Title battle brawl: frustrated HFX Wanderers lose 2-1 to Pacific FC amid penalty drama

Despite loss, club has eyes towards rebounding against Vancouver FC on Saturday

The Halifax Wanderers' title hopes have taken a hit but remain afloat.

They welcomed a focused Pacific FC side during Monday's Natal Day clash and fell 2-1 following a tight and controversial tilt at a packed Wanderers Grounds.

With their win, the Tridents sit atop of the league with 32 points while the Wanderers find themselves in fifth place and fighting to climb the parity-marked heap. Only 10 games remain in a season defined by its competitiveness.

But the conversations flowing from Halifax's loss don't centre on the score sheet.

Instead, fans across the league are discussing a call against Halifax's Massimo Ferrin in the 44th minute which has become a rallying cry for better officiating.

The match's beginning was defined by tight marking and a level of physicality meant to set the tone for both clubs. Entering the match, the Wanderers had won three of four and had clearly circled this match as a chance to jump the table in the club's quest for their first title.

But in the 44th minute, things went awry as Ferrin challenged Pacific's Kunie Dada-Luke in the 18-yard box. Ferrin cut inside, forcing Dada-Luke to stretch out his leg and the two were tangled up. Ferrin went to ground.

Expecting a penalty, the Wanderers were shocked when referee Yusri Rudolf handed Ferrin a yellow card for simulation.

Pacific scored soon after, taking advantage of a distracted Halifax side which repeatedly failed to clear their lines. Coming out of the half, Pacific captain Josh Heard then doubled their lead off a perfect cross from Manny Aparicio.

Halifax rallied in the later part of the match — replying with a Daniel Nimick goal off a corner in the 79th minute — but were unable to mount the comeback.

Speaking post-match, Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar didn't mince words when it came to his views on the refereeing.

"We had a real, real opportunity but for whatever reason, we didn't get the penalty. I'd love to understand how the world works with penalties. Someone has to explain it to me," said an exasperated Gheisar to reporters. "And then they came down and scored that set piece goal in the 47th minute. If you flip that scenario, I mean we've got a different game. We have to own it and understand that, for whatever reason, we're never going to get a penalty in Halifax. We had 10 penalties last year; this year we have one. So, I don't know. I don't know."

Pacific attacker Easton Ongaro also addressed the controversial call, noting Halifax's inability to rebound following the non-penalty allowed his side a mental advantage.

"Yeah, I think that tends to happen. Something doesn't go their way and you take advantage of that, catch them when they're down. We're fortunate we took advantage of the opportunity," he said.

Regardless of Monday's result, the Wanderers are focused on capitalizing on a stretch which sees them play six of their last 10 matches at home.

And make no mistake: this year's title is still very much on their minds.

"This league is so tight. Anyone can win on any given day," said Daniel Nimick when asked about the club's mentality. "We're still close to the top of the table, pretty much everyone in the league is. We're still well in the title race and still believe we can do it. It's going to happen where not every game is going to go your way and today was one of those days. We regroup, put out a good performance on Saturday (against Vancouver) and show everyone in this league we're still very much in the running for that title."

The Wanderers next play Vancouver at the Wanderers Grounds Saturday, August 12.

From the Notebook:

