High-Scoring, High-Drama CPL Round Six

A headline-heavy week of football was seen in the sixth round of the 2021 CPL season, where amazing sights on the pitch went hand in hand with the stories that were unfolding.

Both FC Edmonton and HFX Wanderers kept looking for the goal but came up short every time until Fraser Aird dispossesed Kareem Sow in the HFX defence and handed the ball off to Easton Orango for the open goal. With little time for the Wanderers to equalise, it was Edmonton's first win in four games.

After just the one goal in the first match, the follow-up between Pacific FC and Atletico Ottawa was full of highlight moments. In the first minute Malcom Shaw was left wide open to power the ball into the bottom corner of Pacific's net and fifteen minutes later he forced his way through the opposing defence and netted his and Ottawa's second goal.

Twenty minutes later Bustos was fouled inches from the goal and Alejandro Liceaga converted the awarded penalty kick, getting Pacific off the mark. In the second half the Bustos-Liceaga partnership created more goal-scoring opportunities: the former directing a corner to the head of the latter for the Pacific equaliser. A few minutes later an attempt by Bustos hit the post but rebounded to Liceaga, who completed his hat trick and turned the game around.

Pacific were not done yet: in the seventy-fifth minute Gianni dos Santos made a long-range cross to Terran Campbell, who caught directed the airborne ball goalward to ensure victory for Pacific at the end of a breathless clash with Atletico Ottawa and one of the best games of the 2021 CPL season.

Next up was the latest chapter in the Forge/Cavalry rivalry. Twelve minutes in, a kick from Marco Carducci in goal reached Anthony Novak unguarded in the Forge end, leaving him wide open for an easy opening goal.

Twenty minutes later Joseph Di Chiara and Ali Musse were outmatched 5-2 by the Forge defence, but they found a way through and Di Chiara handed the ball off to Musse for the equalising goal. Kosi Nwafornso tried twice to get one back for Forge but came up short, then a few minutes from time David Choinière was brought down by Jose Escalante on an open goal attempt, Forge were awarded a penalty which Mo Babouli struck home. Forge spoiled Cavalry's clean sheet, but it was the latter who got the all-important win against their biggest rivals.

The next day, HFX Wanderers kept threatening to score and at the end of the first half, Lamothe blasted the ball through the Valour FC defence and into the top right corner of Jonathan Sirios' net. Valour had a further 45 minutes to equalise or win but the Wanderers were in control of this game and at the final whistle they had ended both Valour's win streak and Sirios' run of six matches without conceding a goal.

In the last match of the week York United did not take long to make their mark: twelve minutes in Max Ferrari lobbed the ball into the FC Edmonton box where Isaiah Johnston tapped it in for the goal. They nearly had a second straight away but Connor James was quick to pounce on the loose ball and prevent it going by him. FCE's best chances came late in the second half but Nathan Ingham denied them all with a series of great saves.

Through a combination of his keeping and Johnston's moment of inspiration, the win was York's, the first for them in four matches. This also saw an end to IG Field being the singular home of the CPL, with league returning to the home-and-away format, all eight teams will once again be taking to their home stadia from next week. Check back here for all the results and highlights and find more news and features on the official CPL website.