Díaz's record-setting brace powers Pacific past Vancouver | MATCH ANALYSIS

Match in a minute or less

Pacific have narrowed the gap between themselves and the Canadian Premier League's fifth and final playoff spot to just seven points, as they picked up a crucial 3-2 victory over rivals Vancouver FC in the latest Salish Sea Derby at Willoughby Community Park on Sunday.

As these derbies tend to be, this game was a back-and-forth affair right from the start, as Thierno Bah put Vancouver up 1-0 in the 33rd minute, before Pacific responded with a timely equalizer in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time courtesy of Alejandro Díaz.

From there, Pacific would do well to go up 2-1 in the 46th minute, as Josh Heard scored his first goal of 2025 early in the second half, but Vancouver then quickly responded with a 49th-minute equalizer courtesy of Pathé Ndiaye, continuing the back-and-forth action.

In the end, however, Pacific would get the last laugh, as Díaz, who had tied Vancouver's Terran Campbell for first in the CPL's all-time top scorers list with his first goal, then took the top spot for himself with a tally in the 60th minute, as his 41st-ever CPL goal ended up standing as the winner on the day.

Three Observations

Pacific picking up momentum at the right time:

Don't look now, but Pacific are finding their feet at just the right time, as they're starting to shake up the table with this recent run of games.

With this win, they picked up consecutive victories for the first time in 2025, and have now have 3W-1D-2L in their last six games. As a result, they've cut the gap between them and fifth place to seven points, which is quite huge given that they're about to welcome that fifth-place team, the Halifax Wanderers, to Starlight Stadium for their next match.

While they'll be happy that the Wanderers game is at home, instead of on the road, they might not have minded if it was played away from home after this match. That, of course, is because they finally picked up their first road win of 2025 in this one, having previously drawn two and lost five of their previous seven road games this season.

Yet, that's a further reason why this stretch has been so critical, as Pacific feels that they're starting to look a lot closer to their final version than they had earlier in the season, when they were struggling to find consistency in their game, and that's led to a big result like this.

For example, one big thing from this match that stands out is that Pacific essentially used the same lineup from their most recent match, a 1-0 win vs. Cavalry, with only one forced change, with an injured Georges Mukumbilwa dropping out for Christian Greco-Taylor. Otherwise, they ran with an unchanged group, as they looked to build a bit of momentum, something that they can certainly say they did with this result.

In particular, what stands out is that they were able to showcase a bit of what's worked with their recent tactical tweaks, too, doing so in key phases of the game.

On the ball, they were dangerous in wide areas, showing why they've deployed a 5-4-1, as they were able to create some important wide overloads on their second and third goals, which both came off good crosses into the box from Dario Zanatta.

Then, defensively, while they'll be frustrated to allow two sloppy goals early on, they did what they needed to when defending a lead in the last 30 minutes, doing well to sit back in their back five and limiting opportunities around their box, which is huge. Given that this derby has a history of producing late goals, it felt like Vancouver was going to grab a late marker to make things interesting, but Pacific made sure not to break despite bending in certain moments.

That Vancouver were unable to generate any chance worth more than 0.11 xG after the 60th minute gives an idea of how Pacific were able to lock things down at the end, as they stood strong when needed. It wasn't always easy, as they held just 28.4% of possession in the second half, but they won't mind that given the final result, as they showed good character to hold on the way they did.

Now, the big goal for Pacific will be to keep growing, especially heading into that Wanderers match. If they win that game, they'll be within four points of a playoff spot with nine games to go, which is a very realistic gap to overcome, especially when considering that the fifth-place Wanderers (who have 25 points) and third-place Cavalry (who have 26 points) are both slumping hard right now.

At the same time, if Pacific loses, that gap extends back to 10 points, which might be a step just too far for them to overcome, showing that the ending to their season could very well be dictated by that next match.

Becuase of that, it shows why it's so important that they're heading into that game with a bit of momentum, so look for them to keep that consistency and let that momentum build further, even if they're going to be facing more squad changes with young centre backs Eric Lajeunesse and Finn Tugwell set to go back to their U SPORTS teams this week - although it's not as if Pacific is unfamiliar with dealing with such changes, based on how 2025 has gone for them, so they'll look to take that all in stride.

"(Every week), the team has done an excellent job of coming to training and the next matches while not focusing on the table, not looking at the teams in front of us," Pacific's head coach, James Merriman, said. "Instead, they've focused on what's next, what's the match plan going into training, and then taking it like that."

