Pacific FC players and coaches might do well to brush up on their Jack Kerouac because they will be on the road for their Canadian Premier League playoff semifinal game Nov. 20.
“We’ve got to do it the hard way, it’s as simple as that,” said PFC head coach Pa Modou-Kah.
That was assured by Cavalry FC’s 1-0 victory Sunday in Calgary that closed out the PFC regular season at 13-9-6, relegating the Tridents to a certain third-place finish after leading the table for much of the year. A PFC victory would have guaranteed it second place and a home date in the semifinals but that is not to be at Starlight Stadium.
“We had missed opportunities in the month of October,” lamented Kah.
“We finished third because we deserved to finish third.”
PFC stumbled down the stretch, losing its last two league games and three of its last four in going 3-6 in the past nine games, while Cavalry FC surged and has lost only once in its past seven games.
Cavalry FC said it will be ready for the Islanders in the likely semifinal match-up Nov. 20 back in Calgary.
“You heard our fans today. And it’s going to be cold, hard and at altitude,” said Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
“These are the advantages that help you in the playoffs and we will use them to the max. Whoever comes into our house is going to have a tough time against us.”
Asked about the possibility of snow in two weeks in Calgary, Wheeldon Jr. replied: “You see it in the Grey Cup. This is Canada and it makes for the romance of our league.”
PFC will have plenty of time to get ready, albeit in milder and danker conditions training on the Island.
“Cavalry is worthy opposition. But we are going to regroup and come back here [to Calgary] and it will be a different result,” vowed Kah, following Sunday’s game.
The match was decided on a goal at 16 minutes by the always-lurking striker Joe Mason. The former Ireland U-21 international and Plymouth Argyle, Cardiff City, Bolton Wanderers and Wolverhampton pro made no mistake on a feed from Mo Farsi that dissected the PFC defence.
“This was about getting the three points and home field. We were focused on playing this game [so as] to play the semifinal at home,” said Farsi, a member of the Canada U-23 team in Olympic qualifying for Tokyo.
“It’s always better to play at home on our field with our atmosphere and at Calgary altitude.”
PFC knows the task ahead.
“We have to be ready to come back here to Calgary. It’s as simple as that,” said PFC captain and Canada-capped Jamar Dixon.
“It’s a great rivalry and we go toe-to-toe every time we play each other.”
The game Sunday was rougher than most between the rivals, perhaps indicating the shortening days and encroaching playoffs.
“PFC is more about playing football but this was more physical. It was a very physical game,” noted Farsi.
Cavalry was ready for it, said bench-boss Wheeldon Jr.: “You’ve got to combine pretty with the gritty. It was a bit of brilliant grit. It was playoff-like football.”
Cavalry FC moved into a first-place tie with Forge FC, two points ahead of PFC. The Calgarians finish off in the regular season Nov. 16 against Forge FC in Hamilton. But the Hammers have three games remaining to Cavalry’s one and it would be the shocker of the season if Forge FC did not finish first and meet fourth-place York United in the semifinal fixture to be played at Tim Hortons Field on Nov. 21.
There is an outside chance the CPL championship game could be played at Starlight Stadium on Nov. 27 or Nov. 28. But that would require third-seed PFC to beat Cavalry FC in the semifinals and fourth-seed York United to upset two-time defending champion Forge FC, the latter which has qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League for 2022 to take on the best from MLS and Liga X and continues showing itself as the class of the CPL.
The HFX Wanderers of Halifax, last year’s finalists against Forge FC in the bubble season, Atletico Ottawa, Valour FC of Winnipeg and FC Edmonton will miss the CPL playoffs.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
