Final Score: Halifax Wanderers FC 3-1 Pacific FC
Goalscorers: Timóteo 19′, Telfer 65′, Baï 90+5′; Zanatta 71′
Game of the 2025 season: 10
CPL match: 606

Match in a minute or less

The Halifax Wanderers kicked off their 2025 slate of home games in style on Saturday, as they defeated Pacific FC 3-1 in their home opener at the Wanderers Grounds.

After surviving an early wave of Pacific pressure, the Wanderers opened the scoring in the 19th minute, as Wesley Timóteo curled a shot off the crossbar and in from the edge of the box. Then, they doubled their lead in the 65th minute, as Ryan Telfer scored with a cool finish after some great build-up play from Giorgio Probo and Sean Rea.

Pacific made things interesting late, as Dario Zanatta scored to make it 2-1 in the 71st minute, but the Wanderers called game in the 95th minute, as Yohan Baï scored his first CPL goal after a great individual run to seal the victory for his team.

Three Observations

Aggressive Wanderers show different side in entertaining victory:

The Wanderers didn’t exactly hide their intentions heading into this one – they wanted to entertain.

Having had one of the best home records in the CPL over the past few years, a big reason for that has been due to their style of play, as they look to control games at home, making them uncomfortable by playing right on top of them with and without the ball.

Coming off two solid road performances to kick off the year, in which they grabbed four points, that set the tone for them to come out strongly in their return to the Wanderers Grounds for the first time in 2025.

It took a while for them to get going in this one – Pacific came out strongly before the Wanderers broke open the game with their 19th-minute goal – but once the Wanderers got that lead, they started to play with the energy that they had promised in the build-up to this game.

Interestingly, they did so by slightly modifying their approach – they held far less of the ball than usual in this game, finishing with just 44.6% of possession, and they were more passive in their press, but they were lethal when they got on the ball.

As a result, they generated an impressive 18 shots, including seven on target, for a total of 1.7 Expected Goals (xG), doing a great job of being dangerous in the moments they pushed forward.

In particular, Sean Rea and Giorgio Probo had excellent games for the Wanderers, doing a great job of finding spaces between the lines to attack. There was no better example of that than on the Wanderers’ second goal, which stood as the winner, which came to be after some brilliant work from Probo and Rea.

After having won the ball in a dangerous area in Pacific’s half, the pair of Wanderers’ attacking midfielders came alive, doing well to drift into a dangerous area, before combining nicely with some quick passing to create the chance for Telfer.

Yet, that might be the best example of what this new-look Wanderers team is about. Having spent a lot of time in the offseason working on their pressing, as Patrice Gheisar took a page out of Jesse Marsch’s book after spending some time with the Canadian Men’s National Team head coach last year, they want that to be a pillar of their game in 2025.

A goal like that second one shows why that is the case, as they were able to recover the ball in a great area, and that gave more space for their dangerous attackers to get to work.

In a game like this, where Pacific were able to get on the ball a bit more, the Wanderers’ press allowed them to stay involved in the match, knowing that it took just one moment to unlock a dangerous moment.

Otherwise, another big thing that will stand out for the Wanderers? How they closed out this game, as they did a great job of weathering a late Pacific storm after the visitors had cut the lead to 2-1.

Unlike in week #1, where the Wanderers drew 2-2 away to Atlético Ottawa after going up 2-0, they didn’t want to waste their lead this time around. Thanks to the insertion of some fresh legs, and an emphasis on being patient on the ball, they kept composed and even got an insurance marker to properly see out the game.

Details that they often struggled with in 2024, it’s encouraging to see that early growth in 2025, as that can pay off throughout a long season, where wins like this can be immensely valuable.

Lapses in both boxes cost Pacific despite an improved showing:

Early on, it looked like Pacific might get off to a strong start, as they came out of the gates with energy in the early minutes.

In particular, they did a great job of finding space down the flanks, as Ronan Kratt kept finding himself open on the left, and Marco Bustos on the right.

Not only that, but they did a good job of turning those attacks into dangerous attempts, too – Pacific had a couple of glorious chances to go up early, as they managed to filter the ball into some good areas in and around the Wanderers’ box.

Unfortunately, they were not as composed with those attempts as they would’ve hoped, as they sent a few of those dangerous shots well wide of the mark, but it was encouraging to see the areas they were occupying.

That ended up being the story of their game, however – Pacific were a lot better in this game on the ball, having struggled in their last match against Forge, which was positive to see.

Given that they held 55.6% of possession, completing 81.8% of their passes, that’s a good sign, as that’s what they want to do in games – have control. Plus, it’s not as if that control was completely without purpose, either – they also had 15 shots and 1.37 xG, as they certainly tested the Wanderers goal.

