Matchweek 12 in the Canadian Premier League kicks off on the East Coast on Saturday, with the Halifax Wanderers hosting Vancouver FC at Wanderers Grounds.
It's the second of three matches in an important homestand for the Wanderers, after drawing 1-1 with Cavalry FC last week, and before hosting Valour next weekend. They take on a Vancouver side beginning a three-game road trip that will also see them visit rivals Pacific FC in Langford, followed by Forge FC in Hamilton. It will be a difficult stretch for the Eagles but one that could have a huge effect on the outcome of their season -- especially the game against the Tridents as both chase a spot in the playoffs.
In the aforementioned game against Cavalry, the Wanderers took an early lead against the reigning champions through Tiago Coimbra just eight minutes in, but they were unable to build on that lead to hang on for the three points. Caniggia Elva found the back of the net in the 69th minute to tie things up and rescue a point on the road for the Cavs, despite being outshot by the Haligonians.
As a result, Halifax is winless in three matches entering Saturday's contest, following previous defeats at the hands of York United and Forge.
Vancouver is also looking to turn around a poor run of form, having not won a match in league play since May 3 -- a 3-1 win on the road in Winnipeg. Last weekend they lost 2-0 to Forge, with Kyle Bekker and Dan Nimick providing the goals at Willoughby Community Park. That defeat came eleven days after a 3-1 loss on the road against Valour, and since their last league win they have also drawn 2-2 at home against Atlético Ottawa, lost 1-0 on the road against York, and lost 2-0 to Saturday's opponents the Halifax Wanderers.
They did beat rivals Pacific FC on penalties in the Canadian Championship and drew 1-1 with Cavalry in that competition as well recently, but after sliding down to the bottom of the table with just six points from ten matches, Afshin Ghotbi's side needs to start racking up points if they want to have any shot at the playoffs before the teams ahead of them pull too far away.
That previous 2-0 win for the Wanderers was the only meeting between these two sides so far this season, and was the ninth meeting all-time between the teams. Historically, they have been evenly matched, with that being the fourth win for the Wanderers against the Eagles, with Vancouver having three wins and the other two matches ending tied.
The tenth meeting on Saturday could be crucial for both teams as the halfway point of the regular season approaches. West vs East Coast matchups are never easy for the road team given the size of Canada and the travel that comes with that, but the Eagles will need to find another gear as they look to set the tone in the first match of the weekend and put a bit of pressure on the teams around them.
Vancouver was missing several players last week as an illness swept through the team, but Afshin Ghotbi confirmed on Friday that his squad is mostly healthy heading into this weekend. The Eagles will be without defender David Norman for this match as he serves a one-match ban for yellow card accumulation, while Nicolás Mezquida is still recovering from an injury. Alejandro Diaz misses out as his wife is due to give birth any day now.
Diaz's loan deal at the club is due to expire next week, with Afshin Ghotbi saying on Friday the club is in discussions to try and extend it.
Halifax will only be without captain Andre Rampersad, who is away with Trinidad and Tobago at the Gold Cup, and played 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Haiti on Thursday.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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Both sides desperate for three points: Halifax is winless in their last three league matches and Vancouver is winless in five, so Saturday's match presents an important opportunity for both sides to turn things around. On paper, the favourites are Halifax having beaten VFC earlier this season and consistently hovered around the top two places in the table before the recent slide, but the Eagles need to come out equally hungry for a result if not more in order to try and climb off the bottom of the table. Neither side wants to be left behind by the teams ahead of them, and while it isn't a "must-win" per se for Halifax, that territory is starting to creep up for the visitors. Wanderers head coach said on Friday that there are no must-win games ever for his side, as every point could be crucial, but stressed that putting up a good performance in front of their home fans on Saturday will be important to get back on track.
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Coimbra heating up in Wanderers attack: With last week's goal against Cavalry, Wanderers forward Tiago Coimbra has scored in three of the last five matches as he starts to heat up heading into the summer months. Coimbra also scored in his first appearance of the season in April, giving him four goals in ten league ppearances so far this season, which matches his career high from last season in half as many games. He also scored three goals in 19 appearances in his debut campaign on the East Coast in 2023, and should he add to his tally -- and potentially crush his career high -- it would show the kind of career progression that is crucial for young players. Coimbra has always seemed confident in his abilities, and it is paying off again for both himself and Halifax. If he can be consistently making the plays and runs needed to be a big-time contributor up top for the Wanderers, he will be a crucial player in the second half of the season.
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Vancouver lacked veteran leaders last week, now missing Diaz and Norman: After last week's defeat to Forge FC, Vancouver head coach Afshin Ghotbi lamented the lack of some of his key players through illness and injury, with defenders Paris Gee and Aidan O'Connor and midfielder Nicolás Mezquida among those out of the matchday squad, and Vasco Fry limited to an appearance off the bench. Several players are set to return after the illness has passed by the team, but one of the more experienced members of the squad, David Norman, will miss this game due to yellow card accumulation -- something Fry is also in danger of reaching soon -- in the latest blow to Ghotbi's squad depth. The backline specifically will be boosted by the return of Aidan O'Connor after he was dealing with a hamstring injury, but the midfield will still be without Nicolás Mezquida as he too works his way back to fitness. Alejandro Diaz will not be available up top, as he was left home with his wife due to give birth in the coming days.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Halifax Wanderers: Yesli; Pearlman, Meilleur-Giguère, Mekidèche, Timoteo; Bahamboula, Johnston, Callegari, Probo; Coimbra, Telfer
Vancouver FC: Irving; Dada-Luke, O'Connor, Enyou, Bah; Fotsing, Fry, Essoussi; Tahid, Ndiaye, Campbell
ALL-TIME SERIES
Halifax Wanderers wins: 4 || Vancouver FC wins: 3 || Draws: 2
Last meeting:
May 17, 2025 — Vancouver FC 0-2 Halifax Wanderers
KEY QUOTES
"I think if you carry the weight of the previous results, you're gonna struggle. If you start to get desperate that this is a must-win game, you struggle. For me every game is a must-win, I don't ever say, 'Let's go to a game and not win", obviously we could be honest and say some games are probably more important than others. I think the reason that this game marks an importance for us is that we're at home and we are coming off a successful Cavalry game. We didn't get the win, but it's a tie against a team that's in a great run of form, so we want to make sure that we get back our energy in scoring some goals and playing some good football in front of our home fans." — Halifax Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar
"I think for us, it's been so important to just get everyone healthy. We went through a very bad spell of injuries to very key players and prior to the match against Forge, we were hit with a very bad flu and Covid virus, staff and players were infected. I think that's been the most important thing for us, how do we get everyone physically and mentally prepared, and we've had really good training sessions. I think the belief is in the group, we still feel we have a very good team, and hopefully once everyone is healthy, I think that gives us a lot of confidence going forward into the coming match against Halifax." — Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi