If Cavalry FC needed a reminder that nothing will come easily in the Canadian Premier League playoffs, it arrived Wednesday night in Ottawa.
The difficult part is what that reminder could cost them before the post-season begins.
Cavalry’s 3-2 loss to Atlético Ottawa at TD Place ended a long unbeaten run, prevented the Calgary club from stretching its lead in the race for the CPL Shield and handed second-place Forge FC another opening.
It was a painful result but potentially a useful one.
Cavalry had rolled into the capital after dismantling FC Supra du Québec 6-0 at ATCO Field. Calgary had beaten Ottawa in all three previous meetings this season, scoring three goals each time. It had already clinched a playoff berth and was six points clear atop the standings.
For the first time in weeks, everything looked comfortable.
Ottawa made sure it did not stay that way.
“I don’t think it was a good performance on the ball,” Cavalry defender Daan Klomp said. “We had to figure out that press a little bit earlier than what we did.”
Ottawa went ahead twice before Cavalry, reduced to 10 men, mounted a furious response. Substitute Owen Graham-Roache found Tobias Warschewski for a 94th-minute equalizer, seemingly salvaging a point from an uneven night.
Atlético answered with the winner moments later, clinching its playoff position and leaving Cavalry empty-handed.
Klomp suggested the 6-0 victory over Supra may have allowed some complacency to creep into Calgary’s performance.
“Even when we’re playing at 80 per cent, we’re not winning games,” Klomp said. “We have to be bringing our best, and this was far from our best.
“It’s not a good feeling, but it humbled us. Maybe we needed this hit to finish the season off strong.”
If Cavalry was going to absorb that lesson, now is better than later.
A similar performance in the playoffs could end its season. Wednesday’s defeat merely gives general manager and head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. and his players evidence of what happens when their passing slows, their pressing loses coordination and their opponents win too many individual battles.
“We were beaten by the better side. It’s as simple as that,” Wheeldon said. “Irrespective of the cards and the calls that the referees had to make, I think, for the majority, Ottawa won more duels and were the better side.”
There was no attempt to hide behind the officiating or Cavalry’s red card. Calgary’s problems began before it was reduced to 10 players.
That honesty should make the result easier to correct. It does not make the damage to Cavalry’s regular-season title bid any less.
After the result, Cavalry remains first with a 16-5-3 record and 53 points through 24 matches. Forge sits second at 14-4-5 with 47 points through 23 matches.
The six-point cushion remains, but Forge holds a game in hand. A victory in that extra match would cut Cavalry’s advantage to three points, transforming what had started to look like a comfortable lead into a race again.
Calgary has four matches remaining in the 28-game schedule, beginning Saturday at Inter Toronto. Forge has five opportunities to collect points.
Cavalry’s statistical strengths also took a direct hit in Ottawa. It entered the match having allowed only 13 goals in 23 league games, the best defensive record in the CPL. Conceding three in one night increased that total to 16, although Calgary still owns an impressive plus-34 goal differential after scoring 50 times.
The loss should not erase what Cavalry has built. It remains the league leader, has already secured post-season soccer and had taken nine points from Ottawa before Wednesday.
Wheeldon also refused to treat one defeat as a reason to panic.
“We’ve gone on a hell of a long run for now, so we’ll just take it on the chin, nod the cap and then move on,” Wheeldon said. “Sometimes it’s good to get humbled now. Then you know every game matters.”
That is the takeaway Cavalry must carry into Toronto.
The defeat may sharpen Calgary before the playoffs and remind a confident team that its best is required every night.
But this was not a free lesson. Cavalry paid three points for it, and Forge now has another chance to make the Shield race uncomfortable.
