There was no shortage of intrigue for the nearly 3,800 fans who made their way through the gates at ATCO Field on Tuesday night.

Dealing with a slew of availability challenges, Tommy Wheldon Jr. made his biggest departure yet from his typical starting XI in 2026. Joe Holliday made his CPL debut between the posts for Cavalry, with 16-year-old academy player Christiano De Sousa on the bench due to the surprise absence of Nathan Ingham. Bradley Kamdem Fewo was also unavailable, with Levi Laing starting at left back in his place. With Eryk Kobza and Harry Paton suspended, Michael Baldisimo and Nathaniel Edwards were given the nod in midfield, but Baldisimo lasted only six minutes before suffering another lower-body injury. The attacking half of the home side's lineup was also without Goteh Ntignee, requiring Sergio Camargo and Ali Musse to drop into midfield alongside Edwards and Baldisimo, while Caniggia Elva partnered Tobias Warschewski up front in a 4-4-2 formation.

The visitors, who began the match in a 4-3-3 formation, made fewer changes to their typical XI. Omar Elkalkouli made his second start of the season, while Ibrahim Condé made his third, going on to complete his first 90-minute performance since late April.

Cavalry struck early as Edwards cut in from the wing and calmly placed a low strike into the far corner, just beyond Milli's outstretched left arm.

With the early lead, Cavalry maintained attacking pressure but were selective in when they pushed forward. Supra defended well and had scattered moments of attacking momentum, but failed to register a shot on target in the opening half, despite rattling an effort off the crossbar late in the period.

The second half began with end-to-end play before Sean Rea's strike took a deflection off Keesean Ferdinand and found the back of the Cavalry net. The equalizer came after a failed clearance from a Supra set piece created chaos in Cavalry's defensive third. The goal was checked for a possible handball but ultimately stood.

Back-and-forth play resumed and continued throughout the next half hour as both sides searched for a winner. Supra introduced Loïc Kwemi and David Choinière in place of Clément Bayiha and Omar Elkalkouli, while Cavalry brought on James McGlinchey, Curtis Ofori, Owen Antoniuk, and Jay Herdman. McGlinchey, the 19-year-old Calgarian, went on to play 19 minutes in his professional debut.

As the match entered stoppage time, Cavalry's pressure reached its peak. A succession of corner kicks pinned Supra deep inside their own half. Amer Didic ultimately proved to be the difference, heading Ali Musse's corner into the bottom-right corner of the visitors' goal.

After play resumed, controversy ensued as a hard challenge near the benches drew both teams together, resulting in a lengthy FVS review and yellow cards for Antoniuk and Ferdinand.

With time running out, Supra had one final chance to salvage a point. A Matisse Chrétien header from the middle of the box looked destined for the net, but Holliday produced an outstanding diving save to secure his first CPL victory and all three points for Cavalry in a big win to keep the fight for the CPL Shield alive.

Looking ahead, Supra return to action on Friday night as they continue their road trip with a visit to Pacific. Cavalry remain at home, where they will host Inter Toronto on Saturday evening.