More frustrations at home for Vancouver:

Unfortunately for Vancouver, not only did this defeat keep them 14 points adrift of the playoff line, which might just be too large a gap to overcome in their race for the postseason, but their home woes continued in this game, too.

With this loss, they've now gone over a calendar year since winning at Willoughby Community Park, as their last home win came against Pacific on August 11th, 2024.

In a league where winning at home is so crucial, given the travel that all teams endure, it's a tough streak to hold onto, for many reasons. Not only is it tough for fans not to taste the thrill of victory, but it can be so harmful for a team's playoff hopes, as good teams tend to pick up 20-30 points at home if they're to make the postseason.

To that last point, it's not as if Vancouver's picking up points at home, either, as they sit with just three points from nine CPL games at Willoughby Community Park this year, having drawn three and lost six of those matches, giving an idea of how deep their home woes run.

Yet, a game like this is a great example of where Vancouver have struggled at home, as it once again followed some frustrating patterns.

Mainly, the big one continues to be that Vancouver's defending at home has been a big issue, as they conceded goals #17, #18 and #19 at home, which leads the league. For context, the top three teams at home in 2025, Forge, Atlético Ottawa, and Cavalry, have conceded just 24 goals between them (conceding eight apiece), as good teams also don't concede a lot in front of their fans.

Part of winning matches at home is ensuring that teams don't get easy goals, and Vancouver have unfortunately not been able to keep the ball out of their net enough in these home matches.

Of course, while it's important to keep things tidy at the back in these matches, that's just half the battle, as you also need to score at home. There, Vancouver have also struggled, as they sit with just seven home goals - every other team in the league has at least 10.

The good news, however? Under interim head coach Martin Nash, they've scored three of those goals in their last two home games, so they're at least trending in the right direction in that department.

Between that and the two goals they scored on the road against the Halifax Wanderers last week, they've found a bit of a groove offensively under their new manager, showing some repeated patterns such as an ability to score off crosses, and could stand to hit another level in that department as they have more training sessions under Nash.

In particular, that last point is key, as in this Pacific match, they could've found the net more than they did. They did only generate 1.53 xG, which shows what they got was fair, but considering that they had 13 shots to Pacific's eight, had nine shots in the box to Pacific's four, had 23 touches in the box to Pacific's seven, and had nine corners to Pacific's one, they'll feel that they were certainly the livelier team on the day.

What that shows, of course, is how clinical Pacific were, as they had just as many big chances as Vancouver (three apiece) despite that discrepancy of opportunities, and had nearly as much non-penalty xG as Vancouver (1.42 for Pacific, 1.53 for Vancouver), both reinforcing that Pacific did well to battle for their win and that Vancouver left goals on the table.

Now, for Vancouver, the goal will be to keep building offensively while finding a way to turn things around defensively. Even if it might soon be too late for any improvements to get them to the playoffs, at least unless they get hot in the next few games, continued growth could still help them snap their winless streak at home as early as this week, when they take on Atlético Ottawa in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semi-finals.

A win there could be massive for the club, as they look to earn a shock berth in the Canadian Championship final. Finding a leg one victory could go a long way towards doing that, but they'll only find it if they can build on the good they showed in a game like this, while also cleaning up some of the bad, as continues to be the goal since Nash's arrival a few weeks ago.

"These moments aren't acceptable," Bah said after the match. "We all know that it's unacceptable, they can't really happen, and they've happened way too many times this year, but we just have to build on it (and grow)."

New-look front three comes to life for Pacific:

For a second straight game, Pacific deployed a front three of Alejandro Diáz, Josh Heard and Dario Zanatta in the attack, with Zanatta deployed on the left, Heard on the right and Díaz up front.

After using that set-up against Cavalry, a game in which none of them found the net, it was a bold choice to run it back, especially with co-leading scorer Yann Toualy back from an injury and with Marco Bustos on the bench, but the decision paid off handsomely in the end, as each of Díaz, Heard and Zanatta played a big role in this win.

That's huge for Pacific, for a multitude of reasons.

First, there's the fact that all three haven't been as productive as hoped this year, with Díaz having just one goal and one assist this season before this match, Heard having no goals and no assists, and Zanatta having three goals and no assists. For a team that scored a league-low 16 goals heading into this game, numbers like that explain their offensive woes, and why they were desperately hoping that this trio could get up and firing.

