2022 CPL Regular Season — Match #69
HFX Wanderers FC vs. York United
August 1, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. AT/2:00 p.m ET
Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, Nova Scotia
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A blossoming Canadian Premier League tradition returns this long weekend, as HFX Wanderers FC anticipate another packed Wanderers Grounds for their Natal Day matinee against York United. This will be the fifth time Halifax has hosted a match on a holiday Monday, with the home side so far undefeated in these special occasions (two wins and two draws).

The Wanderers and York squared off on Labour Day last September in what was arguably one of the most entertaining contests of the 2021 CPL season, as four goals after the 84th minute led to a thrilling 3-3 draw. The hosts had to claw back from behind twice in the last five minutes, equalizing for the final time in the 92nd minute to send the rain-soaked fans home satisfied.

Both sides enter this game quite desperate for a return to winning ways. The Wanderers are winless in their last four, their most recent triumph coming June 25 at Pacific FC. Last time out, they needed a Sam Salter equalizer from the penalty spot to secure a 1-1 draw at home with FC Edmonton.

Overall, Halifax sit sixth in the league table after 16 games, with a 5-3-8 record and 14 points. Head coach Stephen Hart finds his side 10 points out of a playoff spot, so with 12 games left to play they’ll need every point they can get.

That’s also the case for York United, who are four points behind the Wanderers with 14, sitting on a 3-5-9 record from 17 games. York are seventh in the standings, just three points ahead of FC Edmonton.

The Nine Stripes have won just one of their last 12 games, that victory coming on Tuesday, July 19 when they defeated Cavalry FC 1-0 at Spruce Meadows. That triumph ended a lengthy skid, but they followed it up last Sunday with a disappointing 3-0 loss at home to Atlético Ottawa. Head coach Martin Nash was left looking for answers after that one, as his side surrendered two penalties and struggled to create chances for themselves.

These two sides have met twice already this year, and both times the Wanderers took all three points. They kicked off the 2022 CPL season at York Lions Stadium in early April, when Joao Morelli scored a penalty to win it 1-0. Later, in June at the Wanderers Grounds, HFX again claimed a 1-0 victory thanks to a penalty kick — this time scored by Akeem Garcia.

Matches between these sides have historically been tight, despite the Wanderers’ upper hand this year. Both managers will have holes in their midfield to fill this weekend, as York’s Isaiah Johnston and Halifax’s Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé miss out with suspensions.

Regardless of form or availability, these holiday clashes at the Wanderers Ground are often among the highlights of every CPL season — and this week is likely to be no different.

Make your match picks prior to kickoff at canpl.ca/predictor for a chance to win prizes, including the grand prize of a trip to the 2022 CPL Final! To learn more about ComeOn!, click here.

All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Both sides seek open-play scoring: No two ways about it: York and Halifax are the lowest-scoring teams in the Canadian Premier League. York have scored just 10 goals this season, and the Wanderers have 14. In two meetings already between these clubs, the only two goals have been penalty kicks — both of which went the Wanderers’ way. With both sides struggling to create from open play, the head coaches Stephen Hart and Martin Nash have been attempting to find new ways of rectifying the situation. Nash has seen some recent improvement to York’s attacking play as recent newcomers like Ronan Kratt and Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio start to become acquainted with the side — and the same is true of Halifax’s Fumpa Mwandwe, who was excellent in his brief debut last week against FC Edmonton. Perhaps the fresh faces will be what these two sides need to improve their attacking flow.

• Fine details take prime importance in close contest: With almost every game between these two sides being decided by a goal or less, it’s extraordinarily important for both teams to take care of the fine details on Monday. Both managers stressed in their prematch press conferences that they’re asking their players for greater concentration and focus to ensure small moments of the game are managed well. “We need to have the energy for 90 minutes, all the way through,” Nash said. “Jobs are up for grabs again this week, you’ve got to play for your position.” Added Hart: “We’ve been tight in both games; we’re pretty detailed for every match — we try to be, anyway. But we know what’s at stake, they know what’s at stake, so it’s going to be another tight one.”

• York need discipline in box to avoid foolish penalties: In recent weeks, York have surrendered a litany of penalty kicks that have cost them dearly. They conceded two against Ottawa last match, and one against Pacific the week prior, and with both matches against Halifax being decided by one penalty, Martin Nash was adamant this week that his side cannot continue to give up sloppy spot-kicks. “We’ve talked about it a lot this year,” Nash said. “Stay on your feet, don’t dive in especially in the box. For whatever reason, in the moment guys just make poor decisions. From that standpoint it is frustrating; I think in some ways it’s a bit lazy at times, just kind of dangling a leg out. So we’ve talked about it, we’ve tried to rectify it, but at the end of the day sometimes players make decisions in moments that have hurt the team in some ways.”

ALL-TIME SERIES

HFX Wanderers wins: 4 || York United wins: 2 || Draws: 7

Previous match:

June 4, 2022 — HFX Wanderers 1-0 York United

KEY QUOTES

“We understand that this is a team game played by individuals with roles and responsibility. For me, the team comes first; nobody is bigger than the team, so we must accept the responsibility and demand accountability when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball.” — HFX Wanderers FC head coach Stephen Hart

“We know we’re gonna have to go there and have a battle. We can’t gift them anything, that’s what we did basically both games against them this year, we gifted them a goal in each game and it cost us.” — York United FC head coach Martin Nash