Final Score: Pacific FC 3-0 Halifax Wanderers FC
Goalscorers: Tîrcoveanu 33′, Zanatta 63′ (PK), Dyer 81′
Game of the 2024 season: 86
CPL match: 570

Match in a minute or less

Pacific FC earned an important win at Starlight Stadium on Saturday night, putting three goals past Halifax Wanderers FC to pick up three huge points in their quest for a playoff spot.

A lengthy streak of goalless matches ended for the Tridents, with Andrei Tîrcoveanu opening the scoring from close range just after the half-hour mark, before Dario Zanatta doubled their lead from the penalty spot 18 minutes after half time with his first goal for the club. With the Wanderers down to nine men after red cards to Dan Nimick and Cale Loughrey, Moses Dyer scored his first goal for the club as well late on.

The win moved Pacific back up into sixth place, and just three points back of Vancouver FC for the fifth and final ticket to the postseason.

Three Observations

Ruthless Pacific snap goalscoring droughts, launching themselves back into playoff contention

It has been well-publicized this season that Pacific FC have struggled to score goals. When Andrei Tîrcoveanu found the back of the net, in fact, it was Pacific’s first goal since August 2 and first open play goal since July 7 — two lengthy streaks that are not good enough for a team with playoff aspirations.

The team finally got the monkey off their collective back in this match, however, finding the back of the net three times and playing with a directness and willingness to attack the goal that they have often lacked in 2024 and that James Merriman has been pleading for. Almost as important as scoring the goals, though, was who scored them.

Tîrcoveanu’s first half goal was just his second for the club, Dario Zanatta’s successful penalty was his first for his hometown side, and Moses Dyer’s late third goal was his first for the club after joining recently on loan from Vancouver FC. Those three players combined for an incredible 14 shots in this match, and should have probably had a few more goals to show for their strong effort.

“It’s been a challenging period for the group, it’s been really difficult,” admitted Merriman after the match. “We need to enjoy the fact that we took three points and a big win at home. It’s really important for the fans as well with three goals, to get them excited and give them something to see because they’ve been frustrated with us, and we’ve been challenging ourselves, we’ve been frustrated with ourselves.”

Zanatta especially has had plenty of opportunities to score this season, but was yet to take advantage of one. Finally, with some special guests in the stands, he was able to find his first of the year, which he hopes will open the floodgates.

“It’s a moment that I’m definitely not gonna forget anytime soon,” he said afterwards. “My mom was at the game and a few other family members and close friends. They’ve been waiting for it. It’s something I’ve been really looking forward to and hopefully it can give me confidence to score a few more by the end of the season and get us into the playoffs where we want to be.”

“Dario has obviously been challenged a little bit there in the final acts this season, and it’s been a bit up and down because of that frustration,” Merriman added. “So important for him to get a goal now, he’s been training really well in the last couple of weeks, he’s pushing.”

GOAL🔱🔱@Pacificfccpl have doubled their lead over Halifax, as Dario Zanatta slots home from the penalty spot to put his team up 2-0

🔴Watch #CanPL LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/2mhc1efA1P

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 8, 2024

The win puts Pacific FC three points back of Vancouver for the fifth playoff spot, with their BC rivals set to visit them at Starlight Stadium next weekend. There is a chance, then, that Pacific can end next weekend in a playoff spot with a game in hand over the Eagles, if they are able to beat them for the first time this season and other results go their way.

Even if it doesn’t happen exactly that way, Pacific FC have suddenly gone from a really negative position at the bottom of the table to having a spark of life. If they can build on this crucial victory in the weeks to come, there is a playoff spot that might just have their name on it.

Nine-man Wanderers suffer tough defeat in crucial match for playoff hopes

Saturday’s defeat is a frustrating one given where the Wanderers currently sit in the table — right at the very bottom — but what makes it even more frustrating for them is how it happened. The Wanderers have had a tendency, in the words of head coach Patrice Gheisar, to “self-destruct” when things start to go against them. That was evident in this match with the two red cards and three goals conceded — things went from bad to worse, to even worse, on several occasions.

There isn’t a lot of season left for the Wanderers to break out of some of these bad habits, nor will they have their best lineup on the pitch next week to try and correct them. Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé will miss out through yellow card accumulation, and both Dan Nimick and Cale Loughrey will watch from the sidelines after being sent off in this match.

The silver lining is that there are still seven matches left for the Wanderers to find a good run of form and keep their playoff hopes alive. The opposite is also true, however: there are just seven matches left for the team to figure it out. Either way, though, it is a certainty that they need to put this match behind them and regroup ahead of the final stretch of the year.

“Nothing changes for us, it’s one game down,” said Gagnon-Laparé after the match. “We still have a big week coming up with three games next week and still a lot to play for. The season usually comes to the very end of the season, I think this year is gonna be the same so we just pick ourselves up.