Safe to say, this game helped them do that, as Dìaz scored his first goals since early-May of this year to break the CPL record, Heard found his first goal since April of 2024, and Zanatta had a pair of assists for his first goal contributions since early-May of this year.

In particular, Díaz's goals might be the most important, as he continues to reintegrate into this Pacific team after joining from Vancouver FC last month, as he has a track record of being a lethal forward in this league, as his setting the CPL record shows. Ideally, if Pacific are going to find the net regularly, he's going to be expected to play a big role in that, and a game like this can help him find the confidence he needs to do that with consistency once again.

Secondly, another big thing that stands out from this trio is their presence as leaders on this Pacific team, as they're three of the older players on this team, with Heard sitting at 30 years of age, Díaz at 29 and Zanatta at 28. That's important because all three play big roles in what this team does off the field, while looking to lead the way on the field, so it's big for them to get rewarded for some of that quiet work they put in every week.

Thirdly, there's the fact that these goals are a good representation of what this Pacific's team has been about, as they now have claimed 11 points from losing positions this year, only second to league-leaders Atlético Ottawa in that category after this game. When seeing the resilience of Díaz, Heard and Zanatta ending lengthy slumps in this game, that's another prime example of that resilience in action, as this group continues to show good character in the face of personal and collective setbacks.

Lastly, the big thing about their front three's contributions is that it now gives Pacific some attacking depth. As mentioned earlier, Bustos started this game on the bench, with the attacking midfielder currently in a slump after picking up just one assist since late April.

When seeing Díaz, Heard and Zanatta all bust slumps of their own, Bustos will feel that his time is coming soon - certainly, he'll feel a push from within to bust that slump in the coming weeks after seeing his fellow attackers find some form.

Yet, that's why Pacific will be so pleased to see their new-look front three find some form. Not only can it help them win games in the short term as they look to make this push towards the playoffs, but perhaps it can further spark some individuals by stoking competition as the season wears on, helping them turn this recent run into much more - such as a playoff berth.

"It's always hard when you are not playing or not scoring, but it shows the resilience from everyone and the quality that everyone has," Díaz said. "It can be like that in football, a striker might not score for 15 games, but once he scores that first goal, it becomes way easier."

"It's like that for everyone, so it's good for the team and for the confidence of each individual to get those goals, assists and to have these performances, as the quality is there, it's just all about getting more confidence (right now)."

What They Said

"I don't think from the beginning of the season, we've ever said that we don't have character in this group. We have that character in the locker room; we have a group of guys that are committed and together. When your goals and your ambitions are big, but results don't go your way, it starts to challenge everything, but (the response) comes down to the spirit and the belief in the group. We believe in the quality that we have in the room; we just need to put games together. This is the first time we've won two games in a row, and that alone is big to get off our back." -- Pacific FC head coach James Merriman

"These games, Vancouver against Pacific, are always good; there's always a lot of goals, so we knew that it was going to be like this. When you come from tough times and have been in tough positions, it helps you show the resilience that the team has, so it's good for our confidence to get these kinds of wins." -- Vancouver FC forward Alejandro Díaz

"It's been a difficult year for them, so I'm coming in fresh, and I can't get frustrated. I've gotta just keep working to try and make them better as individuals and as a team. I thought we've shown good moments in all three games, with the performances over three games, we don't deserve only three points, but we've got to learn to take our chances and stop gifting goals. But that's a team effort, and I thought the guys put in a good effort today; it wasn't an effort problem. It was just about moments, because we just can't give up certain goals in those moments." -- Vancouver FC interim head coach Martin Nash

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Alejandro Díaz, Pacific FC

Díaz stepped up big in his first game against Vancouver since departing the club last month, scoring both of his goals on his only two shots of the game, while also creating one chance, making two passes into the final third, and winning three out of his four duels in an effective and clinical showing up front for Pacific.

What’s next?

Vancouver will have a busy week, as they get set to host Atlético Ottawa at Willoughby Community Park in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semi-finals on Wednesday, August 13th (7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET), before heading out on the road for a league date vs. Cavalry FC at ATCO Field on Sunday, August 17th (4:00 p.m. PT/5:00 p.m. MT). Meanwhile, Pacific will return home for a clash vs. the Halifax Wanderers on Saturday, August 16th (3:00 p.m. PT/7:00 p.m. AT).

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