May 03, 2025...Cavalry flex depth in road win over York United (from canpl.ca)

Cavalry flex depth in road win over York United | Match Analysis
03/05/2025
Written by:Mitchell Tierney

Final Score: York United 1-2 Cavalry FC
Goalscorers: Altobelli 45+1'; Warschewski 42', Aird 69'
Game of the 2025 season: 16
CPL Match: 612

Match in a minute or less Cavalry FC are off the mark in 2025 with their first victory of the campaign, 2-1 over York United at York Lions Stadium on Friday night.

Fraser Aird scored the winner in the 69th minute, ten minutes following his introduction off the bench, after York's Julian Altobelli had cancelled out Tobias Warschewski's opener in the first half.

For Cavalry, it was their fifth victory in the past six matches at York Lions Stadium. York, meanwhile, remain winless in their past four.

Three Observations

After a busy stretch, Cavalry's depth key to first victory of 2025

For Cavalry FC, they always knew this week was going to test their squad depth.

Friday's match was their third in six days, having played Edmonton Scottish midweek in the Canadian Championship, and Atlético Ottawa at home this past Saturday before making the cross-country flight to Toronto for Friday's match.

Cavalry made a few changes to their starting eleven from their last league match, giving Nicolas Wähling the start at right back to rest Fraser Aird. Levi Laing, meanwhile, came in for his first CPL start to replace the suspended Bradley Kamdem.

In the first half down the right flank, Wähling was a crucial outlet in Cavalry's attack, playing four crosses, one of which dropped to the foot of Tobias Warschewski who opened the scoring.

Cavalry were then forced to make an unexpected early change, as Michael Baldisimo went down in the 12th minute with an injury. In his place, 21-year-old Max Piepgrass was brought into the match for his first CPL minutes since 2021. The young midfielder quickly inserted himself into the action, and did an outstanding job of shielding the back four.

Then in the second half, Cavalry again flexed their depth with a 60th-minute substitution, bringing Fraser Aird and Caniggia Elva off the bench. Both played a role in the match-winner, with Elva holding the ball up in the box off a throw-in and flicking it into the path of Sergio Camargo, who sent the ball across the box to Aird at the back post.

In a very similar fashion to the winner on August 16 of last season at this very stadium as York United, Aird smashed the ball across goal and into the net for the match winner.

Laing, meanwhile, showed well at the back, making some key interventions, including a crucial one on Shola Jimoh in a one-on-one situation in the box in the first half. He finished with seven of nine duels won and completed a tidy 91.1 per cent of his passes.

With a number of their young players showing well against Edmonton Scottish on Tuesday, and many of their stars being difference makers on Friday, Cavalry will leave this week feeling confident in how their squad is shaping up once again this season.

Cavalry's midfield does an excellent job of denying York's ability to play through the middle

Central to Cavalry's success on Friday was their ability to stifle what York was looking to do through the middle of the park.

Going up against York's central midfield two of Steffen Yeates and Kembo Kibato, Cavalry took away their time and space whenever York were in possession. Shamit Shome often stepped forward to shadow one of the two, while Sergio Camargo stayed close to the other.

Behind them, initially Michael Baldisimo and then substitute Max Piepgrass played as a deep six, helping the build out from the back, while also shielding the back four. On occasions when the team was pressing, Tom Field stepped forward up the left flank, with Piepgrass dropping in to cover the left-back position.

This took away Yeates and Kibato's ability to play forward effectively through the middle, forcing them to look to the wide areas or move the ball backwards on several occasions.

Once Cavalry took the lead late in the match, their midfield again showed good versatility as they dropped into a 4-4-2 block, with Camargo going out wide right. It didn't always produce the prettiest of football, but it was an effective way for Cavalry to earn their first road points of 2025.

York United left frustrated after another fruitless second half

For a second consecutive match, York United responded incredibly well to their opponent opening the scoring.

Just a matter of minutes after Tobias Warschewski scored to give Cavalry a 1-0 lead, York United had equalized on a well-worked corner routine with Shola Jimoh picking out Julian Altobelli in second-half stoppage time.

The goal should have given the Nine Stripes plenty of momentum heading into the second half. Instead, York struggled to build any attacking momentum, and prior to a stoppage-time flurry which saw Adonijah Reid hit the post, they had attempted just two shots, neither of which were on target.

For a team that continues to show good fight back to get into games, their ability to finish that fight with a positive result remains lacking.

Since scoring two against Vancouver in their opening match of the season, York have now scored just one second-half goal in their past four matches.

The good news for York is that they don't need to wait long to get back into action. They face Ligue1 Québec champions FC Laval on Tuesday in the Canadian Championship, a new competition and a new opportunity for the group to get back to winning ways.

What They Said “I think we have to change something. We've got to continue to work. I think we're in a phase that it's been enough of the moral victories, at the end of the day we need points. I think now we have to look at what we're doing, look at each other.” — York United head coach Mauro Eustáquio

“We knew coming in, it's always a battle [with York] so we were prepared to do that. We're also on the back end of our third game in six days with a bit of travel. So tactically the boys were spot on the way they did it, and it allowed for us to have some changes and freshness.” — Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

CanPL.ca Player of the Match Shamit Shome, Cavalry FC Shome was key to Cavalry's midfield block, pressing high up the pitch on multiple occasions to take away space and winning six tackles, and nine duels.

What’s next? York United are back in action midweek in the Canadian Championship as they host FC Laval on Tuesday, May 6 (7 p.m. ET), before returning to league action on Saturday when they travel to Starlight Stadium to take on Pacific FC on Saturday, May 10 (8:00 p.m. ET). Cavalry FC, meanwhile, continue their east coast swing with a trip to the Wanderers Grounds on Saturday, May 10 (3:30 p.m. MT).

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