2022 CPL Regular Season — Match #33
HFX Wanderers vs. York United 
June 4, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. AT/2:00 p.m. ET
Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, Nova Scotia
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In a 2022 opening day rematch, the HFX Wanderers are getting set to take on York United at Wanderers Ground on Saturday, kicking off an intriguing weekend of Canadian Premier League action. 

Having last met almost two months ago, coming all the way back in April as part of the league’s opening day festivities, both teams have been on very different journeys to get here since that match. Yet, despite that, they also find themselves just one point apart in the standings, with York sitting narrowly ahead of the Wanderers in sixth place, although HFX does hold a game in hand on their Ontarian counterparts. 

On York’s side, they come to Halifax in mixed form, as while they’re fresh off one of their biggest results of the season, a PK shootout victory over Pacific FC in the quarter-finals of the Canadian Championship, they haven’t been able to muster up many big results like that in league play recently. 

In fact, it’s been quite a while since they have, as they’re winless in their last three league games, managing to pick up just one out of a possible nine points since a memorable 1-0 home victory over rivals Forge FC on May 6th, failing to capitalize on the momentum of such a result. 

There are some positives to be gleaned out of this run from York, to be fair, as they remain borderline dominant defensively, having only conceded a league-low six goals off of just 6.05 Expected Goals (xG), but that hasn’t translated to the results they desire quite yet. 

“Yeah, I think we’re in a good place,” York head coach, Martin Nash, noted. “You know, we’ve struggled a bit in scoring goals in league play, and that’s something that we’ve been working on, but I think we’re in a good place, we’ve been playing well, but just not getting results.”

RELATED: CanPL.ca Newsroom: Week 8 recap + CanChamp roundup (feat. Forge’s Alex Achinioti-Jönsson) | Gatorade Team of the Week (CPL Week 8)

Meanwhile, to shift to the Wanderers, they also remain mired in a similar run, winless in their last three CPL matches, picking up just one out of a possible nine points since a big 3-1 home win against FC Edmonton on April 30th. 

Much like York, however, they are also fresh off a relatively positive result in the Canadian Championship, as while they lost to Toronto FC in their quarter-final match, they showed great fight to the seven-time champion before a late goal sunk them, which is expected to give them a boost. 

Because of that, while this recent run of games in league play might not have been ones to remember for the Wanderers, they’ll feel what they showed in that TFC game is a closer reflection of their true quality, of which they just need to extract on a more regular basis.

“(We have to) be brave,” Wanderers coach, Stephen Hart, noted before the game. “Be willing to take the ball, and accept the responsibility to play and do the right things off the ball, and take that into this game, because York are a very good team.”

Overall, seeing those varying factors, that should then set the table for what is expected to be a very competitive match. 

Because of that, much like that first meeting from back in April, which finished 1-0 in the favour of the Wanderers after a hard-fought battle at York Lions Stadium, don’t be surprised if another tight game is in the cards on Saturday. And considering that seven of the 12 previous meetings between these two teams in their history have ended in draws, with a further three being decided by one goal, the numbers back up that sentiment, showing why both teams believe in their chances at grabbing a crucial result.

3 THINGS TO WATCH:

• Time off for HFX a chance to hit the reset button: For the hosts, this game is a huge opportunity to pick up some points, as they remain just six points off of second place in the CPL, with a game in hand on most teams around them. Because of that, this game could represent a huge opportunity for them to make up ground on those teams, especially considering that they enter this game with the luxury of having had nearly two weeks off after that TFC game, having had a bye last week. Given some of the injuries that they’ve struggled with this season, that’s huge, as that sort of time gave them a chance to let some weary legs recover, while also allowing them to work hard in training, further developing certain tactical principles. And that’s exactly what they need at the moment. Despite having solid players at every position, the Wanderers haven’t quite struck the balance between offence and defence, sitting second-last in goals for and third-last in goals against. But with some of the talent that they have at all positions, from Akeem Garcia up front to Eriks Santos at the back, and everyone in between, it’s felt that once they can click, it’ll all come together for them quite nicely. So while this break also does provide a challenge for the Wanderers, as there is also the fear that they lose their match sharpness, they’ll hope that the pros outweigh the cons, allowing them to get all of the wheels on their bus fully turning once again. “Yeah, we had a preseason and went straight into the season on the road,” Hart said of the break. “So the players never really got a break mentally or physically, so it was important for that to happen. But as always, when you go on a break like that, you have to return to the right intensity, and train with the right attitude. That’s the most important thing after the break, to realize that hey, you’ve got to get back to work and show that you’re ready for it.”

