| Halifax Wanderers FC vs. Pacific FC April 18 at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. MT Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, Nova Scotia Watch Live: OneSoccer Tickets available here |
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A Sartini Spritz or two might be on the menu this weekend, because the Halifax Wanderers will play their 2026 home opener at the Wanderers Grounds on Saturday, introducing Vanni Sartini to the Kitchen for the first time.
The Maritime club will take on West Coast foes Pacific FC, who have made their first road trip of the season all the way across the country to try and jumpstart their season.
The Wanderers have gotten off to a solid start under Sartini's reign, starting the season undefeated from two away matches. They beat Vancouver FC in Matchweek 1 thanks to a Lorenzo Callegari free kick screamer, and last week against Inter Toronto they got a couple of timely equalizers to leave with a 2-2 draw. Halifax have yet to score from open play though, so that might be the next step of evolution Sartini is looking for.
"The second game was much better than the first one," Sartini told reporters Friday. "Offensively, we were able to create several chances, and in the end we did score again, twice on set-pieces. ... We need to be more efficient in the last 30 yards. We need to be, in one opinion, faster. We're able to bring the ball forward, and then when we play in the traffic, because there's traffic in the last 30 yards, we need to be taking sharper decisions, playing faster."
Now, they return to Halifax hoping to keep the momentum going. Last time they played in front of their home fans, they lost a penalty shootout thriller in the playoffs to Toronto (then York United). They're 4-1-1 historically in home openers though, and beat Pacific in last year's.
Speaking of Pacific, the Tridents have had a tougher start to the season. They lost both of their first two at home, first to Cavalry FC and then last week to FC Supra du Québec. The latter was the more frustrating for coach James Merriman, who lamented his side's defending in a game where they equalized twice but lost 3-2 to a 97th-minute winner.
Merriman, who has coached against Sartini three times in the Canadian Championship when the latter was manager of the Vancouver Whitecaps, has picked up a couple early tendencies in the new-look Wanderers.
"[Halifax] leave their two strikers high, man to man on the centre-backs," Merriman said. "They're not afraid to go direct. They're good in second balls. They've been able to withstand some spells where they're under pressure and still come out with positive results, so I think the biggest thing for them is they've had two performances where they've done the job."
Pacific have never started a season 0-0-2 before, and they'll be desperate not to lose three straight to begin the year. Last week against Supra, Merriman was encouraged by his attacking play, but he'll have tough calls to make with his defence this week with a few injuries as well as a suspension to Joshua Belluz.
These sides had a fairly even record against each other last year (two wins for Halifax, one for Pacific and one draw), but Halifax won convincingly both times the Tridents visited the Wanderers Grounds.
There have traditionally been plenty of goals when these sides meet, but both teams have another gear to hit.
NEWS & NOTES
- Pacific FC's Joshua Belluz is suspended and will not be eligible. Fellow centre-back Juan Quintana is also unlikely to be available, having arrived in training earlier this week. However, Merriman said that Ronan Kratt is getting closer to full match fitness and could play a larger role.
- Halifax are getting a few faces back; Sartini told reporters that Lucas Olguin and Yohan Baï are available after missing last week.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Halifax Wanderers: Carducci; Alphonse, Meilleur-Giguère, Sow; Telfer, Arilla, Johnston, Callegari, Godinho; Kachwele, Baï
Pacific FC: Melvin; Marshall, Tugwell, Konincks, Greco-Taylor; Gomulka, Baldisimo, Daniels; Bustos, Díaz, Heard
KEY QUOTES
"I always say one of the reasons I accepted immediately the proposal of the Wanderers is the fact that every time I watched games on TV it looked like the atmosphere was really buzzing and was really, really top. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, to having our first game at home and first game on grass. It's going to be really exciting." — Halifax Wanderers head coach Vanni Sartini
"We need to find the balance of wanting to be with the ball and control possession and create chances and create good attacks, and be balanced and ready to transition defensively. ... When you have a new back line, they're still finding their form and their trust with each other." — Pacific FC head coach James Merriman
