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That pride was obvious after the match.

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It was also earned.

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Joseph Holliday is shown during a Cavalry practice in November 2024. Photo by Brent Calver /Postmedia

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Cavalry started as well as they could have hoped. Nate Edwards put the home side in front in the third minute, finishing a chance created by Amer Didić. At that point, the match looked like it might settle into a comfortable rhythm for a Cavalry side trying to bounce back from two underwhelming results.

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Instead, Supra refused to fade.

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The visitors had waited a month for this match after the original June 28 date was postponed because of severe weather in the Calgary area. They arrived at ATCO Field with a chance to avenge a 1-0 loss to Cavalry in Laval earlier this season, and they grew into the game after the early setback.

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Keesean Ferdinand levelled it in the 55th minute — with a hard shot that went in off his chest — and from there the match became a grind.

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Cavalry (9W-2L-3D) had entered the night still in good position in the CPL table but chasing Forge FC for first place. They were second with 27 points, while Forge (11-1-1) sat first with 34. The margin for error was not massive, and with Cavalry coming off its first defeat since May 31 — and only its second loss of the season — Tuesday night had the feel of a match they simply could not let slip.

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Not if they wanted to stay within striking distance.

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Not at home.

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Not against a Supra team (4-7-2) they had already beaten once back in May.

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Still, for long stretches, the match had all the uncomfortable ingredients of dropped points. Cavalry had the early goal but not full control. They had possession and pressure but not enough separation. Supra had just enough belief to make the night nervous.

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That is why the ending mattered so much.

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Deep into stoppage time, Cavalry won a corner. Ali Musse delivered it perfectly, and Didić rose above Chrétien and powered his header into the back of the net in the 90th-plus-third minute.
ATCO Field finally exhaled.

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Then, almost immediately, it had to hold its breath again.

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Supra pushed for one last equalizer and found the kind of late chance that can undo an entire night’s work. Chrétien had the opportunity, as he headed the ball off a superb ball into the box.

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But Holliday had the answer, diving to his right to parry it away.

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“I pride myself on reaction saves,” Holliday said. “And I got to show it there.”

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It was the kind of save that changes how a player’s night is remembered.

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Without it, Cavalry would be talking about missed chances, a late collapse and two dropped points. With it, they were talking about character, depth and the value of a goalkeeper who had spent years preparing for a moment that might only come once.

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Holliday had made sure it counted.

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He also made sure the people closest to him were there for it.

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“When I found out I was playing, I made sure to text half of Edmonton,” Holliday said. “So there was a lot of my mom, my friends growing up, some friends I haven’t seen for four or five years … so pretty emotional, and that’s what it means.

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“That’s what that save means to me. It’s for them just as much me. So knowing that they were there to see that and see that performance and see a win, that means everything to me, and I’m so happy that they could be there for it.”

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Cavalry’s Adam Pearlman (centre) and Daan Klomp (L) and Adam Pearlman defend against Supra’s Sean Rea during Tuesday’s thriller. Photo by Jim Wells /Postmedia

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That is the part that will stick.

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Yes, Cavalry needed the points. Yes, the standings race matters. Yes, the club has bigger goals than grinding out a 2-1 win over Supra du Québec on a Tuesday night in July.

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But seasons are built on nights like this, too.

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They are built on backup goalkeepers being ready. They are built on centre-backs going forward and winning games in stoppage time. They are built on teams finding a way when the performance is not polished and the opponent refuses to go away.