A lot had changed since the Halifax Wanderers and Pacific last met in October.
Both squads featured new faces, unveiled new formations and were eager to get their first win of the 2024 season. However, for all the change, the result was the same as Pacific eked out a narrow 1-0 win — the same score line as in the playoffs five months ago — at Starlight Stadium on Saturday.
Pacific and the Wanderers were well matched to start the first half as both gaffers worked to incorporate new signings into their starting XIs. Head coach Patrice Gheisar ran a back three of Dan Nimick, newcomer Julian Dunn and Cale Loughrey while giving Ryan Telfer, Christian Volesky and Giorgio Probo the nod upfront. For his part, James Merriman included prickly French midfielder Aly Ndom into his backline and marked Trinidad and Tobago international Reon Moore as his striker.
Although evenly matched through the first 45-minutes, Pacific went into the break with a lead thanks to a penalty called on Dunn. Tasked with defending Moore, Dunn lost his mark on a run into the box and fouled the streaking Moore. Ayman Sellouf, arguably Pacific’s most dangerous player following the off-season departures of Manny Aparicio and Amer Didic, slotted home his first of the season in the 35th minute.
Coming out of the half, the Wanderers amped up the pressure in search of an equalizer. Volesky had a number of opportunities, including a header from the box in the 56th minute, but was unable to find the back of the net. Volesky finished the match with 22 touches, 12 accurate passes and two shots off target.
Halifax’s best chance came a few minutes later as they worked the ball into the 18-yard box on the right side. Volesky, working with his back to goal, layed off a perfect ball for wing-back Zachary Fernandez, who hit a low strike labelled for the bottom left corner. However, 20-year old Pacific goalkeeper Emil Gazdov closed the door and was able to stretch out and get a glove on it.
Gheisar brought in Aidan Daniels and Massimo Ferrin — two of last year’s best performers — off the bench in the 72nd minute but were unable to make a difference.
Similar to their last meeting, the Wanderers finished the match with the better statistics but were again unable to crack Gazdov. They finished the evening with nearly 60 per cent possession and outshot Pacific 13-4. Only two of Halifax’s shots were on target.
Merriman praised his club’s poise post-match, especially that of Ndom, who at 27-years old brings over 100 appearances between Ligue 1 and 2.
“It’s still really early, but we know the quality that he has,” said Merriman. “He picked up a little injury so he was out for a period of our preseason, and he has only just come back, so he’s still finding his feet and connecting with the team, so I think there’s a lot a lot more to come.”
For his part, Gheisar said he was happy with his squad’s performance but felt they were unlucky not to get a point.
“Just look at the stats, they only had four shots total, so I thought we did a really good job of creating a lot of uneasy moments for (Pacific),” explained Gheisar. “We said last year that we want it to be more unpredictable. And this is one of the other layers we’ve looked to add in the offseason. In pre-season, we had some bumps and bruises, but what we were able to do is manage things tactically, and I think that’s something that’s going to make us even more unpredictable, because we are now able to play in a high, mid and low block.”
The Wanderers continue their West Coast trip on Thursday as they face Vancouver FC; their first match at the Wanderers Grounds is April 27 against Atlético Ottawa.
From the Notebook:
- Hello and welcome back to the Wanderers Notebook! If this is your first time, welcome. And if not, please, make yourself at home; you know where the drinks are. All kidding aside, I’m pleased as punch to be back delving into the little details and observations I make throughout Wanderers matches; after a long off-season of transfer reporting, this is the reward. Which brings us to our first note: I was surprised, I think like many of you, by the starting XI. Ferrin, who led all Wanderers in goals last year, started on the bench. Same for Daniels, who I thought had an electric 2023 and looked good in pre-season. Brazilian Vitor Dias didn’t even step on the pitch. It’s all made very interesting when you play back the tape from Thursday’s pre-match call, where in what now appears to be a gambit to throw off the scent, Gheisar strongly suggested Dias, Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé and Volesky were likely to start. When I asked Gheisar post-match to walk through his selections, he revealed there might be something more to some of his choices. “Listen, we have a deep squad and if you don’t give guys rewards and you don’t keep your opponents guessing, you’re never going to be — going back to what I said earlier — unpredictable. We knew that (Ferrin) could only get one game this week so by playing today, we know he won’t be available for selection on Thursday most likely. Being in that tough situation, I’d rather played him today to get some minutes and then sit him. Telfer’s been really good in the off-season; Probo was fantastic and played in the pockets. We’re lucky there’s a battle at every position and we’re going to reward the guys based on the work they’re doing this week and not what they did last season,” he said.
