It took 11 games for HFX Wanderers to fully play Gheisar's system. Here's five predictions moving forward

Recent offensive breakthrough a sign of things to come

It is undoubtedly the finest goal in the club's history, a vignette of football brilliance that Wanderers fans will look back on in fondness for years to come.

Watching the replay on loop, it's hard not to be drawn in by its smoothness.

Lorenzo Callegari needles a line breaking pass. Tomas Giraldo receives the ball and executes a perfect backheel flick into York United's 18-yard box. Daniels collects and crosses the ball to an airborne Tiago Coimbra, who volleys it in.

Rinse and repeat.

And if you've ever been to a Halifax training session, this is exactly the type of movement head coach Patrice Gheisar covets. Drills often focus on patterns of play, on positioning and reads and all to the tune of his incessant calls for more speed.

Because it's the swiftness of execution that makes Coimbra's goal possible.

It's a hard way to play, as Gheisar himself has mentioned in multiple interviews, but in the long-term, players will only get more comfortable and faster until they reach the point where it's second nature.

If the last three matches are any indication, Gheisar and this year's iteration of the Halifax Wanderers have hit a point where they are able to play through opponents; their recent unbeaten streak is a testament to this.

After scoring only six goals in their first eight matches, they now have seven in their last three and have looked dominant for stretches.

So the question is: what can we expect from the Wanderers now?

Here's five predictions to think about moving forward.

1. Daniels will continue his dominant form

No player has benefitted more from the arrival of the new coach than Aidan Daniels.

Now, Daniels has always been exceptionally skilled but he wasn't able to find his rhythm in Stephen Hart's system last year. And the club, like Daniels, needed a fresh start.

Enter Patrice Gheisar and his attacking-based system.

Daniels has looked rejuvenated since the first match under Gheisar and is a big part of the Wanderers' attack. He looks comfortable and confident, something which nobody could have said about him last year.

In fact, Daniels has credited Gheisar with taking him under his wing and sorting himself out on the mental side of the game.

It's no coincidence that he has three goals and three assists already this year; look for him to continue to assert himself as one of the best players in the CPL and to attract interest from larger leagues.

2. Callegari will be voted Player's Player of the Year

Entering the season, there was a lot of discussion around the 25-year old PSG midfielder the Wanderers had somehow lured from Europe.

Lorenzo Callegari has lived up to the hype, breathing life into Gheisar's midfield and looking every bit the polished academy product he was projected to be.

Players and coaching staff alike have spoken about how just seeing Callegari in the Wanderers kit is enough to calm the rest of the line up, so he's clearly respected in the room for his skill.

But further afield, there isn't a club in the CPL that isn't scratching their heads trying to contain Callegari and what he means to Halifax's attack. He's made several players look foolish with his ball control and is the rudder that steers the ship.

He currently leads the league in assists, passes and cards,

Similar to Ollie Bassett last year, Callegari has earned the respect of the herd so expect him to win some hardware before being pried away by MLS clubs.

3. Rampersad will struggle for playing time

The CPL is a development league and the Wanderers are in need of U-21 minutes.

The Wanderers currently have 597 of the 2,000 minutes they are required to have by season's end. With the rise of Tomas Giraldo, who is looking better by the match, it will be difficult for Gheisar to validate playing Rampersad over other midfielders.

The plan to start the season was to move Rampersad to a more attacking position, something both the player and club wanted to try out.

But it hasn't really worked as the club was plagued by bad luck, no player more snake bitten than their captain.

Rampersad is currently away representing his country at the Gold Cup and the club has two wins and a draw since he was relegated to the bench (he played briefly in Halifax's win against Valour before reporting to Trinidad and Tobago's camp).

In the end, Rampersad will have to wrestle a starting spot back from Mo Omar if he wants to draw in regularly. Hopefully, the captain's time away will reset his confidence in himself.

4. The return of Morelli will be about passing the torch

João Morelli's return is perhaps the most exciting news item this season for Wanderers fans given many thought he had played his last match for the club.

Well, he's back following a year rehabbing from his ACL injury and the Grounds will inevitably be packed for his grand return. The match, whenever it is, will be a great moment for the Wanderers and the CPL community at large.

But don't expect him to play much.

In recent interviews, Morelli has described his journey through rehab and doubts about whether he would ever play again. He's been cleared to return to action but missing a year of any sport means there will be as many mental hurdles as physical.

Given the way Gheisar has spoken about Morelli's return, expect him to feature sporadically throughout the summer as a substitution. It sounds like Gheisar has asked the former Golden Boot winner to help teach the young players about the importance of being a professional and embracing the local community.

Morelli was the face of the club and his presence will help further connect the new players with the fanbase.

On the pitch, expect him to round into playing form near the end of the season once he's more comfortable and fit, or in other words, just in time for playoffs.

And make no mistake: Morelli will score again for the Wanderers.

5. Halifax will make the playoffs

The start of Patrice Gheisar's tenure as head coach of the Halifax Wanderers was punctuated by good play interrupted by momentary implosions, high possession but no tenacity.

Add in a sprinkle of bad luck and his club was winless after eight matches.

But they have turned a corner and are performing much closer to their metrics in terms of their actuals goals (1.18 per match) lining up with their expected goals (1.48). If anything, given the shots they are putting on net and the quality of those chances, one could argue the Wanderers still haven't hit their full offensive potential.

Which is a scary thing for the rest of the league because Halifax has looked good — besides for an outlier against York United — against the best clubs in the CPL.

The continued improvement of players like Tiago Coimbra, Daniel Nimick, Cale Loughrey and Zachary Fernandez means the Wanderers are only just getting started.

As of right now, they currently sit fourth on the table with 13 points.

If they continue to grow into Gheisar's system and deliver like they have showed their fans the last three matches, the Wanderers should make the playoffs.

Stats taken from footystats.org.

Cover Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League