Final Score: Halifax Wanderers FC 1-1 Vancouver FC
Goalscorers: Dias 90+8′; Díaz 50′ (pen.)
Game of the 2024 season: 101
CPL match: 585

Match in a minute or less

The Halifax Wanderers rescued a point at the death on Saturday afternoon, as Vitor Dias scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw at home with Vancouver FC.

It was a somewhat chaotic, scrappy game, where both sides ended with 10 men: Vancouver’s Elage Bah got a second yellow card in the 30th minute, and the Wanderers’ Zach Fernandez saw red in the 80th.

Vancouver, while playing a man down, took the lead shortly after halftime as they won a penalty, which Alejandro Díaz converted to make it 1-0. They seemed to be on track for a season-defining away win, but with their 26th shot of the game, Halifax finally scored at the very last moment to level the score.

As a result, both sides stayed alive but neither made much progress in their quest to finish fifth, as the Wanderers remained at the bottom of the table, but drew to within one point of fifth place — which Vancouver FC reclaimed, at least until Pacific FC’s match later on Saturday.

Three Observations

Halifax finally find breakthrough after deluge of missed chances, chaotic discipline

The Halifax Wanderers set a Canadian Premier League regular season record on Saturday night with 26 attempted shots, and their goal came from the very last one of them.

It’s not the first time this year that a Wanderers match has ended in dramatic fashion. In fact, they’ve now drawn three matches in a row by a 1-1 scoreline, and on all three occasions they’ve fallen behind, only to find an equalizer within the last 15 minutes. Perhaps it’s a lesson learned from the game that preceded this three-match streak, where Pacific FC equalized in Halifax in the 96th minute, but the Wanderers have recently done well to stay in games late.

In a game where the away team goes down a man in the 30th minute, it’s not a surprise to see the home side with a heavy statistical advantage in shots and possession. The Wanderers had 12 shots on target, 46 touches in the box and 63.8 per cent possession (a number that climbed to 80.6 per cent in just the second half), and it was truly one-way traffic for stretches.

Halifax are fighting for their playoff lives at the moment and absolutely could not afford to lose this game at home. That, combined with a 10-man Vancouver side perhaps a little fatigued from the cross-country travel, provided a perfect storm for a game with record-setting attacking numbers.

However, the Wanderers definitely feel they should have capitalized more than once. Although, of course, the opposing goalkeeper robbed them of a few attempts that seemed destined for goal, Halifax’s finishing was not up to par.

No team in the CPL has underperformed its expected goals this year more than Halifax, who have a league-highest 42.76 xG (2.23 in this game), but have scored just 34 goals. Again on Saturday, there were multiple occasions where they lacked a bit of composure in the box at the final moment to put the ball in the net.

“Callum’s allowed to make saves. We just have to be more composed in our finishing,” Halifax head coach Patrice Gheisar said postmatch.

“What you saw from the 45th to 50th was the look we wanted to have: play, try to get in wide areas because they were so compact, and get behind them early, or combine and break the line early. We needed to have decisive actions, because if they were able to be set, they were compact, they were low, we couldn’t break them. I thought from 45 to 48, right before the PK we had three great chances, so I would’ve liked to have seen us continue that. But I think when the penalty happened, we went away from creating chances for 10 minutes because mentally we were suffering. So once we bounce back and put that behind us and we were looking at the next action, then things started to move forward.”

Still, the Wanderers continue to prove themselves difficult to beat — they’ve lost just one of their last eight now — but the fact remains that they’re at the bottom of the table with two matches to go. They’re far from dead, and another dramatic late equalizer might add some belief as they head to Calgary next week, but they absolutely need to pick up at least a win in the next two weeks, and probably more than that.

Vancouver adjust after first-half red card, nearly hold on

In a match with stakes as high as this one, the last thing Vancouver FC will have wanted was going down a man in the first half.

Such was the case after just half an hour, though. After an unusually chippy first 30 minutes, VFC’s Elage Bah picked up two yellow cards in the space of three minutes and two seconds. Despite some protests from Vancouver players, Bah was shown his second caution after an unnecessarily hard knock in the back of Giorgio Probo, and an almost incredulous Michael Venne reached for his book a second time in short succession.

The last foul was Bah’s sixth of the game, in the space of just over 30 minutes. The sudden loss threw a wrench in Vancouver’s game plan, with Bah playing a new role in their team; usually a full-back, Bah was playing up on the right wing with Allan Enyou at left-back for the first time. Perhaps the more attacking role was an impetus for Bah’s more aggressive approach to the game, as he also contested 11 duels in his 30 minutes of work, but it seemed to backfire on his team.

Understandably with 10 men, Vancouver came under a lot of pressure in the second half, and at times had no choice but to sit behind the ball.

“I’m proud of every player and the staff because of the commitment, the fight, the unity,” Vancouver coach Afshin Ghotbi said. “Ninety-seven minutes they had to dig in deep, show the spirit that we were looking for. And I believe playing in Halifax with a man down that long is not easy.”

