Wanderers 0 Forge FC 0: Knights on horseback, a clean sheet and few shots
Football can be beautiful. The Wanderers, for a few stanzas at least, have played some beautiful football this season, found poetry in a web of passes, songs from The Kitchen, or even in the stillness of what the Spanish call la pausa.
But there's been a disconnect from these moments of joy and points on the board, a reckoning for Haligonian romantics who wanderer the waterfront skipping stones. Like any good accountant will tell you — no matter how many good halves the Wanderers have played — the numbers matter.
Math can be a rude awakening: over half of the Canadian Premier League season is over and the Wanderers are outside the playoff picture. They need points.
"Life's not knights on horseback. It's a number on a piece of paper," grizzled billionaire Logan Roy tells his son in HBO's hit show Succession.
"It's a fight for a knife in the mud."
Well, the Wanderers embraced that attitude on Sunday, wrestling league leaders Forge FC — who remain 18 points ahead of head coach Vanni Sartini's squad on the table — to a 0-0 draw. It was a result they needed. But, with a little luck, they threatened to walk away with more.
Here's a breakdown of Halifax's bloodless draw.
Banding together for a clean sheet
This iteration of the Wanderers can be supremely frustrating as they flit from excellent defending as a unit (see their 1-1 draw versus Cavalry FC) to total collapse (see their 3-2 loss to FC Supra) faster than Romeo falls in love.
The question, many supporters wondered, was what version of the Wanderers would show up against Forge?
Well, it's safe to say that the Wanderers were the best versions of themselves defensively: tactically compact in their 4-3-3 formation, energetic, and individually disciplined. Although not on the pitch (he was in the press box serving his suspension), Sartini's defensive ideals were on full display as the Wanderers back line, which included Jefferson Alphonse, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, Finn Linder and Ryan Telfer, stifled Forge's attack.
The first half in particular was a fight in the mud as the referee allowed the two sides to claw at each other, slowing down the pace of play. It wasn't until the 34th minute that Sebastian Noshinravani opted to award a yellow card despite the fact that it looked like both the Wanderers (six fouls) and Forge (nine fouls) had moved from football to, well, football with the shoulder-to-shoulder checks they were throwing.
The second half was a welcome change as both squads came out looking to snap the deadlock.
Despite Forge's best efforts, they were unable to break down the Wanderers and largely looked ineffective. They managed 16 shots but most were taken from long range.
When the orange-shirted players threatened on corners, which has been their bread and butter this year, it seemed one of Meilleur-Giguère (four clearances) or Linder (six clearances) managed to head the ball out of danger.
Wanderers 'keeper Marco Carducci ended the evening with four saves to his name, playing his part in his side's clean sheet, but there's no doubt Sunday saw the Wanderers tighten up as a squad following a disastrous loss to FC Supra last week.
A similar pattern of offensive starts
It's no secret that the Wanderers have often started slowly this year.
The key difference on Sunday, however, was that it wasn't from lack of energy. The Wanderers more than managed to keep pace with their opponents to start the match but again found themselves struggling to create.
Despite owning 49 per cent of the ball in the first half, the Wanderers managed a single shot towards goal in the opening 45 minutes. (To their credit, Forge only managed five attempts).
What's worse still is that striker Cyprian Kachwele — who arguably had his best match in a Wanderers shirt last week — had to be helped off the pitch in the 38th minute following a double-battering from two Forge players.
But like they have all season, the Wanderers found their shooting boots in the second half and nearly toppled the league leaders.
Telfer arguably came the closest to scoring as he cut towards the goal line in the 58th minute and zinged a pass into the box. On its way, the ball struck Forge defender Antoine Batisse's left foot and ricocheted across goal, striking the far post yet somehow stayed out.
Encouraged, the Wanderers continued to push, putting 10 shots towards goal, including a Jefferson Alphonse attempt that also struck the post and an excellent header from Meilleur-Giguère, which was just stopped by Forge 'keeper Dimitry Bertaud. They were close to a winner but couldn't get the ball over the line.
The Wanderers had been averaging 2.46 shots in the first half and 7.06 in the second heading into Sunday's match.
Are the Wanderers rounding into form?
It's hard to forget Halifax's collapse versus Supra but, taking a step back, their play since the World Cup break is encouraging.
Make no mistake: earning a point away versus Cavalry, followed by another against Forge, are huge results given the spread of quality in the league this season. The Wanderers have earned eight points out of a possible 18 since they returned from their break and would have more if not for some sloppy play versus Supra.
But what's most encouraging is some of their players are rounding into form after injury, time away or just adjusting to the club.
For example, Linder was very good against Forge on Sunday and continues to grow into himself. Sven Zitman has been playing well for the last few weeks and is arguably one of Halifax's most tenacious players on the ball. Meilleur-Giguère, who missed several weeks due to a knee injury, looks more like himself.
Knit together, it feels like the Wanderers can make a push up the table. They currently sit sixth with 17 points, which is on par with Supra and four points behind Atlético Ottawa, who they play next week at TD Place.
However, both Supra and Atlético Ottawa have matches in hand.
It's important that the Wanderers continue to play like they did versus Forge, rising to the challenge. They showed on Sunday that they're a club that can hang with the best in the league. Importantly, they played their football, which was beautiful at times, and earned a point.
But given their position on the table, not to mention that other clubs have matches in hand, there are plenty of knife fights in the mud ahead. They are fights — given the points Halifax has bled from winning positions — of their own making. As much as football is romantic, life can't always be knights on horseback. The Wanderers are learning that the hard way.
Editor's Note: This article is part of our free coverage.
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Josh Healey
Josh Healey
Josh Healey
Cover Photo Credit: Trevor MacMillan / Halifax Wanderers FC
