New-look HFX Wanderers impress in debut

Signings Callegari, James make their mark in Atlético Ottawa draw

It is fitting that the Halifax Wanderers' opening game of the 2023 CPL season gave new head coach Patrice Gheisar a chance to exorcise some of the club's demons from last year's failed campaign.

Not only did the new-look Wanderers draw against Atlético Ottawa, a club that beat them in all four matches last season, but they did so while dominating possession for much of play at TD Place.

Add in strong showings from several of the club's off-season signings and it was about as good a start as the Wanderers could have hoped for.

For his part, Gheisar said he was pleased by his squad's performance.

"Given the heat and our first game nerves, I was ecstatic about our positive start," said Gheisar post-match. "I think there's a lot to build on and our midfield was quite good."

Although both sides started slow, Halifax established ownership of the ball early and would finish with 11 shots and 57 per cent possession.

Halifax would strike first thanks to a good read from midfielder Lorenzo Callegari who stripped former-Wanderer Sam Salter of the ball and nudged it to Aiden Daniels; Daniels then drove the box and put a perfect pass to sophomore Zachary Fernandez who converted on a low shot.

But Ottawa responded just before the end of the first half thanks to a lack of communication from the Wanderers squad.

Halifax keeper Yann Fillion collected the ball in the 45th minute and asked the officials how much time was left. Hearing that there was only seconds remaining, he put the ball back into play but Ottawa quickly regained possession. A long cross put the ball near the Wanderers net and the midfielders failed to pick up the reigning CPL Player of the Year, Ollie Bassett, who beat Fillion.

The two clubs will clash again on April 19 in Canadian Championship action.

From the Notebook

1. Sam Salter did not look himself. Maybe it was nerves facing his former club or maybe it was playing in a new formation but he struggled to control the ball or make good decisions. Given that he scored 11 goals for Halifax last year, Ottawa bought Salter in the CPL's first intra-squad sale to disrupt with his size and capitalize on chances. Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos Gonzalez didn't mince his words when asked about Salter's game; "We expect much more from him, he had good games throughout the preseason but he didn’t find the spaces that we are looking for him, and he didn’t feel that spark today." Welcome to Ottawa, Sam.
2. Former Paris Saint-Germain man Lorenzo Callegari had himself a debut to remember for the Wanderers. Having only ever seen clips of him on Youtube, I was impressed by his vision, work ethic and passing. Callegari was deployed just in front of the Wanderers back four and happily dished the ball all game long. In total, as per the CPL official count, he touched the ball a whopping 127 times and completed 99 of his 113 passes. He had 20 more touches than any other player on the pitch. Unsurprisingly, CanPL.ca named Callegari man of the match.
3. Not to swoon too much but I was also impressed by Callegari's footwork. I expected him to be technically polished given his development at PSG's youth academy but he made several suave touches (including a cheeky backheel pass) which opened up space and made me generally very happy.
4. Speaking of happy, Gheisar was pleased as punch when discussing the Frenchman post-game; "He’s a guy that makes us click, he’s the guy that turns the wheels and makes everyone around him better. I thought he was superb.” It's early but Callegari could very well be the Wanderers best player this season.
5. Although he got hung out to dry on Ottawa's lone goal, I thought Ryan James had a good first game in blue and grey. The first honest to God left-back in Wanderers history, James lent strength and composure to the back four. He won a number of duels, drew at least one foul and made several runs to drive play. All in all, James played his part perfectly as the old salt on the squad at the age of 28. There's a reason the club named him as part of their leadership team.
6. Massimo Ferrin, Riley Ferrazo and Kosi Nwafornso, all of whom played for Gheisar in League1 Ontario, looked promising in their first professional game. Although neither squad looked sharp, all three youngsters were involved in play and seemed comfortable with the pace of the game. Ferrin in particular seemed engaged, stealing the ball in the 41st minute with a good read and registering a shot on target. I expect he'll become more dangerous as he becomes more comfortable.
7. Tiago Coimbra came on for Nwafornso in the 57th minute, followed by Callum Watson and Wesley-Thomas Timoteo subbing off Daniels and Fernandez in the 67th. Although I found Coimbra and Timoteo to be solid, albeit unspectacular, Watson in particular struggled off the bench. I thought he was a bit slow to get his feet moving and ultimately was given a yellow card for a late challenge. He redeemed himself later on by getting a boot on a ball turned over by Mohamed Omar near the end of the match. The Wanderers welcomed a total of 16 new players on their roster for 2023.
8. I wanted to give a shoutout to whoever at the CPL decided to kick off the season with a triple-header of Canadian football. It was a great way welcome the start of a new season and a sign of great things to come. It must have been especially fun for the fans of Vancouver FC to begin their rivalry with Pacific FC. If only another CPL team could start up in New Brunswick or Newfoundland; then we could have an East Coast clash!

Well, that's it for the Notebook today. I hope to write a bit about the Wanderers tactics after the Canadian Championship game and am also looking to compare the make up of the squad compared to the rest of the CPL.

Cheers,

-WN