Finally my game report of the Wednesday May 22nd York 9 vs Blainville game. http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports19/19york098.htm
I think that Cavalry could pull it off given their current form and the cohesion of the squad (from what I've heard on Canadian podcasts, much of their squad played together as Calgary Foothills in years past) coupled with everything revolving around the Whitecaps over the past year having been largely blown up the year before as well as the front-office scandal and fan walkouts. It would actually be a very good money bet, not that the 'Caps shouldn't be favorites, just that this is the very type of shrewd bet that you make given the storylines going in. This would be my "upset special".
Got to love this! We ready. https://t.co/mgJIeE3bD1— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) June 5, 2019
Tie game 1-1 between Forge FC and Cavalry who has the away goal in a very entertaining game that had everything... great football, dramatic ending and fighting....Canadian Championship is on fire!
Calgary is very lucky to be going home with a tie and an away goal. Hamilton dominated that game and the penalty (which was one of only two shots Calgary put on net all night) was questionable at best. I will definitely be hoping to see Hamilton come out victorious in Calgary. I haven't seen an attendance number (the CPL website still won't load attendances for me) but the crowd was really into the game.
You could tell Cavalry were playing for a 0-0 draw in the 1st half but after the Forge goal they woke up & made it really fun match to watch. Cant wait to be in attendance on Tuesday to watch Cavalry playing on a better turf (not that garbage in Hamilton) in front the hometown fans, get thru to face the Whitecaps.
You just know that on grass they will be way more effective and dominant. Forge is no joke though and are just as capable...however, not having a true striker is a massive problem...
I agree..its really a great matchup between what right now is the 2 best teams in the CPL...I just gotta cheer on my team every now and then...lol...Hopefully the weather stays nice as it has been for the last 6 days.
June 5, 2019 York 9 FC vs FC Edmonton game in Canadian Championship my game report at : http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports19/19york107.htm with lineups, pictures, and post game press conference audio.
Cavalry beats Forge 2-1 and wins on aggregate 3-2. They will face the Vancouver Whitecaps in round 3 of the Canadian Championship
Halifax beats Valour to advance. Y9 loses 1-0 to FC Edmonton but still advance. I'm most disappointed by Edmonton and Winnipeg this year. They are really toothless. It would be great to see TFC at Halifax. I'm hoping for a Cavalry upset of the Whitecaps.
FC Edmonton wons 1-0 against York 9 York 9 advance (3-2 aggregate) against Montreal Impact Halifax Wanderers wins 2-0 against Valour FC HFX Wanderers advance (4-1 aggregate) against Ottawa Fury
The Ottawa-Halifax series should be fun. Ottawa is playing really well and Halifax seems to be rounding into form. Insofar as two games can be considered a measuring stick, this will give an indication of where the CPL and USL stand with respect to each other. For the CPL-MLS series, I'm curious about two things. First, how many fans will turn up. The CPL Canadian Championship games have been fairly poorly attended so far but maybe having MLS opponents will help change that. For MLS teams, I'm hoping the novelty of additional Canadian opponents will help draw curious fans to offset the lesser draw of playing a lower level team. It would be great to really see the fans send the message that they continue to take this tournament seriously. Second, I'm curious about what line up the MLS teams will set out. I suspect they'll play backup heavy line ups in game one with an emphasis on young Canadians. That would be the most interesting option as it would give the CPL teams a fighting chance in the first leg.
A USL team knocked out an MLS team this week. I wouldn't put too much on comparing USL and CPL based on one game between Halifax and Ottawa The time Canada soccer picked ensure not many people show up. 4pm on Wednesdays is just retarded. How can fans take this tournament seriously when the CSA doesn't Historically, they go back up guys on game 1 and adjust for the return game based on game 1 results
There was only one and that's relatively unusual. There's often 3 or 4 MLS teams getting bounced by lower division teams in this round. The fact that MLS teams still ran out their bench players and only lost one game is indicative of a growing gulf between the 2 leagues. That being said, you aren't wrong that one series isn't going to tell us much about the difference between USL and CPL. If there were more games between the two leagues, some conclusions could be drawn, but as it stands, who knows. It could have just been an off night for the losing team, or the ref sucked, etc, etc.
Really, I am fairly impressed by the Canadian Championship crowds. The matches in the CPL stadiums have averaged 3,275 people....which is about 60% of the average league attendance in CPL stadiums. That already seems pretty good to me but looks even better when you consider: The league average is still getting a "boost" from the "first game ever" attendances - particularly that first game in Hamilton (eg. if you substitute just that attendance with and "average" forge attendance the cup games climb to 67% of league games); All of the cup games have been midweek....we all know that in most North American cities, for some reason, midweek crowds are lower than weekends Some of those games have been against teams from lower leagues As I understand it, none of the CPL clubs included the cup games in their season ticket packages. Is there room for these numbers to grow....sure there is......but should anyone be disappointed in the cup game attendances......I don't think so.
I'll be brief because I don't want to derail the thread. Viewed in comparison with the regular CPL games, you are correct that the Canadian Championship attendances aren't bad. I find the regular attendances themselves underwhelming, however. Back to the Canadian Championship, the total attendance after the first two rounds is a bit over 35 000. The all time Canadian Championship attendance is now just under 973 000. It seems likely that the one millionth fan will attend one of the games in the next round.
No, they were just guys the MLS did not want, they did not fit their brand of physical style. The CPL teams have all started together and actually they players have played with each other before. It's far from nonsense. Well the CPL play roll will go up once they start selling players and earning money from supporters, even then the coaches in the CPL can outsmart the MLS clubs, they can build better teams. If the MLS clubs take the CC seriously, then why are they playing B teams.