to secure 3 points against the east coasters. Remember that Halifax actually had one of the best records against Forge of any team last year (1W, 2D, 1L). Regardless, Forge has shown that they’re in solid form already, and made light work of Edmonton without even getting to top gear. At 3/5 odds on bet365, a Forge win isn’t much on its own, but would be worthwhile as part of a parlay.

Cheeky Punt of the Next Few Days: Pacific FC v York9 FC Correct Score - 2-1

As of writing, bet365 is offering 10/1 odds for Pacific to beat York 2-1, and we think this is well worth this week’s cheeky punt. York are likely to still be without Petrasso, Mannella and Aparicio, so we like a Pacific win regardless. The Vancouver Island side showed it’s got some goals in it against Halifax, particularly after Zach Verhoven came on. With the number of goals scored in the games so far, and the talent still available to York, we like them to get one, but don’t expect more than that.

Thanks for reading, and check back with us on the 21st or subscribe to see how our crystal ball worked out!