PACIFIC FC 2 HFX WANDERERS 0
The four-day delay turned out to be worth the wait for Pacific FC. The Island club, against the back drop of recovery efforts from post-tropical storm Fiona, defeated the host HFX Wanderers 2-0 in Halifax on Tuesday in a Canadian Premier League soccer game postponed from Saturday.
“We literally flew into a hurricane and it’s been a long week,” said PFC striker Josh Heard, who scored the second goal for the Tridents on the night and his sixth of the season.
“We were stuck in the hotel with no power. We were pretty much in limbo, not even knowing when kick-off would be. But the boys stayed positive and stuck together. I am proud of our group. The pitch was sloppy but it was for both teams.”
PFC head coach James Merriman said: “It’s been a difficult period for the Maritimes, and difficult trip for us, but we stayed safe. There was no clear plan [regarding the shifting of the game] but we stayed focused and concentrated. We were dealing with adversity, but there’s lots of character in this group.”
The game was crucial for both sides. PFC (11-7-7) moved three points ahead of Valour FC of Winnipeg into the fourth and final playoff position. Valour FC holds the tiebreaker but PFC has one game in hand with three remaining. The Tridents moved one point behind Forge FC of Hamilton and Cavalry FC of Calgary and have a game in hand on Cavalry. The Wanderers (8-13-5 in wins-losses-draws) are in seventh place and were eliminated from playoff contention by the loss to PFC.
“This was a big game and we were committed to both sides of the ball and our attacking players got behind the ball, too [on defence],” said Merriman.
That became even more important after Djenairo Daniels’ third goal of the season pinged off the far post to give PFC the lead at 45 minutes.
Midfield-engine Manny Aparicio returned to the Tridents line-up, after sitting out a controversial four-game suspension for a red card, and made an impact with an expertly- executed cross from the left side to set up Heard for the insurance goal at 69 minutes.
Also returning from a one-game suspension was Amer Didic, a towering presence in central defence for PFC. The Tridents are a different team with Canada-capped former Toronto FC MLS-prospect Aparicio and six-foot-four Canada-capped former Sporting Kansas City MLS prospect Didic in the line-up.
“Manny is who he is and you saw the energy he brings to this group,” said Merriman.
“And it was nice to have Amer Didic back. He was excellent.”
Amid the post-storm clean-up, and drenching rain continuing into Tuesday night, several thousand fans still showed up for the game. HFX leads the CPL in attendance with a 5,939 per-game average.
“It’s been a tough week for many in the Atlantic provinces, and to see fans still come out to support us, makes us grateful and appreciative,” said HFX defender Mo Omar, 2022 first-round MLS draft pick out of the NCAA Division 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
“It’s been a unique week for us, PFC, and the Atlantic provinces as a whole.”
HFX head coach Stephen Hart, who has coached Canada, and Trinidad and Tobago in World Cup qualifying, also made mention of the Halifax fans.
“I can’t say enough about them,” Hart said.
“They came out tonight, despite this difficult time, and I applaud them for it. They are the best fans in the league.”
PFC and HFX finished their season account 2-2. PFC leads the all-time series 6-4-4.
The Tridents have a short turnaround in heading home to close out the home portion of their regular-season schedule Friday night at Starlight Stadium against last-place FC Edmonton. Not that it’s a short ride, either.
The flight distance between Victoria and Halifax is 5,832 kilometres, making the match-ups between PFC and HFX the third-longest distance travelled in the world between soccer clubs in a top domestic league.
“We will have to recover on the flight, and then in our one day home Thursday, before the game against Edmonton,” said Merriman.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
