AGR'S HIGH PRESS: Tristan Borges helps Forge break opening day curse | Vancouver FC's new-look attack shines
The Canadian Premier League is BACK and marked its return fittingly, as the first matchday of the 2024 season was filled with goals, comebacks and a couple of bangers.
With that, it set the tone for what’s hoped to be a landmark sixth season for the league, allowing them to continue their upward trajectory after a memorable 2023.
So far, they look to be on the right track, as matchday one was entertaining, serving as a reminder as to why this season could be one of the most competitive yet.
Now, of course, the goal will be to build from here. Look at last year, for example, where a swath of early draws were then followed up by an entertaining summer of action as teams found their feet.
And that’s something important to remember when assessing this opening weekend - it’s still early. It took six games for eventual 2023 regular season winners Cavalry to win their first game, while eventual Wooden Spoon winners Valour won on opening day, showing that it’s not how you start, but how you finish.
At the same time, how you start can go a long way, so it’s not as if all these results don’t matter. Far from it, but now the real work begins, and that’s to maintain anything they showed in week 1, or in the case of those who lost, have short memories.
On that note, here’s a look at what stood out around the league in the first ‘High Press’ of 2024, as we dive into the big stories on the pitch around the CPL.
Forge breaks opening day curse:
There’s not a lot that Forge hasn’t done as a club through five years of the CPL. When you win one regular season title and four playoff crowns in just five years, emerging as one of the top teams in the league right from day one, that tends to happen, to be fair.
Despite that, there had been one thing that had quietly eluded Forge over that time, however - an opening weekend win. Even though they’d finished four of the five seasons with wins in the last match they played, the CPL final, they were yet to open a CPL season with a win, sitting with three draws and two losses in their previous five season openers.
Because of that, when Cavalry took the lead over Forge in the 60th minute of their opening day match this past weekend, it felt like déja vù for Forge, who seemed destined to keep up their run of winless opening matches.
Then, the game flipped on its head in just six minutes. First, Tristan Borges managed to find the back of the net with a strike from a tight angle to tie things up at 1-1, and then he linked up nicely with Béni Badibanga, setting up his teammate for the 2-1 goal.
From there, they did enough to keep Cavalry off the board the rest of the way, allowing them to pick up the victory.
Plus, while the win is nice, Forge will have plenty to be encouraged with from this performance, too.
With centre back Garven Metusala absent through injury, Bobby Smyrniotis elected to have Forge build up in a back four instead of the back three they usually use, with new arrival Daniel Parra and youngster Malcolm Duncan flanking centre backs Malik Owalabi-Belewu and Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson in possession.
From there, they had goalkeeper Chris Kalongo step up at times, and he did what he needed to do in possession, completing all 19 of his short pass attempts and 7 out of 14 long balls.
(Forge's average positions from this game via OPTA).
Within that, the mission was simple - get the ball circulating through those five players and into midfield, where Alessandro Hojabrpour and Kyle Bekker formed a double-pivot, with Parra sometimes tucking in to join them to help create a midfield overload against Cavalry’s 5-4-1.
Lastly, that led to the most important part of the attack - the free roles that were provided to Borges and Badibanga, who operated in the half spaces on the right and left side of Forge’s attack, respectively, but also had the freedom to roam to different spaces of the field, as they did on the second goal.
GOAL 🔨🔨@ForgeFCHamilton turn it around within minutes vs. @CPLCavalryFC as Beni Badibanga’s shot is deflected into the net ⭐️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 13, 2024
🔴 Watch #CanPL on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/7C7zhHBbJ9
There, Borges thrived, in particular, as he constantly received the ball in space on the turn, giving him the time to do the things that make him dangerous offensively. Thanks to that, he finished with five shots and two chances created, as he caused all sorts of problems for Cavalry’s defenders whenever he ran into space.
And that’s something to keep an eye on, as Borges could hit a new level in this role, one that could be the next evolution in his game. Having won an MVP in 2019 as more of a final action player, and then putting up an excellent 2022 campaign as more of a winger, this free role seemed to be the best of both worlds for him.
If he can keep this up, that’s encouraging for Forge’s attack, who will look for him to be the heartbeat of this team after having a quiet 2023 due to injuries.
(Tristan Borges heatmap from this game via OPTA)
Now, however, their big goal will be to figure out how everything comes together around him. Badibanga seems to fit in nicely in his new role, while David Choinière did well to stretch out the pitch from right wing, but the big question mark will be at striker with Terran Campbell, who had just 21 touches and no shots in this game, which is less than ideal for a player of his ilk.
