| Final Score: Pacific FC 3-2 Halifax Wanderers FC Goalscorers: Toualy 11', 42', 55' (PK); Coimbra 30', Baï 35' Game of the 2025 season: 53 CPL Match: 649 |
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Match in a minute or less
Pacific FC and the Halifax Wanderers traded blows in a thrilling contest at Starlight Stadium on Saturday, one that finished 3-2 in favour of Pacific in the end.
After Pacific got off to a great start thanks to an 11th-minute goal from Yann Toualy, the Wanderers punched back with two quick goals around the 30th minute, as Tiago Coimbra found the net before setting up Yohan Baï for his team's second goal in the 35th minute.
From there, however, Pacific did well to respond, as Toualy found the net in the 42nd minute, before completing his hat-trick with a penalty in the 55th minute.
Once they had that lead, Pacific wouldn't give it up the rest of the way, either, as they clawed their way to the finish line with a strong defensive showing, one that allowed them to secure a crucial victory. With that, they've now closed the gap between them and fifth-place York United to just three points, too, although York remains yet to play on this matchday as of writing.
Three Observations
Yann Toualy's hat trick paces another Pacific offensive outburst:
If there were any concerns about whether Pacific would be able to maintain the attacking momentum they found in their last match, a 4-4 draw vs. Vancouver FC at the end of June, they did well to quickly quell those early in this match despite coming off a lengthy break.
Plus, much like in that Vancouver match, a new source of offence ended up stepping up in a big way, too, as Yann Toualy did well to build off what he showed in that June match, in which he scored his first professional goal.
After a couple of near-misses in the week prior, that goal will have felt like a weight off his shoulders - certainly, the way he started this match would indicate that was the case, as it didn't take long for him to find career goals #2, #3 and #4 as part of his first professional hat trick, which happened in less than an hour.
For a Pacific team looking for new sources of goals, with Aly Ndom pacing the team with four goals in CPL play heading into this one, this outburst from Toualy will feel like a welcome shot of life to an attack that had struggled before that Vancouver match, with this recent stretch indicating that they're finally starting to turn the corner in that regard.
Given that Toualy is now tied with Ndom for goals after these two games, he's stepped up as a key piece in that turnaround, and that couldn't have been better timed for this Pacific side.
A team that has struggled to find consistent sources of attack, hence Ndom's presence as goalscoring leader despite playing centre back, this will take the weight off some of Pacific's other attackers, who haven't been able to be as prolific as hoped.
In particular, with Marco Bustos and Josh Heard yet to score, that's been a big surprise from Pacific's perspective, as those two have been key sources of offence for this team in the past.
Both have remained influential in attack, as Bustos chipped in with his third assist in this game (and also won the penalty for Toualy's hat trick goal), while Heard has been lively up front, but that lack of goals has hindered a team that has looked for one name to step up and lead the attack.
Perhaps, however, Toualy's strong form can be a sign that he can carry a bigger load in that department, which could then spark more out of the likes of Bustos, Heard, Emanuel Montejano, Dario Zanatta and Pacific's other offensive players.
Certainly, Pacific would welcome more attacking play like what Toualy has brought, as he's done a great job of getting on the ball and driving at defenders, which has seemed to rub off on some of his other teammates - Bustos, in particular, was very lively in this game, linking up nicely with Pacific's hat trick hero.
Therefore, while Toualy might be in tough to replicate this level of output going forward, look for his energy to spark this team to a stronger offensive record in the second half of the campaign, allowing them to build off these last two games, one where they've looked like the sort of team they want to be when at their best.
Tiago Coimbra continues strong form despite Wanderers loss:
It didn't take long for the Wanderers striker, Tiago Coimbra, to continue his rich vein of form in this match, as after entering this game with five goals in his last seven games, he found the net and chipped in with an assist in the first half alone.
Yet, that's been the story of his season so far, as he's been hard to stop whenever he gets the ball in and around the goal, which is why he now has nine goal contributions in less than 600 minutes.
Plus, despite his strong form, he hasn't stopped doing what's made him crucial to this Wanderers system, either, which is his work rate off the ball and his physical presence, as he caused all sorts of problems for Pacific's defenders in this game.
Along with his two goal contributions, he had six shot attempts and created two chances, while contesting 14 duels and committing three fouls, as he was certainly a lively presence on the pitch.
Because of that, it'll have been tough for the Wanderers to see him last just 72 minutes, as he had to withdraw with a bit of a cramp late on.
Given that the Wanderers struggled to penetrate Pacific's box after his exit, one can only wonder what they could've done with him still on the field late on, especially as they started to filter crosses into the box. Considering that of the eight shots they took after his exit, only one rated higher than 0.17 xG, it's a fair question to ask, as it felt like he could've gotten on the end of one of those crosses and turned it into a goal.
At the same time, the Wanderers won't fault him for not finishing the game, as it's not as if his exit was for a bad reason - he literally ran until he had nothing left, doing so on a very hot day in Langford.. That's emblematic of his attitude as a player, which is what's working so well for him on this run, as he's making sure that every moment he spends on the pitch is as impactful as possible.
Seeing that he's up to second in the CPL's Golden Boot race as of writing with the seven goals that he's now scored, that stands out given the lack of minutes he's played, as he spent the early part of the year getting up to full fitness after some injuries.
The challenge for the Wanderers, however, will be to ensure that they can maximize the value of his contributions - up until this game, they'd done that quite well in that department, with this being the first time all year that he's scored in a losing cause.
Because of that, they'll hope that he can continue to build his fitness and provide more minutes going forward, as they continue to push for the CPL Shield in the second half of the season - certainly, having an in-form striker like this can only aid that quest, given how good they've been defensively, this game aside.
