A 15-minute flurry of action from set-pieces left Cavalry FC and Valour FC deadlocked at 2-2 on Friday night, as the two sides had to settle for a draw at ATCO Field. Though Cavalry had been up 2-0 at one point, they found themselves left with just one point, moving them into second place for the time being. Valour, meanwhile, remained in sixth, but cut their gap to the playoff spots to five points.
Neither side’s lineup offered many surprises heading into this game; Cavalry’s only change from the side that beat Pacific last weekend was Sergio Camargo starting at the number 10 in place of the injured Maël Henry. Valour, meanwhile, lost Dante Campbell to suspension for yellow card accumulation, but got fullback Themi Antonoglou back from the same situation meaning he slotted back in on the left and Raphael Ohin came into midfield.
The first half was played at an energetic pace; Valour had a handful of early ventures into Cavalry’s third, before the hosts slowly gained more of a foothold in the game. Still, the two sides looked for ways to threaten the other. The Cavs peppered their opponents’ box with balls from set-pieces while Sergio Camargo and Ali Musse also combined well on a few occasions to work it into dangerous spots along the ground, but nothing quite presented itself perfectly. Meanwhile, Valour likewise tested the Cavs, including once chance where Shaan Hundal put the ball on frame with a bicycle kick, as well as one just before halftime where Roberto Alarcón hit the crossbar with a shot from outside the box.
Eryk Kobza came closest to scoring for Cavalry in the first 45, as he got his head on a set-piece, but Valour keeper Jonathan Viscosi got his fingertips to it and brushed the attempt over the bar. So, the two sides went into the dressing rooms knotted at zero.
Cavalry finally broke the deadlock 10 minutes into the second half. With yet another set-piece opportunity, they caught Valour by surprise with a slick routine, as Musse fed Camargo who touched it out wide to Fraser Aird. The right-back cut it back toward the penalty spot where Nicolas Wähling put it on goal, as it was saved and took a few deflections before finally landing at the feet of Bradley Kamdem for a tap-in to put the home side in front.
Five minutes later, the game had turned fully on its head as the Cavs doubled their lead. Musse whipped another corner kick out to the far corner of the box, where Diego Gutiérrez hit it first time over traffic and found the bottom of the opposite post, deflecting back off Viscosi and into the net.
Valour responded quickly with a set-piece goal of their own; 10 minutes after conceding the first goal, they won a corner at the other end. Diogo Ressurreição delivered a perfect ball to an unmarked Ohin, who put full power on his header to smash it past Marco Carducci and cut the lead to one. In the blink of an eye, that lead disappeared, as yet another set-piece — this time an Antonoglou delivery to the head of Abdul Binate — landed in the back of Cavalry’s net, as Valour erased a two-goal deficit within less than 10 minutes.
In the final 20 minutes, it would be Cavalry who had the majority of the chances, including a handful more from dead ball situations, but Valour did not let anything else through as they secured an important draw on the road.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Cavalry FC: Carducci; Aird, Kobza, Klomp, Kamdem; Gutiérrez, Shome (Chanda 86′); Musse, Camargo (Daley 68′), Wähling (Field 86′); Wright (Shaw 68′)
Valour FC: Viscosi; Alarcón, Mourdoukoutas, Facchineri, Antonoglou; Faria (Kwemi 67′), Mlah (Sánchez 67′), Ohin, Ressurreição (Haynes 87′); Swibel (Hanson 87′), Hundal (Binate 67′)
Goals
56′ — Bradley Kamdem (Cavalry FC)
61′ — Jonathan Viscosi (Valour FC) (Own Goal)
66′ — Raphael Ohin (Valour FC)
70′ — Abdul Binate (Valour FC)
Discipline
11′ — Yellow: Tass Mourdoukoutas (Valour FC)
71′ — Yellow: Bradley Kamdem (Cavalry FC)
90+2′ — Yellow: Gianfranco Facchineri (Valour FC)
90+5′ — Yellow: Raphael Ohin (Valour FC)
