Halifax Wanderers beat Pacific FC in rainy 2-1 win

There’s a common English football saying used – often to the point of meme-ery – to judge a football team or a player’s bona fides: if they are good, can they still do it on a cold, wet and windy night in Stoke? Playing at the Wanderers Grounds has started to take on that feeling in recent weeks: if there’s one guarantee, it’s the rain. It came in sheets on Tuesday afternoon and lingered into the evening, enough to delay Halifax Wanderers’ game with leading Langford, BC side Pacific FC by an hour as umpires and Canadian Premier League officials scrambled and complained about the cancel outright.

The match was victorious. So was the Wanderers – who look like a team capable of just about anything right now.

Over 90 minutes, the Halifax-based football club overran and surpassed the 2021 CPL champions in a 2-1 victory that never looked in doubt, even when it was close. Through fog, blankets of fog, and drums clanging and beating for nearly two hours, the Wanderers showed more than a glimpse of what first-year head coach Patrice Gheisar promised upon his arrival in Halifax:

“The emphasis will be offensively oriented, using numbers in the attack, making a lot of passes, taking risks and having that fun in [the club]Gheisar told The Coast in November.

That was all on Tuesday night.

There were bursts of inspired attacks. Sharpened by balls. Tight defense – and yes, even some CONCACAF-worthy play. It was Halifax’s most complete performance of 2023.

A chip on the shoulder

Halifax went into Tuesday’s game to recover from a hangover from a 2-1 road loss over the weekend to league debutants Vancouver FC. But they weren’t the only team to look to the scoresheet for motivation; a visiting Pacific FC arrived at the Wanderers Grounds hoping to erase the memory of a 2-1 home defeat to Cavalry FC on 8 July.

Halifax almost drew blood in the first two minutes of the game. Wanderers midfielder Aidan Daniels had room to maneuver at the end of the Tridents and shoved a ball through PFC’s back line which found a streaking Tomas Giraldo with no defenders in front of him. The 20-year-old fired a shot past PFC goalkeeper (and former Wanderers goalkeeper) Kieran Baskett but it went just wide. Minutes later, Giraldo appeared to be on goal again, but was called offside.

It wasn’t long before the Wanderers Grounds crowd had reason to cheer: in the 16th minute striker Massimo Ferrin broke into the Tridents’ goal after an opportunistic through ball from winger Fumpa Mwandwe. Ferrin lasered a shot just inside the left post and past Baskett to make it 1-0 for Halifax. The goal was Ferrin’s third in the 2023 CPL season and fourth in all competitions – the Wanderers’ best.

He wasn’t ready yet either. Four minutes into the second half, the Mississauga, Ont. native rolled into PFC’s end, drawing in a crowd of defenders and freeing teammate Callum Watson on the left wing. Ferrin made a pass to Watson. Watson curled a shot from just inside the box and found the top right corner of the net to lift the Wanderers to a 2–0 lead. The goal sent hysterics to the rowdy crowd of supporters in the Kitchen.

Drama in the second half gives Wanderer’s man an advantage

The competition was not without theatre. Pacific FC were reduced to 10 players in the 56th minute after midfielder Sean Young was booked consecutively for a hasty challenge on Daniels and a short shoving game with fullback Zach Fernandez. (Fernandez fell to the ground and sold the call. The pretty game? Maybe not, but it’s effective.)

Halifax almost made it a 3–0 lead in the 68th minute. Daniels – it’s always Daniels who makes things happen, isn’t it? – ended with a shot on goal from the PFC penalty area. No luck for the 24-year-old this time: the ball rolled off a defender.

Pacific FC made it 2–1 in the 87th minute after the Wanderers’ back line failed to get a loose ball into the penalty area. PFC center back Amer Didic shot the ball into the net, but the damage came too late – the West Coast club simply ran out of time to equalize. The Tridents had one last chance in overtime, when winger Ayman Sellouf fouled Dan Nimick near the Wanderers’ 18-yard block, but Sellouf’s free kick went straight into the Wanderers’ wall.

Morelli returns

Former 2021 CPL Player of the Year João Morelli received thunderous applause from the Halifax crowd on Tuesday. The fan favorite made his first Wanderers appearance since tearing his ACL on April 16, 2022, playing 12 minutes.

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Trevor MacMillan / Canadian Premier League

HFX Wanderers FC midfielder João Morelli warming up on July 11, 2023.

With the win, the Wanderers improve to four wins, seven draws and three losses, and a total of 19 points in 14 games. Halifax also moves a little closer to fourth in the CPL standings, currently held by Toronto’s York United FC (with 20 points in 15 games).

It’s a quick turnaround for the Wanderers; the club heads to Calgary to face third place Cavalry FC on Saturday at ATCO Field (5pm AT).