It鈥檚 the kind of defeat that can rip the heart out of a team. And its season, especially such an abbreviated one as the Canadian Premier League of soccer has on offer amid the pandemic. Now Pacific FC must find a way to respond to its dramatic, last-gasp 2-1 loss to defending CPL-champion Forge FC deep into injury time Saturday in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
鈥淭his is a tough one to swallow for the boys, who did everything we asked of them, and it will sting over the next couple of hours,鈥� said PFC head coach Pa-Modou Kah.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough one to take but we will take it. They are the champions and we want to be the champions one day. That is a lesson learned. But tomorrow is a bright new day and we are still in the race and have four more games.鈥�
Kyle Bekker showed why he earned 18 caps for sa国际传媒 by burying the winning goal in injury time at 97 minutes to give Forge FC victory at the death.
Island-based PFC had hit the Hamilton team鈥檚 crossbar at the other end just before Forge FC stormed back the other way in the strategic, yet darting, affair. 鈥淲e have a good level of fitness and we talked about finishing our chances at the end of games. We dug deep,鈥� said Bekker.
鈥淧acific FC is a good team and never stopped playing. Salvaging three points is a lot better than one.鈥�
As the defending league champions, Forge FC certainly don鈥檛 need gifts to thrive. But they were handed one, with a bow on it, by a glaring giveaway by PFC goalkeeper Nolan Wirth at 18 minutes. He passed the ball directly to opponent Chris Nanco, who made Wirth pay by finding the far side off the post and in for the early lead. It was Wirth鈥檚 second gaffe of the season, both of which have cost PFC dearly. A ball-dribbling error by the Comox Valley product led to a foul in the box and penalty-kick goal by the HFX Wanderers in a 2-2 draw last week.
Pacific FC, however, pulled level on some poor clearing by Forge FC when sa国际传媒-capped former Victoria Highlanders star Jamar Dixon scored at 26 minutes.
鈥淲e are disappointed, for sure,鈥� said Dixon, of the ultimate result.
鈥淲e are pleased with some of the stuff we did. If we do what we do, we should get [future] results. But Bekker put his chance away today. That鈥檚 just the [nature of] the game.鈥�
Forge FC and 2019 runner-up Cavalry FC of Calgary have proven themselves the gold standards of the CPL with the Hamilton club (2-0-2) leap-frogging the fellow-undefeated Calgary team (2-0-1) and into first place to practically cement a top-four placing to see them through to the group stage.
鈥淭hat is an excellent Pacific FC squad. But we have the will and desire of champions and did not want to settle for the draw,鈥� said Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis.
鈥淪ometimes it comes early, sometimes it comes late, like today. Our guys have lived a lot of moments together last season and now this season.鈥�
PFC, now with a loss and two draws, saw on Saturday what it will take to get to the level of Forge and Cavalry.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to win a championship. Most guys go through their whole careers without winning one. We have that experience,鈥� said Bekker.
鈥淲e have a massive core group returning, with only a few new faces, and that helped to hit the ground running this year.鈥�
Pacific FC meets third-place Valour FC of Winnipeg (1-1-1) in what is looming as a crucial game Tuesday at 5 p.m. PDT in the Charlottetown 鈥渂ubble.鈥�
