Final Score: Pacific FC 1-2 Vancouver FC
Goalscorers: Meilleur-Giguère 38′; Díaz 40′, Bah 82′
Game of the 2024 season: 45
CPL match: 529

Match in a minute or less

Vancouver FC have provisionally climbed to second place in the CPL table, as they defeated rivals Pacific FC 2-1 at Starlight Stadium on Thursday, picking up their fourth straight win in the Salish Sea Derby.

Pacific opened the scoring in the 38th minute, as Steffen Yeates found Thomas Meilleur-Giguère at the near post on a corner, and Meilleur-Giguère did well to do the rest from there, nodding home past Vancouver’s Callum Irving to give his team a 1-0 lead. Their lead didn’t last long, however, as Vancouver responded nearly immediately, with Mikaël Cantave doing well to pick out Alejandro Díaz with a deep cross, one that Díaz managed to nod home from close range to tie the game at 1-1.

On the other side of half time, Pacific came close to taking the lead again in the 55th minute, as Sean Young stepped up to take a penalty won by Josh Heard, but his low spot-kick attempt would be nicely saved by Irving to keep the game at 1-1.

Thanks to that save, that gave Vancouver hope of finding some late magic, and they found that in the 82nd minute. There, Elage Bah managed to spin and fire a dangerous left-footed half-volley from inside of the box after a nice pass from Kadin Chung, finding the bottom corner with his strike to give his team the lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.

Three Observations

Vancouver shows strong survival instinct in fourth straight derby win:

It’s never easy to win games in a derby. With what’s at stake in those matches, it can be tough to find a decisive edge, with both teams usually unwilling to give up even an inch of space on the field.

Yet, that’s why it makes Vancouver’s run of form in the Salish Sea Derby quite impressive, as it’s never easy to win four straight against any team, let alone one’s biggest rivals.

Plus, it’s not as if Vancouver’s been riding a streak of dominance to grab these wins, eitehr, as they’ve all been decided by one goal, with three of them involving a late winner from Vancouver.

In a sense, however, that last point helps explain Vancouver’s run of success in this derby – their mentality has been crucial to that. No matter if they play well, or play poorly, they’ve done well to stay locked in and ready to do what they need to in order to win, even if means scoring late or scrapping for a result.

That certainly ended up being the case in this match.

Eager to avenge their recent run of losses in this derby, Pacific ended up coming out as the more aggressive team to begin the game. As a result, they made sure to put their foot on the ball early, holding a lot of possession to start the match, and started to slowly wear down Vancouver off the back of that.

Doing well to stretch the pitch and open up pockets in the middle, they started to get some good looks at goal, and looked likeliest to open the scoring.

Because of that, when they found the net, it felt like it had been coming from them, as Meilleur-Giguère’s goal came on their 8th shot of the half. Given that Vancouver had mustered up just one shot of their own up to that point, it was a strong sign of intent from Pacific, who looked likely to build on their lead with how they were playing.

Yet, that didn’t faze Vancouver, who were defending resiliently in central areas, mostly avoiding giving up any five-alarm chances, even if they weren’t getting on the ball as much as they liked. They would’ve certainly liked to have threatened Pacific’s goal more, but they knew that all they needed was one chance to break the game open.

To their credit, they picked a pretty good time to do so, as it came right after Pacific’s goal, which essentially reset the hosts momentum, putting Vancouver right back into the game.

Therefore, while the half time stats certainly favoured Pacific, who had 11 shots to Vancouver’s two, kept 54% of possession and had 16 touches in Vancouver’s box compared to just two for Vancouver, it seemed like it was anyone’s game heading into the break.

Once again, however, Pacific ended up coming out strongly in the second half, keeping up their strong offensive performance. Because of that, it felt like they’d find the net, as they continued to push the ball into Vancouver’s half.

Then, that breakthrough appeared to come in the 55th minute with the penalty attempt, especially given that Young had put in a strong performance up to that point, but as had been the case throughout the match, Vancouver did what they needed to do in order to survive through Irving’s save, keeping them in the game.

From there, that led them to find their late winner, which at that point started to seem inevitable with how they’d started to grow into the match. As a result, Bah’s goal seemed to emit a roar of satisfaction instead of a cheer of surprise, as they knew that they needed just one moment to be rewarded for their survival, and they made no mistake with that when it came to secure the win.

