Final Score: HFX Wanderers 1-0 Valour FC
Goalscorer: Salter (PK) 33′
Game of the 2022 season: 93
CPL match: 343

Match in a minute or less

For the second time in a month, the Halifax Wanderers welcomed Valour FC to Wanderers Ground on a Saturday afternoon, and much like the last time Valour came to Halifax, the Wanderers picked up a 1-0 victory over the Winnipeg-based side, keeping their playoff hopes alive for at least another game in the process. 

Yet, much like the last time these two teams met, the Wanderers got off to a similar start, too, as a goal from Samuel Salter at the penalty spot gave them a first-half lead, giving them a big boost heading into halftime. 

From there, it’d be a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, either, managing to see this result over the line from there, halting Valour’s three-game win streak in the process, while ensuring that their playoff hopes will live until at least the next matchday.

Three Observations

Wanderers stay alive in playoff race, halt Valour’s hot streak:

Heading into this game, a loss didn’t necessarily mathematically eliminate the Wanderers from the playoff race, as that also depended on the results around them, but it would’ve all but guaranteed it, making it imperative that they find a way to pick up points in this game, if not win it outright, to stay alive. 

Especially against a surging Valour side, one that just weeks ago sat narrowly in front of the Wanderers in the playoff race, this was a great opportunity for the Wanderers to both stay alive, as well as drag Valour back into the race, which was a nice bonus. 

Meanwhile, for Valour, this game was a chance to make it four wins in a row for them, vaulting to potentially as high as second place depending on what happened around them, which considering where they stood a month ago, would’ve been huge, showing how good they’ve been as of late. 

As a result, it gave a similar backdrop to this game to when they last met, that narrow 1-0 Wanderers win over Valour in August, a game in which Valour had a chance to get within touching distance of the top four, while the Wanderers tried to keep from dropping towards the bottom, making Halifax’s win a crucial one at the time. 

Which, ironically, ended up being the case again, as history repeated itself for the Wanderers, who picked up another 1-0 win, one that keeps them alive for another day.

Fuelled by yet another Sam Salter penalty, who scored from the spot in that other 1-0 win over Valour, the Wanderers ensured that they weren’t going to go into the night quietly, instead trying to fight to the bitter end. 

Yet, that’s a credit to the Wanderers, who with their backs against the wall, have seemed to conjure up some of their brightest performances here. 

After a solid performance earlier in the week, where they drew Cavalry 0-0 despite a bright game, they maintained that level of play once again in this game, giving Valour all sorts of trouble throughout the match. 

Because of that, it has given a slight boost to the Wanderers, who with four games to go still have a lot of ground to make up in the race, sitting eight points behind the line, but with all four games coming against teams ahead of them in the race, including Pacific, Ottawa and Forge, they could still make things interesting with a couple of wins, which is something they’re happy with. 

“The boys enjoyed this one,” Wanderers captain, Andre Rampersad, said. “We stay in contention for playoffs for now, and hey, you never know what’s gonna happen in this league, so we’ll just keep fighting every day.”

“(We’ve got) four more games, so we’ll just try to see things out to the very end.”

Otherwise, returning to Valour, they remain in a solid position, still in the top four for now, but they’ll have to pick themselves up now, quickly, as Ottawa gets set to visit IG Field in a huge matchup next week. 

Given that match will be Valour’s last home game of the season, before they round off the season with a three-game road trip, ensuring they can head into that last stretch with as many points in their pocket as possible is crucial. 

Because of that, it’s important they don’t dwell on this result, instead finding a way to return to what they showed on this latest hot run, allowing them to finish the job that they started and make the playoffs. 

“Yeah, it’s important for us to understand that we can’t go from suddenly being a team that’s done an incredible job in the last few weeks to let one game define who we are,” Valour’s head coach, Phil Dos Santos noted.

“We have a game to play at home now, so we’ll be present, and we’ll fight, and we’ll compete, we’ll have the support of our fans, and I’m sure that the guys are gonna respond to that, as the quality is there, the commitment is there, the passion and determination is there.”

“So we’ll be present, we’ll have a good week of work, and be ready for that next challenge.”

Young Wanderers side continues to show maturity at both ends of the pitch:

As mentioned earlier, this has been a tidy two-game stretch for the Wanderers, who might’ve only picked up four out of six points, but have put together two solid performances against two teams currently in the top four in the league, too, keeping two clean sheets in the process. 

Plus, arguably most impressive about that? How they’ve picked up those results, as they’ve managed to do that by turning to their youth, who have stepped up big time for them in those games. 

Despite having an average age of 23.1 across their starting XIs in both of these games, they’ve put up two of their most defensive sound and disciplined overall performances all season, especially tactically, where they’ve looked extra sharp. 

Especially defensively, where the average age of their back five and goalkeeper for this game was 21.2, that only made strong performances from the likes of Gabriel Escobar, Jake Ruby, Kieran Baskett and Zachary Fernandez, among others, even more impressive.

