CPL Newsroom

Canada Day Weekend: Atleti, Eddies win big & Pacific-Cavalry heavyweight tilt (ft. Fernando López)

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After a scintillating Canada Day weekend in the Canadian Premier League, the CanPL.ca Newsroom is back to get you caught up on all the storylines from five matches within the past week.

Kristian Jack and Charlie O'Connor-Clarke begin at Tim Hortons Field, where Forge FC lost to both Valour and Atlético Ottawa in a pair of 1-0 results. They first break down Valour's win on Wednesday, which spoiled the party as Kyle Bekker celebrated his 100th game for Forge (3:03) before moving on to Atleti's big -- and controversial -- triumph on Sunday (8:35).

Atlético Ottawa CEO Fernando López then joins the show as its special guest to discuss the bright start to 2022 for his club, as well as the progress they've made since 2020 (16:10), before KJ and Charlie are joined by Mitchell Tierney to recount Ottawa's first win of the week from last Thursday at HFX Wanderers (29:05). The trio then move on to Clarke Stadium, where they recap a massive win for FC Edmonton over York United on Canada Day (33:20).

Finally, Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic drops by to help relive a fascinating heavyweight bout between Pacific FC and Cavalry FC on Thursday night in Langford (48:18), before giving his thoughts on the Canadian women's national team as they prepare for the Concacaf W Championship beginning this week in Mexico (58:54).

Week 12: HFX, Valour & Cavalry win big + Canada reactions (ft. Phil Dos Santos)

After a thrilling weekend in CPL action, Kristian Jack and Charlie O'Connor-Clarke are back on Monday to recount all the highs and lows of the football played across the country.

They begin out west at Starlight Stadium, as Benedict Rhodes comes on the show to discuss a club-record 3-0 away victory for HFX Wanderers FC over Pacific FC (4:05). From there, it's onto another big win on the road -- this time for Valour FC, who beat York United 3-1 on Sunday. Mitchell Tierney is on first to recap what he saw from York Lions Stadium (20:41), and then Valour head coach Phil Dos Santos dials in live after training to chat about a big result for his team (30:43).

Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic joins next to chat Cavalry FC's 3-1 win over FC Edmonton (43:14), and he also provides his thoughts on a disappointing exit for the Canadians at the Concacaf Men's U-20 Championship on Sunday against Guatemala (51:32). Finally, Benedict returns to recap his experience at BMO Field on Sunday, as the Canadian women's national team drew 0-0 with South Korea in their final contest before the Concacaf W Championship.

Week 11 Recap: Edmonton wins, Forge dominate HFX + CanChamp SF preview (ft. Adam Jenkins)

With another CPL weekend in the books, Kristian Jack and Charlie O'Connor-Clarke are here again to break down the goings-on around the league.

First off, it's a trip out east to Halifax, where HFX Wanderers FC fell 3-0 to Forge FC in a dominant match for the Hamilton side; Benedict Rhodes joins the show to discuss how it all went down (2:48). Then, we move over to Alberta, where FC Edmonton are rejoicing after their first win of the 2022 season -- a 1-0 triumph over Atlético Ottawa. Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic comes on to add some context and explain why it was such a special moment for Alan Koch and the Eddies (17:35).

Lastly, the gang heads back to York Lions Stadium for a chat about York United and Pacific's 0-0 draw over the weekend (32:55). OneSoccer's Adam Jenkins is the show's special guest this week, as he helps break down Pacific and York, before a brief preview of the Nine Stripes' upcoming Canadian Championship semifinal clash on Wednesday against the Vancouver Whitecaps (38:40).

Abzi to Ligue 2, Cavalry go top in Week 10 & Canada U-20s (ft. York United’s Angus McNab)

The CanPL.ca Newsroom returns for a special Thursday edition to wrap up five games in the Canadian Premier League, plus plenty of other news from around the league. Mitchell Tierney and Charlie O'Connor-Clarke host this episode, and they start in the nation's capital to recap Atlético Ottawa and York United's 0-0 draw (2:13).

