CanPL POWER RANKINGS: Pacific catches form at the perfect time as Forge's title push continues
Quietly, we’re now less than a month away from the end of the Canadian Premier League regular season, as just four matchdays remain before the start of the playoffs.
Now, for the first time in a long time, all of the teams have an equal number of games played, too, giving a clear idea of what the table looks like heading into those final four weeks.
There, as has been the case over the last few months, two distinct groups remain, as four teams remain in a hunt for the top two, while the four others are battling to earn the fifth and final playoff spot.
But with just four games remaining, teams now know what they do to reach the finish line where they want to be. No longer can they say it’s too early to look ahead - it’s the time of the year when wins and losses matter more than ever.
And that’s going to make for a fascinating couple of weeks, as the table finally starts to gain some clarity. Finally, teams are starting to clinch playoff berths, and it’s only a matter of time until others are eliminated, seeding is determined and a regular season champion is named.
Ahead of the stretch run, here’s who’s been hot, and who’s struggling, in the latest edition of the Power Rankings, presented by tonybet.
> Forge FC continued to march towards a CPL regular season title, as they did well to bounce back from one of their worst performances of 2024 in a 3-0 road loss to the Halifax Wanderers by picking up a 3-1 victory in a dominant showing on the road against Vancouver. With that, they were able to extend their lead atop the table to five points, putting them in the driver’s seat to lift the CPL Shield with four games to go. Having booked a playoff spot, they’ll now turn their attention to getting that first trophy secured, as they look to chase a historical CPL double. Known for their exploits in the playoffs, they’ve done well to translate that big game mentality over to this regular season, which is key. In particular, their offence has been hard to slow down, as they lead the CPL in 42 goals, and haven’t been slowed down by the departure of Kwasi Poku. Between Béni Badibanga, David Choinière and Tristan Borges, it’s not been easy for opposing defences to slow that group down, and they’ll hope they can continue that into the playoffs.
GOAL 🛠🛠
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 21, 2024
WHAT A STRIKE! Béni Badibanga hits it first time past Callum Irving to double @ForgeFCHamilton’s lead in Langley 🟠
🔴 Watch the #CanPL LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/It53tb7URc
> Cavalry FC are within touching distance of their sixth straight playoff berth, as they’ve continued to be a tough team to face in the second half of the CPL season. Unfortunately, they’re in a bit of a tough position in the title race, as they’ll likely require some slip-ups from Forge with no more head-to-head matches against them, but with four matches looming against the bottom four teams, they’ll want to get as many points out of them to at least push Forge to the end, if not overtake them. Led by the recent play of Ali Musse, who has been excellent in his return from injury, this Cavalry side has found the offensive punch they’ve lacked earlier in the year, although they’ve slightly slipped up defensively as of late, with injuries playing a big role in that. They still remain the league’s stingiest defensive side, however, so as they welcome back bodies over the next few weeks, they’ll want to strike a nice balance between their recent offensive surge and the strong defensive play they had earlier this year as they get set for the playoffs.
GOAL🐎🐎#CANPL. BANGERS. ONLY🚨
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 21, 2024
Sergio Camargo doubles @CPLCavalryFC's lead over York United with a perfectly weighted lob from well outside of the box
📺Watch #CanPL LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/2w2TrcW4Q8
> Quietly, Atlético Ottawa have returned to early season form, as they’re now unbeaten in six games after they had a run of three straight losses earlier in the summer. The only problem? They’ve got just two wins in those recent six games, as they’ve drawn four matches. That’s been enough for them to clinch a playoff spot, but they now sit five points behind Forge. The good news is that they play Forge in a few weeks in what could potentially be a title-deciding match, and even if they’re not able to claw their way back atop the CPL table, they do sit in pole position in the race for second place, which is valuable in this current playoff format. The big thing to watch for Ottawa now, however? What they decide to be their best-attacking group, as other than Rubén del Campo and Manny Aparicio, they’ve done a lot of rotation around them, leading to the likes of Ollie Bassett, Ballou Tabla and Sam Salter to spend time on the bench. With the return of Kévin dos Santos from injury, the battle for minutes up front isn’t going to get any easier, so that’s something to watch. Having now seemingly figured out their back five and goalkeeper, look for them to get some clarity on their best front five in the weeks to come.
