Pacific FC head coach James Merriman has not hesitated to call out his team after a loss if he feels his players warrant it. So Merriman can be cut a bit of slack if he feels his team was hard done by in a controversial 1-0 Canadian Premier League loss Sunday against Cavalry FC before about 4,200 fans in Calgary.
“I don’t know if it was a penalty. The game was decided there,” the PFC bench boss said following the contest.
There was arm contact by PFC defender Kunle Dada Luke on charging teenage Cavalry forward Maël Henry, as both tracked a long ball in the Tridents’ box, but the issue was whether the ensuing grand rolling tumble by sa国际传媒 U-20 player Henry was exaggerated. The referee gave it.
“We had spirit. There was not much for either team. The penalty kick was the difference in the match,” said Merriman.
Six-time New Zealand-capped Myer Bevan converted the penalty from the spot at 52 minutes. PFC goalkeeper Emil Gazdov guessed correctly and dove to his right but his outstretched hands just missed getting to the ball as Bevan needed to be perfect to the corner and was just that.
Both teams played it tight on defence with each having a prime flow-of-play opportunity denied with Cavalry FC ringing a shot off the post in the first half and PFC striker Easton Ongaro denied a late tying goal by just the toe of Cavs goalkeeper Marco Carducci’s boot as the Calgary club moved four points clear atop the table.
“It’s a very big win and great three points,” said Carducci, who has started for sa国际传媒 internationally at the U-17, U-20 and U-23 levels.
“But we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. The league is not won in August but the end of the year,” said the 26-year-old testicular cancer survivor.
The result was the Tridents’ third consecutive loss and left a four-team logjam in second place.
“We were cruising along in first place and now we are fighting for the playoffs,” said Tridents midfielder Manny Aparicio.
“It’s going to take our whole group.”
Sixth-place York United is only three points behind tied-for-second PFC, Atlético Ottawa, HFX Wanderers of Halifax and Forge FC of Hamilton.
Five teams of the eight in the league will make the playoffs.
Regular-season championships matter in soccer. Both the 2023 CPL regular-season and playoff champions will earn berths into the 2024 CONCACAF Champions League. Merriman last week mused that those two CPL teams advancing would be a heartbeat away from potentially playing Inter-Miami and Lionel Messi next year. That is the organic nature of soccer.
Of the Big Three teams — Forge FC, PFC and Cavalry FC of the first five seasons of the CPL — only Forge and PFC have played in CONCACAF competition.
“We have a healthy chip on our shoulder,” said Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
“We want to go there [CONCACAF]. We want our players to be exposed there. We want our coaching staff to be exposed there.”
Wheeldon then began cycling, at least in terms of 2023 CPL season analogies: “Pacific is a fantastic side that led the league for a long time. We’ve rounded the corner in the peloton and it’s our time to take the lead now. This is the new Cavalry with old values.”
But league leads have a way of shifting in the CPL and Cavalry FC isn’t about to crown itself champion of anything just yet.
“This is a phenomenal league. Look at the points and the parity in it. It’s going to be hard to win the regular season because you have to go to all corners of the country and pick up points,” said Calgary bench boss Wheeldon Jr.
“The regular season championship this year means more than ever because you get the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and a guaranteed berth into CONCACAF.”
The Tridents return to meet Valour FC of Winnipeg on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Starlight Stadium.