From there, they move on to Forge's dominant 3-0 win over Pacific, with some additional thoughts and insight from Benedict Rhodes (12:55). After that, it's back to York United, as the club's President and GM Angus McNab joins live from New York to discuss Diyaeddine Abzi's recently-announced big move to French Ligue 2 side Pau FC as well as Lowell Wright's call-up to the Canadian U-20 side (20:50).

Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic then dials into the show to break down HFX Wanderers' comeback win over FC Edmonton on Tuesday night (34:45), before Mitchell and Charlie see out the last two Week 10 matches, a pair of wins for Cavalry that sent them to the top of the standings (43:55).

Finally, the show ends with a little more Canada U-20 talk, as Mitchell and Charlie discuss all six CPLers that went down to Honduras for the Concacaf U-20 Men's Championship, and what it means for the league and the national team program (53:15).

Beyond the Pitch: CanMNT Winger Junior Hoilett

In the latest episode of Beyond The Pitch, Kristian Jack sits down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with Canadian Men's National Team winger Junior Hoilett as the CANMNT prepare for their first World Cup Finals appearance since 1986.

The pair discuss Junior’s career, with notable stops in the Premier League and Europe, what it means to him to play for Canada, his favourite managers over the years, and his thoughts on the CANMNT and their date with destiny.

Beyond The Pitch: CanMNT Midfielder Stephen Eustáquio

In the latest episode of Beyond The Pitch, Kristian Jack sits down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with Canadian Men's National Team and Portuguese Primeira Liga club FC Porto Midfielder Stephen Eustáquio, only days ahead of the Concacaf Nations League match vs. Curaçao as the CanMNT prepare for their first World Cup Finals appearance since 1986.

The pair discuss Stephen's career, with notable stops in Mexico and Europe, what it means to him to play for Canada, THAT goal in the Iceteca, and what he thinks it will take for the CanMNT to make some noise in Qatar.

Forge-TFC CanChamp Final reaction + Atlético Ottawa put CPL on notice (ft. Carlos González)

As usual, the CanPL.ca Newsroom is back this week to recap yet another remarkable weekend for the Canadian Premier League's clubs. Kristian Jack and Charlie O'Connor-Clarke start, of course, in Hamilton for all the reaction, analysis, and interviews you could want from a thrilling 2020 Canadian Championship Final between Forge FC and Toronto FC (1:56).

Benedict Rhodes joins the show at the end of the Forge-TFC chat to give his thoughts (18:22), before helping break down a dramatic 1-1 draw at IG Field between Valour FC and FC Edmonton (19:40). From Winnipeg, they head to the nation's capital as Mitchell Tierney comes in to discuss an entertaining triumph with a late winner for Atlético Ottawa over league-leaders Pacific FC (27:09). To cap off the Ottawa discussion, Atleti boss Carlos González drops by the show to give his own thoughts on his side's first third of the season and recent run of form (33:36).

For the final CPL match of the weekend, a 1-0 win for HFX Wanderers over York United in Halifax, Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic joins to explain just what's going on for both teams after an interesting tactical battle (46:20).

Finally, the show comes full circle as KJ and Charlie end with a brief discussion of the inherent drama of a penalty shootout -- particularly that which decided Saturday's final -- including some thoughts from Toronto FC goalkeeper Quentin Westberg from the immediate aftermath of his side's victory (59:10).

Week 8 recap + CanChamp roundup (feat. Forge’s Alex Achinioti-Jönsson)

Once more, the CanPL.ca Newsroom is back to catch you up on all the recent action around the Canadian Premier League. This week, it's Mitchell Tierney and Charlie O'Connor-Clarke hosting as Kristian Jack enjoys some much-deserved time off.

