Wanderers lose 2-1 to York United but botched penalty call looms large

You could argue the Halifax Wanderers did it to themselves. A slow start. Sloppy defending on a corner. A personal error which, with a bit of bad luck, ended up in the back of their net.

Which is not to take away credit from Benjamin Mora and York United, who played a measured game of football through 90-minutes at York Lions Stadium. They seized their chances, be it Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy's header or Juan Cordova's goal off a broken play, and slowed Halifax's attack. They played simple and hard and walked away with an important three points.

Three points that the Wanderers desperately needed.

Down only a goal heading into extra time, it seemed like the Wanderers might be able to salvage something for their efforts. Building on the right side of the pitch, Vitor Dias pinged a ball through York's backline, springing Zachary Fernandez, who had beat his man, Kadin Martin-Pereux. Fernandez took a touch into the box, still going full speed, but was pushed by Martin-Pereux, causing the Wanderer full-back to go down in a heap.

The Wanderers thought it was a penalty — their chance at equalizing late — but referee Mathieu Souaré thought differently. The only acknowledgement he gave Fernandez on the play was a yellow card for argument.

Even on the broadcast, the announcers were struck by the missed call.

"It's a penalty," said Jimmy Brennan on OneSoccer's broadcast. "I don't know how he's not saw that and gave a penalty. Fernandez clearly in front,  Martin-Pereux made contact, fell on top of him. That is 100 per cent a penalty."

The Wanderers never really recovered from Souaré's decision, pushing but ultimately falling short to lose for their first time in six matches. Their five match unbeaten streak, which includes two wins, had showcased what this group is capable of.

But speaking post-match, head coach Patrice Gheisar made his feelings on the night — and the non-penalty call — crystal clear.

"I have to be honest, there's no doubt in my mind we leave the city saying we deserved more than we got," he told reporters post-match. "And some of it is not in our power and it's in the power of someone else other than the 22 players."

Gheisar took it a step further, replying when asked what his group needs to do to bounce back that the Wanderers will be fine as long as Souaré isn't officiating their next match.

Again, you can argue the Wanderers did it to themselves by losing focus in key moments. They weren't clinical in front of goal. At times, they lacked pace. But they had their opportunities, especially in the last 30-minutes of the match, putting 13 shots towards York goalkeeper Thomas Vincensini. But Gheisar said it was too little, too late.

"I think we just have to score first," he explained. "Our team, I think, is very much a confident momentum team. If we manage to strike first, our mentality changes."

Gheisar added his squad took some time to recover mentally from conceding. It's one of the reasons they only found their groove in the last third of the match. Even so, they were close to stealing a point back but the comeback didn't materialize.

There's no doubt Souaré's decision impacted the result.

But you also can't ignore the first 60-minutes of the match where the Wanderers gave York chances to score. York's players didn't miss. And far too often, the Wanderers shot high or wide or both. The result is one Halifax will want back, the type of loss you wear for a few days knowing three points was there for the taking and you dropped them through self-inflicted errors.

They'll be looking for redemption when they host Valour on July 18.

From the Notebook:

1. If it wasn't clear as a bell (I certainly felt like I was ringing it), I think Souaré made a mistake. Jimmy Brennan knew it was a penalty. Gheisar knew it was a penalty. Fernandez knew it was a penalty. But Souaré doesn't have the benefit of a replay and as a league, or at least in the CPL, you live and die by the decision on the pitch. It's unfortunate for the Wanderers — they don't get a make up match — but it's a teachable moment for Souaré. Every CPL match is is assessed by a stadium observer and a report is sent to Canada Soccer's refereeing department outlining the key calls (or missed calls). I haven't confirmed this but I wouldn't be surprised if the Wanderers reach out to make their displeasure known on the post-match report. The result is Souaré will hear about the decision, be coached on it and hopefully emerge a better referee. It's part of the growing pains of not only starting a new league but trying to build the surrounding football infrastructure at the same time.
2. Concerning Gheisar's post-match comments, it's important to remember he's speaking minutes after the defeat. He's lost in front of friends and family in his own backyard and that adds an extra element of emotion. Having a clear penalty denied is salt in the wound. To note, he didn't say Souaré's name specifically post-match but he made it known who he was talking about.
3. One thing Gheisar addressed to media ahead of Saturday was the need to keep the momentum going for his squad. They were coming into York unbeaten in five and playing the type of football everyone expected of them this year. They were playing like a top three club. It's hard not to feel like this loss — and the way York played them tactically — has sapped a lot of Halifax's momentum. From kickoff, they looked disjointed but started with much more possession. When York scored their first goal (and we'll get to that), it took all the air out of their sails.
4. Talk about being disjointed: Voytsekhovskyy's header was a result of miscommunication. The Wanderers prepared themselves to defend the set piece with Dan Nimick playing closest to the far post. For whatever reason, Nimick doesn't see Voytsekhovskyy behind him and no one alerts him to the York attacker's presence. When Mo Babouli plays the ball, he pings it directly towards Voytsekhovskyy, who is open. Nimick and Yann Fillion track the ball, only to realize there's a York player behind them. Keeper and defender collide, giving Voytsekhovskyy an extra half second to aim his header and he makes no mistake, giving his side a 1-0 lead. Somewhere along the line, one of the Wanderers needs to do a final scan and callout unmarked players because if ever there was a preventable goal, that one sure felt like it.
5. It was announced earlier in the week that Andre Rampersad's suspension was being reduced and the Wanderers captain followed it up by having one of his best matches of the campaign. He was near perfect with the ball, completing 56 of 59 attempted passes. He also dominated in his duels (9/12), registered a good shot on target and intercepted the ball five times. If Rampersad can find this level consistently, Halifax will do just fine moving forward.
6. I wrote a piece (and recorded a sit down interview) with Ryan Telfer last week in which he talked about goal scoring. Specifically, I asked him whether he thrived on feeling the match (touches, playing one-on-one) or playing tactically (making runs, playing within his designated space). He said it's good to play tactically for the first half of a match while the two sides figure each other out but he liked to play by feel as it went on. Well, there's no doubting his assist on Giorgio Probo's goal was all feel as he pushed off a defender, got into the box with another defender draped across his back, and threaded a perfect cross-box pass to Probo, who had an easy shot on goal. It's this kind of awareness — and one-on-one ability — that you can't teach. Telfer is definitely doing his part.
7. With their July 11 match against Pacific rescheduled, the Wanderers have almost two weeks off before facing Valour at the Wanderers Grounds. Given how the match against York went, I think they'd rather jump right back into the fray instead of training non-stop. Momentum is a real thing in sports and I wonder if the break may derail what they've built over the last six weeks.
8. Last but not least I wanted to give a shoutout to Denton Froese, who is a a gem of a human being. I interviewed him last year and love his thoughts on fandom, especially as it pertains to a new league. “I like to describe it as at a night club. It always takes one fool to get on the dance floor first and then everybody else knows it’s alright to join in. And I thought hey, I can be that fool,” he said. May all CPL fans have the enthusiasm and kindness of Denton. Congrats on your achievements.

Cover Photo Credit: Trevor MacMillan / HFX Wanderers FC