Combine that with an improved game in the attack, where the Wanderers managed to generate 1.48 Expected Goals (xG) off of 12 shots, there was a lot to like at both ends for them. 

Which is crucial, especially in the long run. Of course, they won’t be looking that far ahead, as trying to make the playoffs remains the goal, but with this youth invasion, they’re also ensuring that no matter what happens in that push, they’ll be set up nicely for the long-term, which is key. 

Especially given that they’ve looked like a whole new team defensively with the insertion of those youngsters, giving them the sort of defensive foundation they used to once heavily rely on, that should give them the platform they need to then sort out their offensive woes going forward. 

“(Another solid game) from the defence, again,” Rampersad noted. “And another clean sheet from a young defence, they just continue to stand up, so I congratulate them for that.”

Plus, with some bright names emerging in the attack, such as Lifumpa Mwandwe, Sam Salter, Ludwig Kodjo Amla and Ryan Robinson, the pieces are starting to be there, it’s just about putting it together. 

You factor in a potential return for 2021 CPL MVP, João Morelli, and there could be something brewing there for 2023, allowing the Wanderers to become the team that they’ve often shown flashes of being able to be at times. 

Because as seen over the last few games, when those flashes have turned into something a bit more tangible, there is a lot of potential there, especially if these players continue to grow.

As a result, no matter what happens now in this playoff push, they can rest comfortably knowing that they’re setting up the pieces for the future, laying out a potential path towards improvement in the years to come. 

“Yeah, with the exception of one or two games, these players have been fantastic,” Wanderers head coach, Stephen Hart, said of his young group. “The average age is 22 years old, and not one player has thrown in the towel. It’s been fantastic to see.”

Valour’s attack stalls at crucial moment for them: 

On the other side, Valour will want to hit the reset button after this game, as while they overall ended up playing decently, they just lacked the sharpness that they had shown in recent games, leading to this tough result. 

Especially offensively, where they generated just 0.34 xG off of six shots, this wasn’t the Valour side that people have gotten used to seeing as of late, who try to take care of business in both boxes, while doing their best to limit space and be flexible to the game around them. 

Because of that, it’s no surprise to see them struggle to pick up a result in a game where they strayed from their usual philosophy, as their overall buy-in to their system has been a big reason behind their surge as of late. 

Yet, that was emblematic of this game for Valour. Not only did they stray away from that system, but lacked their usual ruthlessness in key moments, as well, which given how good they were in the hot streak, was a bit of a surprise, as they didn’t have the fire they had in previous matches. 

That was exemplified in uncharacteristic turnovers and other sloppy moments of play, which Valour isn’t used to having, making for an overall frustrating result.

“I just think we were too predictable in the way we attacked,” Dos Santos said. “There were maybe 20-25 minutes until the goal in the first half where we were finding those spaces a little bit better, but later in the game, maybe we opened things up a bit too much, as we suffered a little bit in transition, yet should have created more.”

You add in some quiet nights from usual difference-makers Sean Rea and Moses Dyer, who just couldn’t pull the rabbit out of a hat as they’re capable of doing, it just felt like Valour were never going to score the way this game was going. But at the same time, these games happen sometimes. 

 It’s not going to be every game where you’re going to be at 100%, but it’s important that you manage to keep those sorts of matches at a minimum, while staying competitive in games where that happens. And to give credit to Valour, they at least did the latter in this game, and given their form as of late, should be able to do the former going forward. 

As a result, look for them to bounce back in their last few games, as they try and leave this game behind them, focusing on what lies ahead, which is continuing their push into the playoffs, trying to finish first and claim the CPL regular season title while doing so, giving them a big boost as they try to become the third CPL team to lift the ‘North Star Shield’. 

“We’re just gonna stay positive here,” Valour’s Brett Levis noted. “We have four games left, so we’re going to try and maximize our points to stay above that line, and then hey, who knows, maybe even go for first place from there.”

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Mo Omar, HFX Wanderers

Slotted in at the heart of the Wanderers’ back three once again, Omar was a solid presence for Halifax on both sides of the ball, helping them keep another clean sheet. From his play in possession, which saw him make 38 out of 42 passes (90%), complete three out of four long balls and register two dribbles, that did well to compliment his defensive play, where he racked up one tackle, three interceptions, one clearance, seven recoveries and three out of five duels won. Because of that, it was overall a pretty commanding performance from the youngster, who has continued to become a key part of the Wanderers as of late.

What’s next?

The Wanderers will head out on the road next week, as they get set to take on York United at York Lions Stadium on Friday, September 16th (7:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. AT). Meanwhile, Valour will head back to Winnipeg, as they prepare to duel with Atlético Ottawa at IG Field on Sunday, September 18th (4:00 p.m. CT/5:00 p.m. ET).

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