There is little time to recover from losses in such an abbreviated season as the Canadian Premier League has on offer this pandemic summer in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
That made defender Lukas MacNaughton鈥檚 tying goal, off a corner kick two minutes into time added after the full 90, all the more crucial as Pacific FC salvaged a 1-1 draw at the death Tuesday night against York9.
The outcome provided a modicum of justice after PFC had the better of scoring chances in the game. They included a target-perfect long cross from 56-time sa国际传媒-capped Marcel de Jong that a wide-open Alessandro Hojabrpour headed wide. Victor Blasco also missed a beckoning net from close in while the sa国际传媒-capped PFC duo of Marco Bustos and Jamar Dixon failed to finish on an otherwise well-executed two-on-one.
鈥淲e are a fit team with lots of guys who want to score and can score,鈥� said MacNaughton.
鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a moment in this game that we thought we wouldn鈥檛 score. We should have had more and punished them more. We had plenty of chances. It was a relief, though, that we didn鈥檛 let them get away with three points. But we鈥檙e not satisfied.鈥�
Spanish-import Alvaro Rivero, a 23-year-old product of the Real Madrid Academy program from age nine to 19, scored at 70 minutes for York9, which had opened the shortened, single-venue season with a 2-2 tie against Atletico Ottawa.
It doesn鈥檛 get any easier for PFC, which opened with a 2-2 draw against the HFX Wanderers of Halifax, when it meets defending-champion Forge FC of Hamilton on Saturday (1 p.m. on CBC).
鈥淲e need the confidence to finish our chances,鈥� said PFC head coach Pa-Modou Kah.
鈥淲e are on the verge, but this is a tournament, and we need to take care of our chances sooner rather than later.鈥�
