Welcome to this week's issue of Wandering the Tides, our weekly column about the happenings and didn’t-happenings of Halifax football.
The Wanderers
Away trips to Calgary have not been particularly successful for the Wanderers in the past, and expectations may have been tempered heading into this weekend. Even so, the team put together a fairly solid first half, even if the chance creation was not especially impressive.
Sartini likes to sit deep defensively and build through counterattacks, and we saw some of that on display, though the final execution remained an issue. I think Cavalry is simply too well-drilled to be caught off guard by a quick run down the flank, especially when there is not enough support in the box to make the most of it.
Unfortunately, things unravelled quickly in the second half as Ntignee and Klomp scored roughly 10 minutes apart, and you could visibly see the morale drain from the squad. The remainder of the match was a fairly subdued affair in which the Wanderers never really looked likely to find an equalizer, let alone pull off a miracle comeback.
Some fairly poor passing accuracy did not help matters either.
Statistically, the picture was not much prettier by the final whistle: just under 40 percent possession and only three shots recorded.
Morale is intangible. You cannot measure it, but you can tell when it is high and when it collapses. It was clear in this match that the team still struggles to regroup under pressure, and that is something that has to be addressed before the club can make the kind of statements it is trying to make.
Even if we assume that regularly beating Cavalry and Forge is not realistic right now, you still have to go out and fight like you mean it, even after conceding.
As a side note, it was a tense affair, with a combined 22 fouls and five yellow cards handed out.
The Tides
The Tides were off this weekend, no doubt earning some well-deserved rest.
Standings
The Wanderers remain 6th in the table, with 9 points keeping them just ahead of Vancouver and still within reach of the middle pack. It is a position that looks worse than it really is, as a couple of wins could quickly put them back into playoff contention. Two wins so far is nothing to get excited about, but Toronto sits 3rd with only three wins. The margins really are that thin.
The bad news is that the match on the 10th is an away game against Forge. How realistic is it to take even a point from that matchup right now?
Nothing has changed in the NSL table since we last talked.
As a reminder, the upcoming match on the 13th is a home game against the Calgary Wild.
