Final Score: Pacific FC 1-0 Vancouver FC
Goalscorers: Aparicio 81′
Game of the 2023 season: 3
CPL match: 370

Match in a minute or less

Pacific FC managed to grab early bragging rights in the CPL’s newest derby on Saturday, as they downed expansion side Vancouver FC 1-0 at Starlight Stadium thanks to a late goal from Manny Aparicio, capping off an entertaining end to the match.

Yet, while the match finished with end to end action, it didn’t start that way, as both teams spent most of the first half trying to feel the other out. In the second half, however, that quickly changed, as both teams started to chase a potential winner.

That, in the end, would fall to Pacific, as Manny Aparicio slammed home a half-volley in the 81st minute to ensure that the home side would leave with all three points in their first-ever B.C. CPL derby.

Three Observations

Pacific use verticality to stretch resolute Vancouver FC defence

Lined up against a resolute Vancouver defensive line, Pacific faced a tall task when it came to generating chances in this game, providing quite the test for their new-look attack.

To begin the game, they struggled to play through their opponents, with their biggest threat being in transition, but as the game went along, they found a way to create more space for themselves in pockets.

Their secret? Forcing their wingers to create more verticality, as while striker Easton Ongaro was doing well to occupy the Vancouver centre-backs in the first half, his wingers weren’t offering that same threat to the back line.

By getting those wide players to make more runs in behind the Vancouver full backs, however, it ended up stretching their opponents defence, creating more space between their midfield and defensive line.

Especially after the insertion of Ayman Sellouf and Kunle Dada-Luke in the 62nd minute, which offered an injection of pace on both flanks, Pacific really started to take over the game in attack.

Thanks to the extra space that their midfielders were able to play in, they began to control proceedings, with Manny Aparicio, Cédric Toussaint and Sean Young all doing well to step up with their performances in the last 30 minutes.

Because of that, it was fitting that the ball fell to Aparicio at the edge of the box for his goal, as it was a prime example of the space that Pacific had began to create for their midfielders in the game.

GOL 🔱

MANNY APARICIO ES UN CRACK 🤫@PacificFCCPL go up 1-0 over @VanFootballClub in the final stanza of this #CanPL derby courtesy of the midfield maestro 🍁

81' | 🔴 https://t.co/7JFAUhgRAE pic.twitter.com/LG5cy0fpQJ

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 16, 2023

Yet, that just shows the verticality that Pacific has in their attack, of which they’ll really look to use this season. Especially when Kekuta Manneh gets into the mix, as he gets up to full fitness following his recent signing, as well as Adonijah Reid, Pacific can be confident in the threat that they have in wide areas.

Through that, they’ll be able to open up more space in midfield, which will go a long way for them given the offensive punch that they have in that area of the field.

“There were opportunities to get in behind,” Pacific’s head coach, James Merriman, explained. “Especially because they were so close to Easton Ongaro. So we wanted to try to get into those (wide) spaces more and also find Josh Heard and Djenairo Daniels more often.

“Then I thought that Ayman Sellouf did a great job of really stretching when he came in and showed good quality on the ball, and same with Kunle Dada-Luke as well, that really opened up the game for us.”

Vancouver frustrates with strong midfield organization in debut match

In their first match as a team, faced off against a team of Pacific’s calibre, Vancouver knew that they had a tall task ahead of them.

Because of that, they knew that they had to be strong defensively, finding a way to limit space in all areas of the park, especially in midfield, given Pacific’s threat there.

Which, to Vancouver’s credit, they did very well at doing. Deployed in a flexible 4-3-3, one that sometimes became a 4-5-1 in certain phases of Pacific’s possession play, they were extremely disciplined defensively in this match, doing well to hold their shape.

As a result, they were very comfortable for most of the match, noting that even if they didn’t have the ball as much, finishing with 47 per cent of possession, their strong defensive play allowed them to control a lot of the tempo in this game.

“We can control the game by keeping the ball, but we can also control the game by just sitting in our defending block,” Vancouver’s head coach, Afshin Ghotbi, noted after the match. “I understand sometimes they look like they have a lot of the ball, but we were still in control, because we were sitting in the right structure, and they could never get between lines or in the gaps they wanted to.”

