‘The vibe is great’: Wanderers’ growth evident in 3-1 home opener win versus Pacific FC
It was a familiar situation — leading 2-1 and with time trickling away — against a formidable foe in Pacific FC, a script, if one were to re-visit past iterations, where the Halifax Wanderers were destined to play the tragic hero. It is a role they reprised again and again in 2024, suffering a myriad of misfortunes that would make even young Hamlet blush.
The truth is the Wanderers, be it through own goals or reds cards, lacked maturity in recent years. They have all too often tolerated football’s slings and arrows and allowed opponents like Pacific to siphon precious points from matches that, by rights, head coach Patrice Gheisar’s squad had no business fumbling.
But on Saturday, in front of a club record 6,817 fans for their home opener, the Wanderers showed growth. Not only did they defend admirably, showcasing a newfound grit and guile, but they displayed a confidence in themselves that had been missing. It was evident in star centre-back Thomas Meilleur-Giguère’s 12(!) clearances. It was exemplified in Gheisar’s comfort in subbing off former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lorenzo Callegari for youngster Alessandro Biello in the 88th minute. And it was hammered home with French winger Yohan Baï’s final goal a few minutes later, sealing a convincing 3-1 victory to start the club’s account at home.
It took the Wanderers 10 matches last year to earn seven points; they’ve now earned that sum in a mere three. They currently sit tied for top of the table.
It feels safe to say, although the sample size is small, that the Wanderers have learned from past mistakes.
“I think we learned, part of that (through) pain and again, when people always say this, it sounds like a cliche, you know, but you learn more from losses and setbacks,” Gheisar told reporters post-match.
“But I think we learned a lot last year. Look, at the same time, I will still say some crazy stuff happened last year. We’re talking six, seven own goals, eight red cards, we had the highest expected goals and we couldn’t get anything to go our way. Look, you can only say for so long we’re unlucky, so I think we learned and we really committed. The work we did in the pre-season, before today, and the work we’ve done everyday is so much more intense and so much more committed than last year.”
Although the Wanderers started slow, with Pacific head coach James Merriman’s side showing jump through the first 15 minutes, they ultimately scored first off a set piece. On Friday, full-back Wesley Timóteo spent time after training to work on free kicks and distance shooting with assistant coach Giovanni Petraglia. And as luck would have it, the ball bounced to him in the box following a corner from Sean Rea. Timóteo’s first shot with his left foot was awry but he was able to collect the ball and bend it past Pacific goalkeeper Max Anchor with his weak foot in the 19th minute.
“Gio (Petraglia), the assistant, told me to be in that exact same spot. He said: ‘Trust me, the ball’s going to fall in that spot.’ I did shank it with my left, the guys were making jokes to just cross it, don’t shoot. But, of course, with my right foot, top bins,” said Timóteo to reporters.
The Wanderers later took a 2-0 lead thanks to a bright sequence from Giorgio Probo and Sean Rea, who combined to pull Pacific’s defenders out of position before setting up Ryan Telfer, who made no mistake. Pacific later got one back in the 71st minute, profiting off a good run by Dario Zanatta, and placed the Wanderers in a situation they’ve collapsed in before.
However, explained Timóteo, this year’s group is different.
“In the last few games, we’ve shown a lot of maturity, we know we’re going to suffer at some points, and we went through that phase (early), at half time we spoke about what we had to change, and then we showed a lot of energy in the second half. We did 2-0, then 2-1. I don’t feel like we stressed about it,” he said.
For his part, Gheisar echoed Timóteo’s statement, adding both the addition of leaders like Meilleur-Giguère and the continued evolution of players like Callegari, Telfer and even Julian Dunn has led to a more assured group.
“I think we also had a lot of people step up. When you have one idea, let’s say my idea, but you have seven people that are really willing to execute it and all 24 commit to it. Thomas (Meilleur-Giguère) has brought such grit that I felt like we were missing,” said Gheisar.
“We had such pretty football (last year): play, play, play, play, play. The ball would hit the lights, hit the referee, bounce and go in the net. I think it’s going to be more difficult for that to happen. I think leaders like Thomas have been great. We don’t put our head down, we keep going. Telfer’s been fantastic. I think the unsung hero, in regards to our leaders, is Julian Dunn.”
Although Dunn may not have played a minute this year, Gheisar said he’s been integral to the culture the Wanderers have been building. He travelled to England in pre-season despite not playing. He’s recently re-joined training. And, in many ways, Dunn’s dedication to rehab from his injury is the kind of work ethic Gheisar and his staff are trying to foster in a group that is still finding itself.
“That’s the maturity that we have five, six good leaders who are setting the standard and not allowing panic to set in. I think Pacific is a terrific team but at 2-1 I didn’t feel panic because the players didn’t feel panic,” said Gheisar.
Simply put, there’s a maturity that’s setting in for a Wanderers squad that previously lacked it. It can only bode well for the future.
Timóteo noted, even though the season is young, the squad is enjoying their football. The same certainly couldn’t be said of last year’s tragedies.
“The vibe is great,” he said with a laugh.
Cover Photo Credit: Trevor MacMillan / HFX Wanderers FC
