Wanderers 1 Forge 3: Honesty, attacking woes and set pieces following 'our worst game of the season'

The Wanderers had hoped for more. They knew it was going to be a tough match. But their efforts were soundly bested by Forge FC on Saturday as the Hamilton-based club put on a clinic at the Wanderers Grounds, bidding farewell to Nova Scotia with three points securely in their pockets.

The result — despite Halifax's best efforts — was never really in contention.

Yes, there are some positives to take from the Wanderers' push in the match's final moments, little victories offered in the rehabilitation of attacker Yohan Baï or the progression of youngsters like Tavio Ciccarelli. Their best football of the day was inarguably played in the match's twilight.

But the reality of the situation, cutting as the winds beyond Chebucto Head, was plain to see: the Wanderers were tentative and toothless in the first half and struggled to match Forge's energy and technical excellence.

Now, with a rematch versus the Hammers in the Canadian Championship less than a week away, Wanderers head coach Vanni Sartini is left with much to contemplate following a match he described as "our worst game of the season."

Honesty, thy name is Vanni Sartini

The Wanderers made a number of changes to their starting XI on Saturday as Thomas Meilleur-Giguère and Ryan Telfer were ruled out due to injury. Captain Andre Rampersad and Ciccarelli earned their first starts of the season and centre-back Finn Linder took up Meilleur-Giguère's mantle in the middle of Sartini's back three.

However, from the first whistle, the Wanderers looked tentative in possession and struggled to build up from the back. Several passes were misplayed as players tried to rotate to find some rhythm offensively. Energy, as noted by Rampersad post-match, flagged.

Forge capitalized on Halifax's hesitation and commanded the ball, earning 57 per cent possession in the first half while scoring a goal courtesy of striker Brian Wright, who headed an authoritative ball past 'keeper Marco Carducci.

Although the Wanderers showed more fight in the second half, they still found themselves chasing late as costly mistakes put them down 3-1 with the clock winding down.

One of the most important notes to take from the match was that Halifax's young players struggled when standing toe-to-toe with Forge's veterans, be it Tristan Borges, Wright or Noah Jensen. Linder lost all of his aerial duels, missing his header on the first goal. Francesco Troisi, still only 18-years-old, matched up against Borges and Jensen on the left side and completed only two progressive passes. Cyprian Kachwele and Ciccarelli managed a single shot between them.

Speaking post-match, Sartini mentioned honesty a half dozen times, noting he got his match plan wrong versus head coach Bobby Smyrniotis' side.

"I believe, and I've got to be honest, we didn't approach the game well, the energy wasn't there but I think also our tactical plan wasn't followed or was too hard to apply," he said.

"We need to be completely honest when we look ourselves in the mirror and we can easily say it's on me. It's on me, this one. It's on me the fact that I'm still green in this league and still green understanding different teams to play against and we played this team in a way that was probably the way they wanted us to play."

Do the Wanderers have a goal scoring problem?

The answer is not yet but it could become one.

It's important to remember that Forge entered Saturday's match having yet to concede in league play. The statistics, taken from a thousand foot view, actually paint a strong picture of Halifax's offensive efforts versus the league leaders as they generated an expected goals of 1.80 versus Forge's 1.23. They managed 11 shots and created two big chances.

The issue, of course, is that it took until the 55th minute for Sartini's side to really get a foot in the match. They had a single off target shot in the first half. And they were already trailing 2-0 versus a club that hadn't conceded in 360 minutes of play heading into the weekend by the time Ciccarelli was hauled down in the box.

Isaiah Johnston, who has arguably been Halifax's best player through five matches, was once again called upon and made no mistake from the spot, burying the ball to break Forge's goalless streak.

On one hand, the Wanderers did something no other club has done in 2026 by scoring a goal versus Forge. But on the other, across five matches, a pattern is emerging: this is a squad that's struggling to convert in open play.

The Wanderers are currently second in the CPL for goals scored so, on the surface, they don't have a problem scoring. The pattern, however, shows that their goals are coming from set pieces or penalties, with three of their last four goals having been scored from the spot courtesy of Johnston. Both Sartini and his players think the open play goals will come.

But are the Wanderers generating enough offensively if other aspects of their attack dry up?

Looking at the numbers, Sartini's men have taken 50 shots (or 10 per match) through the start of the season. This is currently slightly above what they averaged through 2025 (9.82 shots per match), which bodes well given they tied a club goal record last year.

Of course, it's not just about generating shots; the players have to put the ball into the net. Sartini noted the squad is still adjusting to his system and vice versa so it feels like a matter of time before they click in open play. But the first half of their match versus Forge left a lot to be desired creatively.

Forge makes the most of their chances

Asked post-match about how his squad is conceding goals, particularly as it relates to set pieces versus Forge and FC Supra, Sartini said he's aware the Wanderers are struggling on second balls.

"Today, if we had been a little bit more focused on second balls on set plays, we wouldn't concede, we'd be there fighting for at least a tie, in the end. So that's the first thing. The other thing is to avoid, to avoid the other team being able to, when they win the ball, be so comfortable and attack immediately to us," he said.

"We need to be much better. We'll work on that, for sure. The main thing for me we need to work on is being more structured when we have the ball. You see even in the second half, if you have more of the ball than the dangers are a little less."

It's that loss of structure which ultimately led to Forge's third goal as, following a corner kick, the Wanderers failed to clear their lines. Johnston jumped on a loose ball but took too heavy a touch on the edge of his own box, leading to a turnover. Ben Paton calmly collected it and sent a chip towards Hoce Massunda, who was still in a dangerous area but unmarked. He fired the ball past Carducci to give Forge a 3-1 lead.

It was, in many ways, a match Sartini said he and his players will take the lessons from and try to forget.

"Probably, we need to try and not match up their quality but to try and make an ugly game sometimes and be better than them in different things. We didn't do it. We didn't plan for this. But I think we need to really set up our priorities in order to be ready to go," said Sartini.

And they won't have long to ruminate as Forge await them for their Canadian Championship tilt next week. It'll be a chance for Sartini and his players to show what they've learned from a match they're looking to forget.

Editor's Note: This article is part of our free coverage.

Cover Photo Credit: Trevor MacMillan / Halifax Wanderers FC