A coastal clash kicks off a rare Monday doubleheader in the Canadian Premier League, with the Halifax Wanderers and Vancouver FC celebrating Natal Day at Wanderers Grounds.
Both sides are looking to get back into the win column in front of what is expected to be another large holiday Monday crowd in the Nova Scotian capital, with the Wanderers on a three-game losing slide and the Eagles winless since May 3. Last time out, Vancouver lost 3-1 to Valour FC in Martin Nash's first game as VFC's interim head coach following the departure of Afshin Ghotbi, while the Wanderers dropped a 2-1 result at home after Max Filion earned Forge FC all three points at the death.
This will be the third meeting between Halifax and Vancouver this season, with the Wanderers winning the previous two. Most recently, in Vancouver's only other scheduled trip to the east coast this season, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère was the hero for the Haligonians, finding the back of the net in the 77th minute in a 1-0 victory. Previously in Langley, Ryan Telfer and Tiago Coimbra scored in the second half after a rain-delayed game resumed for an important win on the road on May 17.
As a result of their recent losing streak, Halifax has dropped a few spots in the table, and enter the weekend in fifth place in the CPL table, behind a surging York United side that overtook them last weekend. Vancouver, meanwhile, are looking to climb out of the CPL's basement and have only one win to their name through 16 matches. Their eight points leave them four back of provincial rival Pacific FC, who play later on Monday and cannot be caught until next week at the earliest -- when the Eagles welcome the Tridents to Langley for a crucial Salish Sea Derby for both sides and their fans.
They can't worry about that game yet, though. Halifax will be keen to turn their form around in front of their own fans to keep pace with the league leaders, and like Valour did to Vancouver last week, will come flying out of the gates to try and find an early goal, and then be ruthless to ensure they get the three points they need. Vancouver responded well to that early Kianz Froese goal last week, but will be keen to avoid needing to dig themselves out of a hole again, like they did in both halves of the match.
The Eagles could receive a bit of a boost as well, with David Norman available to return to the lineup after recovering from a minor injury. Allan Enyou is one booking away from a suspension for yellow card accumulation, as is the case for Wanderers counterpart Adam Pearlman.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
-
Mbongue ambitious about loan spell contributions: After signing on loan from Toronto FC last week, Canadian striker Hugo Mbongue was thrust straight into Vancouver's starting lineup, and played the full 90 minutes for his new club. The 21-year-old made a strong first impression with his new side, holding up the ball well and causing some trouble for the Valour defenders with his movement, and is ambitious about his targets for this loan in the second half of the season. When asked in his pre-game press conference on Saturday what a successful spell in B.C. would look like, he said the expected answer of wanting to score goals, and asked if he had a number in mind he said "at least ten". That is certainly an ambitious number with twelve games left in the regular season, but if Vancouver is going to turn their form around in the second half of the year, he will need to be a central figure in their attacking unit.
-
Wanderers looking to end three-game losing skid: After a very strong start to the season, the Halifax Wanderers have come back down to earth a little bit in recent weeks. They ended July by playing the top two teams in the league, Atlético Ottawa and Forge FC -- losing 2-0 and 2-1, respectively, with the latter defeat coming at home after conceding a late goal. Before those two games, they lost a 3-2 thriller on Vancouver Island aginst Pacific FC, and will look to break their three-game losing slide against fellow British Columbia club Vancouver FC on Monday. The Wanderers won the first two meetings of the season against the Eagles, and will be hoping to replicate that success in front of a large expected crowd that always shows up for the annual Natal Day match.
-
Will Nash continue to integrate fellow newcomers?: Last week's defeat at home to Valour FC was Martin Nash's first match in charge of Vancouver FC since being named interim head coach of the side a few days prior. Along with his debut on the sidelines, a handful of players got their first appearances for the club, with aforementioned striker Hugo Mbongue playing the full 90 minutes up top, and a pair of new internationals -- Michel Cavalcante and Abdoulaye Ouattara -- coming off the bench for their first taste of Canadian Premier League action as well. Thomas Powell, who has been with the club since 2024, also got his first start of the season on the right side of midfield after being mostly limited to short substitute appearances or watching from the sidelines to this point of the season. Despite the 3-1 loss, Vancouver showed some positive signs in the first game under Nash, particularly in attack. The Eagles were playing on the front foot, but were let down by a few lapses in concentration -- first a goal just three minutes in that they were able to respond to, then a stretch where they conceded twice in seven minutes as a ruthless Valour side put the game to bed. If they can limit the mistakes and play that brand of attacking football, Nash might have found a recipe to turn around their form at the bottom of the table.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Halifax Wanderers FC: Yesli; Pearlman, Meilleur-Giguère, Sow, Timoteo; Callegari, Johnston; Baï, Telfer, Probo; Coimbra
Vancouver FC: Irving; Dada-Luke, Campagna, O'Connor, Enyou; Powell, Essoussi, Fry, Gee; Mbongue, Bah
ALL-TIME SERIES
Halifax Wanderers FC wins: 5 || Vancouver FC wins: 3 || Draws: 2
Last meeting:
June 21, 2025 — Halifax Wanderers FC 1-0 Vancouver FC
KEY QUOTES
"It's a tradition that we're really honoured to celebrate the long weekend with our fans, and we want to make them proud becaust they based the entire weekend on this and to get there and push us and support us, so I'm really excited for the game." -- Halifax Wanderers FC head coach Patrice Gheisar
"It was a pretty good week. Changing things, everything is slightly different obviously, so it's been a good week to get a full week of training in and we really looked at ourselves this week and just improved ourselves as a team for the game on Monday." -- Vancouver FC interim head coach Martin Nash