Recap of the Last Few Games

Story of the Last Few Games

The second set of matches at the CPL’s Island Games saw perennial favourites Cavalry and Forge solidify their positions at the top of the table - keeping in mind their extra game played - while the other 8 clubs jockeyed for position, aiming for those last two spots leading to the second round robin. And right now, after we (rightfully) slaughtered them in our last post, Valour of all teams are sitting third, which goes to show that really, no one knows how this tournament is going to play out.

Valour’s 4-zip win over Ottawa was really the story of the last four games, and I’m hoping at least one of you took up the crazy bet365 odds for Valour in this one that we pointed to in our last post! In any case, Valour rightfully received a lot of plaudits for the win, but folks might need to cool their jets at least a little bit - remember, all 4 Valour goals were scored after Milovan Kapor (not Kopar whoever the announcer was - probably Wheeler) was sent off early in the second half. That’s not to say that Valour weren’t playing well beforehand, but at the start of the second half Ottawa had actually started to come on and play some good football, with some decent chances (Shaw and Fisk’s chances right before the red come to mind), and Valour had only one grade A scoring chance before then. In any case, it was a much-improved Valour side, and a disappointing Ottawa performance, which were really the stories of these games. All to play for still...

Gruntled Thoughts

• Parity - part of me hates it because it’s such a big part of traditional North American sports, but it would be tough to deny having a significantly less noticeable dropoff from Cavalry/Forge to the rest of the clubs has made for more interesting and entertaining games overall. Halifax’s performance against Forge was a prime example - they could easily have won - and let’s not forget that, despite the shit we give the Eddies this week, they were arguably the better side against the Hamilton team last week as well. At this point, there’s not much to choose between the bottom six teams, and that’s a good thing for this league.
  

• We did not expect to be writing about this league being broadcast in *India* of all places, let alone the US, but here we are. Somehow, Iain Hume’s biggest fans in Kerala are going to be able to watch his home country’s league’s games for the rest of the tournament (PS, Humey needs to be involved in this league somehow). Add this to Fox Sports 2 (is that related to Fox Sports World Canada??) in the States, and even getting Forge games on TSN radio in Hamilton, and the CPL is legit getting the exposure that we hoped for in year one. Maybe the virus and its impact on sports in general had a little silver lining for our fledgling league?

Disgruntled Thoughts

• We asked after the first set of games if FC Edmonton was ever going to score, and they go and start Tomi Ameobi over Easton Ongaro??! He’s not a starting striker in this league, wasn’t a starting-quality striker in the last NASL season (3 years ago), and will likely be looking at more of a front office position with the club over the next couple years. And no, that’s not my Sunderland vs. Newcastle bias showing! But really, even before the red card, Edmonton just looked like they lacked ideas in the offensive third, almost as if the ‘plan’ was to get to the ball to Alemán and/or Boakai and hope that their skill would fashion a chance. Evidently, this didn’t work.
  

• Mista musta read our last post, because after being the only club to only use 3 subs in their first game, Ottawa took it one step further this week and, despite being down a man *again* for most of the second half, only used TWO subs this week (both Canadian at least, thank Christ). We really don’t want to read too much into this, but it would be hard to not look at it and think Mista doesn’t have confidence in his bench. Hell, maybe he shoulda just stayed with the 14 man roster he had up until like two weeks before the tournament?! Sarcasm aside, Viti Martínez isn’t exactly stirring the drink, and there’s quality like Maksym Kowal and Jarred Phillips on the club. Move Malyk Hamilton further forward already, and get these guys on the pitch.

Team of the Last Few Games

FW - Jordan Brown (Cavalry)

We hadn’t been too impressed with Brown’s first few appearances, but against the Eddies he was a difference maker, scoring both goals and threatening throughout. His first goal was similar to his goal against Edmonton last May, showing he has a habit of being in the right place at the right time against the provincial rivals. His second goal was a penalty (Cavalry’s third of the games), which he also won, controversially. It certainly didn’t look like a penalty on replay, but it was a strong run into the box that led to it. Brown now sits atop the Island Games top scorers table as the only player with 2 so far.