- Anyone who attended either of the Wanderers’ pre-season tilts at the BMO Soccer Centre will have recognized the formation they deployed on Saturday. First up, Gheisar ran a back three of Loughrey on the left, Dunn in the middle and Nimick on the right. The next line included Wesley Timoteo, captain Andre Rampersad, maestro Lorenzo Callegari and Fernandez with Telfer, Volesky and Probo up front. Out of possession, they formed a 3-4-3 but became a nebulous, ever shifting shape in attack. Players were clearly empowered to make their own reads with centre-backs making runs deep, wingers dropping back, and a whole gamut of other movements meant to tease Pacific’s defenders out of position. In short, it was Gheisarism turned into Total Football and extremely entertaining to watch and decipher. I think they were unlucky not to equalize as they had the better chances.
- Although not last year’s formation, I think the shape deployed versus Pacific was one Gheisar fancied for some time. Gary Griffiths, who writes for From Aways and appears on Down the Pub podcast, had theorized for months about Gheisar being inspired by Bayer Leverkusen. Well, Gary, your suspicions were confirmed post-match as Gheisar discussed drawing from Europe, as well as from Vancouver Whitecaps manager Vanni Sartini. “I spent some time there (with Sartini) and there’s some inspiration there, we had a lot of conversations about it,” he said. “When you look at modern day football today, the two best teams in the world are Bayer Leverkusen and Inter Milan, who use back threes, but even there you can question if they are in a back three or a back five.” To be clear, I don’t expect the Wanderers to run this look from now until the end of the season. It’s simply another tool in their toolbox and gives the club another look tactically, an important thing to keep in mind when you play every club four times. And although they aired a new look, there’s no doubting Gheisar’s footballing principles have stayed the same: he covets the ball and believes in attacking.
- I fully expected Fernandez and Timoteo to make bombing runs but was impressed at how active Loughrey and Nimick were at getting up the pitch. Together with Dunn, they’ve got to form the most intimidating backline in the league as they average around 6’3 but have clearly been asked to get more involved offensively. This is something the coaching staff asked of both Loughrey and Nimick last year so I guess I shouldn’t be shocked they worked on incorporating them into the attack. Given his history as a midfielder, it’s not surprising Nimick would acclimate easily to a more advanced role.
- I wanted to give some credit to Loughrey, who I thought looked much improved from last year. During my deep dive with CPL By the Numbers, Loughrey ranked poorly through a number of statistics; the data showed a player surviving, not thriving. And although I think he played better than the stats suggested in 2023, there was clearly room for improvement on his passing and offensive contributions; he had the potential to give so much more. Loughrey spoke to Martin Bauman of The Coast this off-season about trying to improve his passing range and it showed on Saturday. As per SofaScore, Loughrey completed 57 of his 64 passes; of those, he went five for eight on long balls. He also did a good job of rotating on the left side of the pitch and got himself into positions to either pull defenders away or to deliver service into the box. Loughrey has always been good in the air but he was dominant versus Pacific, winning all three of his aerial duels. He had one header go wide but with a little luck, I think he could become a huge threat on set pieces.
- Overall, Gheisar liked his back three and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ran it back against Vancouver on Thursday but rotated his midfielders and attackers. “I think they were just a bit below very good but trending there and what’s stopping them is obviously a clean sheet and us winning. They can pass, they can play multiple positions and our recruitment has been around players who can allow us to adapt differently and be able to play at different positions,” Gheisar said of the Loughrey-Dunn-Nimick line.
- As much as I liked the dynamic movement from the centre-backs and wing-backs, I thought Halifax’s front line left a little to be desired. I felt they were disconnected and some of that is rust after a long off-season. But I also think there was an element of nerves as Telfer, Probo and Volesky made their debuts. In particular, Volesky seemed frustrated he wasn’t able to make more of the opportunities he had, missing at least one big chance. Both Volesky and Telfer were brought in for their experience and to avoid the forward shuffle the club experienced last year. It’ll be interesting to see if Volesky gets the start versus Vancouver or if the coaching staff opts to give bull-in-a-china-shop Tiago Coimbra the reins. It’s still very, very early.
- Just a final parting thought to say I think this Wanderers squad is going to do well. Last year was about building the foundation; 2024 is about realizing their potential and I expect that the club is going to be in contention for multiple trophies. I look forward to covering the highs and lows of this journey so don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions, comments or things you’d like to see in my coverage (news tips don’t hurt either). And, as always, thank you for reading.
Cover Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League
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