HFX WANDERERS 1 - PACIFIC FC 0
It was a Saturday of Halifax sporting celebration at the Wanderers Ground, including hometown hero Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche bringing the Stanley Cup onto the pitch to rapturous applause from the 6,000 fans, capped by HFX’s 1-0 Canadian Premier League soccer victory over Pacific FC.
“They had a big crowd behind them with lots of energy,” said Pacific FC head coach James Merriman.
It was further energized by a straight red card issued to key PFC midfielder Manny Aparicio at 29 minutes on his challenge for the ball that caught former Victoria Highlanders player Cory Bent of HFX on the chest.
“It was a wrong decision,” said Merriman.
“It was a hard challenge but certainly not a [red] card.”
It left PFC trying desperately to nick a point on the road while playing a man down for two thirds of the game.
“I was proud of the team. The guys worked incredibly hard and I thought they did enough to not deserve that at the end,” said Merriman.
He was referring to Pierre Lamothe dashing PFC hopes at 82 minutes with a tremendous curling shot to the top corner from well above the box.
“I tried to curve it around the post. I am very happy,” Lamothe said. “The red card helped us, for sure, and we pushed for that goal.”
It was a rough way to close out for the visitors.
“It’s really tough going down a man so early,” said veteran PFC defender Jordan Haynes.
“We fought so hard and almost made it to the end.”
HFX pressed offensively with the man advantage but Lamothe’s unstoppable shot was the only blight on a fine performance from six-foot-three rookie PFC goalkeeper Emil Gazdov, 18, who started for the second time this season because first-string goalkeeper Callum Irving was being rested Saturday.
“I told [Gazdov] that I thought he deserved better,” said Haynes. “He was lights out and deserved a clean sheet. There is a bright future for him.”
Merriman said: “[Gazdov] was calm and collected. There was nothing he could do on the goal.”
HFX has played havoc with PFC’s otherwise strong season (10-5-5) as the Wanderers halted the Tridents’ five-game league winning streak and six-game league unbeaten run. PFC had not lost in league play since being blanked 3-0 at home against HFX (7-11-3 in wins-losses-draws) on June 25 at Starlight Stadium in Langford.
The defending CPL champion Tridents now head to Central America to play C.S. Herediano on Tuesday evening in the second leg of their CONCACAF League set in San Jose, Costa Rica.
C.S. Herediano leads the Primera de Costa Rica, that nation’s top league, and has contributed many players over the years to Costa Rica’s 1990 Sweet Sixteen, 2002, 2006, 2014 quarter-finalist, 2018 and now 2022 FIFA World Cup teams.
PFC will need to rally from its 1-0 deficit on aggregate following its late loss to C.S. Herediano last week at Starlight Stadium, a late-game gut-punch that was repeated Saturday in league play in Halifax.