FW - Mohamed Farsi (Cavalry)

A repeat from the team of the first few games, we’re leaving Farsi where we had him then - at forward, even though he played this one as more of a right-mid/right wingback. Again, Farsi was extremely active high up the pitch, and created Brown’s first goal after a great run, found by a perfect ball from Dominick Zator. Farsi whipped in a cross that found Oliver, who just touched it on to Brown to finish. He was active throughout the game, and his versatility should keep him in the lineup for most of the Island Games. Farsi keeps getting plaudits around the league, so we’ll re-up our Cavalry season preview where we predicted he’d be an x-factor. So far, so good!

FW - Cory Bent (Halifax)

Halifax were our most impressive team of this set of games (sorry Valour), and Bent was a big part of that. Impressive in both Wanderers matches so far, Bent caused problems for Forge throughout, and was notable in his willingness to track back and help defensively as well in his 86 minutes of game time. A great example of the talent to be found in USports, as we pointed out in our season preview, we’re thinking he’ll be on the scoresheet sooner than later.

CM - Raphael Ohin (Valour)

We were surprised when Ohin started on the bench in Gale’s confusing first-game lineup against Cavalry, and his impact was noticeable when he came on in that game. In Valour’s second outing, Ohin got the start and was a big part of the team’s improvement. Sitting in front of the backline (and sometimes dropping right into the centre of it, allowing the wingers to push up), Ohin was his usual self in terms of regaining possession, but also showed a range of passing that he doesn’t get the credit for. He should be an ever-present for the Winnipeg club in Charlottetown.

Rampersad vs Forge (CanPL)

CM - Andre Rampersad (Halifax)

Our star man of the week, Rampersad’s performance against Forge was perhaps overshadowed by his midfield partner Aboubacar Sissoko (who also had a great game). Rampersad was literally everywhere on the pitch, the definition of a box-to-box midfielder, and his distribution and recoveries were excellent, as the image below shows. Together with Sissoko, Forge’s midfield were rendered pretty ineffective in our opinion. We can’t help but feel Rampersad is likely to end up at a higher level.

CM - Elliott Simmons (Cavalry)

Rampersad’s former teammate in Halifax, Cavs newcomer Elliott Simmons earned his first start with his new club against the Eddies, and shone. He was everywhere, driving possession through the middle of the park, and showing an eye for a pass that we’ve seen glimpses of in his substitute appearances. A great cross-box through ball for Nico Pasquotti that the Lethbridge winger couldn’t convert stands out. Halifax seems to be doing alright in the middle of the park, but it’s tough to understand why he was let go after last season. Expect him to see more starts as the Island Games go on.

LB - Diyaeddine Abzi (York)

For the first time this year and probably not the last, Diyaeddine Abzi’s makes the team of the period at leftback. In a game where most of York didn’t necessarily stand out, Abzi was up and down the pitch throughout and was a key part of most offensive movements. Abzi’s defensive work often gets overlooked, and his work at shutting down Marco Bustos on the right was a big part of York getting away with a point in this one.

CB - Andrew Jean-Baptiste (Valour)

We gave Jean-Baptiste a lot of love in our Valour season preview, and after a rough first outing, “AJB” showed why he was such an important off-season addition against Ottawa. He was not only a rock at the back, keeping Ottawa’s chances to a minimum despite their offensive talent, but he added a goal - a powerful header off a Brett Levis corner. The captain will be an integral part of any Valour success, and already looks to have formed a good partnership with TFC loanee Julian Dunn.

CB - Lukas MacNaughton (Pacific)

MacNaughton flies under the radar (including for us), but he has a lot of promise as a centreback. Partnering with TMG this season, he’s looking more solid than last year, and was strong throughout against York. He even had a cheeky run or two high up the pitch, showing an ability on the ball that gets overlooked. We’re including him in this team even though we don’t think he got more than a hair on that late equalizer, but him just being there clearly through Ingham off. For being solid at both ends of the pitch, MacNaughton gets in this team.