“We’ve shown it a few times this season, even in our first game, we down 1-0 in the first half and we ended up winning the game,” Bah said after the game. ” I think we have a pretty good mentality when it comes to playing from behind, and we’re almost comfortable in those situations, not in a bad way, but we’re not beating ourselves up after one goal, we try to get after the next one, and prove that we can score like we did today.”

It might not have been Vancouver’s best performance, but given that they were still able to win, doing well to wipe the slate clean after the disappointment of a heavy 4-0 loss to the Halifax Wanderers just days prior, they showed the exact kind of mentality they’ve thrived on in these sorts of derby matches.

Yet, that’s a big reason why Vancouver’s been able to climb to where they are in the table after finishing second-last in the CPL in 2023, and it’s that ability to step up in key moments, with this latest derby win arguably being the best example of what that looks like.

“It’s always challenging when you have such a disaster performance and result at home,” Vancouver’s head coach, Afshin Ghotbi said after the game. “To have your first defeat at home against a team that hasn’t won all year, and the way we lost was demoralizing for our fans, our players and our coaching staff, so we spent a lot of time with players in small groups and individually, and I think we tried to come into this game hoping that we can get the right response.”

Pacific unable to execute in key moments in frustrating loss:

One could sense the frustration in Pacific’s ranks after the match, and understandably so – it’s one thing to lose a match when you play poorly and struggle to get involved in the play, which while frustrating for other reasons, can be easier to flush out and move on from.

When one plays well and loses, however, that’s arguably even more frustrating, especially when you squander key chances to win the game, which can linger at the front of one’s mind.

For Pacific, they’ll certainly feel like they had one of those matches. On the balance of this game, it might’ve arguably been one of their best performances of the season, yet they’ve got nothing to show for it.

At the same time, while they might bemoan bad luck given that they finished with the advantage in shots (16-2), shots on target (6-3), xG (2.00-0.61), big chances (3-1) and touches in the box (24-5), ultimately, they weren’t able to execute in the key moments, failing to match Vancouver’s ruthless mentality.

Offensively, Pacific could’ve put this game out of reach early, as they came close to scoring several early goals before the chaotic sequence of events that led to the 1-1, and then had several more opportunities to re-take the lead early in the second half, with none better than the penalty.

Then, defensively, they put up a pretty good performance by most metrics, yet were left undone by two key breakdowns on both goals, as they’ll feel they could’ve done better to defend the cross on Díaz’s goal, while they’ll be frustrated with how Bah was able to navigate his way into their box on his marker.

In a sense, however, their performance will be best summed up by Sean Young’s night – he was a dominant force in midfield, winning duels, hoovering up the ball and progressing it forward with ease, but then he was unable to score his penalty and was unable to put in a tackle while marking Bah on the eventual winner. Overall, Young will look back on his performance and have a lot to be pleased about, but those key moments will stand out to him.

Yet, that’s the tough thing about winning in the professional game – it’s crucial to manage moments, as teams don’t need much of an invitation to hurt you, something that Vancouver certainly showed.

Because of that, it’ll be back to the drawing board for Pacific, having dropped to fifth place with this lost. When looking at the underlying numbers, having entered this game sitting third in WyScout’s Expected Points (calculated by a team’s expected goals for and against), a number that certainly improved after their strong showing in the xG category in this game, they’ll feel they could be higher than where they sit.

“It’s a balance between the way we want to attack and the way we want to defend – that was there tonight, for sure,” Pacific’s head coach, James Merriman, said after the game. “But we need that final act, that final pass, those details, that connection, our chemistry, and then also the ruthlessness and decisiveness and quality to score goals, and we had clear chances in front of goal without defenders there, and we need to score those.”

“When you don’t score those, it can create a momentum against you, so we needed to make sure that we don’t get too low or drop our heads after that, we need to build confidence in our attacking players, we need to continue to believe in them, we need to work hard and that’s it. If the football wasn’t there from us, we would be more frustrated, but our football is there, we just need to finish. That’s it. That’s the next step for us.”

