Story of the Match
Playoff football is all about which team can grind harder and suffer better than the other. Doing so while also continuing to probe to find that all-important goal is even more challenging. On Wednesday night, however, Pacific FC who did just that against the visiting York United FC in the Canadian Premier League’s new play-in match between the fourth and fifth placed finishers in the regular season.
The match saw the Nine Stripes line up in a more attack-focused way than perhaps anticipated, but it was the Tridents who stuck to their game plan better overall over the full 90+ minutes. The first chance of the match did fall to the visitors, but Pacific FC’s Georges Mukumbilwa was perfectly positioned to clear the effort from inside the six-yard box. Next up, it was Thomas Meilleur-Giguère who – not for the last time in the match – put the ball in the back of the net, only for the linesman to correctly flag it offside.
The match would stay scoreless into the halftime break before Manny Aparicio lined up the first shot on target of the second half in the 51st minute as he forced the goalkeeper to push his long-range effort over the bar. Seven minutes after that Aparicio was again involved when received the ball on the turn in midfield and played it wide to Josh Heard who’s curling effort was put behind by the York ‘keeper. From the ensuing corner, Meilleur-Giguère again appeared to have the ball go across the line before being pushed onto the post, but after a discussion between the referee and his assistant it was deemed the ball did not fully crossed the line.
The match-winning moment finally came for Pacific in the first minute of stoppage time as two substitutes combined to great effect. From the left side, Kekuta Manneh whipped in a gorgeous cross for Adonijah Reid to attack and poke into the back of the net. Starlight Stadium was immediately sent into a delirious state as the Tridents booked their ticket to the next round of the playoffs. It was a all-around gritty performance from the home side who won on the back of the team’s togetherness and winning mentality.
Looking Ahead
The Tridents are still alive thanks to that goal from Reid, and the playoff journey now continues on the complete opposite side of the country. With two days in between this match and Saturday’s meeting with HFX Wanderers FC in Halifax, it will be a gruelling trip across the country for Pacific, but one the team will gladly take because it means the chance at a second trophy in club history is still on the cards.
It’s not easy to do the cross-country trip from Vancouver Island to Halifax at the best of times, and will be even more burdensome for the Tridents now with such a quick turnaround. Given this, to get through the Wanderers on the weekend, the group must use this as a means to dig deeper than ever before and find the strength to keep this run going.
PFC Standout Player: Adonijah Reid
While Reid’s first season on the Island has overall been a positive one, his fourth goal of the season was without a doubt his biggest contribution to the Tridents campaign. For his match-winner, Reid showed off his top-class football IQ and excellent movement to find space inside the York box and poke home the ball in stoppage time to send Pacific through to the next round.
After watching from the bench to start, Reid came on as a substitute for Heard in the 83rd minute and got involved on the ball early and often, using his trademark acceleration and tight ball control to frustrate York’s backline on multiple occasions.
Reid talked after the game about how he had recognized fellow substitute Manneh delivering a cross into the same area he would later scored from a few minutes later. So when the space opened up for Manneh to send in another cross, Reid knew the space to attack and did so expertly.
Scoring Summary
90+1’ – Pacific FC – Adonijah Reid
Statistics
Possession: PFC 44 % – YRK 56 %
Expected Goals: PFC 1.12 – YRK 1.15
Shots: PFC 12 – YRK 15
Shots on Target: PFC 5 – YRK 4
Saves: PFC 2 – YRK 6
Fouls: PFC 12 – YRK 12
Offsides: PFC 4 – YRK 2
Corners: PFC 7 – YRK 3
Cautions
40’ – Sean Young – Yellow
67’ – Max Ferrari – Yellow
88’ – Kadin Martin-Pereux – Yellow
90+4’ – Easton Ongaro – Yellow