Final Score: Vancouver FC 1-0 Pacific FC
Goalscorers: Díaz 62′
Game of the 2024 season: 69
CPL match: 553
Match in a minute or less
Vancouver picked up their fifth straight win over Pacific FC in the Salish Sea Derby on Sunday, as they defeated their rivals 1-0 at Willoughby Community Park. After a quiet first half from both teams, Alejandro Díaz opened the scoring for Vancouver in the second half, as he got on the end of a perfect cross from Paris Gee, slotting home from close range with a left-footed volley to make it 1-0. From there, Vancouver did what they needed to do in order to secure the win, allowing them to cement their hold on the fifth and final playoff spot in the CPL for now, as they sit three points ahead of sixth place Pacific after this result.
Three Observations
Vancouver continues dominance over Pacific in latest Salish Sea Derby:
For a large chunk of this game, this game seemed destined for a historic result in the seventh edition of this derby – a first-ever draw, after the first six games were decided by wins. With both teams choosing to play more cautiously, unwilling to take any risks that would lead to a mistake, it seemed to hard to see where goals could emerge from either side. Especially for a Pacific side who scored just four goals in their previous six matches leading into one, and a Vancouver side sitting with three goals in their last four matches, that seemed to indicate that a 0-0 draw was a likely possibility. Then, Vancouver pounced out of nowhere. On a seemingly straightforward attack, Paris Gee received the ball out wide with a bit of space, as he did several times before in the game, but in that moment, he came alive to deliver a perfect cross, and Alejandro Díaz did the rest. Ultimately, that’s all that Vancouver needed to win – that was just one of six shots they took on the day, and the only shot they took that was worth more than 0.1 xG, as they struggled to generate clear chances all game long other than that. Despite that, knowing that they were up against a Pacific side that hasn’t just struggled to score as of late, but all season, period, sitting with a league-low 14 goals in 16 games heading into this one, they knew that if they kept things tight at the back, they’d give themselves a chance to win if they got just one goal. That ended up proving to be true in the end, as the result indicates.
Yet, that’s a big sign of the advantage that Vancouver has now carved out in this derby, one in which they’ve now claimed five straight victories after losing the first two. Despite that dominance, it’s not as if they’ve been blowing the doors of Pacific in each meeting – all five of their wins have been by one goal. Instead, their dominance has manifested itself in other ways, such as the confidence they have that they can get a result out of games against Pacific, even if they don’t play at their best, or their ability to rise to the occasion of a big derby match. In this game, they did that, and it couldn’t have come at a better time, given how massive this game was for both teams, having entered this match tied with each other for the fifth and final playoff spot in the league. Amid their respective slumps, a win was going to be massive for either side, making Vancouver’s win a key one for their season. Now, they’ll look to use this to jumpstart their season, allowing them to climb up the table. That’s the beauty of derby wins – they can be the perfect tonic to reset a team’s mentality, and for a slumping Vancouver side, they’ll hope that it’s exactly what the doctor ordered. “From our side, it was a professional performance that we exhibited,” Vancouver’s head coach, Afshin Ghotbi, said after. “I felt that we managed the game well, especially after the goal, and that was fantastic, so I’m very pleased with the result, It’s rarely in any derby in the world we have a team with five straight derby wins, which is very special.” As for Pacific, however, it leaves them with lots of soul searching to do. No doubt, they’ll already be frustrated given their recent run of form, given that it’s bumped them out of a playoff spot, but the five straight derby losses will sting, especially given that they seemed to be the likelier team to win this game for large chunks of it. Yet, they were unable to rise to the key moments of this game, as one needs to do in a derby, and that left them on the wrong side of the result once again. “We need to continue to demand more from ourselves,” Pacific’s head coach, James Merriman, said after. “The only way I see us (improving) is continuing to work hard, but nobody’s playing us off the field.”
Alejandro Díaz continues to play important role in Vancouver attack:
Quietly, an interesting theme has emerged within Vancouver’s attack this season – every three games (or less), Alejandro Díaz will deliver them a goal. Because of that, they’ll be pleased with the timing of his latest marker for the club, as it was one of his biggest of the season given how important this win was for his team. With that, it also represented a big one for him, too – he became the first Vancouver player to score 10 goals for the club, which is a key milestone. Not only that, but he’s also now quietly crawled within touching distance of the CPL’s Golden Boot race this season, sitting tied for second with eight goals, just one behind Brian Wright in first place. Given that it’s felt he’s had a relatively quiet season by his lofty standards, it’s impressive to see, yet it’s a sign of the most impressive skill he’s brought to Vancouver’s attack this season – consistency. Often times, strikers can deliver goals in bunches, allowing them to climb up the goalscoring charts. That’s the nature of the position, as players can run hot and cold, especially depending on how teams mark them and other factors. Because of that, the hardest skill for strikers isn’t too score lots of goals, but to do so on a consistent basis, as it can be tough to constantly step up and find goals in different games, no matter the opponent or the location. Not for Díaz, however, whose goalscoring has been remarkably consistent this year, and the stats reflect that. Of his eight goals, all have come in different games, and he’s scored four of them away and four of them at home.
