Throwback Thursday: Cavalry FC 0-3 Orlando City | OneFootball

Is it just me, or is anyone else getting a little bit jealous watching on as hundreds of opposition fans embark on adventures to Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras, and Costa Rica to support their clubs in CONCACAF Champions Cup?

Two years ago, that was us. Sort of, anyway.

For a draw that seemed, well, pretty underwhelming at first, our trip to Victoria, British Columbia to face an equally travel-weary Cavalry FC in the competition's opening round unexpectedly turned into one of the best away days in Orlando City's recent, if not all-time, history. Until we thumped Tampa Bay Rowdies in their own backyard last year, of course.

I genuinely have no idea where all the time has gone since then. Writing this is, for me, a way of reliving what was one of the best weeks of my life all over again, and I hope that you'll feel just as misty-eyed and nostalgic if you were there, too.

If you weren't, then I'm sure that reading this will whet your appetite for when we qualify for just the third time in our history come the end of the season. Delusional, I know.

A false start

"There's no way to sugarcoat it, this was a very disappointing draw," said Duff, one of hundreds of supporters who'd travelled to Mexico the year before to watch us take on Tigres in our first outing on the continental stage, vowing to never miss a beat of another.

I followed along, too, but from the comfort of my own bed thousands of miles away in Norwich, England. Deep down, I was gutted I wasn't there, so to make up for it I promised to myself that I'd travel for our very next away day in the competition, wherever it may be.

Where exactly that would be was quite the topic of discussion shortly after the draw was made, when tournament organisers deemed that Cavalry's own stadium, Spruce Meadows, in Calgary, Alberta was unfit for purpose in freezing temperatures and that our away leg was to be fulfilled at the closest suitable venue.

Joshua Keeble

Rather amusingly, as someone who's grown up with teams temporarily relocating an inconvenient twenty miles away amid renovations or rent disputes, this new venue was some seven hundred miles away on Vancouver Island, an entirely different landmass in a neighbouring province. This was certainly more than a slight inconvenience for Cavalry's supporters, whose much-anticipated first home match in the competition was now rather ruined.

Good morning, Victoria

Well over a grand spent on flights and accommodation later, it was time to hit the road. My journey involved three separate train rides, an eight-hour flight to, you guessed it, Calgary, and then another two-hour-or-so hop across to Victoria before catching a local bus from the airport to my hotel.

I woke up the next morning, the day of the game, really not knowing what to expect. I didn't have a clue how many, if any, of my fellow Orlando fans had braved the equally formidable journey from Central Florida to be there, so I thought my best bet was just to head into town and see who I could find.

Joshua Keeble

As it was, in an otherwise deserted part of the world that time of year, I did encounter some more human life there for the game. But it was, instead, a trio of Cavalry fans, who were pretty bemused that, one, even a single away fan had even come and, two, that fan had in fact travelled from the other side of the world. I can't say I blame them, really.

I hadn't, though, succeeded in meeting any other Orlando supporters during my morning wander around Victoria, so I decided my next move was just to head straight to the ground, actually a few miles away in Langford, British Columbia, a full five hours before kick-off.

Where are my sneakers?

Starlight Stadium, actually the home of Cavalry's league rivals, Pacific FC, certainly rivalled some of the smallest grounds we've ever played at in our entire history. It may also have been, since it was in the middle of nowhere, an absolute pain in the arse to get to. But it was absolutely perfect.

I mean, it was comprised of one-and-a-half stands, a few rows of bleachers behind one of the goals, and a television gantry fashioned out of a bit of scaffold. What more could you want? It also boasted a bowling alley and a sports bar right next door, which is where I first met Duff, Derek, Nate, and Hayden, actually a Seattle Sounders fan who couldn't resist joining Major League Soccer's loudest fanbase on a one-game loan. Or, just maybe, watching Nicolás Lodeiro in action one last time.

Joshua Keeble

A few hours of darts, drinking, and failing to finish a thirty-dollar pizza later, it was time to make the short walk over to the ground in time for kick-off and join what must've been sixty or seventy Orlando supporters in the away end. But we weren't the only ones dressed in purple that night.

"It seemed Orlando had brought as many, if not more travelling fans than Cavalry had," continued Duff. "That was only added to as we were joined by Pacific fans who united with us against their league rivals. The atmosphere in the away section was electric, although it was much more playful in tone than typical with us poking fun at individual fans in our end, asking what a kilometre is, and singing 'Pony' by Ginuwine."

It really was a special atmosphere, even if there was so few of us compared to home games and some of our closer away trips. The performance helped, too, with Duncan McGuire opening the scoring after twenty minutes and Facundo Torres adding a brace to all but seal our place in the next round.

Until next time...

Just like that, it was all over. Sure, we headed straight for some of Victoria's finest drinking holes after full-time to enjoy what was left of the night, and some of us even had another whole day to kill before heading home for good. But the ninety minutes that we'd all waited weeks for, spent hundreds on, and travelled hours to see were over in a flash, and that was pretty hard for me to take.

Still, I can confidently say it was worth every penny. I'd visited a new country, made some new friends, enjoyed my first away win, and added some pretty cool pictures to my photo album. Unfortunately, though, I was sporting a pretty embarrassing moustache at the time, so most of them are ruined.

Joshua Keeble

"It was a really interesting trip," said Derek, another of those who's maintained a perfect record in this competition, home and away. "It took me three different modes of transportation to get there all to see a game with two thousand people next to a bowling centre. We went with long-time friends, met new ones, ate way too much Tim Hortons, but most importantly we got a win."

"For what originally felt like a draw that would be a complete dud, this away day ended up as one of my favourites to this point," added Duff. "This experience has left me much more open-minded about any further match-ups in this competition... If we ever return, that is."

A pretty unfortunate reunion with Tigres in the next round means that we are still waiting for our first visit to those dream destinations in Central America or the Caribbean. But I think we can rest easy knowing that if one apparently underwhelming draw can unexpectedly turn into one of our all-time great away trips, just imagine how good that day will be when it finally comes.

I'll certainly be there, that's for sure.