After two games played in the group stage, the Wanderers share a points lead at the top of the table heading into the final game of the group stage.

Stephen Hart’s team took all three points in a 2-1 win over Cavalry FC picking a perfect time to beat a team they’ve never won against. Now the Wanderers have four points, the same amount as Forge who are ahead based on goal differential.

Cavalry got into disciplinary trouble early on when defender Jay Wheeldon was sent off in the 11th minute after a second booking, which led to a penalty for Akeem Garcia. He converted to give an early 1-0 lead.

Attacking midfielder João Morelli once again proved tough to handle, drawing a foul from Cavalry goalkeeper Marco Carducci. The Brazilian took the penalty, and like Garcia, converted.

Cavalry did manage to score in the second half, but the Wanderers stood strong to pick up a vital win.

The birthday boy scores again

Fresh off a birthday on Friday, Akeem Garcia did what he’s been doing all tournament — he scored a goal and caused headaches for the opposition in the box all game. The striker converted a penalty that was awarded after drawing a foul from hard work in the box. He continues to lead the Golden Boot race with six goals, two ahead of his teammate Morelli.

With only a pair of group stage games plus the final remaining at the Island Games, the Most Valuable Player conversation is heating up but coach Stephen Hart isn’t ready to call the striker the MVP quite yet.

“He’s having a good tournament. He just has to keep it up, keep on pushing, keep on learning, keep on doing what he’s been doing,” Hart said of the decision that will be made by others.

“Knowing Akeem, he would much rather the team be bathed in the glory than himself.”

It was another game where the relentless press of the Wanderers caused problems thanks to an attacking group that can transition quickly and also has a strong understanding of each other.

“We have a good connection, me, Akeem Garcia, Cory Bent, Alex Marshall, Alessandro Riggi, any other players that play up top with me,” said João Morelli.

The Brazilian goal-scorer said the bonding between the players off the pitch has carried over to the matches.

“We don’t need to talk much, we just look at each other, we know what we need to do. It’s incredible because we’ve only played nine games,” said Morelli.

Digging in and playing with heart

The Wanderers may have had an extra player for 80 minutes, but a Cavalry team that finished at the top of the first round never backed down. The opposition gave the Wanderers some problems in the second half that resulted in a goal from Jair Córdova in the 80th minute.

“They’re very fit so they don’t stop running. Even with a man down, they know what they’re doing. It’s not an excuse, saying that they played good, we have to be better there,” said Morelli.

“Everyone played with heart, we fought until the end. Just to have the three points at this point is very, very good,” said the attacking midfielder.

Boost from the Wanderers Grounds

It was an exciting day on the pitch in Charlottetown, but also a couple provinces over at the Wanderers Grounds in Halifax where fans gathered in socially-distanced pods to watch the match on a big screen.

The players knew fans were watching back at their home stadium and it was on their mind while playing.

“It’s a boost for us, we play for the fans too. They’re always there with us — even if we lose, if we win — they’re always supporting. So definitely it makes us happy, it makes us motivated,” said Morelli.

There’s excitement with the team as they head into the final match of the group stage against Pacific FC on Tuesday at 9pm. The Vancouver Island-based team was eliminated from contention on Saturday afternoon but will look to play the role of spoilers.

“We haven’t achieved anything yet, we’ve got a game to go and we’re hoping it’s two games to go,” said a focused Hart.

The Wanderers will know what scenario it’ll take to move on to the final before the game against Pacific since Forge and Cavalry play earlier on Tuesday. Two more games at the tournament is an island dream that could become reality.