Story of the Match
A foggy and frustrating East Coast evening ended in a 2-1 defeat for Pacific FC in Halifax on Tuesday. HFX Wanderers FC came out as the more purposeful team from the first whistle and, despite a late half-comeback from the Tridents, were able to hold on for their fourth straight home victory.
The match began with Halifax immediately on the front foot. After a few missed opportunities in the opening stages, the home side got on the board through Massimo Ferrin in the 16th minute. The Tridents got to halftime just a goal behind, but another hot start from the Wanderers to begin the second half made the score 2-0 in the 49th minute. Just seven minutes later, Sean Young was shown two yellow cards in the span of about 10 seconds and was sent off by the referee. Down a man and down two goals, Pacific rallied late and got on the board through Amer Didic who hammered home his fourth goal of the season in the 87th minute, but the comeback came too late and the Tridents left the East Coast with just their third loss in the Canadian Premier League this season.
It was another lacklustre performance from Pacific who have now lost back-to-back matches for the first time this season and have had their lead at the top of the standings seriously dented. This team have shown their class throughout the season, but this current stretch has presented a new challenge for the otherwise dominant Tridents in 2023.
Building up that formidable lead at the top of the table showed what kind of team Pacific really is, but now that the other teams have closed the gap points-wise, it’s time for the hungry and motivated attitude that was prevalent just a few weeks ago to return. This team and its supporters have been spoiled over the past few seasons with not having to deal with many losing streaks, so the feelings of discontent at the moment simply come from how high the standards around the club have been set.
Looking Ahead
Well, Friday’s match against York United FC is now looking like a must-win, or at least must-not-lose. The travel schedule hasn’t been kind to Pacific during the middle of July, with three games played in seven days and a cross-country trip thrown in there as well. Much like Pacific’s recent slide though, York is also coming off a demoralizing loss to Forge FC on the weekend so how the Nine Stripes respond on Friday will also factor into the state the match.
The Tridents and the Nine Stripes have already met twice this season – both on the Island – with Pacific taking all six points from those fixtures. Now the matchup moves to York for the first time this season with a lot riding on the outcome of it.
PFC Standout Player: Abdul Binate
There weren’t many bright spots during Tuesday’s gloomy loss for Pacific, but one milestone to note was the professional debut of Abdul Binate. Binate signed for Pacific FC prior to the 2022 season but an unfortunate ACL injury kept him out for the entire year. It’s been a long road back for the 20-year-old attacker, but the determination, focus, and drive to work your way back to full fitness and confidence in your body has shone through for Binate over the past year.
To see the youngster get his first minutes of professional football helped brighten the mood on an otherwise disappointing evening, and hopefully we can see more of him the rest of the season.
Scoring Summary
16’ – HFX Wanderers FC – Massimo Ferrin
49’ – HFX Wanderers FC – Callum Watson
87’ – Pacific FC – Amer Didic
Statistics
Possession: PFC 53 % – HFX 47 %
Expected Goals: PFC 0.64 – HFX 2.21
Shots: PFC 9 – HFX 9
Shots on Target: PFC 1 – HFX 5
Saves: PFC 3 – HFX 0
Fouls: PFC 7 – HFX 15
Offsides: PFC 0 – HFX 1
Corners: PFC 4 – HFX 3
Cautions
56’ – Sean Young – Yellow
56’ – Sean Young – Yellow (Red)
56’ – Zachary Fernandez – Yellow
59’ – Kunle Dada-Luke – Yellow
79’ – Yann Fillion – Yellow
90+2’ – Daniel Nimick – Yellow
90+4’ – Pierre Lamothe – Yellow