2023 CPL Regular Season — Match #9
HFX Wanderers vs. Vancouver FC
April 29, 2023 at 11 a.m. PT/3 p.m. AT
Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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For the first time in 2023, the Canadian Premier League is back on the Atlantic coast.

After two games on the road to open the season, the Halifax Wanderers have returned to the familiar confines of Nova Scotia, as they get set to host Vancouver FC in their 2023 home opener at Wanderers Grounds on Saturday.

The first meeting between these two sides in league history, this game promises to be a good one in front of a strong crowd, on what should be a beautiful day for it in the city.

RELATED: MATCH ANALYSIS: Strong start lifts Vancouver FC to first-ever win vs. York United | MATCH ANALYSIS: Halifax agonizingly close to first victory of 2023, but Pacius rescues Forge late | ‘I’m grateful for the name’: ‘Pele’ Martinez looking to impress with Vancouver FC

Leading the way are the Wanderers, who return home eager to build off a strong start to the season, even if they’re yet to win a match. At first glance, two draws from two games could be seen as a bit of a worry, given that they had leads in both of their matches, but when you realize that they played away to the two 2022 CPL finalists, Atlético Ottawa and Forge, it helps put those results in context.

Despite playing two of the best teams in the league from last season, the Wanderers showed why they’re different than the side that finished second-last in 2022, having rebuilt themselves significantly this offseason.

That was reflected in their opening performances, as not only were they able to grab points on the road, but did so while entertaining, playing a fluid and exciting brand of soccer. Thanks to new head coach Patrice Gheisar, gone are the days when stringing together passes in the middle of the park could be a challenge for the Wanderers, as they now attack with a purpose, doing their best to destabilize the opponent.

Because of that, they’ll be eager to bring that to this home opener. Last season, the Wanderers had the second-worst home record in the league, and scored a league-low 13 goals in 14 games at home, despite having some of the best home support in the league.

Safe to say, they want these fans to leave happier this season than they did last year, and that starts with a big offensive performance in this game, something that they’re eager to deliver.

“Our fans want us to score goals and work hard,” Gheisar said ahead of this match. “They don’t want to see a score a goal and then bunker, so we’re going to look to entertain them not only with the football, but I think the entertainment also comes with goals. So it’s important for us to get that early goal, get them on their feet and get the stadium bumping.”

As for Vancouver, they enter this game eager and ready to play spoiler. The CPL’s newest side, they’ve done well to find their legs through two games, already sitting with a win after they beat York for their first-ever victory as a club last week.

Despite playing both of their games on the road, they’ve given a good account of themselves, too, as they pushed Pacific right to the end before losing 1-0, and took a large chunk of the game to York in their victory.

For a brand-new team, that’s no small feat, yet that shows why some feel this team could surprise this season. Having done well to put together a solid team, one that can compete in all areas of the pitch, this Vancouver side won’t be one to give away any cheap points this season.

Especially not with Afshin Ghotbi in charge, as he’s so far proven to be meticulous in his preparation, and it’s shown with his team’s strong early performances.

“We have a very interesting team, it’s a team that’s really bubbling with hope, enthusiasm, ambition and a lot of potential,” Ghotbi said this week. “So how we progress every week and how we progress with every game, I believe that’s very important for us.”

Because of all that, it should make for a good clash between these two teams, as the Wanderers look to entertain their fans with some goals, while Vancouver looks to spoil the party with another committed team performance.

