2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #92
Halifax Wanderers FC vs. Pacific FC
September 18, 2024 at 3 p.m. PT
Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

Two sides still riding a high from the weekend will converge in the Maritimes on Wednesday, as Halifax Wanderers host Pacific in a crucial midweek matchup.

The Wanderers remain on home soil after an astounding triumph on Saturday, when they trounced league leaders Forge FC 3-0 in a shock result that could keep their playoff hopes alive. Halifax still sit in last place, with a 6-5-11 record, but their 23 points mean they’re only three points behind Vancouver FC for the final playoff spot. In fact, if the Wanderers win this game on Wednesday, they’ll jump all the way into fifth and occupy that last postseason position thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker.

However, Pacific would also be able to push themselves into a playoff spot if they can get a result at the Wanderers Grounds. The Tridents are 7-5-10 and thus sit level with Vancouver on 26 points, with a game in hand (to be made up on Wednesday).

Pacific enjoyed their weekend as much as the Wanderers did; they beat Salish Sea derby rivals Vancouver 3-0 to seize back bragging rights from their neighbours for the first time this year.

In fact, Pacific have won both of their last two matches by a 3-0 scoreline. Two weeks ago, they hosted the Wanderers back at Starlight Stadium and demolished them in a frustrating game where Halifax saw both Dan Nimick and Cale Loughrey sent off for second yellow cards.

Halifax will therefore be hoping for a very different game this time around against Pacific. They’ll get both Nimick and Loughrey back after serving suspensions from those ejections, as well as Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, who was suspended for yellow card accumulation, which should give them a boost. Meanwhile, Pacific will also get two players back from bans, with Juan Quintana and Cédric Toussaint both eligible again.

Both Halifax and Pacific have been sitting on a game in hand over the rest of the league for weeks, but that will disappear on Wednesday night when they’ll catch up to the rest of the pack before the last five matches of the regular season.

With these two teams each scrambling to get back into the playoffs, this match could make or break either side’s campaign. Expect some drama under the lights in Nova Scotia in front of a fired-up midweek crowd.

All CPL and Canadian Championship matches will be broadcast live on OneSoccer, available as a linear channel on Telus’ Optik TV (Channel 980) as well as online at OneSoccer.ca, through the OneSoccer app and on the fuboTV Canada platform.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Wanderers face selection headache in defence: Patrice Gheisar won’t have an easy job picking a team for Wednesday night, and not just because the quick turnaround will likely necessitate some rotation. After Gheisar’s two most trusted centre-backs, Nimick and Loughrey, were sent off at Pacific and thus suspended for the Forge game, he went with a pairing of Jefferson Alphonse and Nassim Mekideche, the latter of which only signed for the club last week. However, that duo held the highest-scoring team in the league without a goal. The question now will be whether Gheisar opts to stick with what worked, or return to his veterans — or some other combination of the four players. “Very difficult,” Gheisar agreed when asked about the choice he has to make. “The fact that it’s a short turnaround does allow us to be creative, but at the same time they were great; we’re home, no travel, so it will be a difficult decision. We’re trying to figure out ways, or a way of getting them all on at the same time, or what’s the right thing to do. We will figure it out.”

• Pacific attack finding new joy: Pacific are, by a considerable margin, the lowest-scoring team in the Canadian Premier League. They’ve scored 20 goals in 22 games — and that includes the six they scored in their last two. Putting the ball in the net has been a consistent concern for the club this year, but the way they’ve played in the last couple of weeks suggests they might have had a breakthrough in that department. Two players in particular have been key to the explosion: Dario Zanatta and Moses Dyer. Zanatta has three goals in the last two games (his first three of the year) and Dyer has two, leading Pacific to a pair of wins that could have turned their season around. If the Tridents have finally found an attacking combination that works, they’ll suddenly be a much more formidable side in the last month of the season. “Moses has changed our dynamic,” Pacific head coach James Merriman said. “He’s just so aggressive and brings that intensity. … And it’s brought more out of Dario, it’s even brought more out of Adonijah Reid.”

• U-21 minutes needed for Halifax: After 22 games, the Wanderers still find themselves behind the pace with regard to collecting their 2,000 required domestic U-21 minutes. They have 1,408 so far, meaning they need to average 98.7 minutes per game over the final six matches of the season. Halifax added a solid 117 minutes to their total on Saturday against Forge, with Jefferson Alphonse playing the full 90 — which they could look to repeat, considering Alphonse’s strong performance. They have a handful of options though, with Tiago Coimbra a particularly useful attacking piece, though he might be kept as a substitute. Aiden Rushenas is another option if Patrice Gheisar wants to give him a match in goal. All that’s to say, Halifax do need to pick up some minutes quickly, but Gheisar has plenty of U-21 players at his disposal to get his team over the mark.

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Halifax Wanderers FC: Fillion; Bayiha, Nimick, Loughrey, Fernandez; Callegari, Probo, Rampersad; Rea, Telfer, Ferrin

Pacific FC: Gazdov; Dada-Luke, Quintana, Meilleur-Giguère, Ceceri; Yeates, Young, Dominguez; Tircoveanu, Dyer, Zanatta

ALL-TIME SERIES

Halifax Wanderers wins: 5 || Pacific wins: 10 || Draws: 7

Last meeting:

Sept. 7, 2024 — Pacific 3-0 Halifax Wanderers

KEY QUOTES

“From an opposition standpoint, I wouldn’t want to play a team that has momentum going in, and has belief and turned things around because they’ve built resiliency. I think that’s what it’s about, taking our learnings and putting in consistency.” — Halifax Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar

“I think both teams understand what this game is; it’s that game in hand for us as well, with both sides. It’s a must-win for both teams. You’re going to see that and feel that.” — Pacific head coach James Merriman