The HFX Wanderers' season is over; club loses 1-0 to resilient Pacific FC, exits playoffs

It began with songs, flags and cheers — all the panoply of a football crazed city hosting its first-ever CPL playoff match — but ended in heartbreak.

After a hard fought contest in front of a sold-out crowd, the Halifax Wanderer's season has come to an end. They lost 1-0 on Saturday to a steady, albeit fatigued, Pacific FC squad which has punched its ticket to the semi-finals.

It was very much a match head coach Patrice Gheisar and his Wanderers could have won but, in a tale old as time,  they fell agonizingly short of the mark. Now, they'll have the winter months to brood over what could have been following a historic regular season.

The Wanderers mostly fielded the squad which earned them their post-season berth but with a few key changes; Zachary Fernandez — typically a right-back — started on the left side with Jake Ruby deployed in his place. Tiago Coimbra drew in as the striker, leaving Toronto FC loanee Jordan Perruzza on the bench while Callum Watson rounded out the attacking midfielders.

James Merriman's Tridents, fresh off their win over York United, were content to let the Wanderers control the ball, deploying in a 4-4-2 formation led by the towering hydra of Easton Ongaro and Djenairo Daniels.

The Wanderers attempted to play through Pacific, searching for holes in their lines throughout the first half, but failed to drag their players out of position. Halifax had a few moments of cohesion, attempting to play long over the heads of the Trident defenders, but were ultimately unable to connect on anything meaningful inside the 18-yard box through the first 45 minutes.

However, braced as they were for the counter-attack, Pacific managed to take advantage of the Wanderers on a break, led by left winger Kekuta Manneh. Hurrying down the pitch, Manneh managed to ward off defender Cale Loughrey as he drove into the box and crossed the ball. Zachary Fernandez, attempting to cut off the pass, accidentally re-directed the ball into his own net, giving Pacific a 1-0 lead. The goal would prove to be the game winner.

The Wanderers didn't go down without a fight, dominating the ball throughout the closing stanzas of the match (they finished with an impressive 72 per cent possession) while desperately trying to get a shot past Pacific keeper Emil Gazdov.

Battling for position on a corner in the 70th minute, Coimbra managed to beat his man but not the post. Riley Ferrazzo, coming on as a sub, pinged a ball which ultimately found the crossbar less than two minutes later.

As time wound down, the Wanderers continued to press, earning corner after corner; centre-back Daniel Nimick connected with a number of crosses but couldn't put one away.

Tensions mounted as the match went into injury time and, upon the final whistle, erupted as Wanderers players took exception to gestures made by Pacific's Kunle Dada-Luke towards the grandstand.

Speaking post-match, Wanderers midfielder Mo Omar didn't want to comment directly to Dada-Luke's antics but said it shouldn't have happened.

“That’s just playoff sports. There was somebody on the opposition team who did something our players didn’t like," he told reporters when asked about the incident. "Truthfully speaking, if I had seen it, I wouldn’t have liked it either. You’re going to come here, come to our home field and do something to our fans that you shouldn’t do, we’re not going to take that lightly and make that clear.”

The Wanderers finished the match with more shots (14-8), shots inside the box (11-4), passes (617-235) and corners (7-6) than Pacific. Omar said the Wanderers played their brand of football but came up short despite their strong play but should hold their heads high.

“That’s the cruelty of sports. You can’t win every game. In reality, you’re going to have more setbacks than moments where you’re at the very top," he said.

For his part, Gheisar credited his players for not giving up even when luck wasn't going their way; he felt they did enough to earn a win.

“I don’t even know if there was an extra five or six minutes more if it was going to happen. You just start to say, man. But credit to the guys for never stop fighting. They went right to the final whistle. To hit three posts and have two stopped at the line, what are you going to do?” he said.

When asked about losing while playing their brand of football, Gheisar said he's proud of what the club was able to accomplish this year while establishing a foundation to build off.

And although the club's first ever CPL playoff match ended in heartbreak, the desire to do better next year, said Gheisar, is something they discussed in the locker room post-match.

"It's a cruel sport and it's one that we love and live by," he said.

From the Notebook:

