| Final Score: Halifax Wanderers 1-0 Vancouver FC Goalscorers: Meilleur-Giguère 77' Game of the 2025 season: 43 CPL Match: 639 |
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Match in a minute or less
Despite not being at their best, the Halifax Wanderers picked up an important win and clean sheet at Wanderers Grounds on Saturday afternoon against Vancouver FC.
The first half was all about Vancouver goalkeeper Callum Irving, whose heroics in net kept the game scoreless and gave Vancouver a chance to pick up an important result, even though the Eagles struggled to get much going in attack. In the end, though, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère was the hero for the Wanderers, heading home a corner from Sean Rea to beat Irving in the 77th minute and pick up three big points.
They snapped a winless streak to move back up to second in the table, but for Vancouver it is now six games in a row in league play with a win, something they will need to change as soon as possible as they look to climb off the bottom of the standings.
Three Observations
Wanderers snap winless streak, but Vancouver make it six straight without a victory
Both sides entered Saturday's match in Halifax on a winless slide, the Wanderers for three games in a row and Vancouver for five, but the hosts were able to snap their streak with an important 1-0 victory.
A header from Thomas Meilleur-Giguère ended up being the difference, beating Callum Irving in the 77th minute after redirecting a Sean Rea corner kick across goal and inside the far post. The Wanderers were far from their best going forward in this match, but sometimes it one moment of quality makes all the difference, and that was the case in this one.
Meilleur-Giguère was also a key figure in the Wanderers keeping their fifth clean sheet of the season already through just eleven games. Wanderers boss Patrice Gheisar praised his defender after the match, saying that in his decades of coaching, he's never seen a player who enjoys defending as much as Meilleur-Giguère does, and that it's a big reason why signing him was one of the club's biggest offseason priorities.
Gheisar also said that last season, this is a match the team might have lost. This year's group is different though, and being able to pick up results even when you aren't at your best shows mentail strength, and is what separates good teams from great ones.
Vancouver, meanwhile, are now winless in six CPL matches. They sit at the bottom of the table, with six points from eleven matches and seven points back of the playoff line. They could find themselves as many as ten points below York United by the end of the weekend if results go against them.
Still, head coach Afshin Ghotbi said post-game that his side isn't letting their heads drop and is still motivated that they can make something out of this season. Next weekend's trip to play Pacific FC on Vancouver Island is going to be absolutely crucial for both teams, as they both look to close the gap on York and the other teams in the leading pack.
Vancouver has historically been good against the Tridents, and they will need to be again as they try to turn around their form as the halfway point of the season approaches.
Irving's heroics not enough to get a result
The first half in Halifax was the Callum Irving Show.
The pitch seemed to be tilted toward the Vancouver net, with the Wanderers outshooting the visitors and getting several great chances to find the game's first goal. It started in the ninth minute, when Irving reacted in a split-second to deny a header from Tiago Coimbra after a well-struck free kick from Giorgio Probo. Irving pushed the ball over the bar with an athletic stop, the first of three massive saves in the first half.
The other was a double-save just after the half-hour mark. Probo picked out Coimbra with a pass behind the Vancouver defenders, but Irving was quick off his line to get his body in front of a shot. The ball then fell to Jason Bahamboula, who struck an immediate follow up, but Irving bravely stood his ground and got a hand to it to push it over the bar.
Irving was full of confidence after his early saves, and on a couple of ocassions was able to turn and dribble away from pressing Wanderers attackers, and come off his line to play the ball. He uses his wealth of experience to his advantage week in and week out, which is crucial for an Eagles side that he captains and that relies on him on and off the pitch.
Seconds after play resumed in the second half, Probo tested Irving with a shot from distance, but Irving was able to get down and hold onto it.
He was finally scored on in the 77th minute, when Thomas Meilleur-Giguère headed the ball past him from a set piece that curled and dropped inside the far post -- to the goalkeeper's right. Four minutes later, Vancouver was under fire again, but this time Irving produced another big stop to deny Sean Rea. In total, Irving made five saves on six shots on target, keeping his team in the game, but not getting a ton of help in front of him as the Eagles were held off the scoresheet.
Standout performances are nothing new from Irving, who has started nearly every match in club history, and remains in the Golden Glove conversation despite shipping 20 goals in 11 matches due to the number and importance of his saves all year long.
Rea makes immediate impact as he looks to win starting job on right flank
Patrice Gheisar played an unchanged starting lineup from the group that drew at home against Cavalry FC last weekend, which meant Sean Rea again started on the bench for the Wanderers.
After Rea did check into the game in the 67th minute, he was one of the best players on the pitch, and played a crucial role in the winning goal. After missing the target a moments earlier with a shot from distance that went just wide of Callum Irving's net, Rea set up the winning goal with a cross in the 77th minute that found the head of Thomas Meilleur-Giguère on its way into the back of the net.
The subsitution from Gheisar to bring Rea on for Ryan Telfer proved to be the right call, as Rea ended up with two shots, one on target, a successful dribble and contributing defensively with two won tackles as well.
The assist was the first of the season for Rea, and second goal contribution after he scored on the opening day of the campaign in Ottawa. If he can build on a strong half-hour shift and start racking up even more goal contributions, the Wanderers attack will kick back into high gear and maintain their spot near the top of the table.
Starting just three of the last eight games for Halifax, Rea will also be looking to solidify his spot in the lineup. Jason Bahamboula has shown flashes of brilliance on the wing, as has Yohan Baï, but neither have shown a ton of end product just yet. That right wing spot is very much up for grabs, and Rea could make it his own.
What They Said
"That's a game we lose last year. That's a game we won this year and one of the differences is our mental resilience and the other difference is Thomas. Thomas just loves defending, and scores the game winning goal." -- Halifax Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar
"When you look these games that we haven't been winning, I think our performances are actually deserving of more than what we're getting, and I think it's been a difficult run for us. As hard as it is, I think we just need to keep the belief in what we're doing." -- Vancouver FC goalkeeper Callum Irving
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, Halifax Wanderers
The Wanderers defender scored the winning goal for his side, and anchored the backline to another important clean sheet.
What’s next?
Vancouver FC are back in BC next weekend, visiting provincial rivals Pacific FC on the island on Friday night. The Wanderers remain on the East Coast, hosting Valour FC on Canada Day the following Tuesday.
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