It is mission improbable for Pacific FC on Sunday when they step onto the field against Atlético Ottawa in the second leg of their CPL semifinal matchup. A week ago, the defending champions were stunned by two late goals during a 2-0 loss at their home Starlight Stadium. Despite controlling most of the ball in that match, a few late mistake cost them, and now they face an incredibly difficult proposition: going to the nation’s capital and overturning that two goal deficit against the league’s most consistent and one of its most stingy teams. To make for an even greater challenge, they will play in front of what is expected to be a large home crowd at TD Place Stadium, one who will be celebrating a monumental moment for Atleti as they play their first-ever home playoff match. Despite all these obstacles in their way, Pacific have gone into this week building their belief that they can pull of a miracle, and book themselves a spot in the CPL final for a second straight year. “Our approach to the game, we are going to be aggressive,” James Merriman told media prior to the match. “We have come here confidently to bring a match to Ottawa. It is far from done in our opinion.” Adding to that belief is the fact that they have been in this situation in a two legged tie before, and come back. Back in August, the club faced top Costa Rican side Herediano in the Concacaf League round of 16, and lost the home leg 1-0. Despite going down to ten men in Costa Rica, they fought back and scored a late goal. While they would ultimately lose on penalty kicks, the experience showed them what they are capable of. “We went fearlessly, we knew that we had a big challenge, we accepted it and then we focused on the work that needed to be done and the preparation and how we wanted to attack the game, said Merriman of what they learned from that experience. “This has been no different, we know it is a challenge, we accept the challenge.”
The biggest challenge, of course, will be finding the back of the net multiple times against Ottawa. In their last twelve matches, Atleti have only conceded more than a single goal twice, and they lost neither of those matches. With that being said, Pacific know that if they can get the first goal, the pressure will start to shift towards the hosts. “We need to score a goal,” said Merriman. “We know as soon as we score a goal we can open this game right up. So that is the focus for us. We are going to come aggressive and on the front foot into the game with a really good mentality in our group.” Pacific left the first leg feeling like they had been a bit hard done by the scoreline. They had 64.1 per cent possession, 219 passes in the final third, 73 final third entries and 19 touches in the final third during a match where it seemed like everything but the final action came off for them. It will be in those key moments that this match will be won or lost for the Tridents. “We were frustrated with the match, the first match,” said Merriman. “We didn’t feel we did many things wrong, apart from maybe a little bit more decisive and attacking and ruthless and direct into that final third. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just taking chances when we get them.” For Pacific FC captain Jamar Dixon, there is a little bit extra on the line for him on Sunday. The 33-year-old announced that this season would be his last as a professional footballer. Should Pacific lose out on Sunday, it would be his last ever match. He said that gives him plenty of added motivation. “It is massive, massive.” said Dixon. “Getting to the finals last year was a major accomplishment, for not only myself but for the club. That feeling it helps the players, it helps everyone. I believe we can do it again.” The odds are heavily stacked against them, some have even publicly suggested that this tie is already over. Within the walls of the Pacific dressing room, however, they still believe. “This group, if anyone is capable of doing something like this it is us,” said Dixon. “We have had our backs against the wall many times, and we have come out victorious on many occasions.”