It certainly wasn’t easy, nor was it an easy proposition for VFC even to begin with. They had made a couple of lineup changes, and it seems Paris Gee was the player who suffered a knock in training on Thursday and thus Allan Enyou had to step into an unfamiliar position at left-back.

Ghotbi made a handful of second-half changes shortly after his team went ahead, bringing both Ayman Sellouf and Austin Ricci off the bench — a somewhat aggressive move to bring on attackers, but a smart one given both players’ ability to punish on the counter-attack.

“I was hoping that we could snatch a goal on the counter-attack and bring some pace and quality that allows us not just to defend but look for opportunities to score the second goal,” Ghotbi said. “But I think every player did their job as best they could, considering the circumstances, and I’m sad we gave the two points away because I think that would have really helped us for the conclusion of the season, but I still have to be proud of their performance and their effort.”

Indeed, it was a bitter ending for VFC — especially because Ricci had a golden opportunity on the counter with Yann Fillion well out of his goal, seconds before Halifax scored — but given the circumstances it’s difficult to be too upset with the outcome.

There’s some good news for Vancouver, as their point drew them level with Pacific on 28 for the fifth and final playoff spot — before Pacific’s match later on Saturday, of course. Also crucial is that they officially clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Wanderers, should it come down to that in a couple of weeks.

However, Vancouver play their final home match of 2024 next week against Valour, and it’s looking like it might be an absolute must-win.

Callum Irving delivers record-setting performance in goal despite late equalizer

Before this game began, Callum Irving led the Canadian Premier League in saves with 80. By the end of it, his margin atop the leaderboard was 18, as he made 11 saves on Saturday afternoon, tying the single-game CPL record.

This has not been an easy season for Vancouver FC, who haven’t always been impenetrable at the back. Even Irving has had a few down moments in games.

On Saturday though, the VFC captain was every bit the leader they needed. For the second week in a row he was excellent, but he was even more impressive in this game than he was in the 0-0 draw at Cavalry last weekend — despite the clean sheet being breached at the last moment.

Although Vancouver were under a lot of pressure and gave up a lot of opportunities, perhaps it was the constant barrage that helped Irving remain switched on.

“Goalkeeping is one of those jobs where you’ve got to stay focused sometimes without having much to do, so you find ways to stay locked in, but on a day like today there’s no real time to breathe,” Irving said postgame.

“I knew it was going to be tough coming here, they have a great crowd giving them a ton of energy. I came in prepared to try and play my role for the team and help in any way I could. Then unfortunately, I had to make a lot of saves. I don’t think anybody on our team likes it when we’re giving up that many shots, but ultimately when you’re a man down, it is what it is.”

Irving’s manager Ghotbi had heaps of praise for his captain after the match, and rightly so.

“I think it’s probably the best performance of a goalkeeper I’ve seen in the CPL,” Ghotbi said. “Different kinds of balls, different kinds of situations, he was always there. I’m really proud of him, and I’m really proud of how he’s stepped out of his comfort zone toward the end of the season, and his performance is only getting better and better.”

The stats do of course back up Ghotbi’s claim of it being the best goalkeeping performances in a CPL match. Only one other keeper has ever made 11 saves in one game, and that was now-Canadian national team and CF Montréal shot-stopper Jonathan Sirois, who did it in Valour’s 1-0 loss to Halifax in July 2021.

Irving was also seen after the match playing the role of captain admirably, helping lift up some of his teammates who were understandably deflated after the late goal.

He was the first player ever to sign for Vancouver FC and he’s been its captain for both years of the club’s existence, neither of which have been easy. He’s the only member of VFC’s squad to play every single minute so far this year. Callum Irving means an incredible amount to this team, and his impact seems only to be growing.

“He was our first signing at the club, he’s a very important member,” Ghotbi said.

“One of the things that I’m very proud of is even with his experience, he has this constant thirst and hunger to learn and develop himself. We’ve seen it in the last two weeks, and with two penalties saved this season, how he’s attacking crosses. We were taking goals on dead balls, and since he’s changed a little bit and modified his game. He’s dominant inside the six and in the box, and you can see him coming out and challenging balls in the air, boxing, catching. Technically, he’s probably by far one of the best goalkeepers in the league. I think as he makes those small adjustments in his game, he will become one of the best goalkeepers in North America. Keepers mature late, they develop late, their best football is always in their 30s. I have a lot of hopes that he’s going to continue to dominate his position in North America.”

As the final few weeks of the season approach, perhaps it’s time that Irving starts getting some attention in awards discussion. Could he be on track for a Goalkeeper of the Year nomination?

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Callum Irving, Vancouver FC

The Vancouver goalkeeper will feel deflated at the end of this game, because he did absolutely everything in his power to hold on for the win, and he was finally beaten at the last second. Irving made 11 saves, many of which will likely end up among the best we see in this CPL season, and came so close to a second straight clean sheet.

What’s next?

The two sides return to action next weekend, beginning on Saturday, Oct. 12 when Halifax travel to play Cavalry FC (5 p.m. MT/8 p.m. AT). The following day, Vancouver FC are back at home for a crucial contest against Valour FC (2 p.m. PT/4 p.m. CT).

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