Halifax Wanderers tie Pacific 0-0, still chasing their first win of the season

The Halifax Wanderers sent 26 shots towards goal — the most attempts of any club this season in league play — but were unable to score against a ragged yet defiant Pacific FC in Saturday's CPL coastal clash.

While head coach James Merriman and his Tridents were pleased to have salvaged a point from a difficult road trip, the Wanderers once again left the pitch still in search of a little luck and their first win of the season. And although their form has improved of late, with this being the first time they've picked up points in back-to-back matches in 2024, the circumstances have left them wanting more.

When asked post-match about what they need to do to breakthrough, especially in a tilt where they had a man advantage for nearly half the match, head coach Patrice Gheisar didn't pull any punches.

"The easy answer is to score a goal," he told reporters. "But my message (to the guys) is we have a very tough profession. We work all week and, call this your recital, you're judged on it for how did you do this week. Everyone knows we haven't had a good start to the season. That shouldn't take away from what's happened these past two games."

The Wanderers started the match with noticeably more energy than Pacific and pushed to score an early goal. With several regular starters missing due to injury (Dan Nimick), suspension (Tiago Coimbra) or international duty (Andre Rampersad and Ryan Telfer), Gheisar shuffled his squad and was rewarded with some bright moments early. Playing as the striker, Massimo Ferrin nearly scored off a corner kick with a dangerous header that seemed labelled for the back of the net but it was stopped by Pacific keeper Sean Melvin in the 12th minute.

Pacific also had their moments, mostly on the counterattack, and nearly scored a go ahead goal off a nifty passing play in the box around the 30th minute but attacker Josh Heard's shot sailed just wide of Halifax's net.

The match took a turn in the 53rd minute as Colombian defender Juan Quintana was sent off for a second yellow, bringing Pacific down to 10-men. From there, the Tridents closed ranks and sat deep in an attempt to soak up the pressure. They saw a paltry 29 per cent possession in the second half.

Despite a plethora of opportunities and the lion's share of possession, the Wanderers were unable to solve Pacific's defence — but not from a lack of trying. They had 16 shot attempts in the second half alone but only four on target. They had moments — the best being a Christian Volesky header which struck woodwork and then resulted in a scramble which miraculously stayed out of the net — but couldn't seize their opportunity. They pushed but were ultimately stopped by Pacific's resolute defence, which has only conceded five goals across all competitions.

Gheisar said Merriman and his squad deserve credit for their performance.

"They're really committed. And, in my opinion, the turning point of the game was actually the red card," he explained, adding it hardened Pacific's resolve. "No excuses. We just have to keep working. It's progress, it's growth and we're going in the right direction."

For their parts, Merriman and attacker Ayman Sellouf both said post-match that they were happy to make it out of the Wanderers Grounds with a point given the circumstances, citing the grueling road trip and red card.

"It's basically a new game," said Sellouf of the red card. "It's about surviving and holding onto a point. It's surviving and surviving and that'd be good."

Merriman agreed with his attacker, pointing out that like the Wanderers, they also had key players out due to injury or away on international duty (Reon Moore and Steffen Yeates).

“We’re missing a lot of players. We’re missing a couple key players on international duty, and we’ll welcome them back, we have a couple of players injured right now, they’re going to be back for the next match," he said. “I think when you look at the whole picture of today, we take the point and we go home. It's an excellent effort from our group collectively.”

The Wanderers currently sit last in the league with three points in eight matches. They next play against Forge on June 15.

From the Notebook:

1. 4,487 kilometres. That's the distance, as the crow flies, from Victoria, B.C. to Halifax, N.S. It's a bloody great distance and one of the longest domestic away days in world football. The grueling travel between the CPL's two coastal clubs is one of the reasons Gheisar and the Wanderers opted to take their training camp cross-country. And it's one of the reasons Pacific's defence — and subsequent draw — is so impressive: the average person would be rendered useless following such a trek, none the less playing a professional sporting match in quick order. I asked Sellouf about the road trip post-match and he said Pacific left Victoria at 4:00 a.m. PDT on Thursday and landed at Stanfield International around 5:00 p.m. AST. They then shuffled to their hotels, slept, trained on Friday and played Saturday. He commented on how the CPL redefined his idea of a big trip. "A couple of years ago, if I found out I had a road trip for two hours, ah, that was a long ass road trip," he said with a laugh. Say what you will about the Wanderers being unable to score but I thought Pacific, as they always do at the Wanderers Grounds, proved a prickly opponent.
2. One of the threads I've been tugged at over the last few weeks is Christian Volesky's disappearance from the matchday squad. I think it's telling that even with Coimbra suspended and Telfer away, the coaching staff still decided not to start him. I've been unable to glean what, if anything, is happening behind the scenes with Volesky but obviously things aren't getting any worse as Gheisar opted to give him some minutes. His header, arguably the closest the Wanderers came to scoring, could have been some sweet redemption for the 31-year old American who has struggled in his brief Wanderers career. I asked Gheisar what happened to bring Volesky back into the fold: "He’s progressed very nicely this week and that’s why we gave him good minutes. I think for his confidence, for our confidence, that crossbar would have been a beautiful moment, there wasn’t a better player that we wanted to score that goal — not that it matters who does, but if he did it would have been a lot for him.”
3. I also asked Gheisar about Clément Bayiha, who made his home debut after being loaned to Halifax from York United last week. Gheisar made a point of praising the pacey winger in his pre-match presser so I wanted to get his thoughts on Bayiha's 30-minute cameo on Saturday: “I thought Clém was fantastic, that’s two games in a row that he’s brought that energy. We spoke about what things we wanted to target in regards to the growth of our team — one of them was a dynamic dribbler who could unlock games and I thought he provided some really good things for us." One of the things I really like about Bayiha's addition is he's a different type of player. The Wanderers already have several very good, albeit dominative, technical players so Bayiha brings something they didn't have. I thought his speed and dribbling were on display and he ended up creating Halifax's one big chance (as credited by Sofascore). With a little more time, I could see him being a regular in Gheisar's starting XI.
4. A quick update on Dan Nimick: although he didn't play, it sounds like his injury isn't too bad and he won't miss significant time. Gheisar mentioned Nimick desperately wanted to play versus Pacific, and may have been close, but ultimately the team decided to keep him out to avoid further aggravating his injury. Assuming there's no complications this week in training, it could be possible that Nimick is fit in time for Halifax's match against Forge next week. Obviously, given Nimick's importance to the squad, they'll be monitoring him carefully. I will add that he was training in some capacity on Friday.
5. Riley Ferrazzo made his second consecutive starting XI following a strong showing against Atlético Ottawa. I again thought he was excellent as an advanced midfielder on the right hand side of the pitch and although it may not bode well for the club, Ferrazzo is currently their leading league goal scorer with two tallies to his name. I had the chance to interview him after training on Friday (keep your eyes peeled for a piece about him later this week) and a lot of our conversation centered on confidence, both for individuals and the group: "It's always a great feeling to get into the XI and to be able to deliver on my first start of the season. It's a confidence booster for me. I believe in my abilities, I know the guys do too, as well as the coaching staff." Slowly, the players are finding their way and there's no better example than Ferrazzo at the moment.
6. Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé wore the armband and after a rocky start to his season, looked much more composed against Pacific. He finished with a near perfect 96 per cent passing completion rate (52/54) and paired well with Lorenzo Callegari, who had an eye watering 129(!) touches and 107 completed passes. Clearly, this duo was able to move the ball. But what was even more important is that the Wanderers have become much tighter out of possession, insulating a midfield which is full of technical skill and vision but slightly short on pace. I thought they worked seamlessly with the centre-back duo of Cale Loughrey and Julian Dunn, who both probably had their best matches of the season. Interestingly, Loughrey ended up being the conduit on the backline, dishing 59 completed passes and hitting five out of his six attempted long balls. These numbers speak to the growth in his game.
7. Although not officially named to Halifax's leadership group, Aidan Daniels — who has quietly become one of the club's longest tenured players — addressed the media post-match. I wrote last season about how he's become a much more rounded player under Gheisar and that extends to his leadership. He may not be the most vocal guy on the pitch but Daniels speaks volumes with his work ethic. Responding to questions, it became very clear that this is a player who believes despite the club's nightmare start to the season. I asked him about what they need to do to create offence and building off of what is arguably a good performance: "I think the chances are (being) created. We had 26 shots today and 19 in the box. At the end of the day, they're there, it's just being clinical and picking the right option at the right time, whether it's between shoot or pass. And Pat does a really good job with his message to the group of never too high, never too low. I think that we just need to trust the process. We know we have the quality, we know we have the players to do it. It's just a matter of the tables turning for us."
8. A quick note about The Wanderers Notebook and the Healey & Bailey Notebook going forward: there's a few exciting things going on in the background, the first of which is we've partnered with Rafflebox. Rafflebox are the organizers behind the 50/50 tickets on matchdays and funds from these tickets go on to support charities such as the United Way Halifax, Feed Nova Scotia, Special Olympics Nova Scotia, Fight4Life and the Halifax & Region Military Resource Center. This is but the first of several impending announcements and represent a big step in growing this outlet. I just want to say thank you for reading, as it makes partnerships like this possible.

Cover Photo Credit: Trevor MacMillan / Halifax Wanderers FC