1. When I interviewed Canada Soccer's referee manager, Isaac Raymond, one of the questions I asked was if they had changed how they called penalties. His answer was that referees are not calling penalties differently but the number of penalties are down across the league. To date, there have been 13 penalty goals. The Wanderers have one goal; York United has zero. Last season finished with 35 and as Gheisar pointed out during his post-match presser, the Wanderers had 10. You don't need to be a math wizard to realize Halifax received a disproportionate amount of penalties last year relative to the rest of the league. But the crux of the issue is coaches, be it Gheisar or Tommy Wheeldon Jr., are clearly unsure what the requirement for a penalty is. Gheisar even insinuated Halifax isn't getting penalties as a result of last year's abundance. Both have made pointed comments to highlight the inconsistency of the officiating. On one hand, I feel for referee Yusri Rudolf, who made a mistake, as he has been receiving hate online and I never think that is okay. On the other, I think the CPL and Canada Soccer need to do a better job communicating their decisions (or as they refer to them, key match incidents) and fessing up publicly when a mistake is made. Raymond mentioned during our conversation that he communicates weekly with the clubs to explain certain incidents but I think it would do the credibility of the officials a world of good if they made these reports public. It comes down to being open with fans, players and media so the league can grow. If people feel the results are tainted by inconsistency, the product loses credibility. I have sent a note to Canada Soccer requesting access to the report they circulate to the clubs to see what insight they can give. From my perspective, there's little doubt about the Ferrin card while watching the replay: it should have been a penalty.
2. I mentioned it during Derek Simon's Sounds of the Grounds spaces hangout but this Wanderers squad is an incredibly confident group. It was there at the beginning of the season and it has only been buoyed by the additions of João Morelli, Doneil Henry and most recently, Jordan Perruzza (you can read my piece on his signing here). I know it's a sports trope that players always say they believe in their club but Gheisar and his staff have created a squad greater than the sum of its parts. I had the opportunity to interview Lorenzo Callegari last week (story coming on Friday) and during our chat, he talked about the strength of the group and how they have grown together over the length of the season. Although the loss to Pacific smarts, they believe they have the players to win the title.
3. Which brings us to the match. Compared to the roster Pacific fielded on July 11, the Tridents meant business this time around and mostly fielded their strongest starting XI; Gheisar matched with what I believe to be his most trusted players. However, the beginning of the match was highlighted by broken plays and sloppy passes as both clubs grappled for control. Head coach James Merriman stressed post-match he wanted to dominate midfield and said they aimed to limit Callegari's time and space. "We just wanted to protect centrally,” he said. “We wanted to take away central buildup for them, we know that (Callegari) likes to dictate the tempo of the game and we felt like we did that, we forced them wide most of the time.” I agree that Pacific did a good job of keeping the Wanderers from the dangerous areas, directing traffic to the outside so that despite owning 63 per cent of the possession, Halifax logged just three shots on target. The Wanderers had control but Pacific's disciplined 4-3-3 formation smothered most of their chances.
4. A note on Nimick's goal. The coaching staff asked both Nimick and Cale Loughrey to commit to attacking on corners to try and chip in more offensively and have been working on it in training. I definitely noticed them more this match, especially with Nimick's goal but was struck by another observation. I find Wesley Timoteo much better at lofting the balls in on corner kicks than Callegari. Don't get me wrong, Callegari has a magic wand for a right foot but Timoteo just seems to have better luck in dead ball situations. In fact, Timoteo earned his second assist of the season off Nimick's goal and continued his run of excellent play. He had 117 touches, 85 completed passes and accurately delivered nine out of 13 long balls.
5. Immediately after scoring his goal, an ecstatic Nimick turned towards his own end, saw Henry and the two completed a chest bump worthy of a university dorm party. Gheisar has spoken about the burgeoning relationship between the young defender and Henry before but I wanted to ask Nimick about continuing to study under the seasoned Canadian footballer. "Doneil is obviously a guy that all of our defenders can learn so much from," said Nimick. "It's been incredible learning from him and shadowing him in training and learning how he carries himself." Soon, it'll be other players talking this way about Nimick as he again had an exceptional match on both ends of the pitch. He won all six of his aerial duels, six of his seven ground duels while adding an attacking element. What a player.
6. I thought Aidan Daniels and Zachary Fernandez had very quiet matches. In particular, I thought Fernandez struggled to play through Heard, who was a force to be reckoned with and I thought Pacific's best player. Gheisar's substitutions came at the right time as he pulled Daniels and Fernandez for fresher legs in Riley Ferrazzo and Jordan Perruzza; this immediately changed the tempo of the match in Halifax's favour.
7. Speaking of Perruzza, he was a bolt of energy and nearly logged his first CPL goal within minutes of stepping onto the pitch. Having had the chance to interview him, he sounded highly motivated to prove himself amid a disappointing season at Toronto FC. John Molinaro of TFC Republic wrote he expected Perruzza to get quite a few minutes while on loan but I originally doubted it would come to fruition given the striker depth on the squad. However, I think Perruzza made an impression on both the coaching staff and the fans in short order. If Coimbra continues to be injured, I wouldn't be surprised to see Perruzza come on as a super-sub. Here's Gheisar on Perruzza's debut: "You could see his class. But it's the same thing with Doneil and João. We're not looking for anyone to come in here and be our knight and save us. I think we're going in the right way, we just need guys to complement us."
8. This last note was originally going to be a whole piece but time is something I have less and less of these days. As I first reported in late June, the Wanderers were looking to make a move for another attacker. I couldn't confirm what shoe would have to drop to make it possible but I had a hunch something was finally happening with Ludwig Amla's situation. It turns out Amla received his decision and subsequent ban on June 15. It took the club a while to navigate the logistics of Amla's contract but they were eventually able to square it away by moving him off the active roster and get Perruzza's loan over the line. And with that, the Wanderers wrapped up an impressive transfer window which speaks to the club's growing reputation. Now, we just have to wait and see what they can accomplish.

Cover Photo Credit:  Trevor MacMillan / HFX Wanderers FC