‘Oh Captain, My Captain!’: HFX Wanderers draw even with Forge FC in Rampersad’s 100th match

Halifax Wanderers captain Andre Rampersad turns and runs hard towards his own 18-yard box.

He is scrambling to close off the space exposed by a teammate’s poor cross and tracks the flurry of orange shirts closing in for the kill. The ball is passed just yards ahead of him to Forge FC attacker Jordan Hamilton, whose got eyes for goal.

But Rampersad takes that away from him with a spectacular sliding tackle and the ball ends up flying wildly out of bounds.

This play is a microcosm of what Rampersad means to this Halifax squad: hard work, dedication, team play.

And it is also emblematic of the Wanderers efforts at Tim Hortons Field on Saturday as they looked to close out their road trip with their first win of the season.

For a time, it seemed like head coach Patrice Gheisar would get his wish.

Rampersad would again prove pivotal in the 41st minute as he gave a gentle layoff to attacker Massimo Ferrin who scored for the second consecutive game.

Forge pushed hard in the second half for the equalizer and the Wanderers collapsed their formation with pressure mounting.

However, Forge attacker Woobens Pacius deflected a rebound off his hip in the 88th minute to tie the game and snatch away Gheisar’s first ever CPL win.

“This has been an exhausting week, being away from Halifax for nine days and playing three games against top teams,” said Gheisar post-match.

“It’s all positive signs for me, and sometimes even when you’re let down like that it leads to us having a problem and fixing it, so as the season goes we grow — rather than if we won that game, I think it would give us a false hope that we’re amazing, because I still don’t think we were great in the second half.”

The Wanderers will have a brief break before kicking off their season opener at the Wanderers Grounds on April 29.

From the Notebook

1. This is about as good of a start to the season that Gheisar and the Wanderers could have hoped for. They looked the better team against Atlético Ottawa and were minutes away from a victory against Forge. Considering these are the respective regular season and playoff champions and that they played three games in a seven day span, the Wanderers should return to Nova Scotia with their heads held high. As I profiled earlier in the week, Gheisar’s team has already adopted his attacking philosophy while learning to work with each other. We’ve seen glimpses of what they could become and it’s exciting: this has the makings of a dynamic attacking football team. I’m very eager to see them against some of the other clubs to see if they’re able to breakout offensively. I’ll be at the Wanderers Grounds against Vancouver FC and am excited to see how the squad plays with the loudest fans in the CPL at their backs.
2. Just a quick note but I was pleased to see how well drilled Halifax was in a 4-5-1 as the clock wound down. This marks versatility and a willingness to adjust to the situation from Gheisar. You know he wanted this one badly, not only for himself but to make a statement: Halifax is a team to be reckoned with.
3. Rampersad’s post-match comments were heartwarming. He spoke at length about his career and time in the CPL but mostly about what Halifax means to him. “I can’t say it enough, Halifax definitely changed my life,” he said. “All I wanted to do was make the people of Halifax happy, because they gave me an opportunity of a lifetime.” It’s hard to believe that he’s in his fifth season with the club but he’s grown to become a model athlete for the rest of the squad. He easily played his best game of the season on Saturday.
4. Massimo the Great certainly has ring to it, eh? Ferrin showcased his great pace and dribbling in the build up to his second goal in as many games. Interestingly, both of his goals have come beyond the 18-yard box and shows an ability to pick his spot when he’s got space. I can only imagine how loud it’ll be at the Wanderers Grounds if he nets another one against Vancouver.
5. Yann Fillion hadn’t been poor but he hadn’t exactly been excellent either. Well, he put any doubts to bed with a monster match. Forge had a whopping 18 shots on goal and six on target, making it a busy day at the office for the Ottawa native. In particular, he had a great save on Hamilton in the 17th minute to dive and redirect the shot wide. He remained calm and composed as Forge turned up the heat in the second half and had no chance off the deflection which tied the game. All in all, I’d say he was the Wanderers best player.
6. Hello, Wesley Timoteo. Starting his second match in a row, I feel like Timoteo is starting to become more comfortable with his role. His movement was excellent and he made several creative passes, including a lofted through ball which ultimately led to Ferrin’s goal. He enjoyed a productive season with FC Edmonton last year, including three goals and five assists so look for him to build on this game.
7. Last but not least on the player reviews, I couldn’t forget about Daniel Nimick. He started in his third consecutive game and again proved his mettle against tough competition. He had one bad play which stood out for the fact that I really hadn’t seen any glaring mistakes from him yet. Simply put, he’s everything you’d want in a modern centreback; tall, athletic, pacey and an excellent passer. The ticket now is trying to find the best combination of defensive line to play around him. Omar is likely the front runner but I also liked Cale Loughrey in his debut. Gheisar will continue rotating the squad until he finds the combinations he likes best but one thing is for certain: if Nimick is fit, he’ll play.
8. I didn’t much care for the officiating in this game. Callegari received a yellow in the 48 minute for the slightest contact. Right after, Forge player Owolabi-Belewu somehow evaded bookings after back-to-back late challenges on Fernandez and Nimick. Later in the second half, Nimick would be given a yellow following some theatrics from the Forge keeper. Although a small thing, I wondered if Callegari would have been more aggressive to stop Forge’s build up that led to their goal if he didn’t have a booking.

Today marks one week since I launched the Wanderers Notebook so I wanted to take a moment to say thank you. I’ve received lots of comments and well-wishes and appreciate everyone whose taken the time to read. I’ll be tweaking the website over the next few days but hope to publish something midweek.

Cheers,