“Tonight just wasn’t our night but we’ll take it from there. We’ve been through this for most of the season, big ups and and downs, but it’s like that this year, so we just keep going from there.”

Gheisar echoed those sentiments, saying that they can’t let this game affect them going into the final quarter of the regular season.

“There’s not much to say about it other than we’re all disappointed,” said Gheisar. “I think it’s a quiet change room, you just gotta let it be and we gotta get back to work tomorrow. “It’s not the standard we want to set, so we have to just look at ourselves and say we let ourselves down and we gotta get back at it — there’s no point of feeling sorry for yourself, it’s gone and you can’t take the game back. We just gotta really learn, that’s the important one.”

Things won’t get any easier for the Wanderers, though. They host league leaders Forge FC next weekend before welcoming this same Pacific side to Wanderers Grounds a few days later.

Both sides trust young players in huge moments

Both Patrice Gheisar and James Merriman rotated young players into their squad for this match, a crucial contest for both teams’ seasons.

For Halifax, Aiden Rushenas got his second start of the season in net, Jefferson Alphonse came in at centre-back, and Tiago Coimbra got the start up top. The moves were somewhat out of necessity, as Andre Rampersad and Ryan Telfer are both on international duty with Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the fact that the Wanderers remain a long way back of the U21 minutes requirement that every CPL team must reach. The Wanderers also played on Labour Day Monday, and after a long trip to the west coast, some tired legs needed a bit of a rest.

The opportunities were also deserved, of course. Rushenas put up a great performance in his first professional start in mid-August, making five saves at Tim Hortons Field against defending CPL champions Forge FC. Alphonse was part of the CS St-Laurent side that knocked the Wanderers out of the Canadian Championship and has shown promising signs in his first few CPL appearances, while Coimbra had three goals in 12 CPL appearances going into this match.

All three of them showed flashes of promise in this game, although it was a night at the office to forget for the team as a whole, and one that is difficult to truly analyse after playing for a while with nine men on the field. Alphonse will likely get another chance to start next week with Nimick and Loughrey suspended — an opportunity to test himself against one of the best attacking units in the league from Forge FC. Also coming off the bench in this match was 18-year-old defender Jamai Royer for about 20 minutes of work, one day after joining the club on a development contract, and he too could play a part next week.

Rushenas, meanwhile, made several big stops on the night, but for the second time in his two professional starts his side went down a man and he faced a ton of pressure.

“I thought Aiden was amazing and I feel terrible for him because we let him down,” said Gheisar after the match. He added that Rushenas isn’t just in the team to make up the U21 minutes, and that he has earned it through his patience and hard work over the past two seasons, waiting for his opportunity.

Serious stop from Aiden Rushenas 👏

He picks up tonight's @allstatecanada Save of the Match 🧤 #CanPL pic.twitter.com/MOgrm2Q6Rg

— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) September 8, 2024

The Tridents, meanwhile, had young central midfielder Sami Keshavarz in the starting lineup, just a few weeks after his 18th birthday. It was Keshavarz’s first professional start for the club, during his second season on a development contract with PFC after working his way through the Vancouver Island Wave program and making four appearances off the bench earlier in 2024.

His inclusion from the start in this match was brought about by Steffen Yeates being away on international duty, with he and Tridents striker Reon Moore joining Rampersad and Telfer with the Soca Warriors, and fellow midfielder Marco Domínguez being away with Guatemala.

Keshavarz went the full 90 minutes in the middle of the park, creating two chances for his teammates, hitting the target with a shot, completing 20 of his 22 attempted passes, and winning both of his tackles in midfield. It was a standout performance, and one that James Merriman hopes the academy graduate can build on as he transitions further into the professional game.

“I thought he was excellent today,” Merriman said. “His work rate off the ball was so important, his engine, his energy, he didn’t stop, he played 90 plus minutes. He needs to enjoy this game for sure, enjoy his performance. Really happy for him.”

The real standout performer in a big win on Saturday night, though, was youngster Ollie Conway, who recently found out he is cancer-free and was signed to a one-day contract with the Tridents ahead of the match — taking part in the pregame coin toss and named the club’s honourary captain for the night.

Pacific FC is thrilled to announce that we have signed today's honourary captain Ollie Conway to a special one-day contract! 🔱⁠
⁠
Ollie's story has been an inspiration to everyone at Pacific FC and we are thankful to have him as part of our team! 💜 pic.twitter.com/aSDnWqaPOQ

— Pacific FC (@Pacificfccpl) September 8, 2024

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Moses Dyer, Pacific FC

Scoring his first goal for his new club to seal an important victory, Moses Dyer put in a shift all night long and was crucial to Pacific’s attacking breakthrough.

What’s next?

Both of these sides are at home next Saturday. Halifax host Forge FC at Wanderers Grounds (3 pm AT/2 pm ET), while Pacific host Vancouver FC in the BC Derby at Starlight Stadium (2 pm PT).