2019 Canadian Premier League finals

The 2019 Canadian Premier League Finals determined the winner of the Canadian Premier League's inaugural 2019 season. It featured Cavalry FC of Calgary, Alberta, and Forge FC of Hamilton, Ontario, and was the culmination of a rivalry that had developed between those teams.

2019 Canadian Premier League Finals
Event2019 Canadian Premier League season
on aggregate
First leg
DateOctober 26, 2019
VenueTim Hortons Field, Hamilton, Ontario
Man of the MatchTristan Borges (Forge FC)[citation needed]
RefereePierre-Luc Lauzière
Attendance10,486
WeatherCloudy
9 °C (48 °F)
76% humidity[1]
Second leg
DateNovember 2, 2019
VenueATCO Field, Foothills County, Alberta
Man of the MatchDaniel Krutzen (Forge FC)[citation needed]
RefereeAlain Ruch
Attendance5,831
WeatherMostly cloudy
7 °C (45 °F)
57% humidity[2]
2020

It was contested over two legs between the winners of the spring and fall seasons, with the fall season winners choosing which leg to host.[3] Since Cavalry won both split seasons, the team with the second-best overall season record, Forge, also competed in the Championship.[4]

Forge won the inaugural Canadian Premier League title 2–0 on aggregate following a pair of 1–0 victories.[5][6] This earned the club the right to compete in the 2020 CONCACAF League where they ultimately reached the quarter-finals.[7]

Path to the finals

The 2019 Canadian Premier League season used a split season format where each team played 10 games in an opening spring season and 18 games in a closing fall season. At the end of the full season, the spring season winner would face the fall season winner in a two-legged tie for the league title. If one team won both the spring and the fall seasons, that team would face the team with the highest cumulative points total across both seasons for the title.[8]

On June 26, 2019, Cavalry won the spring season and qualified for the championship.[9] On September 28, 2019, Forge secured the second best overall season record, and thus clinched the second spot in the finals.[10]

Source: CanPL.ca


Fall season

PosTeamPldPts
1Cavalry1838
2Forge1837
3York91823
4Pacific1820
5Valour1819
6FC Edmonton1818
7HFX Wanderers1817
Source: CanPL.ca


Overall table

PosTeamPldPts
1Cavalry (S)2862
2Forge (C)2856
3York92834
4FC Edmonton2832
5Pacific2831
6Valour2828
7HFX Wanderers2828
Source: CanPL.ca
(C) Champions; (S) Regular season winner

Cavalry FC

Cavalry started the inaugural 2019 Canadian Premier League season as one of six newly-formed teams competing in the league. They started their spring campaign with a 2–1 win over York9 FC on May 4.[11] They went on to win the first seven games of the ten game spring season before suffering a 1–0 to Forge FC.[12] Their 2–0 victory in their next game against York9 on June 26 clinched the spring title and a berth in the Finals.[13]

Cavalry finished the spring season with a 8–0–2 record. They also won the fall competition by one point with a 11–5–2 record, giving the Finals berth for that season to the second-placed overall record.[14]

Forge FC

Forge was another one of the newly-formed teams for the inaugural season. They finished the spring season in second place with a 6–1–3 record. In the fall season, Cavalry and Forge cemented themselves as the top two teams in the standings.[15] Forge was able to clinch the Finals berth after a 3–0 victory over Pacific FC on September 28, 2019.[16]

Despite not clinching the fall title, Cavalry and Forge's dominance ensured that no other team could catch them in either the fall or overall standings. Forge would go on to finish second in the fall season by one point, winning the Finals berth not as the fall title winner but the second-placed overall finisher.[14]

Head-to-head

Going into the Finals, Cavalry and Forge had played each other seven times in 2019; winning three matches each, with one draw, and scoring seven goals apiece. In June, Cavalry defeated Forge 3–2 on aggregate in the second qualifying round of the Canadian Championship.[17]

In the final week of the regular season, Forge and Cavalry faced-off in Hamilton. With both teams having clinched their positions in the overall table, each side rested key players in advance of the Finals.[18] Forge won the game 1–0 but defender Dominic Samuel picked up two yellow cards and was automatically suspended for the first leg of the Finals.[18]

Venues

Forge's home of Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, with a reduced seating capacity of 10,016 hosted the first leg. Opened in 2014, the multi-purpose stadium is shared with the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The second leg was held in Cavalry's home of ATCO Field in Foothills County. It is a 5,288 capacity stadium part of the Spruce Meadows equestrian facility.

Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton hosted the first leg
ATCO Field in Foothills County hosted the second leg

Match details

First leg

Summary

The first leg of the Finals was played on October 26 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. Forge FC entered the game without defenders Dominic Samuel and Bertrand Owundi who were serving suspensions.[5] Forge had the first close chance when captain Kyle Bekker's long shot hit the crossbar in the 35th minute.[19] Minutes later, Cavalry defender Joel Waterman handled the ball in his own penalty area while sliding to prevent a scoring chance. Waterman was sent off and Forge was awarded a penalty kick. CPL-leading scorer Tristan Borges took the penalty kick but it was stopped by Marco Carducci to keep the game scoreless. Late into first half stoppage time, Borges would beat Carducci with a left-footed strike to give Forge the lead going into halftime.[20] Early in the second half, Forge controlled possession with the man-advantage. In the 69th minute, a challenge between Borges and Jay Wheeldon of Cavalry sent both players to the ground. As a result of the play, Borges was shown a red card and both teams finished the match with 10 players.[5]

After the match, Cavalry and Forge appealed their respective red cards to the Canadian Soccer Association.[21] The governing body's disciplinary committee upheld the red card to Cavalry's Joel Waterman for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity, and confirmed he would be suspended for the second leg of the Finals. The red card and suspension to Tristan Borges was overturned, with the committee citing that his actions "did not meet the threshold of a violent conduct offence."[22]

Details

Forge FC1–0Cavalry FC
Borges 45+1'Recap
Report
Attendance: 10,486
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauzière
Forge
Cavalry
Forge FC:
GK1 Triston Henry
RB8 Giuliano Frano
CB30 David Edgar
CB5 Daniel Krutzen
LB6 Kwame Awuah  63'
CM13 Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson
CM10 Kyle Bekker (c)
RW3 Elimane Cissé  77'
AM19 Tristan Borges  69'
LW11 Chris Nanco  90+3'
CF23 Anthony Novak  75'
Substitutes:
GK18 Quillan Roberts
MF7 David Choinière  77'
FW9 Marcel Zajac  75'
DF16 Klaidi Cela
FW17 Kadell Thomas  90+3'
MF20 Justin Stoddart
DF22 Monti Mohsen
Manager:
Bobby Smyrniotis
Cavalry FC:
GK1 Marco Carducci
RB4 Dominick Zator
CB15 Joel Waterman  37'
CB5 Mason Trafford  75'
LB3 Nathan Mavila
CM8 Julian Büscher  85'
CM6 Nik Ledgerwood (c)  88'
RW17 Nico Pasquotti
AM7 Oliver  24'  46'
LW11 José Escalante
CF23 Dominique Malonga  61'
Substitutes:
GK22 Niko Giantsopoulos
FW9 Jordan Brown  61'
MF10 Sergio Camargo  85'
DF14 Jay Wheeldon  69'  46'
MF16 Elijah Adekugbe
MF20 Carlos Patiño
DF21 Malyk Hamilton
Manager:
Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

Man of the Match:
Tristan Borges (Forge FC)[citation needed]

Assistant referees:
Lyes Arfa
Peter Manastrysky
Fourth official:
Yusri Rudolf

Second leg

Cavalry FC0–1Forge FC
Recap
Report
Attendance: 5,831
Referee: Alain Ruch
Cavalry
Forge
Cavalry FC:
GK1 Marco Carducci
RB4 Dominick Zator
CB14 Jay Wheeldon  86'
CB5 Mason Trafford
LB3 Nathan Mavila  69'
CM8 Julian Büscher
CM6 Nik Ledgerwood (c)  51'
RW17 Nico Pasquotti  18'
AM10 Sergio Camargo  90'
LW9 Jordan Brown  73'
CF23 Dominique Malonga
Substitutes:
GK22 Niko Giantsopoulos
FW7 Oliver  73'
MF11 José Escalante  75'  69'
MF16 Elijah Adekugbe
MF20 Carlos Patiño
DF21 Malyk Hamilton
FW24 Aribim Pepple  90'
Manager:
Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
Forge FC:
GK1 Triston Henry  90+2'
RB4 Dominic Samuel
CB30 David Edgar
CB5 Daniel Krutzen
LB6 Kwame Awuah
CM13 Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson
CM10 Kyle Bekker (c)
RW2 Jonathan Grant  60'
AM19 Tristan Borges
LW11 Chris Nanco  67'
CF23 Anthony Novak  42'  86'
Substitutes:
GK18 Quillan Roberts
MF3 Elimane Cissé  60'
MF7 David Choinière  73'  67'
MF8 Giuliano Frano  86'
FW9 Marcel Zajac
FW17 Kadell Thomas
DF21 Bertrand Owundi
Manager:
Bobby Smyrniotis

Man of the Match:
Daniel Krutzen (Forge FC)[citation needed]

Assistant referees:
Peter Pendli
Stefan Tanaka-Freundt
Fourth official:
Juan Marquez

Broadcasting

First leg[23]

Second leg

  • OneSoccer

See also

References

External links