2023 CPL Regular Season — Match #31
Cavalry FC vs. Forge FC
June 3, 2023 at 2 p.m. MT/4 p.m. ET
ATCO Field in Calgary, Alberta
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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The best rivalry in the Canadian Premier League returns to Calgary this weekend, as Cavalry FC play host to Forge FC in the second meeting between the old foes of 2023.

Last time these sides met, the back-and-forth clash at Tim Hortons Field did not disappoint — as it so rarely does. Cavalry took the lead twice, only for Forge to come right back and score in short succession both times as they had to settle for a 2-2 draw in both teams’ first game of the new season.

Since then, both Forge and Cavalry have had some ups and downs; they both had their unbeaten records tarnished by defeat to York United in their last game — Cavalry last Sunday and Forge midweek on Wednesday.

Cavalry, hosts for this clash, sit fourth in the league table entering the weekend with one win, one loss and five draws. They’ve dropped points from winning positions several times, and head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. will be keen to see them find a few more goals to turn draws into wins.

“From a performance standpoint, and we look at the metrics and the other data analytics, we’re in a good place in terms of our performances,” Wheeldon said on Friday. “Results, I think they can be better — whether that’s us or things that have gone against us. I don’t think the league table is a fair reflection of where we should be, but that’s up to us now. We’ve got three quarters of the season and it’s up to us to climb the ladder.”

As mentioned, the Cavs were at York Lions Stadium last weekend where they created plenty of opportunities for themselves but ultimately fell 1-0 to York United thanks to a first-half winning goal.

Forge, meanwhile, remain atop the standings with four wins, a loss and three draws. They were undefeated until Wednesday night, when they had what looked like another draw ripped from their clutches by York when Brem Soumaoro scored a 40-yard screamer in stoppage time.

“When you look at the standings, you’re obviously in a place you’d like to be,” Forge manager Bobby Smyrniotis said of his side at the quarter mark of the season. “Saying that, I don’t think we’re firing on all cylinders. I don’t think we’re playing our best football. And sometimes that’s what we look like over the years, it’s taken us some time to get going.”

There’s no shortage of history between these two clubs in the last five years, including last year’s CPL semifinal tie which saw Forge triumph at home in the second leg en route to their third championship in four years.

Cavalry-Forge matchups are appointment viewing these days in the CPL; Saturday afternoon will be no different.

All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Forge look to shake finishing woes: The Hamilton club continue to create chances at a higher rate than almost any other team in the league — they’re second in expected goals with 11.32, and their eight big chances are most in the CPL — but they’ve left a few goals on the table that have cost them results. They’ve taken 47 shots in the last three games, but put only nine of them on target and scored just two goals. That’ll be a mild concern for Bobby Smyrniotis, though he’d be much more worried if his side wasn’t creating chances. Still, he’ll be imploring them to be much more clinical in front of goal. “We’re creating a lot in every game, and of course we need to put some of those chances away,” Smyrniotis said. “You look at a couple of our last games with York and Vancouver and the high quality is fantastic, but you’ve obviously got to score goals to take care of the games.”

• Aggression the key for Cavs: Cavalry have had no trouble taking the lead this year, but they’ve had some difficulty keeping it. Their 10 points dropped from winning positions are more than any other team; the Cavs have scored first in all but one CPL game this year (the 1-0 loss at York), but only once have they been the next team to score after their first goal. Cavalry’s lone win of the year, a 2-0 home triumph over Atlético Ottawa, showed a lot of progress and that’s a performance Tommy Wheeldon Jr. will want his men to replicate when they return to ATCO Field. “Both teams have to be tactically ready for it,” Wheeldon said of the matchup with Forge. “They have to be emotionally ready for it. It’s usually decided by a bit of magic or a mistake, and it’s a fine margin.”

• Forge fatigue to be tested by better-rested Cavalry: This game will end a stretch for Forge where they’ll have played five games in 16 days, having played midweek contests the last two Wednesdays (including an emotionally draining Canadian Championship tie with CF Montréal). Cavalry, on the other hand, have been on a more routine once-a-week match schedule the past month and therefore may be a little fresher, especially playing at home. Forge certainly have the depth to rotate the lineup and not miss a beat, but it’ll be interested to see how exactly Bobby Smyrniotis deploys a tired squad — and whether Cavalry try to exploit that fatigue. “We’ve done a good job of rotating the squad not just to rotate it, but in a tactical way,” Smyrniotis said on Friday. “I think it’s important to have all your players engaged as the season starts becoming a little bit longer and we get into the middle stretch of it, we’re happy with where the guys are physically.”

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Cavalry FC: Carducci; Escalante, Klomp, Chima, Aird; Trafford, Daley; Cantave, Camargo, Musse; Bevan

Forge FC: Henry; Morgan, James, Achinioti-Jönsson, Rama; Hojabrpour, Sissoko, Bekker; Choinière, Campbell, Borges

ALL-TIME SERIES

Cavalry FC wins: 6 || Forge FC wins: 10 || Draws: 5

Last meeting:

April 15, 2023 — Forge FC 2-2 Cavalry FC

KEY QUOTES

“It really is a game of concentration for 90-plus minutes. You’ve got to be focused because we’re a team that have got attacking strengths that can hurt anybody, and they’re a team that have attacking strengths that can hurt anybody. They’ve shown that this season where they’ve been able to grind out 1-0 wins, so they’re certainly adding a little bit of resilience on the road that maybe they haven’t had at home. We respect them coming to our headquarters but it’s up to us to put in a performance in front of our fans.” — Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

“You have to be prepared for every situation in the game, you can’t just be, ‘Hey, we’ve got to go out there and score first.’ You have to be prepared for everything that comes your way. Cavalry is always a good team when they’re playing at home, and I think we need to get off to a good start.” — Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis