Pacific FC and Cavalry FC, along with three-time champion Forge FC, almost formed their own separate Big Three Conference within the Canadian Premier League over its first four years of existence.
The Hammers, from Hamilton, Ont., have won three CPL championships, the Island-based Tridents the other title and Calgary-based Cavalry has been knocking on the door in all four previous seasons.
League-leading PFC (7-1-4 in wins-losses-draws) takes on Cavalry FC (4-2-6) this evening at 6 p.m. at Starlight Stadium in a renewal of the cross-Rockies rivalry.
“The players feel it and the clubs feel it,” said Tridents head coach James Merriman.
“Both teams are always up for these games and they are always really competitive matches.”
But it could be the waning of an era as Marty Nash’s York United is in second place, ahead of third-place Forge FC and fourth-place Cavalry FC, while an upstart Atletico Ottawa made the league final last year against Forge. The charging fifth-place HFX Wanderers of Halifax were in position to overtake Cavalry with a win in Friday night’s late-finishing game in Langley against Vancouver FC.
“Teams have started to catch up. There is parity and balance across the league … because of the salary cap,” said Merriman.
“Anybody can beat anybody on match day.”
Head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. has crafted the fortunes of Cavalry FC since inception. Several of the Cavalry-PFC games are considered CPL classics as Wheeldon has adroitly exploited the Tridents on the counter over the years. That is a shortcoming the Tridents have looked to correct this season.
“We always wanted to be quite dynamic in our attacking. That created gaps for us when we lost the ball. It allowed teams to transition and create good chances in counter attacks against us,” said Merriman.
“[This season] the way we’ve attacked has been more together and the way we defend is more together. It’s very much 11 attacking and 11 defending. That makes us a lot more difficult to break us down when we lose the ball.”
A lot of that improved defensive prowess comes down to the stout defensive play of sa国际传媒-capped Amer Didic and Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, who was a sa国际传媒 selection for the CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics.
“Their relationship has continued to grow in being the anchors for us among our central backs, and giving us stability and leadership, and it’s been infectious throughout the team,” said Merriman.
“When they are solid, and their presence is felt, it gives us a confidence without the ball that I don’t think we’ve had here before at Pacific.”
CORNER KICKS: Reports indicate former PFC attacker and defending CPL Golden Boot champion as leading scorer Alejandro Diaz is returning to the league on a one-season loan with last-place Vancouver FC. Diaz is the all-time leading scorer for the Tridents with 31 goals in 62 appearances.
Diaz, who has played for Club America in Mexico’s top-tier pro Liga MX and who represented Mexico at the Under-17, U-20 and U-23 levels in CONCACAF championships and FIFA World Cups, signed with Sogndal IL of the Norwegian second division midway through last CPL season and still managed to win the Golden Boot with 13 goals while missing the latter part of the season with PFC.
While PFC would have seemed the natural landing pad for Diaz’s CPL return, the company that owns PFC also owns VFC.
Dual ownership of franchises is becoming common practice in minor-pro sports but it’s a double-edged sword when it comes to situations such as this, which might leave some PFC fans rather disgruntled.
But with the Tridents humming along atop the table, and the PFC attack in full bloom and balanced, it’s anybody’s guess what the sudden parachuting in of Diaz would have done to team morale and the carefully crafted current chemistry of the Tridents.
Or, he might have just lit it up. That will become evident in how he finishes off the season with VFC in Langley.
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