An Ali Musse hat-trick combined with goals from Nathaniel Edwards, Amer Didic, and Mael Henry helped league-leaders Cavalry FC storm to a commanding 6-0 win over FC Supra du Quebec in the Canadian Premier League (CPL) at ATCO Field in Calgary Friday.
Cavalry are now on a 10-match unbeaten run in the league with eight wins and two draws, having lost just twice in the 23 matches they’ve played this season.
The Cavs also scripted history in the process by setting a new single-season set piece goal record of 18 goals, surpassing their previous feat of 15 that they shared with Atletico Ottawa.
“It’s massive. Every one of these games is getting us closer to what we’re trying to do. What a performance,” said Cavalry goalkeeper Nate Ingham in the post-match interview.
The win was extra special for Ingham because the clean sheet helped him tie with Forge FC’s Dimitry Bertaud at the top of the league standings with 10 clean sheets each.
But more importantly, it was a night to remember for Musse as the Somali winger became the first player in Cavalry’s seven-year history to have scored a hat-trick for the club.
“We had to change around a few players and I thought that the lads were brilliant,” said Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. “I’m a little bit lost for words right now because it was a clinical finish. It was an attacking masterclass and all credit to the lads.”
A goal fest for the Spruce Meadows faithful
Cavalry came into the match as strong favourites, despite having only narrowly won their previous three encounters with Supra this season.
While the 2024 CPL champions won their first two meetings with a single-goal margin, their last meeting ended in a closely-contested 1-1 draw when Caniggia Elva rescued a point for his team with a last-ditch equalizer in the dying minutes of the match.
However, the Cavs left nothing for chance this time around.
The party started early when the home team were awarded a penalty in the seventh minute for a Loic Kwemi handball. Musse stepped up and converted from the spot with a textbook finish, sending Supra goalkeeper Joakim Milli the wrong way.
Edwards then doubled the lead in the 15th minute when he slotted the ball into an empty net after Goteh Ntignee’s blistering run and attack from the left flank left Supra speechless.
Didic scored the third goal in the 61st minute after a perfectly executed set piece. It was Musse’s corner kick that was headed back to Didic who made no mistake in burying it home.
The Cavs added a fourth just six minutes later through yet another set piece. This time it was an Owen Antoniuk corner that found Didic, who flicked it on for Musse to score his second goal of the match.
Mael Henry then made it a proper five-star performance when he blasted home his team’s fifth goal in the 84th minute. His stunning strike from 25 yards out first rattled the post before finding the back of the net, leaving the Quebec-based team in complete shambles.
Musse makes history with first-ever club hat-trick
If Henry’s goal was worthy to be considered the goal of the match, Musse had other ideas.
Deep in stoppage time, the winger stepped up to take a freekick from just outside the Supra penalty box and did exactly what he intended to do – sink the ball in the back of the net to get a first-ever hat-trick for the club and cap off a magical night for his team.
“It feels amazing. I’ve been hungry all season and I just felt that it wasn’t falling for me and today it fell for me. I could have scored more honestly but we have such a good team and everyone has to step up when needed,” Musse said in the post-match press conference.
With only a handful of games now left to play in the regular season, the Cavs can almost smell the CPL Shield. They currently lead second-placed Forge FC by seven points, but the Hammers still have a crucial game in hand.
For Nate Ingham, however, it’s just a matter of time before the team achieves its goal. His focus is simply on following the strategy that the team has laid out for the rest of the season.
“Five games left, baby, five games left. Each one of them is going to be a Cup final for us and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
Cavalry will next face defending champions Atletico Ottawa in Ottawa on Sept. 30 while Supra will host Pacific FC on Oct. 4 at the Stade Boreale in Laval.
