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.
| Event | 2019 Canadian Premier League season | ||||||
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| First leg | |||||||
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| Date | October 26, 2019 | ||||||
| Venue | Tim Hortons Field, Hamilton, Ontario | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Tristan Borges (Forge FC)[citation needed] | ||||||
| Referee | Pierre-Luc Lauzière | ||||||
| Attendance | 10,486 | ||||||
| Weather | Cloudy 9 °C (48 °F) 76% humidity[1] | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
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| Date | November 2, 2019 | ||||||
| Venue | ATCO Field, Foothills County, Alberta | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Daniel Krutzen (Forge FC)[citation needed] | ||||||
| Referee | Alain Ruch | ||||||
| Attendance | 5,831 | ||||||
| Weather | Mostly cloudy 7 °C (45 °F) 57% humidity[2] | ||||||
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 edit
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]
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Spring season
Source: CanPL.ca
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Fall season
Source: CanPL.ca
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Overall table
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Cavalry FC edit
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 edit
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 edit
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 edit
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.
Match details edit
First leg edit
Summary edit
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 edit
| Forge FC | 1–0 | Cavalry FC |
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Borges  45+1' |
Recap Report |
          Forge
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    Cavalry
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Man of the Match:
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Assistant referees:
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Second leg edit
| Cavalry FC | 0–1 | Forge FC |
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| Recap Report |
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    Cavalry
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     Forge
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Man of the Match:
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Assistant referees:
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Broadcasting edit
First leg[23]
Second leg
- OneSoccer
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Weather History for CYHM". Weather Underground. The Weather Company. October 26, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ "Weather History for CYYC". Weather Underground. The Weather Company. November 2, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ "Canadian Premier League announces 2019 Championship format". Canadian Premier League. June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ^ "FAQ: A primer on the CPL's format and season rules". canpl.ca. February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
- ^ a b c Molinaro, John (October 26, 2019). "HIGHLIGHTS: Borges, Carducci shine in red-card laden Leg 1 tilt". canpl.ca. Canadian Premier League. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
- ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (November 2, 2019). "HIGHLIGHTS: Forge FC crowned CPL champions in win over Cavalry". canpl.ca. Canadian Premier League. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
- ^ "Forge FC converts late penalty to beat Panama's Tauro FC in CONCACAF League play". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press. November 5, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
- ^ "A guide to the format for the 2019 season". canpl.ca. Canadian Premier League. April 25, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
- ^ Bedakian, Armen (June 22, 2019). "Cavalry FC wins Spring title! Here's how they did it". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ "Forge clinches Finals 2019 berth after Saturday's triple slate". CanPL.ca. September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^ Gordon, Stuart (May 4, 2019). "Cavalry FC beat York9 FC in its first-ever Canadian Premier League". Total Soccer Project. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ "Cavalry FC picks up first loss of CPL season with 1-0 loss to Forge FC". Global News. The Canadian Press. June 23, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ "Calgary Cavalry win spring title with 2-0 win over York9 FC". Sportsnet. The Canadian Press. June 27, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ a b "Cavalry down Eddies to clinch Fall title with Al Classico triumph". CBC Sports. October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ "Forge FC knock off Cavalry to climb to top of CPL Fall table". CBC Sports. August 25, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ "Forge clinches Finals 2019 berth after Saturday's triple slate". Canadian Premier League. September 28, 2019. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ Spencer, Donna (June 11, 2019). "Cavalry beat Forge FC, face Vancouver Whitecaps in 3rd round of Canadian Championship". Global News. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ a b O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (October 16, 2019). "HIGHLIGHTS: Forge strikes back at Cavalry with tight home win". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ Jaques, John (October 27, 2019). "Forge Takes First Leg Of CPL Finals". Northern Tribune. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- ^ Milton, Steve (October 28, 2019). "Forge downs Cavalry, but loses top scorer for second half of CPL final". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- ^ "Forge FC and Cavalry FC both appeal controversial red cards from CPL Finals leg one". Waking The Red. October 27, 2019. Archived from the original on November 5, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- ^ "Forge FC's Tristan Borges wins appeal, will play 2nd leg of final". Sportsnet.ca. Canadian Press. October 31, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- ^ "News: The 1st Leg of the CanPL Finals will be broadcast live on @onesoccer, with pre and post game coverage, and on @cbcsports". Twitter. @CanPL. Retrieved October 23, 2019.