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Match Preview: Pacific FC v HFX Wanderers FC: Tridents visit the east coast looking to move back into playoff spot

Pacific FC undertake their second cross-country trip of the season this weekend when the Tridents fly into Halifax for a visit to Wanderers Grounds. With the impending arrival of Hurricane Fiona to the east coast of Canada, the match was postponed to Sunday morning when hopefully conditions are a bit better/safer. Given the already difficult challenge games on the opposite coast provide, Pacific will hopefully not have to battle the conditions as well. Pacific will be looking to avenge their previous visit to Halifax which saw them receive two red cards (one player, one staff) but almost come away with a hard-earned point on the road. The Tridents are in need of a win down the home stretch of the season and, depending on the results of other matches on the weekend, could move back into a playoff spot while still having a game in hand on all but one of the teams around them.

Recent Form

Back to back 1-1 draws at home have pointed Pacific in the right direction again and could provide a good platform for this final push in the regular season. Thanks to the points picked up recently, and the form of the teams around them, Pacific still have the chance to get back into a playoff spot with a positive result on Sunday.

Halifax are hanging on to the hope of a playoff spot thanks to a three-game unbeaten run, but realistically can’t make up the ground at this stage in the season. However, three straight clean sheets including a 0-0 draw with Cavalry FC and a 1-0 win over Valour FC show that this team is still fighting for results with only a few games remaining.

History

The head-to-head between Pacific and Halifax looks similar to what you might expect. Given the distance and time spent travelling the away team must undertake, it isn’t necessarily surprising that the home side more often comes out on top. The overall record stands at five Pacific wins, four Wanderers wins and four draws, but in the five matches that have taken place in Halifax – like the one on Sunday – the Wanderers have three wins and two draws. Alternatively, Pacific have four wins, one draw and one loss when playing on the Island. The Tridents will need to break the trend on Sunday to get a positive result in this cross-country derby.

Players to Watch

Pacific – Manny Aparicio; Halifax – Pierre Lamothe

I’ll admit, this Aparicio section is essentially copy and pasted from last weekend as I had a whole section written to line up with his return that, for reasons we won’t go over here, didn’t end up coming.

Anyway, we will finally get to see the return of Manny Aparicio this weekend and it could be crucial to Pacific grabbing one of the four available playoff spots. The Tridents have only lost two of the 13 Canadian Premier League matches Aparicio has appeared in this season, and have won just two of the 11 he has missed. The importance of Aparicio’s drive and technical ability to Pacific’s game plan cannot be understated, and his triumphant return could provide the final spark for Pacific to close out the regular season in top form. He’ll be motivated on his return and his teammates will be pumped to have him back on the pitch, so watch out.

Halifax’s Lamothe scored the winner in the last game between these two and has generally left a good impression in his second season with the Wanderers. An all-action midfielder capable of dropping deep and finding space further up the pitch, Lamothe’s energy gives Halifax a different option to their more stabilizing midfield players like Andre Rampersad and Jeremey Gagnon-Lapare. He’s not a natural goalscorer but his strike against Pacific last time showed the technical ability he possesses.

The Story to this Point

The season is culminating in a fantastic (from a neutral’s perspective) battle for the top four spots. From an individual club perspective, each of the five competing teams would’ve liked to have a little more certainty at this point, but there is still the chance to go on a final winning run and wrap up a good position for the playoffs. Pacific’s slightly up and down season, featuring much more travel than the club has ever seen before, could still end in great fashion especially if the Tridents close out the regular season with the positive form they’ve shown at many times amid this gruelling campaign.

Halifax was always fighting an uphill battle ever since last season’s Golden Boot winner and Player of the Year Joao Morelli went down with a season-ending injury in the first game of the season. The east coast side has fought well all season long regardless and has even picked up some memorable results, including the 3-0 win over Pacific on the Island. While a playoff spot would’ve been the goal heading into 2022, the chance to still spoil the party and keep up their fantastic home form could be enough to put a positive final stamp on this interesting season.

Keys to Victory

Last time out in Halifax, Pacific lost Aparicio and assistant coach Armando Sa to red cards after a controversial decision in the first half. Pacific held on for the next 50+ minutes after going down to 10 men but couldn’t get the against-the-odds draw in the end thanks to an 82nd-minute winner from the home side. Even while down to 10 for most of the match, Pacific held onto the ball well but couldn’t create any clear-cut chances to get on the scoresheet. With that, and the fact the team has not scored more than one goal in a match since the 6-0 win over Waterhouse, goals will win this match. Halifax have been tough to break down recently with three straight clean sheets but with Pacific’s defence also looking solid, it could come down to Pacific finally breaking out to find their goalscoring boots and killer instinct in the final third again.

News and Notes

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

  • Due to the arrival of Hurricane Fiona in Halifax late Friday/early Saturday, this match – originally scheduled for Saturday at 11:30am PT will now be played at 11:00am PT on Sunday.
  • More importantly, positive thoughts go out to everyone on the east coast as they embrace for Hurricane Fiona. First things first is to make sure all are safe before turning our focus to the match in question here.
  • After being sent off in his last appearance against HFX Wanderers FC, Manny Aparicio finally returns to the Pacific FC lineup in time for the second trip to Nova Scotia.