CanPL Power Rankings: Red-hot York United continues to climb as table tightens up

It’s officially the midway point of the 2024 Canadian Premier League season… sort of. 

Despite there having been 15 matchdays, one side is yet to reach the halfway point of their CPL campaign, and that’s the Halifax Wanderers, who have only played 13 games after their May match with Forge was postponed due to the Canadian Championship. 

But with five teams having crested the 15-game mark, it feels fair to suggest the league has now cumulatively reached the halfway point, which is a huge milestone. 

Now, teams have a pretty good idea of what they’ve done well and where they need to improve as they get set for the second half of the campaign. Plus, with the transfer window now open, teams can upgrade at positions where they feel lacking, which some sides have already done. 

Yet, that teams have already started to push and bring in new signings is encouraging, as it sets up an entertaining finish to the campaign. With just six points separating second and seventh place, the table has remained extremely volatile over the last few weeks, especially as certain teams have heated up and others have slowed down. 

Speaking of form, however, here’s a look at who’s hot, and who’s not, in the latest edition of the Power Rankings presented by tonybet.

>York United lead the way in the latest Power Rankings, as they’ve been the hottest team in the CPL over the past month. Thanks to the arrival of Benjamín Mora, he’s brought good defensive structure to this side, who now have a record of 4W-2D-1L (14 PTS) in the seven games they’ve played under his tutelage. At the same time, his team are still finding goals, as Brian Wright and Mo Babouli have formed a dangerous 1-2 punch up front, allowing them to turn their strong defensive showings into wins. Not only that, but the biggest change has arguably been in this team’s mentality, too - after a recent road draw, which is by all means a strong result, led to some strong emotions and even tears from the group - the sign of a team that wants to win. And based on the past few weeks, that mentality has paid off and could lead them to keep pushing up the table, now up to second (with a date with first place Atlético Ottawa looming in matchday #16). 

GOAL👑@yorkutdfc are flying to start to the 2nd half, as Mo Babouli heads home a perfect cross from Max Ferrari to make it 1-0 vs. Vancouver FC in the 46th minute

🔴Watch #CanPL LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/phV3AVHfvf

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 20, 2024

>Speaking of Atlético Ottawa, they’ve continued to cruise along in first place, having lost just two games this season. At the same time, they’ve slowed down slightly after their red-hot start, which to be fair, was expected given how good they were during the first few months of the season. Despite that, it’s been a surprise to see them slip at home as of late, as they’ve won just one of their last five home games. They’ve remained elite on the road, where they’re yet to lose (sitting with a record of 4W-2D-0L), but they’ll need to get back to winning ways in front of their fans. Otherwise, they’re continuing to get key contributions across their lineup, doing well to make the most of their strong depth. Along with some continued standout performances from a red-hot striker in Rubén del Campo, who paces the CPL’s Golden Boot race, that’s been a good recipe for success. And that’s amid a quieter stretch from Ollie Bassett, who could be due to heat up, which if he does… could be bad news for the rest of the CPL. 

GOAL 🏠🏠@atletiOttawa WITH AN INSTANT RESPONSE! 🔴

Rubén del Campo ties things up at TD Place, and we’ve got an intense 15+ minutes coming up 🔥

🔴 Watch #CanPL LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/0DlnSv6Fop

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 21, 2024

>It’s a year-over-year tradition for Forge FC - they always seem to quietly heat up as the dog days of summer start to hit. Given that they sit with just one loss in their last six, that seems to be the case once again, and they’ve done that despite consistently struggling to get their best players on the pitch due to injuries and other absences. The big reason for that, however, remains their depth, as that’s always been a key Forge characteristic - that ‘next player up’ mentality. No matter if it’s been Kwasi Poku shining at striker, Malik Owalabi-Belewu putting a shift at full back or Kyle Bekker continuing to dominate in midfield, Forge’s success often comes from players knowing when to step up, be it the obvious names like Bekker, or less heralded pieces like Owolabi-Belewu. No doubt, though, it’ll be huge for them to get their full squad back together at some point, as they could heat up even more, making a push up the table. 

>Finally, the Halifax Wanderers have started to look like the side that surprised onlookers in 2023, hitting the ground running under new manager Patrice Gheisar. Now, Gheisar has his team humming once again, as they’ve won three of their last four and have lost just one of their last seven. Because of that, they’re now within touching distance of a playoff spot, sitting with a couple of games in hand. Yet, the big reason behind this push has been their offence, as Ryan Telfer has cemented his spot as the team’s striker, and he’s done well to form nice chemistry with those around him, be it the fun front three of him, Clément Bayiha and Massimo Ferrin, or others like Aidan Daniels and Giorgio Probo. Thanks to those developments offensively, Halifax has tightened up their defensive play, as they’re a “the best offence is a good defence side”, one that thrives when players like Dan Nimick, Lorenzo Callegari and Ferrin are shining at both ends. Seeing how solid someone like Nimick has been in both boxes as of late, for example, makes it no surprise to see the Wanderers shine, as their play tended to mirror his performances last year, which is why it hurt the Wanderers to see him miss some time earlier this year, and why they've been so pleased to have him back at his best once again. 

