The Cavs are quarterfinal bound following a gritty preliminary round triumph.
Tobias Warschewski scored his first goal for Cavalry FC with the team down to 10-men to secure a 1-0 victory over Vancouver FC in the Telus Canadian Championship on Tuesday night at Spruce Meadows to advance to a quarterfinal showdown with the MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps.
"They gave us a good first half and we knew we were playing a team in form," said Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. in the post-match press conference. "We had ideas of how to break them down in their block and it was starting to come through and then, (Shamit Shome) is an honest player, he's not meant anything, I'm sure the referee saw it is a late challenge and it is a red, no complaints there.
"But what I loved was the way the guys dug in."
Cavalry looked to be in trouble in the second half when Shome was handed a straight red card for a 61st minute tackle.
Instead, five minutes later the shorthanded hosts were celebrating a breakthrough goal with Warschewski scoring a header on the second phase of an attack.
“I think after this (red card) everybody in the game fought for each other,” Warschewski told OneSoccer. “It got us closer together and, in the end, lucky. Everybody defender 100 per cent and I think we deserved this win today.”
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Vancouver FC, undefeated through two games in league play, carried a 11-8 edge in shots and a 57 per cent edge in possession.
Marco Carducci picked up the clean sheet with saves on all four shots on target.
“In the first half, when we put the ball on the ground and played combinations, we were able to create opening and good situations for ourselves,” said Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi. “But always it seems like our final decisions, final passes, final moments we lacked the quality and the precision we needed.
“The red card, it’s always kind of a double-edged sword. We have a number up and I think our players lost concentration for a while and the opponent worked harder and increased their concentration.”
The defending champion Whitecaps await in the next round.
The two-leg quarterfinal will kick off on May 7, a 7 p.m. start, at ATCO Field. The second leg is May 21 at BC Place in Vancouver.
“I think, for us, it’s a nice challenge,” said Warschewski. “Everybody wants this challenge against an MLS side, we had it in Concacaf already. Everybody is excited about this game and we’ll try out best to get something out of it.”
The Cavalry, 0-1-1 in the early stages of the Canadian Premier League regular season, hold the home opener on April 28 versus Pacific FC. Kickoff is 3 p.m. at Spruce Meadows.
For more information, go to cavsfc.com.
