HALIFAX – The next man up at the striker position for HFX Wanderers FC got the job done in front of a hot kitchen at the Wanderers Grounds. Injuries have hounded the Wanderers all season and the team was hit with another setback to start the Fall season, with Tomasz Skublak picking up an injury in training ahead of the game against York9. Skublak has seen more minutes than expected thanks to injuries to first option Luis Alberto Perea. But, in the 1-0 win over York9, it was Akeem Garcia leading the attack and causing havoc for the Y9 centrebacks, who both have an eight-inch or so height advantage over the 5-foot-6 Trini forward ... though, to be fair to the York9 defence, Garcia won just four of his 11 duels. "You have no choice," HFX coach Stephen Hart said with a laugh, while talking about players stepping up to replace injured teammates. "Akeem (Garcia) is very comfortable in the No. 9, in the striker position, and he's comfortable out wide. Whatever I ask him to do, as a matter of fact all the players, they just have to do their best and that's all you can ask of them." Garcia, who notched the only goal of the game, was predictably humble after the match, pointing out that "the most important thing is to get the victory." He went on to explain that he just tries to "help the team in whatever" he has to do. Fair play to Garcia, who added: "Wherever the coach plays me, I'm comfortable, I'm going to try to score, assist or help the team in whatever way I can." Garcia’s goal broke the deadlock in the 55th minute and gave the Wanderers a lead for the first time in three games against York9 this season. After forcing a turnover by Roger Thompson, Garcia pounced on a rebound from a Kodai Iida shot for his fourth CPL goal of the year. "I have to press the ball, I have to force a mistake. Kodai did well on his shot and I just had to follow up on the rebound and I'm very grateful. It's something coach always says, to follow up, so I had to do it," said Garcia. While the team left Edmonton on the losing side of a 2-0 outcome on Canada Day, Hart thought his team played an excellent second half and were "unfortunate." A week later, once again the bench boss had a similar assessment. "Today again, we had a better second half," Hart said. "A lot of credit has to go to Akeem. I thought a lot of times he was actually fouled, I really do. He didn't get much protection at all but he plugged away, he got the job done." Garcia finished the afternoon with three fouls while drawing one, although Hart and the sell-out crowd saw it differently. The game against York9 was the first of three in the span of eight days, all at home. When HFX takes on Ottawa Fury on Wednesday in the Canadian Championship, Garcia may find himself back in his more familiar roll on the wing as injured players are close to returning. "That's a good problem to have," Hart said of hist potential options with returning players. "The only problem with that is they haven't gotten any matches, we haven't been able to really give them any matches."

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