RB - Kadin Chung (Pacific)

Chung has really impressed us in both games thus far, after being somewhat of a disappointment last season. Against York, he had the job of defending Ryan Telfer - not an easy task even when Telfer’s on one of his trademark days off. Chung showed a calmness at the back that belies his 21 years, and he had an eye for a forward pass as well. Pacific have a real player here.

GK - Connor James (Edmonton)

See, we give Edmonton some love from time to time! Sure, Connor James let in 2 goals, but think of how much worse it could have been. He absolutely robbed Marcus Haber in the second half, added two other saves, and kept the Eddies in it right to the end, despite being down a man for more than 40 minutes.

Honourable mentions: Stefan Cebara (Valour), Shaan Hundal (Valour), Daniel Krutzen (Forge), Dominick Zator (Cavalry), José Galán (Valour).

Big Questions

Is Halifax for real or is Forge dropping off?

Like we said earlier, Halifax was our standout team this week, with a great performance against Forge. Their central midfield three of Rampersad, Sissoko and Béland-Goyette looks like the real deal, and is right there with the best in the league. We do have to temper expectations a bit - since Forge were playing their 3rd game in 7 days and that must have affected their performance. That said, they haven’t looked out-of-this-world in either of their last two games, and that makes us wonder if they’re dropping back down to earth a little bit? Pacific should be a good test this weekend to see where they’re at.

Will the real Valour please stand up?

Embarrassing in their opener, and unbeatable against Ottawa - we still have no idea what Valour really is. Gale made some smart lineup adjustments against Ottawa, and we have to say that Stefan Cebara at rightback actually didn’t look as crazy as we thought after game 1. Valour have a tough test against an underperforming York side, and could really show us what they’re capable of this weekend. If Hundal or Ricci can start finding a goal or two, they could be a team to watch. On the other hand, if they go back to their old ways it’ll be a short visit on the island.

Will FC Edmonton ever score?

This makes it easy for the lads! A holdover question from last go-around, but we’ve got a feeling it won’t be making a third appearance. The Eddies play their somewhat-former-NASL rivals Ottawa this weekend, seeking redemption against the city that basically put the nail in the pretty-well-shut NASL coffin back in 2017. Ottawa’s star (I think, after 48 minutes) leftback Vashon Neufville is back from suspension, but their top centreback Milovan Kapor will be missed after seeing red last game. If you can find a betting site that offers Easton Ongaro first goal (c’mon bet365…), we think you’d be silly not to toss a few bucks down.

Predictions

Nailed-on Result of the Next Few Days: FC Edmonton to beat Ottawa

Without their main man at the back, Ottawa are looking a little thin, and the Eddies are in as close to a must-win situation as there is this week. Not saying that Edmonton has given us a lot of hope over their first few games, but there’ve been some flashes. If Zetterberg can repeat his game 1 performance, Ongaro starts, and they can move past the loss of Đidić, this will be one of the more winnable games for them. As we mentioned earlier, Mista is already showing a reluctance to go to his bench, and their depth will be tested even more without Kapor. We like the Eddies’ chances in this one, and bet365 is offering 2.10 odds - not bad if you ask us.

Cheeky Punt of the Next Few Days: Pacific FC vs. Forge - draw at halftime, Pacific to win

Last week, we were a great Nathan Ingham save of a potential own-goal at the death away from being correct on our call for that game. We’re keeping with the Pacific theme and putting a lot of faith in Pa-Modou Kah’s side to beat Forge after keeping it tight in the first half. We’ve seen thus far that Pacific are a second-half team, and that should play well here if they can keep Forge at bay in the first half. Forge didn’t impress last week, and with their relative lack of rotation we can see some tired legs in the squad - not ideal when you’ve got Bustos, Blasco and Campbell running at you.

As of this writing, bet365 is offering 9.50 odds for this game to be drawn at half, and Pacific to win, a decent shout for this week’s cheeky punt in our eyes. Hell, Pacific to win alone is 4.20 odds if you’re a little more risk-averse. Either way, we’re putting our eggs in the Pacific FC basket this week; hopefully they don’t end up on our face.

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