Yet, that’s just a credit to Vancouver’s midfielders, who played a big role in the success of their overall tactical game plan. That’s worth noting, too, as they also looked a bit different than what most were expecting of them, with their trio of Elliot Simmons, Nima Moazeni and Kadin Chung proving to be an unexpected combination.

Simmons was an expected starter given his pedigree, but Moazeni was a surprise given that he was signed from the team’s open trials, while Chung was an even bigger shock given that he’s never really played in midfield before.

Despite that, they looked very comfortable with their assignments, especially defensively, where the trio seemed to be very familiar with their positioning off the ball. On the ball, they did have some growing pains, but they did take a big step forward in the second half, helping Vancouver really push Pacific.

Therefore, Ghotbi can be very happy with what he saw from his midfield group. In a match where they could’ve been very easily overmatched, they managed to push back against Pacific’s threats, helping set the tone for an overall strong defensive performance by them in their opening game, conceding just three shots on target and 1.15 xG (Expected Goals).

“I felt like we did well as a team, especially in that midfield block,” Vancouver centre back, Rocco Romeo, said after the match. “I though there were moments in the game where we could have really gone for the jugular, but I think as a team, the whole (defensive) structure was very good, all the way from the front back to the keeper, and we just need to keep building on that.”

New options augment Pacific’s set piece abilities

Despite having some of the bigger players in the CPL on their roster, Pacific often struggled with dead ball situations in 2022, both offensively and defensively. From subpar deliveries and mistimed runs on the attacking side of things, to missed assignments and miscommunications defensively, they were often left wanting in that area of their game last year.

If this game is to be any indication, however, they seem to be intent on leaving those struggles behind in 2022.

Of course, it’s worth noting that Pacific were playing a team that themselves could be expected to struggle at that area of the game, given that Vancouver’s a brand-new team still gathering that experience together, but at the same time, Vancouver did have the size to make a difference in both boxes.

That didn’t faze Pacific, though, as they ended up really dominating dead ball situations in this game. From the offensive end, where the deliveries of Bradley Vliet and Manny Aparicio caused Vancouver problems all game long, to the defensive end, where Pacific seemed to get to almost every aerial ball, Pacific did well to wield their size as a set piece weapon across this match.

As a result, that helped Pacific gain some offensive momentum in the first half, giving them an outlet to create chances even as Vancouver was causing problems for them in open play, before allowing them see out the game defensively as Vancouver got a few dangerous set pieces of their own as they pushed back in the second half.

Now, look for them to keep up that area of their game going forward, as it could prove to be a real asset in many ways.

From the goals that they should be able to create through the size of Amer Đidić, Easton Ongaro and Sean Young, to the defensive boost that it can give them in games, there are a lot of benefits that being good at set pieces can bring.

Plus, that can really help Pacific in open play. The more dangerous they become on set pieces, the less teams will want to give away free kicks and corners, which could open up more space on the pitch for their attacking players to run into.

Safe to say, there’s a lot of benefit to being good on dead balls, and Pacific is eager to reap those rewards.

“I think we were organized defensively, we felt solid, and we’re also quite big,” Merriman said. “We’ve got some bigger players in those spaces that can deal with those balls in defensive situations, but that are also dangerous in the attack.

“And our delivery in our service was was very good today, as at times last year, we were inconsistent with that, but today, I thought we were quite consistent with our delivery.”

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Manny Aparicio, Pacific FC

As he always is, Aparicio was a sparkplug in the middle for Pacific, doing a lot of important work on and off the ball to ensure his teams success. From there, the goal was just the cherry on the cake for him, capping an overall dominant performance from the 2022 MVP nominee.

What’s next?

Both teams will now turn their attention to the Canadian Championship in midweek, as Vancouver will travel to Ontario take on York United at York Lions Stadium on Wednesday, April 19 (5 p.m. PT), while Pacific will host Cavalry at Starlight Stadium on Thursday, April 20 (7 p.m. PT). Then, in CPL action, Vancouver will have a rematch with York on Saturday April 22 at York Lions Stadium (10 a.m. PT), with Pacific doing the same with Cavalry at Starlight Stadium on Sunday, April 23 (1 p.m. PT).

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