They begin at York Lions Stadium, where Charlie was on hand to cover Cavalry FC's 1-0 win over York United (4:00). From there, they head out west to Starlight Stadium for a discussion about a wild 2-2 draw between Pacific FC and Valour FC (14:20).

Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic then joins the show to break down Pacific's loss on penalties to York their midweek Canadian Championship clash (25:17) as well as how York might stack up against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the semifinal (30:20). Mitchell and Charlie then go on to recap the other three quarterfinal matchups -- Cavalry's narrow shootout loss to the Whitecaps (33:11), HFX Wanderers FC's close-fought defeat at home against Toronto FC (35:33), and Forge's disappointing loss on the road at CF Montréal (38:10).

Lastly, it's a full-on preview of the upcoming 2020 Canadian Championship final, in which Toronto FC will head to Tim Hortons Field to take on Forge. Charlie was at the stadium and sat down with Forge gaffer Bobby Smyrniotis (39:48), and then Forge player Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson comes on the show live after training to give his thoughts on the matchup (45:32).

Week 7 recap & CanChamp QF preview (feat. Niko Giantsopoulos)

The Newsroom crew are back again -- and spread out all across Canada this time around, as Kristian Jack and Charlie O'Connor-Clarke host the show live from Halifax ahead of Tuesday night's Canadian Championship match between HFX Wanderers FC and Toronto FC.

They begin, naturally, out east, previewing Tuesday's quarterfinal (0:00) and recapping Friday night's 4-0 loss against Forge FC (16:31). From there, KJ and Charlie discuss Forge, and Mitchell Tierney joins to chat about the Hamilton club's match with CF Montréal on Wednesday (20:00). Mitchell sticks around to break down Cavalry FC's dramatic 2-1 win over the weekend against Valour FC (23:58).

Then, the gang remains in Alberta as Benedict Rhodes comes in to discuss a tight showdown between FC Edmonton and Atlético Ottawa, which ended in a 2-1 win for the visiting Atleti (31:55). Alex Gangué-Ruzic is the show's third guest, providing all his thoughts and insight on a back-and-forth 0-0 draw between Pacific FC and York United on Friday -- which also served as preview for Tuesday night's rematch between the sides in the Canadian Championship (40:37).

Finally, a very special guest joins KJ and Charlie from his hotel in Victoria, as York goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos shares the fascinating story of his whirlwind weekend, which saw him travel to Charlotte, North Carolina after being loaned to MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps for their match on Sunday (50:05).

CPL Week 6 Recap: Late drama in Halifax & Winnipeg, Pacific stay perfect at home (ft. Manny Aparicio)

Fresh off another scintillating weekend of Canadian Premier League action, the CanPL.ca Newsroom crew is back to break down all four games in reverse order.

Kristian Jack and Charlie O'Connor-Clarke avoid dwelling on hockey by jumping right into Valour FC's 1-0 win over York United, as they give some much-deserved credit to the Winnipeg club's two CF Montreal loanees, Sean Rea and Jonathan Sirois, for their heroics at IG Field on Sunday (2:50). After that, they head east to Nova Scotia, where they're joined by Mitchell Tierney for a full discussion of a thrilling 2-2 draw between HFX Wanderers FC and Cavalry FC which featured plenty of set-piece magic and a late equalizer from Daan Klomp for the visitors (16:03).

From there, it's all the way to the opposite coast for a chat about Pacific FC's 2-1 home win over FC Edmonton on Saturday night. Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic joins the show first to give his full analysis of the two sides from a competitive contest (27:32). After that, Pacific midfielder Manny Aparicio drops by to share his thoughts on the champions' start to the season -- as well as his side's "recovery day" spin class on Sunday (35:15).

Finally, KJ and Charlie return to Ontario to break down a close-fought 1-1 draw between Forge FC and Atlético Ottawa at Tim Hortons Field (48:22), and they end the show with a brief discussion of some breaking news, with dual national Marcelo Flores officially choosing to represent Mexico rather than Canada in international football (1:02:40).