Anatomy of a PFC Goal is a series breaking down brilliant or memorable goals scored by Pacific FC through the years.

It will look into the before, during, and after to describe how the goal was constructed and finished off, and how it affected the match.

This series is best viewed horizontally or on a computer to view the photos more clearly.

For the third entry into the Anatomy of a PFC Goal series we’re only going back a couple of months to the first Mainland edition of the derby between Pacific FC and Vancouver FC.

Before we get into the moment itself, take a look again at Kekuta Manneh’s goal which wrapped up the occasion AND made it the highest scoring match in Canadian Premier League history. Then we’ll break it down below.

*Note – the highlights show a shortened segment of the entire move*

Before

Ahead of the second-ever meeting between these two clubs, the outlook of their respective seasons were already very different. Vancouver found themselves sixth, two points off the bottom but with the worst goal difference in the league, and Pacific sat second and three points off the top but with the best goal difference.

With one Derby already in the rearview mirror, we knew to expect some fireworks the second time around. Pacific had won that first meeting, the opening match of the season, 1-0 on the Island thanks to a late goal from Manny Aparicio and carried plenty of confidence into the second matchup of the season.

This match also represented the first-ever chance for Pacific supporters to travel with the team on an away day, and they didn’t disappoint. A strong contingent of Pacific fans made the ferry trip over AND made their presence known from the opening minute.

Back to the goal we’re talking about here. Coming at the end of the match, it was preceded by a riveting 90 minutes of football. Pacific took an early lead through Amer Didic before Vancouver answered back just a few minutes later. Then, the Tridents again took the lead through an absolute world-class goal from Josh Heard only for the home side to again strike back just before halftime. However, after a relatively even first half, the second half was all Pacific.

With the score still 2-2 after about an hour of action, James Merriman brought on Ayman Sellouf and essentially changed the entire complexion of the match. The Dutchman scored seven minutes after coming on and assisted Easton Ongaro two minutes later to make it 4-2 for the visitors by the 70th minute. Sellouf also won a penalty ten minutes later which Aparicio put away with authority. Vancouver would later score a penalty themselves to make it 5-3 with just a few minutes of regular time remaining.

Finally though, once the fourth official had raised the board to indicate there would be six minutes of added time, we get to the moment being discussed here.

During

*Notes – White lines indicate ball movement, yellow lines indicate player movement, and circles indicate important players in that frame. Text corresponds to the image below it.*

Here’s where we break down the goal itself.

The entire move starts when the ball is played back to Kieran Baskett in goal. At this point in the match, there are many tired legs out on the pitch and ultimately all Pacific need to do is make Vancouver chase the ball and see the game out.

But the home side has decided to press Pacific in the hopes of turning the ball over and giving themselves a glimmer of hope to perhaps draw the match. Given the press, Baskett’s decision to go long (with a target in mind, not just to clear his lines) is the correct decision.

Here we see Aparicio’s ridiculous athletic ability on full display. In the 90th minute of an intense and exhausting derby, the 5’6″ midfielder out-jumps Vancouver’s centre-back to win the header and keep the ball in Pacific’s possession. Not only that, but his flick-on header is PERFECT and goes right into Sellouf’s path out wide.

It’s the type of aerial presence you’d expect from a stereotypical target man centre-forward, but here it’s Aparicio showing off the athleticism and determination that help make him such a special player.

Now that the ball has gotten in behind the Vancouver defence and forced them to start backtracking, Sellouf can carry it deep into the Eagles’ territory before pausing to see where Vancouver is moving as a defensive unit.

With Ongaro occupying the centre-backs, Sellouf and Aparicio have a slight overload out wide. Aparicio spots the chance to make an overlapping run and Sellouf plays the ball into his path.

Here we see for the first time how deep Vancouver has dropped into their own box. Doing so has then allowed the space to open up just outside the top of the box where Yeates is calling for it unmarked.

Aparicio spots Pacific’s no. 7 and curls the ball into him.

Yeates smartly continues to circulate the ball and move it over to Manneh with a looped pass over the flat-footed defensive line. Manneh, the goalscorer, gets his first touch of the move here.

We’ll also see essentially this exact same passing combination 15/20 seconds later.

Now we get to the portion in the move where it gets a bit scrappy. However, after a second of loose ball control, Ongaro picks up the loose ball and continues to move it around the Vancouver box by playing a quick pass to Aparicio who had stayed around the corner of the box.

Aparicio sweeps the ball onto Sellouf who for the second time in the move squares up the Vancouver full-back and backs him up deep into the box. As he does so, a passing lane opens up for Yeates to receive the ball again in the same position he did before. He is again unmarked in that space as he controls the pass from Sellouf.

Yeates quickly moves the ball along to Manneh in space at the back-post – the same combo we saw earlier – and this time Pacific’s no. 31 looks to finish off the move himself.

Manneh uses a deft body faint and touch inside to open a shooting angle before hammering the ball into the back of the net with a slight touch off the crossbar making it look even more visually appealing.

The team then heads off in celebration as they stamp home their second win in two games against Vancouver thanks to excellent patience, ball movement, and intelligent combination play.

The goal also saw Manneh collects his first in PFC colours and his first on mainland British Columbia since September 16, 2017 when he was a member of the Columbus Crew.

After

As mentioned, this goal put a bow on what was already an emphatic derby victory for Pacific. It also put the match into the history books as the highest-scoring fixture in Canadian Premier League history.

Since that match, Pacific has flown to the top of the table – a position they currently sit in heading into the second Derby in Langley, while Vancouver has since dropped to the bottom and has endured a difficult first season on the pitch in the CPL.

Thank you for reading the third entry in the Anatomy of a PFC Goal series. If you missed the first entries, you can find them here and here.

Let’s hear from you! Comment on our social media post to give your take on this goal. Did you see it in person? Was it as good as you remember?

And what are some of your favourite PFC goals that you would like to see broken down next?