It was Cavalry FC’s day on Saturday. The Calgarian club was victorious in its inaugural match at home, eventually edging York9 FC 2-1 in a nervy and snowy day at Spruce Meadows. Calvary started the match in control with a number of chances and stand-out attacking play. Jordan Brown broke York9’s door down in the 26th minute. The Englishman became the first Cavs goalscorer in the club’s history with a nodded effort from just a few yards out. Jay Wheeldon’s headed assist came off a Cavalry corner, one of six the home side had in the match. The chances continued with Calvary headed into the break with 70% possession and a somewhat comfortable 1-0 lead. However, at the start of the second half, York9 it seemed set to write a tale of two halves. Simon Adiej managed the first shot of the match for Y9 in the 48th minute, starting things off strong for the visitors. York9’s forward line will be rueing one scoring opportunity in particular in the 60th minute where Cyrus Rollocks had a point-blank chance with the ball at his feet. A hesitation by Rollocks and a block by Wheeldon denied what would have been a crucial goal for Y9. As the weather turned from cloudy to snowy, however, so did Y9’s fortunes. The Cavs took back control as the snow began to fall on Spruce Meadows. In the 78th minute, Dominick Zator rose to smash home a beautiful header for the club’s second goal of the day, and the second from a corner, and give the home team a 2-0 lead. York9 made one last stab at a comeback late, with Adjei smashing home a well-worked play created by Wataru Murofushi to make it 2-1. The 83rd-minute strike was just the second shot on target for Y9. Last chances for York9 were not enough, however, as Cavalry held on to take a win in their club’s inaugural match. Cavalry will now prepare to host Valour FC on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MT, OneSoccer) in another match at Spruce Meadows. York9, meanwhile, will shift their focus to the 2019 Canadian Championship and an away leg against AS Blainville on May 15. Jimmy Brennan’s side will return to CPL competition on May 18 against Pacific FC at Westhills Stadium.

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