GOAL ⚓️⚓️⚓️

IT’S 3 FOR THE @HFXWanderersFC! Dan Nimick gets a 2nd from the spot to double his side’s lead ⚽️⚽️

We’ll let you decide if this should’ve been given as a pen or not… 👀

🔴 Watch #CanPL LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/OLODvedd0U

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 18, 2024

>Stop if you’ve heard this before - Cavalry FC aren’t losing games at the moment, but they aren’t winning them, either. Now, frustration is mounting, as Cavalry now have nine draws and just three wins in 15 games, with those nine draws representing a club record. For whatever reason, they cannot stop tying games, and while it’s kept them in the playoff race, their title hopes continue to dwindle with each draw. Therefore, Cavalry’s goal is simple - to win some games. Once again, they don’t remain far off from being able to do so, but at the same time, something hasn’t been working, so they’ll need to keep looking for the right formula. In particular, they’ll look to get their offence clicking, as their defence has remained excellent, but Cavalry’s attack has struggled to remain consistent other than Fraser Aird’s crossing and Tobias Warschewski’s finishing (and even he had a penalty saved recently), as having some other contributors step up could’ve allowed them to turn a few of those draws into wins, something they’ll want to change.

GOAL(S!?) 🐎@CPLCavalryFC go up 1-0 over @ForgeFCHamilton courtesy of Daan Klomp... but then Tom Field scores on his own net SECONDS later 😳

🔴 Watch #CanPL on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/jrFrhcPtCK

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 21, 2024

>Pacific FC have cooled down after a strong start, winning just two of their last 10 games. But much like Cavalry, their struggles are straightforward - goals have proven to be tough to find for them, as they’ve scored two or more goals just three times this season. Fittingly, they’ve won all three of those games, as they’ve remained elite defensively, but they need to start scoring, or else they’ll be unable to capitalize on their strong defensive play. They’ve got the pieces in the attack, and they’re finally starting to get healthy, so that’ll be the goal over the next month - to start pouring in the goals. If they do that, however, it feels like Ayman Sellouf and Adonijah Reid could be central to those efforts after struggling to stay fit in recent weeks, so look for that duo to potentially heat up, helping support the likes of Reon Moore and Josh Heard in the attack. 

>It’s been a strange stretch for Vancouver FC, who have been decent on the road after struggling there earlier in the season but have struggled at home after being dominant there earlier in the year. And the latter is worrying, as Vancouver is in the midst of a home-heavy schedule, one that could give them a key edge in the playoff race, but has instead not proven to be fruitful for them. For Vancouver, however, their big goal will be to find consistency in all areas of the pitch, and not just on a game-by-game basis, but from half-to-half, as that’s been a big killer for them. Especially in terms of starting halves slow at home, that’ll be something they’ll need to clean up, as they’re a team that plays their best football when they’re controlling the tempo of the game, something that’s hard to do when you give up untimely goals at home. No doubt this team has proven to be quite strong mentally, doing well to pick up several points when trailing, but being able to play with the lead would help them massively going forward. 

GOAL🦅@vanfootballclub have found a late equalizer vs York United!

After a great run from 16-year-old Grady McDonnell, he finds Alejandro Díaz, and he slots home to make it 1-1 late

🔴Watch #CanPL LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/tEkK2vlPoQ

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 21, 2024

>After a solid stretch at the end of May and the beginning of June, Valour FC have struggled to find wins lately, sitting with just one victory in their last seven, losing five of those matches. As a result, they’ve slipped in the table after making some strong progress earlier this season. Despite that, they’ve got a huge stretch coming up - a four-game homestand looms in August, coming as part of a stretch of six home games across eight matches, one that could very well decide their playoff hopes. If they’re to make the most of that stretch, however, they’ll want to continue to find some consistency offensively, but also return to their usual solid defensive play, which has slipped up a bit as of late. When Valour’s at their best, they can turn good defence into offence, so they’ll want to tighten things up at the back before looking up front. Therefore, look for them to do that as they try and make the most of this home-heavy stretch, or else they risk missing the playoffs for a sixth straight season.