Achi news desk-
Levonte Johnson scored twice to help the Vancouver Whitecaps defend their defense of the Canadian Championship with a 2-1 win against Cavalry FC in the opening leg of their quarter-final on Tuesday.
Johnson’s first goal was a magnificent strike in first half injury time. The second came off a Cavalry error in the 78th minute.
Substitute Malcolm Shaw pulled one back for Cavalry in the second half, taking Lucas Dias’ deft pass and slipping through two defenders before slotting the ball past Vancouver goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer.
It was a cold, wet and windy night at the ATCO Field in Spring Meadows, with a temperature of 5 C feeling more like zero. The conditions did not help the quality of football to begin with.
XG Vancouver (expected goal) was a paltry 0.04 and Cavalry’s 0.06 in a first half that saw each team manage just one shot on target.
The Whitecaps scored on theirs, however.
Johnson broke the deadlock with a moment of brilliance in the first half. Defender Mathias Laborda took a quick free kick inside his own half headed by Callum Montgomery but only as far as the Vancouver winger, who hit a miraculous left footed shot off the post from outside the Cavalry penalty box.
Another long ball from Vancouver defender Bjorn Utvik led to the second goal. Montgomery misplayed the ball, allowing Johnson to take a shot from the edge of the box that beat Marco Carducci.
The return leg is May 21 at BC Place Stadium. In the event of a tie, the team with the most away goals wins with the final decider’s penalty kick if necessary.
Vancouver is looking to win the cup for the third year in a row.
Montreal CF drew 1-1 at Forge FC in the quarter-finals on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it’s Toronto FC at CS Saint-Laurent and Pacific FC at Atletico Ottawa.
The Cavalry-Whitecaps winner will face either Pacific or Ottawa in the semi-finals.
The Whitecaps and Montreal, who finished second in the 2023 tournament, had first-round byes in the 14-team tournament. Cavalry defeated Vancouver FC 1-0 in the qualifier.
Ralph Priso caused anxious moments for the Whitecaps in the 15th minute when his errant back pass rolled just wide of the Vancouver goal post. An unmarked Montgomery headed in a Cavalry free-kick in the 38th.
The game opened up more in the second half and Cavalry made it interesting in the dying minutes.
Whitecaps winger Ali Ahmed, who hit the crossbar in the 53rd minute, was a danger man during his 63rd minute shift, dribbling past the Cavalry defenders at will.
In the 54th minute at the other end, Lleyton Brooks’ diving header was off target. And Boehmer made a fine save to deny Brooks’ downward header from Fraser Aird’s superb cross in the 60th.
Aird had to leave in the 73rd minute after being bowled over by Vancouver’s substitute, Luis Martins, who had booked a place on the play. Center back Ranko Veselinovic came on in the 75th to help preserve the Whitecaps’ lead.
The Cavaliers and the Whitecaps have history.
The Calgary team defeated Vancouver 2-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round of the 2019 cup competition, before falling to champion Montreal (3-1 on aggregate) in the semi-finals.
The Whitecaps avenged that loss by dispatching Cavaliers 5-3 in a penalty shootout in the 2022 quarterfinals. Cavaliers were on the wrong end of another penalty shootout in the 2023 preliminary round, losing 5-3 to Pacific FC.
Vancouver, which is fourth in the MLS Western Conference at 5-3-2, had lost just one of its previous six games (3-1-2).
Cavalry, who are fifth in the CPL at 1-1-2, are unbeaten in three games (1-0-2) since dropping the season opener 2-1 at Forge.
With a game at Los Angeles FC looming on Saturday, Vancouver coach Vanni Sartini made eight changes from the starting 11 that drew 0-0 with visiting Austin FC in the Whitecaps’ 50th anniversary match at the weekend. Only Utvik, Ahmed and Brian White kept their spots with White serving as captain.
Whitecaps regular captain Ryan Gauld replaced White to start the second half with Martins coming on for Priso. Cyprian Kachwele, the Whitecaps 2 forward who signed a short-term contract for the game, replaced Johnson in the 84th minute.
Giuseppe Bovalina, a youngster from Australia, came on for Vancouver in the 88th minute.
Vancouver was without the injured Sam Adekugbe, who grew up in Calgary, and Damir Kreilach.
Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. three changes with Jesse Daley, Diego Gutierrez and Montgomery coming in for the injured Tom Field and Ali Musse and the exclusion of Shamit Shome.
Cavalry play at the Halifax Wanderers on Saturday.
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This report was first published by The Canadian Press on May 7, 2024
