Following a year's absence the Cavalry got a jolt from a returning x-factor.
Honduran winger José Escalante marked his return to the Canadian Premier League with a goal and an assist as the Cavalry edged York United 2-1 in the season opener for both clubs on June 26 at the Kickoff event in Winnipeg.
“It’s very emotional,” said Escalante, with teammate Sergio Camargo translating from Spanish. “After a year with the pandemic not being able to be with the team, it makes me very happy that we could start off the season with three points.”
The Cavalry opened the scoring in the first-half with Escalante, who missed the 2020 season due to COVID border restrictions, feathering in a cross to find Camargo on the backdoor for a diving header into the back of the net in the 32nd minute.
In the 55th minute, Escalante then went from provider to finisher with effort leading the way as he picked the pocket of York defender Roger Thompson on the press and had the ball ricochet into the goal.
“We’ve always got that in our locker,” said head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. in a post-game media session. “We’re not where we need to be fitness-wise yet, the second-half showed that. But we can do that (press) in moments and that’s what this Kickoff is about, getting us things we’re good at, things we can get better at.”
York United made a game of in the second half.
The pushback paid off in the 79th minute as Diyaeddine Abzi struck on a free-kick and his curling strike beat the wall and goalkeeper Marco Carducci to cut the deficit in half.
“You’ve got to put three points in the bank and move on,” Wheeldon Jr. added. “I thought for an hour we were very good, played some great football, looked good, made some changes and then suddenly the flow of the game (changed). Credit to York, they came back into it and gave us a run for the money at the end.”
Wheeldon Jr. credited youngsters Victor Loturi and Daniel Kaiser, both U SPORTS athletes, for making impressive debut performances.
“We’re very happy, but we know that this game doesn’t mean everything, at least,” Escalante added. “It’s another three points and a start to a long season.”
The Cavs will look to keep the momentum going with two more contests this week as they take on Atletico Ottawa on June 30 and battle the HFX Wanderers on July 3.
The CPL season is starting at a single site for all eight teams at Winnipeg’s IG Field until late July due to COVID-19 measures in place at host venues across the country.
For more information go to cavalryfc.canpl.ca.
