Wanderers progress undefeated despite 'naïve' draw versus Pacific FC
The momentum was palpable, the Wanderers delivering a stirring taste of head coach Vanni Sartini's hard rock football throughout the second half of Saturday's home opener. Pacific FC were pinned and conceding corners. Later, speaking to reporters post-match, Sartini proclaimed of the half: "We smashed them."
So, when centre-back Finn Linder was pulled down in the box by Tridents captain Josh Heard following a myriad of opportunities, it felt inevitable that the Wanderers would take the lead and, likely, three points. Midfielder Isaiah Johnston dutifully stepped up to the spot and scored in the 76th minute, beating Pacific 'keeper Sean Melvin with a confident shot to the bottom left corner.
The Wanderers were cruising with a 2-1 lead.
The result felt all but assured as, only minutes later, Heard was given a red card for a reckless boot on Wanderers youngster Lucas Olguin. But, for all of their opportunities, not to mention their man advantage, the final minutes of a good performance by the Wanderers was marred by what their coach called "naïve" decision-making and a moment of individual brilliance as Bul Juach — one of Pacific's off-season additions — dribbled through Halifax's back line and leveled the score at the death.
There's no doubt it feels like two points lost for the Wanderers given how they played. But there's also positives to take as they continue their season versus FC Supra next week.
Tweaks lead to more offensive opportunities
The Wanderers made a couple of changes to how they set up versus Pacific, with Jason Bahamboula, who had been playing as part of a striker partnership, deployed as wing-back and veteran Ryan Telfer shuffled up front.
However, despite plenty of pressure, Sartini's men struggled to create dangerous opportunities as Pacific funneled them wide. The Wanderers managed only a single shot (0.11 xG) through 45 minutes of play.
"We were thinking they were going to defend much deeper so we wanted to have Jason (Bahamboula) as a wing-back to go one-on-one, Marcus (Godinho) to play on his wrong foot on the left, to come inside, maybe cross," Sartini explained of his changes at half-time.
"Then we saw that they were actually kind of playing a mid-block, so leaving space in behind. So, we said, let's try and exploit the space in behind with two players and put players on their natural foot there for crosses and you could see we had three or four chances, even the first goal, came from this combination.
"It allowed us to be more fluid in the second half."
The tweaks, which moved Bahamboula back up to striker and put Godinho on the right side and Telfer on the left, led to Halifax's best half of the season as they systematically put Pacific's defence on their heels. The Wanderers held 65 per cent possession through the second stanza and sent 14 shots towards goal. They finished the match with 11 shots inside Pacific's box.
Pacific's lone shot in the second half, of course, was their equalizer in the 97th minute.
It's also important to note the Wanderers also scored a goal from open play. Halifax's first three goals of the season had all been a result of set pieces but a nifty cross from Johnston, who was the architect of Halifax's resurgence, found striker Cyprian Kachwele in the 56th minute for a curling header, his first goal for the club. Kachwele had certainly been the more involved of Halifax's strike partnership through the first three matches (six shots) so it felt like a matter of time before he found the back of the net.
Despite dropping two points, Wanderers should build from a strong second half which showcased their offensive potential.
Players continue to adjust to new roles
It may be a trope to consistently mention how many new players are donning Wanderers kits this season, not to mention the new coaching staff, but it remains true: this is a squad adjusting to each other.
But it's not just the new faces that are figuring out their place.
Johnston, who was Halifax's best player on Saturday, started this season in a very different role from the one he played under former head coach Patrice Gheisar. Last year, Johnston played as part of a double pivot with midfielder Lorenzo Callegari and was very involved in the build up.
However, as witnessed in his performance versus Vancouver FC to begin the season, Sartini has tasked the 24-year old with being more of a threat offensively by making runs further up the pitch. His role has since been tweaked so that he's not the most forward midfielder of the Wanderers' midfield triangle but he continues to play higher up than 2025.
"It was a big adjustment to what Vanni's asking me to do compared to what I had to do last year," Johnston said post-match.
"Even for myself, it's been a learning curve in terms of his system and in terms of my personal role. I think, same thing from a personal perspective, I think you can see me growing into my role and what he's been asking me to do more and more every game."
Johnston, in his own words, is a microcosm of the squad.
"With any team that has so much turnover, both staff and players, I think you're going to see some learning curves, especially when you first come into the season and competitive games but I think you can see every game we have longer periods and stretches where we're starting to dominate and keep teams pinned in their half and create chances from open play.
"I think it's just going to get better and better as we continue to play more games."
Johnston finished the match with a goal, an assist, three shots, four key passes (passes that lead to a teammate's shot) and three interceptions.
Naïve decisions lead to dropped points
Johnston also didn't pull any punches post-match in his analysis: "To concede like that in the 97th minute is really tough, and quite frankly, unacceptable for where this team wants to be and where we can be. But we take that we’re undefeated and we keep moving.”
His coach echoed his statement minutes later as Sartini said, despite a good showing, they dropped points through silly mistakes. But his wording was interesting.
“Unfortunately, we were very naïve in the end. If not, we would be top of the league now. That’s a little bit of the bitter taste you have in your mouth," he said.
"We're all pissed off because we conceded the goal in the last second, but if we had played better in the first half, it would have been maybe 3-1 or 4-1."
What's interesting about Sartini's language is that, despite having some younger players like Olguin and Linder in the fold, the spine of the squad is in their prime. They should not be naïve. Be it Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, who was undressed by Juach in the equalizer, or Marco Carducci, who got beat far post, the Wanderers core is in place to avoid meltdowns like the one on Saturday.
It's important to note that Sartini didn't call out any individual players. But his message was clear: he expects his leaders to be more pragmatic late in matches.
In the end, he chalked it up to the football gods.
"It's karma, I would say. It was very good, the first game of the season, winning it but not deserving it. Today, we deserved to win and we didn't win. At the end, we're still undefeated, we're still going and we'll try to get the points back immediately in Montréal on Friday," he said.
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 / HFX Wanderers FC
