PREVIEW: Pacific FC vs. HFX Wanderers FC – Match #85

The CPL's fourth Coastal Clash will go down on Wednesday, as HFX Wanderers FC make the league's farthest road trip for a Van Isle tilt with Pacific FC.

The Wanderers enter this one trying to climb out of last place in the league table, having drawn in all of their last five games. They'll hit the road after a three-game homestand, in which they split points with Forge, Valour, and FC Edmonton. Saturday's 1-1 result against the Eddies was a fairly sluggish affair, as HFX saw a victory snatched from their grasp in the 80th minute after leading since the sixth.


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Meanwhile, the Tridents return home reeling from consecutive losses to Canadian Premier League Finals contestants Cavalry and Forge. They fell 4-1 to the Cavs at Spruce Meadows, and then dropped a 3-0 tilt in Hamilton last Saturday. Currently fifth in the league, Pacific would love to leapfrog third-place York9 FC by bouncing back with a win.

These sides have met three times, including on the first weekend of the CPL season. Pacific got the better of HFX that time out, and again in July, but the Wanderers claimed the spoils when they hosted their west-coast foes at the beginning of June.

After hosting HFX this week, Pacific will fly eastward for a reverse fixture in Halifax as the two clubs meet again next Wednesday, October 9 (6:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. AT, on OneSoccer). The Wanderers have a match in between, though; they'll stop in Alberta on their way back home to play Cavalry FC at Spruce Meadows on Saturday, October 5 (6:00 p.m. ET, 4:00 p.m. MT, on OneSoccer).

• Home sweet home: In the three matches these sides have played against each other, the home team has taken all three points every time. HFX, especially, has become known as a side that struggles away from Wanderers Grounds, having earned just two points on the road this season (no wins). They just played three straight home fixtures, so Stephen Hart needs to find a way to get his side going at Westhills. Pacific hasn't been overly strong at home, recently going 1-1-1 in a three-game homestand, not looking particularly strong in any, so maybe this is the week the Wanderers finally get it done away from Halifax.​
• Choose better shots: Pacific managed to out-shoot Forge FC last weekend (a close tally of 10-9), but they weren't able to score. In fact, only three of those shots actually challenged goalkeeper Triston Henry. Perhaps part of the problem was that eight of Pacific's attempts came from outside the penalty area, as they struggled to get the ball into dangerous spots near goal. They may have more luck finding Terran Campbell in the box against HFX, which should lead to more good opportunities. Regardless, they can't afford to throw away attacking moves with toothless shots from outside.​
• Open things up: HFX has really struggled to score recently, with four goals over their last seven games (and just nine total in the Fall season). Part of that seems to be that opponents have figured out that the Wanderers aren't as dangerous in a slower, more conservative match; their greatest threat comes from fast, open play with plenty of counter-attacks. Pacific is also a team that's often happy to play a more open game, which could definitely help HFX spark their attack. They need more involvement from their fullbacks moving it quickly up the wings, allowing players like Mohamed Kourouma and Akeem Garcia to use their pace as well.​

Pacific FC: Mark Village; Blake Smith, Hendrik Starostzik, Lukas MacNaughton, Kadin Chung; Noah Verhoeven, Alexander Gonzalez, Alessandro Hojabrpour; Ben Fisk, Terran Campbell, Zachary Verhoven HFX Wanderers FC: Christian Oxner; Ndzemdzela Langwa, Matthew Arnone, Duran Lee, Andre Bona; Mohamed Kourouma, Andre Rampersad, Elton John, Juan Diego Gutierrez; Akeem Garcia, Tomasz Skublak

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