It was an instant Canadian Premier League classic at Starlight Stadium on Friday, as Pacific FC and Vancouver FC combined for a 4-4 draw in the 11th installment of the Salish Sea Derby.
Two teams that had struggled to score heading into this game, they did well to forget those previous struggles for 90 minutes in this game, as they traded blows in arguably the most entertaining derby matches in their short history.
Pacific opened scoring in the 17th minute, as they turned some early pressure into a deserved goal. It came off a set-piece, as Aidan Daniels delivered a perfect corner, one that Aly Ndom headed into the bottom right corner for his third goal of the CPL season.
Eager to respond with an equalizer, Vancouver had a good chance in the 25th minute, as the ball fell to Terran Campbell inside the box after some nice interplay, but he sent his shot right at Pacific's Max Anchor.
Then, Pacific almost made it 2-0 in the 28th minute, as Marco Bustos played a dangerous pass towards a wide-open Josh Heard inside the box, but the ball would be just in front of Heard, leading to a desperate clearance from Vancouver's Kunle Dada-Luke.
Continuing a busy stretch of action, Vancouver had another good opportunity in the 31st minute, as Vasco Fry found Dada-Luke at the back post on a corner, but he sent his header wide of the mark.
Shortly after, Vancouver came close to scoring again in the 33rd minute, as Mehdi Essoussi had a dangerous right-footed shot from the edge of the box that forced a good save out of Anchor. From there, Anchor parried the rebound towards Vancouver's Matteo Campagna, but the centre back wasn't able to turn his shot past the Pacific goalkeeper.
Vancouver nearly found that equalizer they were searching for right in the 45th minute, as Henri Godbout had a fantastic chance after the ball fell to him at the edge of the six-yard box, but he sent his close-range shot right at Anchor. Then, less than a minute later, Thierno Bah had another excellent chance for Vancouver, as a failed Pacific clearance fell to him in a great position inside the box, but he sent his volley well over the goal.
Unfortunately for Vancouver, all of that first half pressure would be for naught, as Pacific doubled their lead in the 55th minute. Once again, it came off a set piece, as Marco Bustos's low free kick into the box fell to Ndom, and the Pacific defender made no mistake with a right-footed finish to put his team up 2-0.
Despite going down two, Vancouver did well to respond and stay in the game, doing so nearly immediately, too. After a long ball over the top from Aidan O'Connor, Godbout did well to get on the end of it, chipping the ball over Anchor to halve Pacific's lead to 2-1 with his first professional goal.
That goal proved to be pretty pivotal, too, as Vancouver would grow right back into the match, leading to an equalizer in the 64th minute. This time, it'd come off a free kick, as David Norman Jr. stepped up to take it, firing the ball into the back of the net with a powerful shot that deflected in off Ndom before bouncing in.
Yet, fitting of this match, Pacific managed to muster a response to Vancouver's pressure, as they regained their lead in the 77th minute. There, Christian Greco-Taylor would do well to find Yann Toualy with a cutback, and Toualy would do the rest with a curled left-footed finish for his first CPL goal.
Naturally, that lead wouldn't be safe; however, as Vancouver then found an 89th-minute equalizer. This time, it'd come off a corner, as the ball fell to Pathé Ndiaye, and the forward did well to curve a shot into the bottom left corner to make it 3-3.
Buoyed by that late equalizer, Vancouver pushed for a winner, and came close in the 90th minute, as Bah fired a dangerous shot that Anchor was forced to palm away from danger.
Through that, however, it'd lead to that late marker, which came in the first minute of stoppage time. There, Bah did well to pick out Nicolás Mezquida with a perfect through ball, and he'd find the bottom corner with a cool finish to put his team up with what seemed to be a late winner.
Or so he thought. Immediately after, Pacific stormed up the field, and found a goal of their own in the third minute of stoppage time, as Kadin Chung blasted a shot from a tight angle that squeaked in past Vancouver's Callum Irving and into the net for the own goal.
From there, despite a late push from both teams, the match would almost surprisingly finish as a draw, giving both teams a result that neither will be pleased with, as they looked to push up from the bottom of the table with a victory.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Pacific FC: Anchor; Chung, Machado, Ndom, Lajeunesse, Mukumbilwa (Greco-Taylor 65'); Daniels (Keshavarz 75'), Young; Bustos (Montejano 75'); Heard, Toualy (Zanatta 82')
Vancouver FC: Irving; Dada-Luke (Gee 80'), Campagna, O'Connor, Bah; Norman Jr., Essoussi (Batista 58'); Godbout (Ndiaye 80'), Fry, Fotsing (Mezquida 58'); Campbell (Tahid 69')
Goals
*17' — Aly Ndom (Pacific FC)
**54' — Aly Ndom (Pacific FC)
**55' — Henri Godbout (Vancouver FC)
**64' — David Norman Jr. (Vancouver FC)
**77' — Yann Toualy (Pacific FC)
**89' — Pathe Ndiaye (Vancouver FC)
**90+1' — Nicolás Mezquida (Vancouver FC)
*90+3' — Callum Irving (Vancouver FC) (Own Goal)
Discipline
*41' — Yellow: Marco Bustos (Pacific FC)
**90+1' — Yellow: Nicolás Mezquida (Vancouver FC)
*90+6' — Yellow: Marco Bustos (Pacific FC)
