The Halifax Wanderers threw everything at Pacific FC on Saturday afternoon, but their winless streak continued as the two sides played out a scoreless draw at Wanderers Grounds.
The hosts had a lot of the ball in the early stages of the match, taking a trio of shots in the first ten minutes. With their fourth shot in the 13th minute Sean Melvin was called into action for the first time, reacting quickly to push the ball away from danger after Massimo Ferrin headed it on target from a corner kick. The Wanderers continued to dominate possession of the ball, and held Pacific scoreless through the first half an hour.
The Tridents got their first chance in the 31st minute, on an attempt from Josh Heard. The Pacific captain combined well with Kunle Dada-Luke and Andrei Tîrcoveanu down the right flank before making a run into the box. He attempted a shot after opening up a lane for himself, but was slightly off-balance, and sent his shot high and wide of the top left corner.
Aidan Daniels tested Melvin in the 32nd minute, but the Pacific goalkeeper was able to make the save. Ferrin nearly tested him again with another header from a corner, but this time he was unable to get his effort on target.
Pacific had another great opportunity at the other end of the pitch, as they too tried to take advantage of a set piece routine. After receiving a pass outside the penalty area, Sean Young fired the ball into the box toward the back post. Paul Amedume made a run to the back post but wasn’t able to redirect Young’s wayward shot on target.
The Wanderers outshot Pacific 10-3 in the first half and 3-1 in shots on target, but had nothing to show for it as the first half ended scoreless.
Already on the front foot, Halifax received a boost of energy from the home fans early in the second half after Juan Quintana was given his marching orders after two yellow cards just over one-and-a-half minutes apart. The first was for dissent and the second was a result of an unnecessary tactical foul, leaving referee Yusri Rudolf no choice but to send him back to the dressing room.
RED CARD 🟥@Pacificfccpl are down to 10 men after Juan Quintana, who was already on a yellow, stops a @HFXWanderersFC counter-attack 😬
Watch #CanPL LIVE on OneSoccer 🔴 pic.twitter.com/spatJYvm61
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 8, 2024
Pacific held strong and nearly took the lead in the 65th minute. Ayman Sellouf was given too much space from the edge of the penalty area so he decided to take a low shot that was heading for the bottom left corner if not for a touch from the diving Yann Fillion.
The Wanderers came agonizingly close to taking the lead in the 70th minute. After a great cross into the box from Aidan Daniels from a deep free kick, Cale Loughrey headed the ball across to Christian Volesky, who had only been subbed on moments earlier. Volesky’s header struck the crossbar, seconds before Julian Dunn’s follow-up effort was blocked.
Sean Melvin was injured on the play, rolling his ankle when landing, and was forced out of the match as Emil Gazdov came in off the bench.
Volesky came close with another header in the 79th minute, redirecting a dangerous cross from Clément Bayiha on target, but his effort was stopped at point-blank range from Gazdov. Bayiha had an opportunity of his own a few minutes later with a shot from a tight angle, but Christian Greco-Taylor was able to get a touch to redirect it out for a inconsequential corner kick.
With ten minutes of stoppage time added on, Halifax perhaps got flashbacks to last week’s draw in Ottawa, when their first win was taken away from them by a 101st minute goal from Alberto Zapater. In that match they were down to ten men for the final 15 minutes or so, but this time it was the Wanderers who had the man advantage.
A goal would not come for either side, however, as the clock ticked away on a scoreless draw on the east coast. It was a first clean sheet of the season for Halifax, but after eight matches they are still looking for their first victory of 2024.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Halifax Wanderers FC: Fillion; Fernandez (Vasconcelos 90+5′), Dunn, Loughrey, Timoteo; Callegari, Gagnon-Laparé (Volesky 67′); Daniels (Dias 77′), Probo, Ferrazzo (Bayiha 66′); Ferrin
Pacific FC: Melvin (Gazdov 74′); Quintana, Meilleur-Giguère, Amedume (Greco-Taylor 83′); Dada-Luke, Lamothe, Young, Lajeunesse; Tîrcoveanu (Keshavarz 56′), Sellouf (Zanatta 83′), Heard (Bahous 83′)
Goals
n/a
Discipline
8′ — Yellow: Lorenzo Callegari (Halifax Wanderers FC)
52′ — Yellow: Juan Quintana (Pacific FC)
53′ — Red: Juan Quintana (Pacific FC) — second yellow card
82′ — Yellow: Zachary Fernandez (Halifax Wanderers FC)
83′ — Yellow: Yann Fillion (Halifax Wanderers FC)
88′ — Yellow: Pierre Lamothe (Pacific FC)
88′ — Yellow: Christian Greco-Taylor (Pacific FC)