A striker who thrives off crosses into the box and balls in behind the defence, Forge didn’t do a whole lot of either in this game, with most of the attacking play going Borges, Bagibanga and Choinière, who all had upwards of 50 touches, leaving Campbell on a bit of an island up front.
Yet, Forge will have options to fix that. For example, look for Parra to push forward more often to provide a wide threat, as he did on Borges’ goal, while Kwasi Poku is someone who could help also bring that width and crossing ability, and the pair could even share the pitch if Parra continues to play more of an inverted role.
GOAL 🔨🔨@ForgeFCHamilton turn it around within minutes vs. @CPLCavalryFC as Beni Badibanga’s shot is deflected into the net ⭐️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 13, 2024
🔴 Watch #CanPL on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/7C7zhHBbJ9
For Forge, this is a good problem to have, too. In an ideal world, they’ll find a way to get Choinière, Borges, Badibanga and Campbell all thriving all at once, but it may take time to do so.
And even in a game like this one, where Campbell wasn’t as involved, his presence on the pitch did create space for those underneath him, too, showing the value of having these different pieces all sharing the field at once.
Therefore, look for Forge to build on this, especially now that they start the year with a win already under their belt after week one.
“I thought we did a good job, if you look at those two goals it’s something we usually talk about and we work on quite often in training,” said Smyrniotis afterwards. “It’s something where you need to be in those zones to score goals, so I’m happy we got our goals from there.”
As for Cavalry, the early-season title favourites will be fine after this loss, although one has to imagine this one will linger in their group. Especially given that their last CPL game before this saw them also take the lead against Forge before losing 2-1 on goals in a six-minute stretch from Badibanga and Borges, much like in this game, which will certainly sting.
Vancouver makes early statement with aggressive win:
It may be week one, but there’s a new face atop the table, as Vancouver FC sits first in the CPL after their resounding 4-1 win over Valour FC in Langley on Sunday.
Despite going down 1-0 early to Valour in the 24th minute, as Themi Antonoglou picked apart their defence with a perfect cross to Jordan Swibel, Vancouver did well to recover resoundingly with four unanswered goals.
Starting with Moses Dyer right before half time, and then continuing with a 25 minutes flurry to start the second half that saw Paris Gee (47’), Gabriel Bitar (53’) and David Norman Jr (67’) all find the net, they did well to quickly put the game out of reach for Valour, who also saw Jordan Faria sent off in the 63rd minute.
Yet, that’s a credit to Vancouver, who looked every bit the high-flying, attacking team that head coach Afshin Ghotbi has often described his ideal team looking like, but struggled to do for large parts in 2023.
In game #1 of 2024, however, that vision came to life, allowing Vancouver to score four goals in a match for the first time in their history, and they probably could’ve had more on the day.
But there are several reasons why they were able to do so.
First, there was their set-up, which was an aggressive 4-2-2-2 in which their full backs pushed forward in attack, with goalkeeper Callum Irving making up for that by stepping up in possession to help form a back three with centre backs Rocco Romeo and David Norman Jr.
(Vancouver's average positions from this game via OPTA).
In particular, left back Paris Gee thrived in that role, scoring a goal and adding an assist in his first game for his hometown club after signing this offseason.
From there, thanks to the support Vancouver had in the attack, their offensive players shone, as their front four of Ben Fisk, Alejandro Díaz, Moses Dyer and Gabriel Bitar all had free roles in the attack. With Fisk stretching out to the right, Bitar cutting in from the left, and Díaz dropping in underneath Dyer, they were able to put together some excellent attacking moves, such as the one that saw the latter three link up for Vancouver’s opener.
GOAL 🦅
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 14, 2024
Welcome back to #CanPL, Moses Dyer!
The new @VanFootballClub forward levels the score against his former side, @ValourFootball, right before half-time 😎
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/OrcsCS4eGU
As a result, all three finished with pretty good numbers - Dyer had one goal, Bitar had a goal and an assist, while Díaz had two assists (and dummied Gee’s assist to Bitar on his goal). Not bad at all.
While the front three shone, however, there was also one piece who played a quiet role in all of this - midfielder Vasco Fry, as he ended up being the team’s heartbeat in possession in this game.
He didn’t finish with any goal contributions, but he was essential in the build-up from a deeper position, making nine passes into the final third and completing nine out of 10 of his long balls, nailing his role as a regista much to Ghotbi’s pleasure.
“The problem with football is that players like Vasco don't get a lot of credit, but he put the team on his back,” Ghotbi said. “They're doing the dirty work for the team to make the team tick, so for me, Vasco today was our king in the middle of the park, he was brilliant.”
