The Wanderers Grounds continues to become one of the most difficult away trips in the Canadian Premier League in 2023, as Halifax Wanderers picked up their fourth straight home victory, this time 2-1 against top-of-the-table Pacific FC.
Massimo Ferrin opened the scoring in the 16th minute on a foggy night in Halifax, and Callum Watson added a second early in the second half to secure a monumental victory for the home side. For Pacific, it was their first road loss of the season in five matches away from Starlight Stadium.
Halifax missed a clear opportunity just two minutes into the match, as Tomas Giraldo was played in behind by Aidan Daniels, but somehow sent his shot wide of the target despite being all alone in from of Kieran Baskett. Giraldo was played through again in the 6th minute but Baskett saved his effort before the Halifax attacker was judged to be offside.
The hosts would not be denied in the early stages of the match, however, opening the scoring in the 16th minute. Fumpa Mwandwe picked up the ball in transition and tried to thread a ball through the Pacific backline. His initial effort was denied, but the ball deflected right back into his path and he played a perfect ball across the Tridents’ line to slip Ferrin in behind. For the second time straight match at the Wanderers Ground, Ferrin found the back of the net for an early opener.
It was another disappointing start for Pacific, who have allowed their opposition to score the first goal now in three straight matches. The visitors controlled the majority of the ball after that but were unable to really break into the final third consistently. Their best chance of the half came in the 37th minute, as Amer Didić sent a thunderous header just over the bar from a set piece.
Otherwise, it was a disappointing opening 45 minutes for the league leaders, who didn’t manage to test Fillion through the opening half. As a result, they trailed 1-0 at the break.
Halifax started the second half just as quickly as the first, and this time were rewarded for their efforts. Ferrin picked out substitute Watson in transition, who created space for himself in the box before curling the ball into the back of the net to give the Wanderers a 2-0 lead in the 49th minute. It was Watson’s third goal of the season.
Things then went from bad to ugly for Pacific in the 56th minute, as Sean Young was initially shown a yellow card for a tackle in transition. The Pacific midfielder then got into a scuffle with Halifax’s Zach Fernandez and was shown a second yellow card.
Pressing their numerical advantage, Halifax continued to attack in waves. Aidan Daniels sent a shot off-target before Mwandwe had a shot blocked in the 62nd minute after some clever attacking movement from the hosts.
Late in the match came another monumental moment for the Wanderers, as Mwandwe was replaced by 2021 CPL Player of the Year João Morelli. The Brazilian was making his first appearance since suffering an ACL injury in the second match of the 2022 season. He nearly set the stadium alight in the 85th minute, but his driven strike from the top of the box was easily collected by Baskett.
Pacific, however, made it interesting late as they as Didić headed home a cross from Ayman Sellouf to cut Halifax’s lead in half in the 87th minute. That was as close as they would get, however, dropping back-to-back matches for the first time this season.
Pacific now have just a single win in six trips to the Wanderers Grounds in club history– and their lead at the top of the CPL table remains at just three points ahead of Forge FC.
BOX SCORE
Goals
16′ — Massimo Ferrin (Halifax Wanderers)
49′ — Callum Watson (Halifax Wanderers)
87′ — Amer Didić (Pacific FC)
Discipline
56′ — Yellow: Sean Young (Pacific FC)
56′ — Yellow+Red: Sean Young (Pacific FC)
56′– Yellow: Zach Fernandez (Halifax Wanderers)
59′ — Yellow: Kunle Dada-Luke (Pacific FC)
79′ — Yellow: Yann Fillion (Halifax Wanderers)
90 +2′ — Yellow: Daniel Nimick (Halifax Wanderers)
90+ 4′ — Yellow: Pierre Lamothe (Pacific FC)