At the same time, a game like this one has become too common of an occurrence for them, something they’ll now look to clean up as they get set for a crucial month of July, which starts with a road clash against leaders Atlético Ottawa on July 9th, which they’ll look to tackle with a refreshed mindset after some crucial rest and recovery over the next week and a half.

“I’m very frustrated – very, very, very frustrated,” Meilleur-Giguère said. “It’s very hard, when it’s game in and game out, we can’t get wins, I don’t know what it is, we’re looking for solutions, and I think we have the quality to find it, but when we see a game like this where we were in control, we had more chances, but then we had little mistakes, and one of those mistakes cost us the game, it’s hard to get up from that. When you can’t score goals, you have individual mistakes, that adds up, but the best thing we can do is stay together and not get at each other because the season is long, so that’s what we have to focus on here.”

Callum Irving shows experience in match-saving performance for Vancouver:

Often, derbies can be decided by a key moment, with the games operating on a knife’s edge. With how tight this game was, that certainly was the case, which led to Bah’s crucial goal, and the subsequent relief it provided to he and his Vancouver teammates.

Before Bah’s decisive marker powered Vancouver to their win, however, it’s worth noting that this result wouldn’t have been possible without some key interventions from their captain, Callum Irving, who had a standout performance with five saves.

Of course, his penalty stop was the best of the bunch, but it was only the cherry on top for him in terms of his showing in Vancouver’s net.

Even beyond his saves, he was a vocal presence on wide balls, making some huge claims on Pacific’s crosses, especially late, which helped slow the momentum of their late push for an equalizer.

Yet, it shows what Irving can bring to the game. It hasn’t always been noticed as much this year, as Vancouver have done well to limit the chances he’s faced in games after he was one of the busiest goalkeepers in the CPL in 2023, but a game like this is a reminder of what he can do when called upon.

There’s a reason why he was able to help power this same Pacific side to a North Star Cup title in 2021, making some key stops along the way, which makes it fitting that he played such a key role in this game. In fact, for Pacific, it probably evoked some familiar emotions given their history with him, too, which likely fuelled Irving’s desire to shine in front of his old team.

With that, he was able to make some personal history in this game, as he made his first penalty stop in Vancouver colours after failing to save the previous 11 penalties he’d faced since making the move to the club at the start of 2023.

Something that might cost Ghotbi a few dollars, as he made some big promises to Irving, goalkeeper coach Marc Village and the rest of Vancouver’s goalkeeper group for when that first penalty stop came, he won’t mind that given that it led to a key win for his team.

“I’m getting used to it,” Ghotbi said of Irving. “He (impresses) with these performances, but he brings that to work every day, in every training, every week. He’s been very helpful to me as captain to be able to regroup the boys and and prepare him for this match, so I’m proud of him as I think the universe always helps people with pure hearts and lion hearts and people that have that kind of soul and spirit he has.”

He added with a laugh: “Now, I owe my goalkeeper coach a steak dinner, because I told him if (Callum) saves one penalty, his first one, I’m buying the steaks for him and all of the goalkeepers.”

Would he have preferred that Irving was quieter in this game? Certainly, but that’s the value of having a goalkeeper like him around, one who has experience stepping up in big moments.

In this game, that experience helped pave the way for a special moment for the 19-year-old Bah, who was able to score his 1st CPL goal in the win, with a special moment like that not possible without some of Irving’s big stops.

“Callum’s a great player,” Bah said of his captain. “Everybody on the squad loves him, he’s a great captain, and this was his moment. He hadn’t saved a penalty for VFC, so this is was the perfect time to do it against his old team, on their home soil.”

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Callum Irving, Vancouver FC

Vancouver’s late win would’ve never happened without Irving’s penalty heroics, as he stepped up in a huge moment for his team.

Yet, it was key moment among many in a strong night for Vancouver’s goalkeeper, who played a big role in his team’s crucial victory with his play in goal and in possession.

What’s next?

As mentioned earlier, Pacific will head out on the road for the next match, as they’ll head across the country to face Atlético Ottawa at TD Place on Sunday, July 7th (10:00 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. ET). Meanwhile, Vancouver will also head to Ontario, but will make their way to Hamilton, where a meeting with Forge FC awaits them at Tim Hortons Field on Friday, July 5th (4:00 p.m. PT/7:00 p.m. ET).

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