(When looking at his pass map, via OPTA, the high praise isn't unwarranted, either).
Yet, this all feels like just a glimpse of what this team can do, too, as in the first 30 minutes of the game, Vancouver struggled to get going as they were far too static in possession.
Plus, they’re yet to fully tap into their offensive resources, either - expected starter Mikaël Cantave came off the bench in this one, for example, and between him, TJ Tahid, Jose Navarro and more, there are plenty of names who are competing for minutes in this Vancouver attack.
That’ll be the big challenge for Ghotbi, however. There’s no doubt that he now has the resources to play attacking soccer, but the big question will be how he manages his names in the attack, and how his team defends.
GOAL 🎖️@ValourFootball open the scoring vs. @VanFootballClub as Jordan Swibel gets a head on Themi Antonoglou's perfect cross 🎯
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 14, 2024
🔴 Watch #CanPL on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/RccIABjwxU
In particular, the latter point will be worth watching, as Vancouver did leave the game a bit more stretched at times, but Valour were unable to make them pay. This week could be a good test of that, for example, as they host Halifax, a team who certainly won’t be shy in wanting to catch them out in those areas.
But if they keep scoring for fun, they’ll feel that they’ve got what it takes defensively, as they’ve certainly got the pieces to do that in Romeo and Norman, who settled into the game nicely after the early goal, but they’ll have a big job to do.
“I promise the fans that we're going to play exciting football,” Ghotbi said. “We were pressing in the 89th minute, 90th minute, so I think we showed how fit we are that we can do that for long periods of time, and when you do that, you bring tempo to the game and when you bring tempo to the game, you bring excitement.”
Big guns come to play in matchday #1:
Star players help win games, and this weekend had no shortage of top performances from some of the league’s big offensive players.
From Manny Aparicio’s one goal, one assist showing in Atlético Ottawa’s 2-1 comeback win over York, to Tristan Borges one goal, one assist outing in Forge’s win over Cavalry, Ayman Sellouf’s winner in Pacific’s 1-0 win over Halifax and the whole symphony of names who found the scoresheet for Vancouver in their win over Valour, this weekend was one for the big names to shine.
GOAL 🔱
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 13, 2024
Aymen Sellouf opens @PacificFCCPL's scoring for the 2024 season, burying his penalty past the @HFXWanderersFC 'keeper to make it 1-0 🎯
🔴 Watch #CanPL on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/CKLQ4l3I6F
Yet, these are the perfect games for stars to leave their mark early on. Often, these matches can be quite cagey as teams find their feet and try to figure out their opponents, meaning the big difference can often come down to individual players, such as the stars.
Last year was a prime example of that, as eventual Golden Boot co-winners Myer Bevan and Ollie Bassett both found the net on opening day, while eventual CPL MVP runner-up Aparicio also scored.
Because of that, it makes it less surprising to see who shined in week one, as these games can be built for them to shine, and that they certainly did.
Of course, for those who weren’t able to get as involved, however, worry not - no one will remember any poor week one performance, as long as it doesn’t carry over into the rest of the campaign, so there will be plenty of new names who didn’t stand out in week 1 who will eventually get their flowers if they stick at it.
But in a league where the final table is expected to be tight, those who were able to power their teams to wins could end up helping their teams further down the line, which is key, showing that these big performances could have value later down the road.
Who caught my eye: Aly Ndom
Lots of top players shone this weekend, leading to a pretty stacked team of the week, but this section will be for the one for those who flew a bit under the radar, and the first pick is Pacific’s Aly Ndom.
Despite playing in his first CPL match, the French veteran was a key presence at both ends of the pitch for Pacific in their 1-0 win, helping create their lone goal while putting in a shift defensively, immediately standing out with his technical ability on the ball. The stats reflect all of that, too, as he completed 61 out of 68 passes, including six out of nine long balls, while making two clearances and adding six recoveries defensively.
A versatile piece who can play in midfield and anywhere across a back line, Ndom looks set to play a key leadership role on this young Pacific back line, one that did well to grind out a clean sheet against a tough Halifax attack.
Game to watch: Atlético Ottawa vs Cavalry
This feels like a battle between two teams who have a lot to prove early - Ottawa will be looking to show that their opening weekend win over York wasn’t a fluke after struggling for large portions of that game, whereas Cavalry will be looking to put their loss to Forge behind them as they continue their 2023 regular season title defence.
Because of that, look for fireworks in a matchup between two teams who rarely fail to deliver in that department, making this my game to watch.