All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, FuboTV, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Can the Wanderers’ defence reverse 2022 home form? While the Wanderers will be eager to score more in this game, that’s not the only problem they’ll look to fix from their 2022 home struggles – their defence, as they also conceded the most home goals of any team with 21. Not only that, but they conceded more than two goals in seven of 14 home games (50%), losing five of those games by two or more goals, while only picking up one out of a possible 21 points in those matches. Conversely, in the seven games where they allowed less than two goals, they picked up 17 out of a possible 21 points, even despite their offensive struggles. What that shows is that while scoring some goals will be important for the Wanderers in this game, keeping them out of their net will be even more crucial. Of course, they’ll be banking on the fact that sometimes the best defence can be some good offence, but against a Vancouver team that can be dangerous on the counter, they can’t afford to get sloppy at the back, or else it could come back to bite them.
• Will five at the back experiment continue for Vancouver? Having so far used a 4-3-3 to begin the year, Ghotbi ripped out a new trick from his sleeve after his team went up 2-0 against York last week, shifting to more of a 5-2-2-1, or a 3-4-2-1, depending on your perspective. Feeling that his team was struggling to play through York’s front four, who were marking them player-to-player, he shifted an extra body back by switching to a back five, which then allowed them to overload York when building out of the back. Through that, they were able to keep control of the match even as York started to grow back into the game, which was key. Because of that, it’ll be intriguing to see if a similar formula persists for this match. The Wanderers are less likely to press with four in the front, so they’ll lose that benefit, but the width they could gain would be crucial, as Halifax is aggressive in wide areas, and can sometimes leave space for teams to exploit. The only worry? Halifax also deploys three in the middle, however, so that’s worth watching out for. At the same time, a 5-3-2 would give them the bodies to counteract that, while maintaining that width through the wing backs, so don’t be surprised if Vancouver throws that out at some point. One thing’s for sure, however – this Vancouver side is already quite tactically flexible for a new side, and won’t be shy in switching things up depending on the match-up.
• Might we see Timoteo and Daniels together for Wanderers? Through two games, the Wanderers have looked their best when they’ve had their creative players on the ball, such as Aidan Daniels and Wesley Timoteo. As a result, it’s no surprise that Daniels got an assist on their first goal of the season against Atlético Ottawa, while Timoteo had a secondary assist on their marker last week against Forge. Two cerebral players, they know how to destabilize defences with their runs, passing and movement, making it hard to mark them. Yet, they’ve shared the field for just six of the 180 minutes the Wanderers have played so far, as Gheisar has elected to keep them apart in games. While that’s worked for them, as they’ve been able to offer different looks with the other off the pitch, one can only imagine what Halifax could do on the ball if both of them saw the field together. No better game to try than this one, where Vancouver might be expected to sit back a little bit, as the Wanderers will need all hands on deck to try and break them down.

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

HFX Wanderers: Fillion; Ferrazzo, Nimick, Campagna, James; Callegari, Rampersad; Ferrin, Daniels, Fernandez; Nwafornso (4-2-3-1)

Vancouver FC: Irving; Chung, Bakare, Martínez, Romeo, Kwak; Zadeh, Simmons; Bitar, Sandoval; Hundal (5-2-2-1)

ALL-TIME SERIES

HFX Wanderers FC wins: 0 || Vancouver FC wins: 0 || Draws: 0

Last meeting:

N/A

KEY QUOTES:

“My message to these guys is to just make sure we don’t feel overwhelmed with our home support because it’s going to be crazy, the game’s already sold out. For me, it’s been really important for us to identify with the city of Halifax. The city of Halifax wants honest, hard-working players to be on the field. The score is going to be the score, you may just run into a team that just happens to be better than you on that day, but our work rate, our ability to play, and the style that we want to play are things that we control. If we give 100%, the fans will love you and you will love them back and that’s where our relationship really starts. It’s almost like starting a brand new journey, because everybody gets to tell their story tomorrow, given that it’s their first game in this new era, so whoever’s had knocks against the fans before and whoever was counted out gets a chance to get back in, and that starts with hard work, right?” — HFX Wanderers head coach, Patrice Gheisar. 

“We like the idea of playing in front of away fans, I think it gives players an extra bit of motivation to be able to get results in front of those away fans, and also to play better football because I think the more fans are watching a performance, the more it brings the best out of good players and good teams, so we are excited about it. I think Canadian fans, wherever I’ve been, they’re wonderful fans, for both home and away teams. And this city has a great vibe, today we walked around the city doing some recovery and meetings, and I was quite impressed, it’s a great city.” — Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi.