HIGHLIGHTS: Pacific FC vs. HFX Wanderers FC (September 7, 2024) | Presented by tonybet

Highlights

Pacific FC picked up a crucial win in their hunt for a spot in the postseason on Saturday night, beating Halifax Wanderers FC 3-0 in a chippy match at Starlight Stadium.

The Tridents nearly found the back of the net less than five minutes into the match, with Moses Dyer getting onto the end of a dangerous cross from Dario Zanatta and smashing his effort off the post. After the Wanderers had a shot from Riley Ferrazzo blocked at the other end of the pitch, Zanatta got on the end of a cross a few yards away from the goal, but the ball struck him and somehow didn’t end up in the back of the net.

The Wanderers had a pair of attempts hit the target in the 23rd and 24th minutes, with Tiago Coimbra and Clément Bayiha testing Emil Gazdov, but the Pacific netminder was equal to them. Aiden Rushenas faced his first shot on target at the other end of the pitch in the 28th minute, pouncing on a relatively weak effort from Andrei Tîrcoveanu from the edge of the Wanderers’ penalty area.

The Wanderers goalkeeper was called into action again in the 33rd minute, making a great kick save to deny Cedric Toussaint.

Pacific finally found the game’s first breakthrough moments later, however, with Tîrcoveanu firing his side into the lead with a shot from around the penalty spot 12 yards out. It was a much-needed goal for Pacific, not only for thios match but

It was a chippy first half, with four players booked by referee Alain Ruch. Dan Nimick was one of them, given a yellow card for an argument in the Pacific box during a set piece. He was then sent off five minutes later, given a second yellow card for a tactical foul after getting tangled up with Moses Dyer.

Already down a goal but needing to sure things up defensively, the Wanderers were forced to take out Bayiha at halftime in favour of bringing Cale Loughrey on at centre-back to replace Nimick.

Tîrcoveanu nearly doubled Pacific’s lead a few minutes after halftime, curling a corner kick onto the woodwork. Rushenas came out of his net to deny a Pacific breakaway moments later, charging off his line to deny a shot from Zanatta from the edge of the area after Sami Keshavarz led a counter-attack through the middle of the park.

Keshavarz had a shot trickle through a crowd in the 58th minute following a set piece, but a deflection on the way through took the sting off of it, and Rushenas was able to hang on to the ball.

The Tridents got a great chance to double their lead in the in the 62nd minute, as Moses Dyer was hauled down in the box by Jefferson Alphonse. Zanatta stepped up to take the penalty and buried it into the bottom right corner, scoring his first goal for the club and making up for his earlier miss.

Just when the Wanderers started to build a bit of momentum again, including Massimo Ferrin forcing a great save from Emil Gazdov, disaster struck again. Cale Loughrey, who replaced the ejected Dan Nimick in the backline, was sent off himself after picking up a pair of yellow cards less than 30 seconds apart. The first was for a foul, and the second came seconds later for dissent after he said something to the referee.

Dyer made it 3-0 for the Tridents in the 81st minute, tucking the ball into the back of the net from six yards out to score his first goal for his new club. He ran onto a low pass across the box from Adonijah Reid and made no mistake from close range to put a bow on a dominant victory.

With the win, Pacific have moved up into sixth position in the table for now, just three points back of Vancouver FC for the fifth and final playoff spot. If other results go their way, they could move into the top five next weekend with a win over the Eagles, a match which will be played at Starlight Stadium.

The Wanderers, meanwhile remain at the bottom of the table, and will be without a couple of key starters through suspension for next week’s must-win game at home to league leaders Forge FC.

BOX SCORE

Lineups

Pacific FC: Gazdov; Dada-Luke, Quintana (Amedume 71′), Meilleur-Giguère, Ceceri (Mukumbilwa 75′); Toussaint, Young (Bahous 71′), Marvasti; Tircoveanu (Greco-Taylor 81′), Dyer, Zanatta (Reid 71′)

Halifax Wanderers FC: Rushenas; Ferrazzo, Nimick, Alphonse, Fernandez; Callegari, Gagnon-Laparé (Probo 64′); Bayiha (Loughrey 46′), Daniels (Rea 64′), Ferrin (Vasconcelos 83′); Coimbra (Royer 76′)

Goals

33′ — Andrei Tîrcoveanu (Pacific FC)
63′ — Dario Zanatta (Pacific FC) — penalty
81′ — Moses Dyer (Pacific FC)

Discipline

9′ — Yellow: Tiago Coimbra (Halifax Wanderers FC)
38′ — Yellow: Juan Quintana (Pacific FC)
38′ — Yellow: Dan Nimick (Halifax Wanderers FC)
43′ — Red: Dan Nimick (Halifax Wanderers FC) — second yellow
53′ — Yellow: Cédric Toussaint (Pacific FC)
53′ — Yellow: Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé (Halifax Wanderers FC)
74′ — Yellow: Cale Loughrey (Halifax Wanderers FC)
74′ — Red: Cale Loughrey (Halifax Wanderers FC) — second yellow
88′ — Yellow: Zakaria Bahous (Pacific FC)