June 24, 2023...Match Analysis: Late Musse magic sees Cavalry beat York United 2-1, move up in the table (from canpl.ca)
MATCH ANALYSIS: Late Musse magic sees Cavalry beat York United 2-1, move up in the table
2023-06-24
by BENEDICT RHODES, CANPL.CA CONTRIBUTOR (@BTFR17)
Final Score: Cavalry FC 2-1 York United
Goalscorers: Ntignee 51', Musse 83; Babouli 57'
Game of the 2023 season: 45
CPL match: 412
Match in a minute or less
Cavalry jumped up to fourth place in the Canadian Premier League table with a 2-1 victory on Saturday,
at ATCO Field against second-place York United.
After a scoreless first half, both sides found the back of the net in the first few minutes after the break.
Goteh Ntignee scored his first CPL goal to open the scoring, firing the ball into the bottom left corner
of the net after receiving a low pass into the box from Gareth Smith-Doyle. Just a few moments later, Cavalry
were picking the ball up out of their net, as a rocket of a shot from outside the area from Mo Babouli found
the top left corner to tie it at 1-1 in the 57th minute.
With just seven minutes left in the 90 minutes, Ali Musse scored a brilliant free kick to win the game
for Cavalry. His shot curled and dipped, grazing the bottom of the crossbar as it went into the back of the net
to seal a 2-1 victory.
With the win, Cavalry move up to fourth in the table, jumping over Halifax Wanderers. The match was also
a special occasion for José Escalante, who made his 100th appearance for the club in his fifth season in Calgary.
Three Observations
Ntignee scores first CPL goal in standout performance
On either side of CPL Golden Boot leader Myer Bevan, Tommy Wheeldon Jr started a pair of young Canadian
forwards — Goteh Ntignee on the left and Gareth Smith-Doyle on the right. It was an eleventh appearance
of the season for Ntignee, and a fourth start, but a first start of the year for Smith Doyle — and fourth
appearance overall. Both 21 years old, they also picked up a bunch of important U-21 minutes as Cavalry looks
to get back on track to meet the 2,000 minute threshold required of CPL clubs.
Both players combined for the game’s opening goal, as Cavalry took the lead in front of their home fans just
over five minutes after play resumed for the second half. Smith-Doyle ran down a pass from Fraser Aird up the
right flank, before playing it back into the penalty area with his first touch. It fell to Ntignee, who fired
it into the bottom left corner to open the scoring.
For Ntignee, who like Smith-Doyle signed with Cavalry in August 2022, it was his first goal in the Canadian
Premier League. Judging from the reaction of his teammates, it was one that meant a lot to the young forward,
and it temporarily gave his side the lead.
Ntignee was also crucial to the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute. It was his lung-busting run up the pitch
that forced York defender Roger Thompson to commit a foul at the edge of the penalty area. From the ensuing
free kick, Ali Musse stepped up and curled a free kick into the top right corner, past Niko Giantsopoulos.
After the match Cavalry’s other goalscorer Musse called Ntignee “a top, top, top player with a lot of potential”,
and added that he thought his teammate “had a tremendous game”.
It was a performance to remember for Ntignee, who has now started three matches in a row and is giving
Tommy Wheeldon Jr no reason to take him out of the starting lineup.
Babouli scores brilliant equalizer, but will miss next game through suspension
York United’s leading goalscorer Mo Babouli added to that tally on Saturday, tying the match at 1-1 with
a brilliant shot from outside the penalty area just a few minutes after Ntignee’s opening goal.
Babouli received a short pass from Brian Wright at the edge of the area, before taking one touch and firing
a powerful shot toward the top left corner. It was hit with such venom that Marco Carducci dived to try and make
the save but could barely react before it was in the back of his net.
It was the second goal in as many games for Babouli, who scored a header in the first half of York’s midweek draw
with Halifax Wanderers as well. On the season it’s goal number four, putting him in a tie with Ollie Bassett
of Atlético Ottawa for third in the Golden Boot race. The duo are one back of Vancouver FC’s Shaan Hundal for
second, and two back of Cavalry’s Myer Bevan.
“Very nice team goal,” said teammate Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé of Babouli’s equalizer. “It’s good to have players who
can produce something out of not much. [He had] a little bit of space, and he’s got an amazing shot. It’s a very,
very nice goal.
“I thought there’s a few other actions where with a little bit of luck, maybe a little deflection here and there,
that we could have been on goal and that could have been the difference in the game. It’s done now, we can only
focus on the next game.”
After picking up a yellow card in the second half, Babouli will be watching next week’s match against Vancouver FC
from the sidelines. The 54th-minute caution was his fourth yellow card of the season, which automatically triggers
a one-match suspension.
“It’s a massive loss, he’s our leading goalscorer,” said York head coach Martin Nash of the loss of Babouli for
next week’s match, while admitting he disagreed with the decision to book him for what was deemed a reckless tackle.
“It is what it is, he’ll miss a game, but we have good-quality players to come in and fill his role.”
Musse magic wins the match, pushes Cavalry up the table
Ali Musse has gained a reputation in the Canadian Premier League for being capable of producing incredible goals,
and sometimes when his team needs him most. One of the standout moments like that came at the end of last season,
when he clinched a playoff spot for Cavalry with a rocket of a shot from outside the penalty area against Valour,
one of several big goals he scored in 2022. He’s brought that great form into 2023, where he is putting himself
in the conversation as an early candidate for CPL Player of the Year.
That magic was on display again at the end of Saturday’s match, as Musse won the game for Cavalry with an 83rd minute
free kick. After Goteh Ntignee charged up the pitch and drew a foul from Roger Thompson, Musse stepped up and delivered
one of his trademark inch-perfect shots.
His effort got up and over the three-man York wall, before dipping into the top right corner of the goal. It kissed
the crossbar on the way in, leaving Niko Giantsopoulos with his feet planted to the ground and watching it go into
the back of the net.
“We practice free kicks a lot, especially on the right side there, so that’s where I’m more comfortable,” said Musse
after the match. “As soon as I saw it was a free kick, I’m like ‘This is my range’, so I just stepped up,
and thankfully it went in.”
While the goal is rightly what Musse’s performance will be remembered for, it was a great match for the Canada-born,
Somalia international overall. Musse led the team with four shots in this match, with three of them hitting the target.
He won seven of his twelve duels, while three of his five attempted dribbles were successful. Not only an explosive,
dyman attacker, Musse also pitched in defensively with an interception and a clearance during his 86 minutes of work.
With the victory, Cavalry are now up to fourth place in the table with 15 points through eleven matches, two more
than the Halifax Wanderers have in fifth place.
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Goteh Ntignee, Cavalry FC
The young attacker scored his first CPL goal to open the scoring for Cavalry, and it was his run that led to a foul,
from which Ali Musse scored the winning goal on a free kick.
What’s next?
Cavalry FC head to Winnipeg for a Canada Day clash with Valour FC at IG Field on Saturday (2:00 pm CT/1:00 pm MT).
York United take on Vancouver FC in Langley the next day (1:30 pm PT/4:30 pm ET).
Watch all matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980
and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.
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