Where Pacific let themselves down, however, was with their execution in those moments. For example, they had three big chances, compared to the Wanderers’ two, but the Wanderers scored both of theirs, whereas Pacific finished just one.

Not only that, but Pacific didn’t have a shot worth more than 0.27 xG, whereas the Wanderers had two worth 0.42 and 0.44 xG, respectively, as the hosts ensured that their big chances would yield quality scoring chances – something Pacific struggled with, as they’d often seem to overthink the chances they got in good areas.

Overall, however, that was the big takeaway for Pacific in this game – they need to be better in both boxes, as that feels like it’s where they lost this match.

Be it from the goals they conceded, with one coming off a set-piece, another a sloppy turnover and the other a strong individual effort, ones they’ll all want back, or their lack of finish, they just weren’t good enough in either box.

Therefore, while they’ll take some solace in the performance being much improved, look for improved execution to be their focus going forward, as this team knows that you can’t waste performances like this if you want to finish high up the table at the end of the year.

Timóteo’s versatlity a perfect example of 2025 Wanderers success:

Wesley Timóteo has been asked to play several different positions during his stint in the Canadian Premier League, as he’s picked up a reputation of being a Swiss Army Knife for coaches to work with.

When he burst onto the scene with FC Edmonton in 2022, for example, he was a dangerous winger, scoring three goals and adding five assists in his lone season in Alberta. Then, since his arrival in Halifax, he’s had to fill a few other positions for the Wanderers after starting as a winger in 2023, including as a full back and even as a ball-playing centre back.

Now, he’s being asked to fill another role in 2025, and that’s to play as a wing back, a role that seems to suit him perfectly.

To his credit, he’s been pretty comfortable in every role he’s had to play, even as a centre back, but there’s no doubt that he can best impact a game when he’s high up the field.

As a wing back, he’s getting to do that, and this game was another example of how.

On the ball, he plays a big role in the build-up play, helping provide an outlet for the Wanderers to play through, while also proving to be an important asset in the final third. In particular, he does a great job of overlapping and providing width for his team, which can be extremely valuable given how narrow the likes of Probo and Rea will play, as he’ll give them an option out wide to use when they drift into those central channels.

Off the ball, however, he’s no slouch – he has no problem getting stuck in defensively, even when dealing with a tricky winger like Marco Bustos, which was his main assignment in this game.

“I think it’s a perfect balance,” Timóteo said of his new role. “I think it’s where I can help the team the most.”

Yet, Timóteo is the perfect example of what has worked for this Wanderers team so far in 2025 – they’re a much more versatile group than before.

Of course, at their best, they’ll want to be that team that dominates the ball, but they know that they won’t be able to do that all season – there will be moments where they need to sit back and defend, or play more directly in possession.

To do that, you need players like Timóteo, who can help you on both sides of the ball, and the Wanderers have them in spades, especially among their new-look midfield and backline.

That’s helped them massively through the first few games, and they’ll look to use that to their advantage going forward.

What They Said

“It was incredible. It’s my third home opener, and the commitment of the people here never dies – you’ve seen it with the expansion in the stadium, that took incredible work by the people here. This is the earliest that we’ve ever had a home opener, and the field was in great condition, but people haven’t slept for weeks (to make this happen), so we can only thank them so much for what they did to set up this scene and stage. ” — Halifax Wanderers FC head coach Patrice Gheisar.

“In the last few games, we’ve shown a lot of maturity, we know we’re going to suffer at some points, and we went through that phase (early), at half time we spoke about what we had to change, and then we showed a lot of energy in the second half.” — Halifax Wanderers FC wing back Wesley Timóteo

“It was frustrating to start the game the way we did, and to still walk away from here with nothing. It’s frustrating to give up another goal on a set piece because I thought momentum was with us, but again, we need to respond quicker from that, as well. It took us too long to get back into the game, we then went down 2-0 before getting back to 2-1, so yeah, we walk away very frustrated with the result.” — Pacific FC head coach James Merriman

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Wesley Timóteo, Halifax Wanderers FC

Timóteo was excellent on both sides of the ball for the Wanderers in this victory. On the ball, he completed 25 out of 33 passes (76%), including three out of six long balls and 10 passes into the final third, to go along with four shots along with one chance created, while also chipping in with two tackles, five clearances, three recoveries and winning six out of 12 duels defensively.

What’s next?

The Wanderers will head out on the road for their next match, as they get set for a clash against Valour FC at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg on Friday, April 25th (7:00 p.m. CT/9:00 p.m. AT). Meanwhile, Pacific will return to British Columbia, but for a road game, as they make the short trip to Langley to take on Vancouver FC in the Salish Sea Derby at Willoughby Community Park on Saturday, April 26th (5:00 p.m. PT).

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