CanPL Power Rankings: HFX Wanderers rise as key contenders fall in Matchweek 12 | Presented by tonybet
The Canadian Premier League table is tightening up.
All of a sudden, the gap between second and last place has narrowed to just eight points after the Canada Day long weekend, as those at the bottom have started to heat up, while those in the middle have struggled to keep up with first place Atlético Ottawa, who extended their lead atop the table to seven points this past matchday.
But with everyone else struggling to keep pace with Ottawa, that has led to good competition elsewhere on the table, with a couple of topsy-turvy weeks helping tighten things up.
With the halfway mark of the campaign approaching, that’s crucial, as the next seven to 10 games will be massive for teams looking to carve out their credentials as playoff contenders. As seen over the last few weeks, when a gulf was forming between the bottom two teams and the middle five, things can change quickly in this league, as all it takes is a couple of consecutive wins or losses to shake up one’s fortunes.
A peek at the form chart indicates as much, for example, with the Halifax Wanderers now leading the way there after spending most of the season at the bottom of the CPL table, showing how quickly things can change.
Speaking of form, here’s a look at the CPL’s current movers and shakers in the latest edition of the CPL Power Rankings, presented by tonybet.
>First place Atlético Ottawa can’t stop picking up points, and they may have found their best victory this past weekend, as they defeated Forge 4-3 in the CPL game of the season so far. Despite opening the scoring first, they then went down 2-1, but kept after it, going up 3-2, before grabbing a late 93rd-minute winner from Liberman Torres, who had just made a crucial error on Forge’s 3-3 goal minutes earlier. Yet, that’s been the story of Ottawa’s season so far, and the biggest reason they’ve climbed to where they sit in the table, armed with a 7W-4D-1L record in 12 games. No matter the opponent or the game, they believe they can get points until the very end of matches, and their record backs up that sentiment, which is why they sit atop the table and these Power Rankings.
SUPERCLUB GOAL 💥@ATLETIOTTAWA HAVE WON IT LATE! 4-3 vs. @ForgeFCHamilton in the dying seconds!
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 29, 2024
Liberman Torres ends this back-and-forth battle with a checkmate finale 😎
🔴 Watch #CanPL on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/SRHWMr0Pve
>Once again, Cavalry have been favoured by the Power Rankings algorithm, which likes teams who don’t lose games, especially not at home. Because of that, this Cavalry side has provided an interesting conundrum, as they’ve only won one of their last eight games, but have only lost one, coming on the road this past weekend against the Halifax Wanderers. Because of that, while they sit out of the playoff picture and with a league-low two wins on the season, the fact they’ve also only lost two games all year benefits them in the Power Rankings. Yet, despite their high ranking, the pressure is on Cavalry to get some wins, soon, as their form has been dipping, with the latest Wanderers loss an example of that. They’re putting in good performances, but they’ll need some wins, quickly, or they’ll continue to drop down the table.
>Quietly, the Halifax Wanderers are now unbeaten in five games after their nightmare start to the season, and more importantly, they’ve got back-to-back wins, having picked up their first two victories of the season against Vancouver and Cavalry over the last two weeks. Not only that, but they’ve been playing quite well, too, looking a lot more like the confident Wanderers unit of 2023, led by their new-look front three of Clément Bayiha, Ryan Telfer and Massimo Ferrin. Along with the return of Dan Nimick at the back, that’s allowed them to claim back-to-back clean sheets, which is also key. Between that and their recent offensive surge, they’re trending in the right direction, and have put themselves back in the playoff mix, doing well to put their slow start behind them.
GOAL ⚓️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 1, 2024
Ryan Telfer gets the party started early in the second half for @HFXWanderersFC, striking to give his team a 1-0 lead over @CPLCavalryFC
🔴 Watch our @tonybet_canada #CanPL MOTW on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/egdzM11Akq
>For the first time since new manager Benjamín Mora was hired, York United have lost a game, as they fell 1-0 to Valour in their most recent match. After a run of strong games, it was a familiar problem that led York down, too, as their offence failed to capitalize on several glorious opportunities to tie up the game, leaving them to fall for the first time under their new coach. For what it’s worth, their defence has remained solid and will feel relatively satisfied with their showing despite giving up a goal, as their offence had more than enough chances to make up for the goal they conceded. Based on how good York’s attack has looked under their new manager, it’s hard to imagine this becoming a trend, although it’s something to watch going forward given how streaky they’ve been in the past.
>Vancouver’s strange run of recent form continued, as they had one of their worst performances in a 4-0 drubbing at the hand of the Wanderers, but then followed it up with a big 2-1 win over Pacific in the Salish Sea Derby, giving them their fourth straight win over their rivals. Yet, that shows the biggest thing Vancouver will need to find over the next few weeks - consistency. As seen by their spot in the table, they’re doing quite well for themselves, sitting in second place, but they’ll know that they can’t afford many performances like the Wanderers one if they’re to stay there over the next few months. For what it’s worth, they continue to show a good mentality in the face of setbacks, as that Pacific win showed, but they’ll want to build off that and string a couple of wins together, showing that they deserve to be in that mix to host some crucial playoff games this fall.
GOAL 🦅
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 28, 2024
Elage Bah spins into his first professional goal to give @VanFootballClub a late lead over @Pacificfccpl!
It's 2-1 in the 82nd minute of this #CanPL clash: Watch LIVE on OneSoccer 🔴 pic.twitter.com/PQpORuKsUJ
>Back-to-back losses have pushed Pacific to fifth in the table, although it’s worth noting the two results couldn’t have been more different from each other - after a poor performance in a loss to York, they played quite well against Vancouver and should’ve won that game, but lacked finish in front of goal, which allowed Vancouver to take two well-taken tallies to win the game. Yet, that continues to be Pacific’s big struggle right now - they’ve struggled to find the timely goals they need to turn good performances into victories. Injuries have continued to hamper them, but they’ve still been right there in games, with their execution in both boxes what’s been letting them down. With a busy July ahead, however, they’ll hope some returning bodies can help them, allowing them to find that ruthlessness, pushing them back up the table again.
>Forge struggled with wide balls in their dramatic loss to Ottawa, as they were unable to turn a resilient comeback into a victory, falling victim to the reverse comeback. With that, they continued a strange stretch of their season, as they haven’t won consecutive games in CPL play since they won three straight to begin the campaign. Since then, they’ve alternated wins with draws and losses, which has left them unable to close the gap with Ottawa in first. Despite that, they sit in a decent position, tied for third place, but that lack of consistency has hurt them in the Power Rankings. Despite this ranking, however, they could be set to climb up it soon, as they’ve been putting in good performances, but just need to rack up a string of wins, or else this strange campaign will continue as they get set to tackle a busy month of July.
>Valour came into these Power Rankings on a high note, picking up a crucial 1-0 win over York United, putting a run of three straight losses behind them. Plus, that York win was a return to what they’ve done at their best this year, too - defend as a group, and then work to find timely goals. This time, Diogo Ressurreição scored a beauty to give his team a lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way. That’s a credit to their defence, who had to work for their clean sheet, which was just their second of the season. After allowing seven goals in their previous three games, that was exactly what they needed, and they’ll look to build off it, as this Valour side is at their best when they’re keeping things tight and compact at the back, which they went away from during their slump.
