The Halifax Wanderers celebrated Canada Day in style on Tuesday afternoon in Nova Scotia, as they came from a goal behind to beat Valour FC 3-1 for a second straight home win.
Although the first 20 minutes were mostly one-way traffic with Halifax in possession, it would in fact be the visitors who struck first. Valour found a moment to progress up the pitch and Kris Twardek played a cross into the box, where the Wanderers defenders were unable to clear the cross. After an attempted clearance ricoheted off Kareem Sow's face and landed kindly in the path of Kian Williams, the Valour forward took a touch before finishing a low shot to put the Winnipeg club up 1-0 in the 19th minute.
The Wanderers continued controlling the majority of possession, and managed to create a handful of chances before the break. Jonathan Viscosi made an outstanding reflex save on a Tiago Coimbra header just before halftime, where Viscosi reached up to just barely tip Coimbra's attempt over the bar. Halifax had one final chance a few seconds before the break, with a free kick in a dangerous spot just outside the box, but Sean Rea couldn't beat the wall and Valour went into the dressing rooms with their lead intact.
The second half continued in much the same fashion as the first; the Wanderers controlled the ball and kept knocking on the door, but Valour remained stingy at the back and diverted the most dangerous chances away from their box.
At last though, Halifax found a way through. With about 20 minutes to play, and Valour temporarily playing with 10 men as Zach Fernandez received treatment, the Wanderers found their way into the attacking third as Yohan Baï carried to the edge of the box and cut it back for Isaiah Johnston. The midfielder threaded a clever ball through the Valour defence and found Coimbra making a clever run to the back post, where he finished with his first touch and equalized.
With the momentum of the game shifted to Halifax's favour, Valour boss Phil Dos Santos turned to his bench for a triple substitution. Most notably, he handed a CPL debut to the club's recent marquee signing, Winnipeg native Kianz Froese.
The Wanderers had a shout for a possible penalty with about 10 minutes to go, as Valour defender Rocco Romeo got tangled up with Jason Bahamboula in the box and brought him down, but referee Carly Shaw-MacLaren opted to let play proceed.
So, Halifax found their winning goal a different way. Wes Timoteo played a long cross to Bahamboula at the right goalpost, and Bahamboula directed it back to the top of the box. Vitor Dias settled the ball with a deft touch to separate himself from a defender, before firing a hard shot off the post and in to put the hosts up 2-1.
A minute later, the Wanderers full sealed their victory as Bahamboula got on the end of a long, direct ball forward and played it across goal to Coimbra who finished easily and made it an insurmountable two-goal lead for the home side.
After the quick flurry of attacking success, Halifax were able to comfortably see out the victory, which vaulted them up to second place in the Canadian Premier League.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Halifax Wanderers: Yesli; Pearlman, Meilleur-Giguère, Sow, Timoteo; Baï (Bahamboula 73'), Johnston, Callegari (Rampersad 90'), Rea (Biello 90'); Coimbra (Probo 90'), Telfer (Dias 80')
Valour FC: Viscosi; Fernandez, Romeo, Egwu, Alarcón; Ohin, Mlah (Ressurreição 74'); Twardek, Venâncio (Froese 74'), Williams (Faria 74'); Layne (Pop 62')
Goals
19' -- Kian Williams (Valour FC)
69' -- Tiago Coimbra (Halifax Wanderers)
86' -- Vitor Dias (Halifax Wanderers)
87' -- Tiago Coimbra (Halifax Wanderers)
Discipline
*13' -- Yellow: Xavier Venâncio (Valour FC)
**45+1' -- Yellow: Yohan Baï (Halifax Wanderers)
**62' -- Yellow: Adam Pearlman (Halifax Wanderers)
**82' -- Yellow: Sean Rea (Halifax Wanderers)
*90+5' -- Yellow: Jordan Faria (Valour FC)