RECAP + HIGHLIGHTS: Cavalry FC vs. Valour FC (May 25, 2025)

Cavalry FC won 4-0 at home for the second week in a row on Sunday, beating Valour FC comfortably with a ruthless second half performance.

The two sides traded shots in the first few moments, but none of them were particularly threatening until Sergio Camargo had the first great chance of the game, making a run behind the Valour backline to run onto a pass, but sending a driven, low shot across goal wide of the left post. There might have been a chance for Jay Herdman to sweep it home at the back post, but he did not have much time to react.

That opportunity gave Cavalry a spark, and they won a corner kick shortly after. The inswinging cross from Fraser Aird found Callum Montgomery, who headed the ball back in the direction from which it came. Levi Laing then rose above everyone to get a second head on it, this time redirecting it on target and past Eleias Himaras for his first Canadian Premier League goal.

Diogo Ressurreição tried to equalize quickly when Valour went the other way up the pitch, striking a shot almost perfectly from the edge of the penalty area that grazed the top of the crossbar. The visitors had a lot of the ball from that point, attempting several shots in a row without a response from the Cavs, but several of them were blocked or off target. Most of them did not provide much of a test for Marco Carducci apart from a dipping shot off the foot of Bruno Figueiredo that the Cavs goalkeeper was able to get a hand to with a diving save.

Cavalry was forced into an early substitution around the half-hour mark, with Tom Field coming off with a concussion and replaced by Mihail Gherasimencov. Field took a ball to the head on a free kick but stayed in the game, then was forced off a few minutes later when he ended up on the ground a second time and was groggy as he walked off the pitch with a trainer.

Moments after being booked for simulation after falling to the ground in the penalty area, Jevontae Layne stole the ball from Montgomery and found himself in alone on goal, but Carducci came bravely out of his net quickly to get in front of the Valour striker and keep his clean sheet intact.

Valour were on the front foot and attempted 12 shots in the first 45 minutes, higher than their average per game so far this season, but lacked a moment of quality to bury one and get on the scoresheet and it was 1-0 for the Cavs going into the break.

The reigning CPL champions wasted no time in the second half, scoring less than five minutes after play resumed to double their advantage. Tobias Warschewski picked out Camargo with a low pass and the longtime Cavs star took a touch before slotting a shot past Himaras for his first goal of 2025, redemption for his earlier miss.

Three minutes later Warschewski played the ball through for halftime substitute Ali Musse, who struck his shot well, but sent it just wide of the right post. Figueiredo fired another shot from distance as Valour quickly got the ball up to the other end of the pitch, but in the end it was wide of the target and did not test the Cavalry goalkeeper.

Warschewski got onto the scoreboard himself in the 60th minute, firing an audacious shot across goal from the edge of the penalty area and picking out the top left corner to finish a quick Cavalry counter-attack in spectacular fashion.

With one of his first touches after coming off the bench in a quadruple substitution from Phil Dos Santos, Shaan Hundal got his foot on the ball from close range as it bounced around in the penalty area following a cross from fellow sub Kian Williams, but he poked the ball high over the crossbar.

An outstanding second half performance from Cavalry continued in the 72nd minute, on another counter-attack. Sergio Camargo ran into the Valour half of the pitch in acres of space, calmly picking out the charging Musse, who rolled his shot into the bottom right corner of the goal to extend his team's lead to four.

Carducci kept his clean sheet intact with a diving stop to his right to keep out a low strike from Ressurreição, pouncing on the rebound as well before Hundal could get to it.

The Cavs saw out the final 15 minutes unscathed as the game slowed down and approached the final whistle. After their fourth win in a row in CPL action, Cavalry sit four points back of league leaders Halifax Wanderers FC with a game in hand, and head to Hamilton for what will be a must-watch battle against their biggest rivals, the undefeated Forge FC.

BOX SCORE

Lineups

Cavalry FC: Carducci; Aird (Henry 70'), Laing (Chanda 77'), Montgomery, Field (Gherasimencov 34'); Shome (Myroniuk 74'), Piepgrass (Daley 46'); Wähling, Camargo, Herdman (Musse 46'); Warschewski

Valour FC: Himaras; Fernandez (Alarcon 74'), Romeo, Facchineri, Antonoglou; Ohin (Mlah 64'), Figueiredo; Twardek (Faria 64'), Venâncio (Williams 64'), Ressurreição; Layne (Hundal 63')

Goals

14' -- Levi Laing (Cavalry FC)
50' -- Sergio Camargo (Cavalry FC)
60' -- Tobias Warschewski (Cavalry FC)
72' -- Ali Musse (Cavalry FC)

Discipline

40' -- Yellow: Jevontae Layne (Valour FC)
74' -- Yellow: Diogo Ressurreição (Valour FC)
82' -- Yellow: Bruno Figueiredo (Valour FC)
85' -- Yellow: Ali Musse (Cavalry FC)
90+2 -- Yellow: Rocco Romeo (Valour FC)
90+3' -- Yellow: Jesse Daley (Cavalry FC)