> Having quietly climbed up the CPL table, Pacific FC have also climbed the Power Rankings, as they’ve picked up some massive results in recent weeks to now sit in a playoff spot after nearly dropping to the bottom of the table after a rough summer. Now, after back-to-back home wins over Halifax and Vancouver, and key road draws against Halifax and Ottawa, they now sit in that fifth and final playoff spot, two points ahead of sixth place. And, more importantly, their offence has come alive, as they’ve scored nine goals in their last four matches, led by the play of Moses Dyer, who has goals in four straight games. A tough schedule awaits Pacific to end the year, as they must play three of the top four teams in the CPL, including Forge on the last week of the season, but if they can continue to score while remaining tight defensively (they’ve conceded three goals in their last four games), that’ll be a good formula for them to build on, no matter the opponent.
GOAL 🔱
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 22, 2024
ALL LEVEL IN OTTAWA! Moses Dyer gets a great header past Nathan Ingham after a fantastic cross from Dario Zanatta to tie things up for @Pacificfccpl ⚽️
🔴 Watch our @tonybet_Canada #CanPL MOTW LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/FyDOa64cTt
> After once sitting as the hottest team in the CPL, York United have slowed down as of late, sitting with a record of 1W-2D-3L (5 PTS) in their last six games. While that’s been enough to put them on the cusp of booking a playoff spot, that’s pushed them out of the title race, something they can be officially eliminated from this upcoming weekend. Having dealt with a rash of injuries and suspensions, however, it’s been a tough stretch for York, who have lacked that same consistency in their lineup that they had when they surged up the table. Because of that, they’ve now got one goal ahead of the end of the season, other than officially booking their playoff spot - get everyone back and available. Especially given that they’ve been just as good at home as they have been on the road, seeding might not matter as much to them even if they’ll still want to host as many playoff games as possible (and be in contention to host the final). For example, with Brian Wright back from injury, they’ll want to avoid pushing him too hard, and there are some other names that might be prime candidates to also earn some rest in the weeks ahead, which will be something to balance as they continue to push up the table, something you imagine Benjamín Mora will continue to think about.
> Just when it looked like they were out of the race, the Halifax Wanderers found a way to pull themselves back in, as a win over Forge and draws against Pacific and Valour have kept the Wanderers within three points of the fifth and final playoff spot. At the same time, they’ve now got a tough end to the season - three of their final four games are against sides in the top four, with two of those clashes being on the road, where they’ve picked up just five points in 12 games this season (1W-2D-9L). They do also have home clashes against Vancouver and York, which they’ll view as a good opportunity to claim six points, but if they drop anything from those two games, that puts pressure on them to get points in those two road games, which are against Atlético Ottawa and Cavalry. If they do that, however, they’ll want to remain disciplined, as red cards continue to haunt them. Along with the hunt for U21 minutes, of which they need 340 over their last four games (85 per game), those are the two main factors they’ll want to watch out for as they tackle this stretch.
> It’s been a strange run for Valour FC. Certainly, they’re doing well to pick up results at a crucial period, as they’ve gone four games without a loss, but they’re also not maximizing points, either, as they’ve drawn all four of those games. For a team in pole position, those points would feel more valuable, but for a side chasing in the playoff race, one can only wonder what a win or two in those four games could’ve done for them, as they sit four points behind Pacific. Now, however, they’ve got the chance to put that behind them in a massive match at home against Pacific this weekend, which is a game that could very well decide their season. With three of their four games remaining sitting at home, and with their lone road match against a Vancouver side struggling right now, Valour’s got a prime chance to still make this playoff push interesting, but that’ll require them to get a big result from Pacific and build from there. If not, it looks likely the Winnipeg-based outfit will indeed go a sixth straight CPL season without a playoff berth.
GOAL 🎖️@ValourFootball find the go-ahead goal vs. @HFXWanderersFC! 💥
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 21, 2024
Check out how Loic Kwemi destroys his marker before finding Shaan Hundal for the tap in 👀
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> It’s all gone wrong for Vancouver FC at the worst time, as they’ve now lost four straight games, and five of their last six, to drop out of a playoff spot for the first time all season. Having been outscored 11-4 in that six-game stretch, it’s hard to put a finger on what’s been more concerning with this Vancouver team, either - their attack, which has now been shut out nine times this season, or their defence, which has conceded a league-high 41 goals. Not only that, but at a time where most have figured out their best group, Vancouver’s struggled to find their best XI, which has made it hard for them to build some form as they’ve consistently changed their lineup. Now, that’s put them up against the wall with four games to go, as they’ll now go play three of them on the road. After looking likely to make the playoffs, it feels like they’re in a fight not to finish in last place, which is far from where they wanted to be at this time of the year. No doubt, they could use these last four games to catch some form and surprise, but it feels like it’s going to require a big surprise from them to do it, but no better place for them to start than with a road match against Cavalry, who they’ve never beaten. Sometimes, those are the best games to build momentum, so look for them to try and do that, instead of picking up a fifth straight defeat.
