Pacific FC and York United go into today’s 3 p.m. fixture at Starlight Stadium, the final regular-season home game for PFC, knowing they are part of a league that continues to turn heads.
The Canadian Premier League again drew notice this week when Forge FC outplayed CF Montreal of Major League Soccer for much of their Canadian Championship semifinal at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton before going down in an epic 11 rounds of penalty kicks decided by the goalkeepers having to take the final shots. There can be triumph in defeat and Forge FC provided it for the CPL.
There was a more tangible result for the CPL against MLS competition this year when PFC beat the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first round of the Canadian Championship, followed by an all-CPL quarter-final victory over Cavalry FC, to set up Wednesday’s semifinal game against Toronto FC of MLS at BMO Field. “It would have been nice to have two CPL finalists in the Canadian Championship, if we get there,” said PFC head coach Pa Modou-Kah.
But that’s an issue for next week. Of more urgency is today’s league game against CPL rival York United. Both teams have all to play for down the stretch drive. “This is why it’s the best time of the season,” said Kah, of the dual-track titles PFC is striving for in league and the Canadian Championship.
But it’s on a knife’s edge with no guarantee after today that PFC fans will see their team again at Starlight Stadium this year.
PFC must finish within the top two of the league standings to host a playoff semifinal game. PFC (13-7-6 in league and 15-7-6 overall) tops the CPL table by one point over Cavalry FC, but the Calgary club has a game in hand. PFC is four points ahead of third-place Forge FC, but the Hammers have three games in hand.
There will be a lot of scoreboard watching today as Forge FC plays the HFX Wanderers of Halifax while Cavalry FC meets Valour FC of Winnipeg. It could all come down to PFC’s final regular-season game Nov. 7 in Calgary against Cavalry FC.
The battle for the fourth and final playoff berth is just as tight with HFX currently holding it with one point more than fifth-place York United and three points ahead of sixth-place Valour FC. York United has a game in hand on both those clubs.
“York United are on the verge of the playoffs and desperate for three points. They are a young team and in many ways where PFC was in 2019,” said Kah.
But that desperation for gaining the full three points today could also be said of Kah’s team, albeit at the top end of the table.
“It’s going to be a great game,” said Kah.
PFC is coming off its biggest home victory, in terms of margin of goals, following Tuesday night’s 5-1 rampage over FC Edmonton at a soggy Starlight Stadium. The Eddies, along with Atletico Ottawa, have been eliminated from the playoffs but it was an impressive and splashy offensive display by PFC regardless of opponent.
“It truly gave us a boost,” said Kah. “Momentum is everything in football.”
PFC will need it down its dual-track stretch drives.
CORNER KICKS: Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis addressed the continued emerging stature of the CPL, highlighted by his club’s close-call loss on penalty kicks to MLS side CF Montreal in their Canadian Championship semifinal: “There’s a lot of quality in the CPL. It’s been shown over the years with different results and our yearly work in CONCACAF [as two-time CPL champions], which is not an easy competition to take part in. These are all good measuring sticks on where the league is and obviously we’ll continue to grow.”