Then, most impressively, he’s also made sure to spread them out across the season, too, as he’s actually yet to go more than three games at a time without finding the net, meaning that he’s ensuring that he’s not ran particularly hot or cold, which is why he’s perceived to having a much quieter season than he actually is. After struggling to find his feet when he first arrived in Vancouver halfway through the 2023 season, scoring in his first two appearances for the club before going scoreless in his next 12 games to end that campaign, it’s been a nice improvement to see, as he’s looked a lot more like the player who secured the CPL’s Golden Boot for Pacific FC with 13 goals in 2022 despite only playing 18 games before a mid-season transfer away from the club. Yet, it’s a credit to how he’s adjusted to this Vancouver system, as he looks a lot more comfortable in this set-up than he did in 2023, and his teammates have a better understanding of his skills as a striker. A lethal finisher in the box, he just needs service, and he’ll take care of the rest. After struggling to adjust to his runs and how he seeks out those chances last year, those around him understand how to find him, and this goal was the perfect example of that. “I think this year, it’s (helped to have a) preseason and more time to train all together,” Díaz offered. “Last year was a little bit tough, I had a good start but after that I had a slump, but this year to have the preseason, the training, it’s helped a lot.” Now, Vancouver will look to imitate Díaz’s consistency as they look to go on a run. With five goals in his last seven games, he’s been hitting his stride, even if the results haven’t followed, so he’ll look to keep that form up, especially if his team goes on a winning run. Because of that, look for Díaz to continue his quiet push up the Golden Boot race, as one figures he’ll be massive if Vancouver are able to push up the table, and a game like this against his old team shows exactly why. “He’s one of the most clinical strikers that I’ve met,” Ghotbi said of Díaz. “When he faces the goal and he’s in that danger area, if he gets the right service, 90% time he’s putting the ball on target. He’s so technical, too, we play a lot of headers and volley games (in training) and you see how technical his right foot, left foot and head are, he kisses the ball with his head like he’s kissing his baby, there’s just so much feeling (in his shooting).”
Pacific struggles to create width in possession:
Much has understandably been made of Pacific’s offensive struggles this season, and there are a lot of factors to look at for what’s caused those issues. In this game, however, one clear factor seemed to play a role for Pacific, and that came in wide areas, as they struggled to get their wide players as involved offensively as they would’ve like. Despite having Kunle Dada-Luke attacking freely down the right, and Josh Heard down the left, they were unable to get the ball to them as much as they would’ve liked. The stats demonstrate that, albeit in different ways – Heard was less involved with just 21 touches, but managed to have six of them in the box, while Dada-Luke was a bit more busy with 77 touches, he had just one of them in Vancouver’s box. That had a big impact on the game, as Pacific would’ve ideally liked both of them to be constantly providing a threat in wide areas, given that they were playing with four central midfielders, but instead both struggled to get their wide players as involved as hoped. Especially against a Vancouver side that wasn’t really defending with wingers, playing with a sort of 4-3-1-2 without the ball, it was a surprise to see, as it felt like the space was there for Pacific to attack out wide. Certainly, they tried their best to, sending 41.3% of their attacks down the right and 42.7% of them down the left, but it didn’t yield much for most of the match despite that.
For what it’s worth, Pacific did finish the game quite strongly despite their earlier struggles out wide, and looked likely to grab an equalizer, so it’s not as if this game was a complete wash offensively. That they generated seven of their 12 shots on the day after Vancouver scored is a sign of what they can do when they get into the spaces on the pitch that they’re seeking to hit, as Dario Zanatta, in particular, did a great job of offering a threat out wide once he came off the b ench. At the same time, their strong end to the game will offer more frustration than joy, especially given that they weren’t able to turn it into any points. In particular, the big question they’ll ask is why they weren’t able to find that sort of energy earlier in the game, where they were playing on the front foot, holding more possession than Vancouver, but unable to turn it into much offensively. Yet, that’s the big challenge that Pacific faces going forward. Having won just twice in their last 13 games, it’s not as if they’ve been getting blown out across that stretch, with a two goal loss to York United and a three goal loss to Valour their lone losses by more than one goal this season, but they’re not getting the results they desire, either. A huge part of that is their attack, as they’ve got to take advantage of their solid defensive play, having conceded just 17 goals in 17 games this season, yet that comes through finding a way to not just score, but do so at timely moments. In this game, an early goal could’ve very well led to a 1-0 Pacific win, but they were unable to find that key breakthrough, and that’s been a common theme for them in games as of late, much to their frustration. “Okay, results can go against you, and it can hurt your confidence, but (it doesn’t change) who you are as a player and your quality,” Merriman said. “We need to attack, we’re saying this day in and day out, but we’re not bringing it alive in the game, so even though it presents itself in a certain way, it’s not, these games are very tight, and we want it to be too perfect, but we need to realize where we’re at, we’re losing games when we need to win games, and that has to be the mindset.”
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
James Cameron, Vancouver FC
Cameron was lively for Vancouver at left back, putting in a big shift on both sides of the ball. That’s reflected in the numbers, as he finished with 22 out of 31 completed passes and two out of three successful dribbles offensively, while chipping in with four clearances, one block, two interceptions, four tackles and winning nine out of his 19 duels defensively.
What’s next?
Vancouver will stay at home for their next game, as they get set to host Forge FC at Willoughby Community Park on Sunday, August 18th (4:00 p.m. PT/7:00 p.m. ET). Meanwhile, Pacific will return to Vancouver Island to host Atlético Ottawa at Starlight Stadium on Saturday, August 17th (3:00 p.m. PT/6:00 p.m. ET). Watch all CPL and Canadian Championship matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.