Late Antoniuk goal costs Forge in 1-1 draw at Cavalry
Noah Jensen's first goal of the season looked like three points until a stoppage-time set piece in Calgary, and Lucas Cavallini made his CPL debut off the bench.
· by Colin Radek · cavalry fc · shield race · match report · canadian championship
Forge left ATCO Field with one point instead of three on Saturday, and the Shield race looks harder for it. Owen Antoniuk's stoppage-time equalizer secured a 1-1 draw for Cavalry FC, leaving the league leaders four points clear at the top with six games to play.
It was the sort of match both coaches have come to know inside out. After three earlier meetings this season between Bobby Smyrniotis and Tommy Wheeldon Jr., the two sides largely cancelled each other out, level on shots (five each) and expected goals (0.16 each) at halftime. Forge's clearest opening came around the hour mark, when Nathan Ingham parried Ismael Oketokoun's effort from inside the six-yard box.
Smyrniotis emptied his bench for the final 20 minutes, bringing on Tristan Borges, Noah Jensen and Lucas Cavallini, the last of those making his CPL debut. The changes worked. With 10 minutes left Forge broke down the right and the ball reached an unmarked Jensen in the box, who finished inside the right post for his first goal of the season.
The lead lasted until stoppage time. Cavalry won a free kick in the attacking half and Tobias Warschewski floated it over the crowd to Amer Didić, who brought it down and laid it off for Antoniuk to finish into an empty net. The Calgary native also scored a stoppage-time winner the last time Forge visited. Warschewski was then sent off for a second yellow for celebrating in front of the Forge bench, and a late Forge FVS challenge for a penalty was denied.
Smyrniotis pointed to the detail rather than the performance. He noted that defender Antoine Batisse had been off the pitch with an injury for about a minute when the set piece arrived. "It's a tough one. I think we've done everything to get three points in the game," he said, adding that whoever is close to perfect over the last six games will take the Shield.
Wheeldon Jr. said hosting a final is not his priority. "It's been won by Forge for two years running now, and it's time somebody else took it off them," he told reporters. The two clubs will not meet again in the regular season; any further meeting would come in the CPL Final. Forge continue west to face Vancouver FC on Saturday, September 26 (7 p.m. ET), before the Canadian Championship Final against CF Montréal at Stade Saputo on Wednesday, October 21.