Going into this game, only one point separated Valour FC and HFX Wanderers FC in the standings. The stakes were high for both teams but ultimately the Wanderers came on top with a 2-0 win.

After an emotional game against York9 three days earlier— where a stoppage time goal by Omar Kreim while down to 10 men secured a point — coach Stephen Hart was expecting some challenges in this one.

“Coming on the back of such an emotional and physical game the other day, I had a feeling we would slump a bit and I really wanted us to go out there and put the game on top of them and force them to play quicker than they were comfortable,” Hart said after the game.

Valour had the first seven shots of the match, but it was the Wanderers who capitalized on mistakes with a devastating counter attack. First Akeem Garcia was brought down on the edge of the box. Alex De Carolis took the ensuing free kick and scored his first CPL goal in the 36th minute.

Minutes later, Cory Bent stole the ball from Valour in the middle of the field and went all the way with a goal. The goal helped him earn Man of the Match for the third time in this tournament.

When talking about Bent’s goal, goalkeeper Christian Oxner had his opinion on which first goal for the club.

“It was definitely nicer than Alex’s first goal, which came off someone’s butt,” Oxner laughed.

‘The Ox’ makes all the stops

The Wanderers have benefitted from solid performances from Oxner since his return from injury. He picked up a win against FC Edmonton, a draw against York9 and now can add a clean sheet to his Island Games resume after a four-save effort.

“It was a professional performance by us. It’s not always going to be great, especially in tournament football. But the thing is you just have to keep the clean sheet and hang in there. I think we did a great job of doing that,” Oxner said.

The Haligonian gave credit to his entire team for the clean sheet, from Akeem Garcia right back to Peter Schaale. The Wanderers had 15 interceptions, led by Jems Geffrard with three.

In our own hands

Immediately after the win, the Wanderers were back in the top four. It puts the team in a position to move on to the next round depending on how they play against Ottawa on Sunday. It’s a much better scenario than if the team left the Valour with a single point or nothing at all.

“It’s always nice to see yourself there because you know you don’t have to chase it, you just have to stay there. I think it works psychologically like that,” said The Ox.

“It’s nice to have it in our own hands. We know now we have to do the job, we don’t have to rely on anyone else. I think that’s the vibe around the team.”

The Wanderers will know the full scenario on Sunday ahead of the final game of the season, but even if it gets to the point where a draw is enough to move on, don’t expect Hart to play it safe.

“I’ve never played for a draw in my life,” said Stephen Hart. “I think my job right now will be to make them to actually relax both mentally and physically. Understand that they’ve faced everything in terms of playing from down, playing with 10 men, having a bad game and coming away with the result and they just have to manage the game. It’s in our hands, simple as that.”