1. I wanted to kickoff the last Notebook of the season by highlighting the incredible atmosphere around yesterday's match. As most of you know, I live in Lunenburg and dutifully drove in early afternoon to try and soak in as much of the pre-match festivities as possible. I think it's safe to say Halifax did not disappoint as the city shook with music and flags and so much joy. Yesterday was a festival of football, a testament to what this league can and should strive for in every market they inhabit. I give full marks to the Wanderers head office for rising to the occasion and, even with the result, making it a day to remember. Aside from last year when the Wanderers scored against TFC during the Canadian Championship, that was the loudest the Grounds has ever been.
2. I had a chance to ask Merriman post-match about his strategy coming into the Wanderers Grounds following an emotional win on Vancouver Island. Specifically, I asked if there was something he and his staff had identified in Halifax's formation which made him decide to start Ongaro and Daniels while playing extremely defensively. Given their extreme travel schedule, he said, they had discussions about keeping the Wanderers to the outside and relying on Amer Didic and Thomas Meilleur Giguère to win their duels. Upfront, they hoped their centre-forwards would disrupt Halifax's best distributers. To note, Merriman didn't say specifically he felt his squad could nullify Gheisar's attack by focusing on two key players but reading between the lines, it's clear he felt Pacific could absorb anything coming from the wings. "It was a tactical plan," he said of his formation. "Nimick has been excellent for them as a right sided centre-back all season long. He can really hurt you if you give him time and space with those long diagonals passes. Callegari, in the No. 6, is for them one of the best players in the league this season and we needed to make sure we were around him. Easton and D.J. are great athletes as well. They are big men but they can move and they can run. I think they did a excellent job two versus five.”
3. I also had a chance to ask Gheisar about losing while playing exactly how he hoped his squad would play at the beginning of the year: did it hurt more because their style of play couldn't get it done? “It’s almost better if we were so bad today and we lost 3-0 because our guys were falling and running into each other. Then you just say we’re just not ready for it. But today we played our brand of football. We created big chances that we brought inside. I think we had 10 shots inside the 18-yard box. You’re not getting that in a playoff game," he said. Although I could tell Gheisar was disappointed to have lost, he was also careful to praise his players and put the loss into the context of this season which I think is important. Regardless of some of the decisions made this match, the 2023 iteration of the Halifax Wanderers is one that beat expectations.
4. Which brings us to roster decisions. I thought it was very interesting that Gheisar opted to put Fernandez at left-back to accommodate Ruby. In fairness, Ruby had played very well the last number of matches to close out the regular season but after seeing the instant impact Wesley Timoteo — who I think is one of the unsung heroes of Halifax's season — made when he was subbed on, one wonders if it was the right call. Looking at the striker position, I think Gheisar made the correct decision in starting Coimbra over Perruzza as I think the game plan from Halifax's end was to try and overwhelm a jet-lagged Pacific side with energy and movement (which is essentially Coimbra's calling card). All in all, I think the Wanderers played well in the second half and were unlucky not to get an equalizer off their plethora of chances in the dying minutes but missed an opportunity to take advantage to start the match.
5. I saw Dada-Luke taunting the crowd after Pacific scored and knew he was doing his best to play the role of pest. When the scrum broke out after the final whistle, I wasn't really sure what had incensed Nimick, who was at the heart of the scuffle, but again noticed Dada-Luke. Having now seen the video, I can say I'm not surprised by Dada-Luke's lewd gestures but glad the Wanderers stood up for their fans. It shows pride for their club and I don't think you can ask for much more. To note, it appears that both Doneil Henry and Dada-Luke received red cards so (unless it's appealed) it looks like Pacific will be missing a key piece for the rest of their playoff run.
6. It's difficult not to eulogize the season after getting knocked out of the playoffs (that's a task for later) but I enjoyed speaking to Omar post-match. He's been very thoughtful every time I've had the chance to interview him and he did not disappoint, lifting the curtain as to the atmosphere in the locker room; unequivocally, it was one of sadness but also pride. "We had a debrief in the locker room and a lot of people spoke. One of the things I mentioned was were going to look back at this game, wherever guys are — playing at a different level next year, later on in life — guys are going to look back on this game and this moment and what we created in Halifax very fondly. They’re going to look back on it and be proud of everything we accomplished," he said.
7. I also made note that president and founder Derek Martin waited to speak to every player as they finished thanking fans around the pitch. He waited a long time as players signed shirts, took pictures and chatted with Wanderers faithful. At one point, having stood there for nearly 20 minutes already, a family member came by but Martin maintained he wanted to thank every player before they went into the room. It's a small thing but it also speaks to the man's character and I've got all the time in the world for someone who treats their people right. From what I could see, it looked like Nimick and Fernandez were two of the last players on the pitch, giving their time freely. In a funny exchange, I saw Nimick approach a group of kids who proceeded to ask for his jersey, socks, boots and pretty well every piece of clothing on his body. If they had their way, Nimick would have walked back to the locker room in his underwear.
8. Last but not least, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read the Wanderers Notebook this year. This originally started as a fun side project for me as I worked to rehabilitate from a terrible concussion and over the last several months, I have come to love interactions with the readers, players and coaches who make the CPL — and football as a whole — the wonderful sport it is. I've still got a few pieces to come in the next few weeks before taking a break but wanted to make sure I thanked anyone who has given me their time, be it by reading an article, commenting on a Tweet or consenting to an interview, since I started in April. A big thank you from one lucky fella.

Cover Photo Credit: Trevor MacMillan / Halifax Wanderers FC