Canadian Premier League, Pacific FC, Vancouver FC

Third straight win for Eagles over Pacific in Salish Sea Derby

By Samuel Rowan & Marko Kolobara.

On Saturday afternoon, Pacific FC made their way over on the ferry to contest the first Salish Sea Derby of the 2024 season against Vancouver FC. The Eagles, defending their home pitch, would secure victory, as the match ended 2-1 after a late match-winner from Vasco Fry. With the win, the Eagles took their unbeaten streak in the rivalry to three straight matches.

After an impressive road outing against the defending CPL Playoff Champions, Forge FC, last weekend on the road, Vancouver was looking to take some momentum back to Willoughby Community Park, with the chance to jump as high as second in the league table, restoring their early-season form.

After a month where VFC struggled to secure points, a road win over Forge appeared to be exactly what the Eagles needed in order to restore their confidence. On the other side of the pitch, James Merriman’s squad were recovering from their first loss of the season, a 1-0 defeat to Atlético Ottawa last weekend. 

Pacific had been impressive to that point in the season, especially as they had not conceded a goal up until the Ottawa match, at least in league play (shout-out to TSS Rovers). Despite this success, scoring goals had been a problem for the Tridents, and they knew this coming into the matchup with Vancouver.

To start the game, Ghotbi chose to line up his squad in the 4-2-3-1 formation. Only one change was made from last week’s starting XI, and that was David Norman Jr, who would start beside Allan Enyou in place of Rocco Romeo, who was not in the squad for Saturday’s matchup after he injured his ankle at training in the lead-up to the match.  Other than that, the VFC lineup was basically what we’ve come to expect this season. 

For Merriman’s side, they have not yet found a regular starting eleven that plays week in and week out. His squad lined up in a 4-3-3 formation, with some of their regulars like Meilleur-Giguere, Cedric Toussaint, and Steffen Yeates all starting.

The match would prove to be a tightly contested, although perhaps a bit tentative, affair from the jump.

In the 5th minute, Pacific was awarded a corner kick and they proceeded to take it short. Yeates attempted to cross the ball into the box; however, the young Allan Enyou put himself in the ball’s path and cleared it out of the eighteen-yard box.

There, the ball fell to Cedric Toussaint, who played a short lob over the Eagles’ back line to a running Josh Heard. As Vancouver’s defenders stood flat-footed for a moment, Heard had the space to take a shot on the half-volley. His shot struck the arm of a scrambling Norman Jr, and it would be as clear-cut of a penalty decision as you are ever going to get.

After the penalty was awarded, Aymen Sellouf stepped up and confidently slotted the ball past Callum Irving to make it 1-0 for Pacific.

The next stage of the match went by at a slower pace, with neither side’s manager being particularly pleased with proceedings. For a rivalry matchup that has produced such drama, the first 40 minutes on Saturday at Willoughby was rather tame and uneventful, at least in comparison to last season in these fixtures.

Nonetheless, the Eagles managed to find a way to get the match back to level terms before the half. In the 40th minute, Vancouver’s persistence would see them profit. Paris Gee received the ball on his left-hand side of the pitch after a deep cross from Moses Dyer. Gee hit a low ball of his own back across the face of goal, and as it bounced through the area, Dyer was the man in position to bundle the ball home in a crowd of Pacific defenders.

It was not a particularly pretty or well orchestrated goal, but it was exactly what Vancouver needed to find a spark before halftime, as they’d go to the break level with the score 1-1. Pacific would take a couple more chances to find glory at the end of the first half, but they couldn’t come up with anything to really test Callum Irving’s abilities.

The intensity of the match took a significant step up after the score was levelled, and this was evident quickly, as Vasco Fry left his studs up on an aggressive challenge which would see him yellow carded in the 45th minute. This intensity continued in the second half, which certainly added to the entertainment factor.

After the break, both sides came out aggressively. They traded chances and yellow cards, but neither side could create something decisive. Vancouver had good moments in transition but struggled with their final touch, while Pacific was far too often unimaginative in their build-up, electing to play hopeful long-balls to Josh Heard rather than making simple passes and playing patiently through their talented midfield.

Pacific’s best moments came down the left side of the pitch, as at times they were able to catch Kadin Chung high up the pitch, running in behind him and putting pressure on Allan Enyou, who held up remarkably well to the challenge.

The Eagles responded in the 69th, as they adjusted their shape, swapping off Alejandro Diaz and Kadin Chung, replacing them with James Cameron and Ben Fisk. Vancouver also brought on 16-year-old Grady McDonnell for Mikaël Cantave. McDonnell, who was making his home debut for the club, played well in a big spot, demonstrating that he has the physicality and maturity necessary for the pro game, even at such a young age.

As the match went past the 80th minute mark, the crowd began to wonder if this would be the first time we saw a draw in the Salish Sea Derby – which has been most often punctuated by dramatic late goals.

As it turned out, this match would keep the tradition alive.

In the 85th minute, the Eagles finally found the decisive breakthrough they were looking for. After the ball went out for a Pacific goal kick, the Tridents restarted play far too casually, and the Eagles were able to take advantage.

José Navarro and Vasco Fry won the ball back from Pacific at the edge of the visitors’ box, and although Navarro’s initial shot was blocked, Fry was right there to slot the ball home, securing a match-winner for one of VFC’s most impactful players so far this season.

Although supporters who made the trip over from the Island might bemoan how their side gave the match away, full credit also has to be given to Afshin Ghotbi and his side, who made better adjustments as the match went on, and took advantage of a Pacific defensive unit which had seldom given up goals, let alone cheap ones, to this point in the season.

Vancouver FC has shown that they can win matches in a variety of ways this year, and they have also demonstrated their much-improved mentality from year one, as once again, the Eagles went behind at home early, but were able to rally and secure a good points haul against talented opposition.

For Pacific, as good as they have defended so far this season, something like this was going to happen eventually. It’s important now that Merriman and his side find a way to attack with more creativity, as what we saw against Vancouver on Saturday won’t be good enough as the season goes on. It feels like the Tridents desperately need a commanding presence to lead their line, but I’m not sure where that’s going to come from.

With the win, the Eagles are back up to second in the CPL table, while Pacific drops down to third. Vancouver FC now has the all-time lead in this rivalry, with a record of three wins and two loses. The win on Saturday, along with the win last week on the road at Forge, prove that the Eagles are not to be taken lightly, and that they are here to make a statement this season.

Next week, VFC will head out on the road to Winnipeg, facing Valour FC on June 2nd at Princess Auto Stadium.

(Image Credit: Beau Chevalier)

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