Opportunity, growth and set pieces shine in Wanderers 2-2 draw
The Halifax Wanderers return to Nova Scotia still undefeated in the Vanni Sartini era. A last minute equalizer — courtesy of youngster Tavio Ciccarelli — salvaged an important point against Inter Toronto FC on Saturday, with both sides feeling they deserved more from the 2-2 match.
But given the Wanderers historical struggles on the road, their draw versus Inter Toronto, not to mention a 1-0 win in Vancouver, are welcome results for a club looking to re-write the narrative.
"Since I joined the club, they all told me that historically we haven't done that well away, especially when we have to go out West and then last week, it was very long so the fact that we got four points is a bonus," Sartini told reporters post-match.
"Now, we're under pressure because hey, you got four points away, you need to win at home."
The Wanderers, of course, will be looking forward to their home opener. But there are still a number of questions surrounding the club from their first two matches of the season.
Did the Wanderers lose focus on Saturday?
Much was made of goalkeeper Marco Carducci's debut versus Vancouver FC as it was arguably one of the best in club history. His timely saves, not to mention devoted defending from Kareem Sow, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère and Jefferson Alphonse, the Québec-born back line Sartini has playfully dubbed the Bloc Québecois, helped secure a clean sheet last weekend.
But football is a weak link sport, meaning your starting XI is only as strong as your most vulnerable point, especially when it comes to defending. The Wanderers managed to snatch a victory against the run of play in Vancouver. But a few moments of carelessness cost them goals in a match versus Inter Toronto where they played much better.
Sartini made two changes from last week, slotting in veteran Ryan Telfer for Lucas Olguin, who had a knock, and Miguel Arilla for Francesco Troisi at wing-back.
However, with only minutes remaining in the first half, Arilla was unable to head the ball fully out of danger. Inter Toronto was able to scoop it up and progress it forward, with the former Creighton Bluejay getting dribbled through on the way to goal. Other Wanderers stepped forward but Julian Altobelli ultimately pounced on the loose ball to put his side up 1-0.
Later, having equalized the score thanks to a goal from Sow, the Wanderers again lost focus with Inter Toronto pressing. Telfer and midfielder Lorenzo Callegari had a moment of miscommunication, giving Max Ferrari eons of time to ping a cross to Altobelli, who snaked between the coverage of Meilleur-Giguère and Alphonse to restore Inter Toronto's lead.
Sartini's side were able to again equalize but the lapse in focus raised the ire of their coach.
"I'm a little bit, I don't know which word to use, pissed, maybe, on the second goal we conceded. I think in the first half we were the better team, we had more chances and everything, we conceded a goal, that can happen, you know?" he said.
"We score the 1-1 and we put all the focus on settling down the game after a goal and then try to go at it and get the win. I think we were too excited, too long and not compact enough and they scored a beautiful goal but it was too easy for them to get around us and get the 2-1."
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The Canadian Premier League's Set Piece FC?
The good news is the Wanderers are scoring when they need to but the bad news is they've yet to score a goal in open play. Set pieces, interestingly, have accounted for all three of their goals.
"I always make the joke that one third of the goals come from set pieces so I think one third of the training should have a set piece component and that's what we're trying to do," Sartini said when asked about his set piece philosophy, crediting assistant coaches Daryl Fordyce and Jan-Michael Williams.
“We work a lot on that but the set pieces don’t happen just because. We had corner kicks, or several corner kicks, because we were pushing a lot, we had an offensive throw in because we were pushing a lot. Without the run of play, you don’t have set pieces. You can’t be a team that exclusively relies on set pieces.”
The issue, of course, is aside from set pieces, there's only a handful of times the Wanderers have really looked dangerous in the final third. Part of this can be explained by looking at the club's starting strikers over the last two matches.
Sartini has opted to start Jason Bahamboula and Cyprian Kachwele versus both Vancouver FC and Inter Toronto. Although they look like different profiles on paper, both have been making similar runs using their pace to get behind defenders.
The results? Bahamboula has one shot through two matches and only two touches in the opposition box. Kachwele has fared better, rifling four shots towards goal, but has also been limited in the box, amassing five touches.
There's no doubt the Wanderers attack looked better on Saturday but it feels like their strikers are still too isolated given both have been playing high.
Another point to consider: despite his size (6-foot-3, 190 cm), Kachwele is much more of a dribbler than he is target man. He's won only two of his seven aerial duels so far.
However, goals from open play will come, with Bahamboula's lone shot, albeit blocked, showing his ability to get into a dangerous area.
Can Tavio Ciccarelli build on his first goal?
Before speaking about Ciccarelli's goal, which was the first of his professional career, it's best to touch on Sow.
It's hard to believe but aside from Andre Rampersad, Sow has quietly become one of Halifax's longest tenured players. As has been pointed out by Down the Pub Podcast, he's developed a lot over that time, adding different elements to his game.
So, it felt fitting that Sow would also scored his first goal for the Wanderers given his rise to prominence over the last number of seasons. He was a key starter under former head coach Patrice Gheisar last year and looks to have resumed that mantle in 2026.
But his path hasn't been easy. A disastrous series of injuries ruined Sow's 2024 season. He's faced uncertainty and growing pains transitioning from university football. It's only now that he said he feels he's found his groove and is paying the club back for their loyalty.
"I'm just super grateful that the organization, Matt (Fegan), Derek (Martin), all the coaches that I've been with since the beginning were able to take this chance on me and let me finish my degree. It's something that I truly did care about finishing my school before fully committing to the professional world," he told HFX Football Post on Saturday.
"I'm super grateful for it and really happy to finally be able to repay all those favours."
It's also part of the reason Sow and his teammates were so happy for Ciccarelli to score his first goal: he's been largely overlooked and had to fight for every minute at the club and they've all been in Ciccarelli's boots.
"Obviously, it's something that most of us experience. When you're young, and you're joining professional football at a young age, everyone kind of goes though the same thing unless you're an absolute prodigy. It's easy to put ourselves in his shoes and to encourage him and understand what he's going through," said Sow.
"His time was going to come, it was a matter of time and I'm so, so, so glad that he was able to make his mark so early in the season after only two games. He was able to make his mark in only five minutes of play, that just shows how much quality he had to be able to impact the game in only five minutes. (I'm) super proud of him."
Given Halifax's struggles in open play, it'll be interesting to see if Sartini opts to throw Ciccarelli into the mix earlier. He said post-match he's looking for his attackers to be hungrier in the final third.
Well, he's got at least one young player chomping at the bit for another opportunity. And Ciccarelli may just get it next week at the Wanderers Grounds.
Editor's Note: This article is part of our free coverage.
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Cover Photo Credit: Michael Chisholm / Canadian Premier League