Pacific narrowly edges Wanderers in fierce tactical chess match:
While this game was a bit of a rollercoaster for the neutral fan, with both teams trading blows on the scoreboard, this match ended up being a thrilling affair in terms of the tactics both managers employed, too, as they too sparred with their decisions from the sidelines.
That tone was set very early, too, with Pacific flying out of the gates to gain an edge in that department, as they continue to experiment with their tactical set-up.
After having deployed a new-look back five vs. Vancouver FC, they ran back that formation for this game, using a similar 5-4-1, and it ended up catching the Wanderers by surprise early on.
In particular, Pacific's wing backs ended up playing a big role, and not in the way one would've expected, either. Certainly, they were doing a lot of important work on the ball, as Georges Mukumbilwa and Kadin Chung spent most of the first half flying forward every time Pacific won the ball, helping create crucial overloads in wide areas, but their best work came off it.
Instead of constantly dropping back, as one would expect from them, they did a good job of pushing forward and pressing the Wanderers' wing backs, which made it hard for them to build up out of the back. That ended up having a knock-on effect on Pacific's attack, too, as it allowed their wingers, Toualy and Josh Heard, to play more centrally, offering support to Marco Bustos, who was deployed in a bit of a free role.
Given Pacific's offensive outburst, which now gives them seven goals in two games, almost matching their season output of eight before these last two games, that's clearly had a massive impact on their struggling offence.
Yet, while Pacific came out strongly, the Wanderers did well to adjust from there. After struggling to play through that press on a few occasions, they started to do two things on the ball, which was to get Lorenzo Callegari on the ball more in midfield and to find Coimbra on long balls in behind Pacific's right centre back, Pedro Machado.
Through that, it offered a bit of a release valve, and that started to throw off Pacific's press, leading to those two first-half Wanderers' goals, as they started to wrestle back momentum in this game.
Fittingly, however, the adjustments wouldn't end there. In response to that, Pacific went for an aggressive swap at half time once they tied things up right before the break on a set-piece, bringing in Sean Young for wing back Georges Mukumbilwa to begin the second stanza, giving them an extra midfielder to help limit Callegari's influence on the ball.
From there, they pushed Toualy out wide, which allowed Pacific to continue what was working for them out wide in the first half, a move that once again shifted momentum in the hosts' favour, while pushing Toualy to another gear offensively.
Once Toualy found the net for a third time, Pacific once again shifted their approach, as they brought on Christian Greco-Taylor for Josh Heard, giving them another natural defender at the wing back position, and that move once again paid dividends, as it gave Pacific the solidity to better protect their lead this time around.
Because of that, the game ended up slowing down significantly, as Pacific's shift to more of a 5-3-2 proved to give them the defensive balance they lacked during the first half, which then put them on a path toward keeping their lead intact.
Naturally, the Wanderers did a few things to try and break down that Pacific defensive block, with the big one being to shift to a 4-3-3 from a 4-2-3-1, as they tried to match up against Pacific's midfield group, but those efforts proved fruitless, especially with a lack of striker on the pitch following Coimbra's exit.
The Wanderers certainly had chances, generating 2.9 xG, but they didn't get enough quality opportunities, with only three of their 22 shots clocking in more than 0.3 xG.
Therefore, in the end, Pacific were able to score a crucial victory through their defensive tweaks, one that will please them after how their last match went, in which they relinquished a late 3-2 lead against Vancouver. Having had similar success in their new formation in that game, they didn't close the game out, and that frustrated them.
This time, however, they were able to shut things down when they needed to, and that made a big difference for them, allowing them to take advantage of a strong offensive showing.
Now, the goal for Pacific will be for them to build some momentum off this recent tactical switch, as it's clearly sparked something new in their group, and that they were able to go toe-to-toe with a flexible and mature Wanderers group is a sign of their rapid progress over the last few weeks.
What They Said
"After my first (pro) goal, I put it in my head, I've only scored one goal, at the end of the day, I'm still in my first year as a professional in the CPL, nobody knows me, I still have to keep going. Don't think I'm (special), because I scored one goal, that's a trap. It's not enough for me (to score one), I want more and more every day, I know I can do it, so I have to keep going like this." -- Pacific FC forward Yann Toualy.
"It's great for the players, they've been working hard. Some bounces haven't gone our way, which challenges everything, and injuries have also made things difficult. We've been tweaking things tactically, in how are we going to set up? (...) Everyone's working hard to be better, to improve things, and I think today, especially for the first 20-25 minutes, I thought it was some of our best football of the year." -- Pacific FC head coach James Merriman.
"When you're panicking a little bit because you're behind, you're chasing, all of a sudden, the clock is moving faster. There, you have to have your composure. I think we were getting the ball, and we got the balls in (the box), but we could have been a little bit more patient and turned half chances into pure chances. But I think after conceding the penalty, we were disappointed, and you could see the group had a difficult time trying to rebound. We'll learn, we'll look at it and see what we could do better, and be ready to go next week." -- Halifax Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar.
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Yann Toualy, Pacific FC
Toualy could hardly set a foot wrong in this game, as he scored a hat trick and put in a complete performance up front for Pacific. That's reflected in the numbers, too, as his hat trick came off all three shots he took in the game, with the rest of his statline featuring four completed dribbles, 16 out of 20 completed passes (80%), one chance created, seven out of 10 duels won and three tackles.
What’s next?
Pacific will head out on the road for their next match, as a clash vs. Forge FC at Hamilton Stadium awaits on Friday, July 18th (4:00 p.m. PT/7:00 p.m. ET). Meanwhile, the Wanderers will head to Ottawa for a pivotal clash vs. league leaders Atlético Ottawa at TD Place at the exact same time on that Friday (7:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. AT).
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