• York looking for big road win: Meanwhile, over with the visitors, they’ll be looking to surprise on the road, as they try and do something they’ve yet to do this season – win on the road. In three league attempts, and five overall attempts, they’re yet to win away from home this season (they did win twice on PKs in Canadian Championship after draws, interestingly enough), something that they’ll be eager to change in this game. It’s not as if they can’t make things happen on the road, as part of the reason they made the playoffs last season is due to them picking up points in five of their last seven road games, winning two of them, but this year, that magic has eluded them thus far. Plus, while they’ll be in tough to break that against a Wanderers team that’s always tough to beat at home, it’s also worth noting that the Wanderers have only picked up four out of nine points at home this year, and did lose their Canadian Championship tie to TFC, meaning that this could be a good opportunity for York to change their away form. Knowing how vital it could be if they are to push back up the standings, grabbing a few more wins away from home could go a long way for them, showing the importance of finding a win in this game for them. “Yeah, it’d be great,” Nash said of the chance to grab a road win. “I think it’d be nice to get that monkey off our back, and come here with the right mentality and attitude. It’s not going to be an easy game, they’re a very good team, a very organized team, so it’ll be a battle, and we’re just gonna have to go at it 90 minutes and do all the little things right.”

• Season opener rematch represents chance at fresh start for both sides: It might’ve been almost two months ago, but it feels just like yesterday when these two teams kicked off this CPL season in a fun match, one where despite a 1-0 scoreline, they traded all sorts of blows, before the Wanderers got the last laugh via a João Morelli penalty kick. But despite the promise that opening game showed for both teams, as the Wanderers showed their resolve in a good road win, while York performed admirably in Nash’s first game as a head coach, it’s no secret that since then, both teams league campaigns haven’t maybe gone as they would’ve liked up to this point. Part of that has been due to factors out of their control, as the Wanderers then lost their star man in Morelli to injury, and have dealt with other tough injuries to key players, while York’s attack has been a constant reshuffling due to injuries (and their defence will face a similar fate this weekend with Diyaeddine Abzi and Chrisnovic N’Sa both suspended), making it hard for them to find some consistency, but they both know that more is coming. Because of that, this game represents a good chance at a fresh start for both of them, especially given how closely contested matches between these two teams tend to be, meaning that whoever can get that edge could indeed carry it over to the big matches still to come for them. “Yeah, we have to take care of our side of the game (first),” Hart said of this rematch. “And make sure that off the ball, we’re on the same page with what we’re trying to do to recover the ball. We know the qualities of York and we have to make it very difficult for them to come here and feel any comfort because they’re a team that once they start to get some confidence, they can do damage.” Meanwhile, Nash added on his end: “Both teams will be in a bit of a flow now, so we expected a vastly different game from the first game of the year, so like any game in this league, it’s going to be a battle.”

ALL-TIME SERIES

York United wins: 2 || HFX Wanderers wins: 3 || Draws: 7

Previous match:

April 7, 2022 – York United 0-1 HFX Wanderers

KEY QUOTES

“York are a very good team. They know how to attack, they are well-prepared in that manner, and they also know how to defend off the ball, so concentration is going to be the big, big difference (Saturday).” — HFX Wanderers head coach Stephen Hart. 

“We’ve got to be solid defensively, they’re a good team. They’ve got some good talent, and we’re gonna have to be at our best to beat them at their place.” — York United head coach Martin Nash.