MATCH PREVIEW: HFX Wanderers vs. York United – Match #63

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HFX Wanderers FC and York United will lock horns on Labour Day in CPL’s informal end-of-Summer clash at Wanderers Grounds in Halifax. Sitting fifth and sixth in the CPL standings, Monday’s match could be the start of a late-season competitive rivalry between the two teams as they look to crawl over the other for a playoff spot (more on that later). Stephen Hart’s Wanderers group had a busy long weekend, dispatching Forge FC 2-1 on Friday on goals from Stefan Karajovanovic and Peter Schaale. It was a monumental victory against the two-time CPL champions as the Wanderers’ flexed their home field muscles to grab three points following a lackluster all-Ontario road trip. The result also put HFX back into serious playoff contention. York, meanwhile, head back out east on the heels of a 2-2 draw with Atlético Ottawa on Wednesday – their third split points in four matches. In fact, Jimmy Brennan’s side last won in league play in Halifax on August 7 when Lowell Wright, Isaiah Johnston, and Max Ferrari found the back of the net. Last time out, these teams played out a blistering 1-1 draw where both teams had numerous chances to grab multi-goal wins.

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• Playoff implications loom large: York (18pts) and HFX (17pts) would come within a result from fourth-place Valour FC (22pts) with a win Monday in a tilt that could see the start of an Eastern Canada power grab in the final months of the regular season. These two teams will play twice more through the CPL’s unbalanced, east vs. west schedule – important matches as they look to take points and chase Valour who will play table-toppers Pacific FC and Cavalry FC another four times. No route to the CPL playoffs will be easy but, at the very least, both Halifax and York’s will be advantageous – though they’ll need to beat the other to make the seemingly weaker eastern division worth being in.​
• Stefan Karajovanovic off the mark: Friday’s result for Halifax brought the first goal for Stefan Karajovanovic – a good omen for Wanderers fans. The 21-year-old former Carleton University striker has been snakebitten, to say the least, this season as he sits with the second-highest expected goals among all CPLers (3.83, according to Centre Circle Data) and is only behind Pacific FC’s Terran Campbell – who has scored five goals of her own. It should also be said that Halifax could have easily earned results in the previous weeks – especially in a three-draw road trip through Ontario – had Karajovanovic finished a chance or two on a handful of his second-most 26 shots. It’s important to note CPL golden boot leader Joao Morelli’s return to the team Monday after missing Friday due to suspension.​
• York looking to avoid late mishaps: York, much like Halifax’s run of draws in Ontario, will be rueing a few missed results in recent times– specifically late in matches, having conceded goals after the 75th minute in each of the last four. Jimmy Brennan revealed the team has taken an extra emphasis on marking tighter in limited training sessions this week. "We always seem to get our goal, start well and, not so much panic, but we just drop a bit. We need to see games out better," Brennan said before the match, indirectly referring to the early goal and eventual equalizer coincided the last time Halifax played his side. "There needs to be better defending – focused for 90 minutes and not conceding and last 10."​

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