2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #81
Cavalry FC vs. Valour FC
August 30, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. MT/8:30 p.m. CT
ATCO Field in Calgary, Alberta
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The hottest team in the Canadian Premier League looks to complete a perfect month of August on Friday night, as Cavalry FC host Valour FC under the lights of ATCO Field.

Indeed, the Cavs have won all four of their matches so far this month, plus their last one in July, meaning they take a five-game winning streak into Friday’s contest. Their outstanding run of form has rocketed them up the table, turning things around after they had won just three of their first 15 matches.

Cavalry enter the weekend sitting third in the league table, but with 33 points they’re just two back of first-place Forge FC. There’s a chance they could end matchweek 21 at the top, but they’d need Forge and Atlético Ottawa both to drop points.

The latest chapter in this Cavalry run of form was last weekend’s 1-0 win over Pacific, but that one very nearly ended their streak. The match was 0-0 after 90 minutes of football, and it was only a last-ditch Daan Klomp goal in stoppage time that snatched all three points.

Meanwhile, Valour head back on the road after spending the last four games at home in Winnipeg. The homestand had its ups and downs, with two wins and two losses, but they largely find themselves in a better place than at the beginning of August.

Valour currently sit in sixth place, just outside the playoff picture. They trail Vancouver FC by six points, so they can’t get into fifth this week but they’ll certainly be hoping to keep pace.

That six-point gap is a product of last weekend’s game against Vancouver, where Valour equalized late but conceded an even later winner. Had Valour won that game, they would’ve been in fifth this week and controlled their destiny in the playoff race. Now, they’ll be looking for a favour from Atlético Ottawa to help them stay afloat.

They’ll have their work cut out for them in Calgary, though. Valour have only ever won once at ATCO Field, and that was back in 2021. The last time they beat Cavalry was August 2023 when they overcame a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 at home, but have yet to conquer the Cavs this year.

The sides have met twice in 2024 so far, with a 1-1 draw followed by a 1-0 Cavalry win at Princess Auto Stadium in July.

Both teams will be largely at full strength for this game; Valour will get star fullback Themi Antonoglou back from suspension, which should help their wide attack, although Dante Campbell will miss this one with a card accumulation suspension of his own. Meanwhile, Cavalry are without Tobias Warschewski and Maël Henry with lingering injuries, but otherwise everybody is available for selection according to head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Cavalry’s consistency powering strong form: One of the driving factors behind how well Cavalry have been playing recently has been that their squad is finally healthy. After long stretches of the season where players were in and out of the lineup, they have most of their difference makers on the pitch together now. In this five game winning streak, nine players have started at least four of them, and seven have started all five. Not only has that allowed Cavalry to find some consistency on the pitch, it’s also helped them bring good players into matches to help tangibly change the way a game is going. “The finishers that are on the sideline with us are quality players, but they know the players in the jersey right now are doing a great job keeping their place, producing results on the pitch,” Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said. “You saw that with Camargo and Shaw last week, in a 0-0 game they came on and helped us get a win against Pacific, with Charlie Trafford also being involved in the goal. These are experienced guys I’m bringing off the bench now, and it allows us another level to get to.”

• Valour must manage moments after late disappointment: After last Sunday’s loss to Vancouver, Valour coach Phillip Dos Santos expressed some frustration in the way his side had conceded both goals, especially the late one that cost them the game. He has called on his defenders to remain switched on for the full 90 minutes, which will be particularly key this week knowing that Cavalry attackers like Ali Musse need just one momentary lapse in the defence to deliver the ball into the back of the net. Valour’s defence has largely been good recently, especially now that they’ve settled into a back four of Roberto Alarcón, Gianfranco Facchineri, Tass Mourdoukoutas and Themi Antonoglou. They suffered without Antonoglou last week, so having him back on the left side will be critical, especially against Cavalry’s right side of Musse and Fraser Aird.

• Set-pieces remain dangerous in Calgary: Although Cavalry haven’t been scoring quite as consistently from set-pieces as they were in 2023, they remain a significant part of the threat. Now that Ali Musse is back in top form, his delivery from one side is matched by Fraser Aird’s from the other, meaning the Cavs are just as dangerous from either corner flag. With players like Daan Klomp and Eryk Kobza in the box — plus, more recently, Lowell Wright — there will be a lot for Valour to try and keep track of whenever Cavalry have a corner or free kick.

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Cavalry FC: Carducci; Aird, Kobza, Klomp, Kamdem; Gutiérrez, Shome; Musse, Camargo, Wähling; Wright

Valour FC: Viscosi; Alarcón, Mourdoukoutas, Facchineri, Antonoglou; Faria, Verhoeven, Ohin, Ressurreição; Hundal, Swibel

ALL-TIME SERIES

Cavalry FC wins: 12 || Valour FC wins: 3 || Draws: 5

Last meeting:

July 7, 2024 — Valour FC 0-1 Cavalry FC

KEY QUOTES

“We’re in a results business, and winning certainly helps your messaging. What we have done within our messaging is remind [players] of the work we’re doing; even when we’re pulling off ties, we’re still doing the same principles, with our same DNA, we’ve still got the same values. We’re always going to be tough to beat. When you are winning, you can be a little bit more creative in certain aspects, and I think that’s probably the only difference.” — Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.