Well, we know exactly what Pacific FC needs to do to make it into the Canadian Premier League Finals for the second consecutive year. After a smash-and-grab-style victory in the first leg, Atlético Ottawa take a 2-0 lead back to the nation’s capital. That means anything less than a two-goal margin of victory for Pacific will see the Tridents head home earlier than they would’ve wanted. The mindset heading in is simple: a spot in the final awaits the winner of Sunday’s match. So will it be the defending champions after pulling off an incredible comeback or will Ottawa be one step closer to completing the ultimate worst-to-first season?

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Pacific has now lost back-to-back games, although both were decided late on with goals more or less against the run of play. It’s difficult to take one gut-punch, but consecutive games where you feel you did enough to win and have nothing to show for it are where real character is built. It’s now time for the Tridents to show what this squad is made of.

Ottawa continued its unbeaten run in the first leg, and did so in the fashion they have countless times this season: soak up pressure, counter effectively once or twice and run to the team bus with an against-the-odds victory. They have now gone 10 games unbeaten and won’t be giving anything away easy on Sunday.

History

The head-to-head between Ottawa and Pacific now stands at four wins for Pacific, three for Ottawa and two draws. When visting the nation’s capital, Pacific has one wins and one loss – with both matches coming this season. Those two matches each came before the mid-way part of the season, but the rhythm they were played with won’t be too dissimilar to how it should play out on Sunday. That will be especially true with Pacific the team needing to score and Ottawa having the luxury of simply grinding out another frustrating 90 minutes.

Players to Watch

Pacific – Jamar Dixon; Ottawa – Carl Haworth

Two players, and former teammates, steeped in the Ottawa football scene.

Dixon didn’t start the first leg on the Island but should come into the starting lineup ahead of this one. While energy and intensity are needed to overcome this deficit, so is leadership and having your captain on the field of battle will only push the Tridents in the right direction. But it’s not just leadership that Dixon brings to this team. His ability as a “shuttler” to cover ground in midfield and break up the opposition’s move before launching a counter attack will be essential to Pacific’s gameplan on Sunday.

Another former Ottawa Fury man, Haworth is capable of filling multiple roles down the right side for Ottawa. His ball-carrying ability helps alleviate pressure from Ottawa’s back five and he provides excellent balance for the other dynamic players Ottawa has down its left side, namely Ballou Tabla and Maxim Tissot. It will be on Nathan Mavila and Josh Heard to work together to manipulate the right side of Ottawa’s back five and pin back Haworth on Sunday.

Keys to Victory

First things first, as mentioned before Pacific needs at least two goals in this match. A two-goal margin of victory sends this tie to penalties, and with no away goals rule it doesn’t matter if Pacific wins 3-1 for example.

If the Tridents are going to score they’re going to need to break down this Ottawa defence, which has been no small feat this season. Drilled well and cohesive as a unit, the back five (and goalkeeper) make things incredibly difficult for their opponents. We saw in leg one that holding the majority of possession doesn’t necessarily equal creating the best chances to score. The lineup Pacific used in that match showed many positive signs so don’t expect too much to change in that regard, it will just require a slight change in approach given the two-goal deficit. Pacific are at their best when moving the ball quickly and pressing aggressively so in this do-or-die fixture, an all-out, full-throttle approach right from the start wouldn’t be surprising from James Merriman’s men.

News and Notes

Here’s what else you need to know before Sunday’s match:

• The official Pacific FC Watch Party will be at JR Slims on Wharf Street. Doors open at 10:00am.
• Callum Irving will be making his 69th appearance for Pacific FC on Sunday which will put him tied for the most in club history.
• If Pacific FC overcomes the two-goal deficit on Sunday and makes it through to the final, attention will turn to the outcome of the other semi-final as the winner of that match would then host the final. Currently tied 1-1 after the first leg in Calgary, Cavalry FC would be looking to host the final for the first time in club history and Forge FC would be looking to create an exact rematch of last year’s final.