LANGLEY,
May 17, 2025
Recap: Vancouver FC 0-2 HFX Waderers

Vancouver FC returned to action after a week off, following their penalty shootout victory over Pacific FC in the preliminary round of the Canadian Championship. Before that, Vancouver had defeated Valour FC 3–1, making this an opportunity to string together three consecutive wins.

Vancouver has had a slow start to the 2025 season, and a win over the much-improved HFX Wanderers would give them some momentum. However, the Wanderers had lost their previous game 3–0 at home to Cavalry and were surely eager to bounce back and keep pace with Atlético Ottawa, who sat three points ahead of them in the league table.

The home side came out strong in the first half and took the game to the Wanderers, creating several good scoring chances—including a fantastic 22-yard shot by Mehdi Essoussi in the 14th minute that beat the Wanderers’ goalkeeper but struck the crossbar.

The Eagles continued to press early in the second half, nearly scoring on a set piece. However, as the weather changed and the game was temporarily halted for thirty minutes due to lightning in the area, so did the momentum. The Wanderers began to take control of the match, and just two minutes after the restart, they opened the scoring in the 60th minute. A through ball found Ryan Telfer, whose perfectly placed low shot found the corner of the Vancouver goal.

Full credit to Vancouver, as they began to reclaim the initiative and created some scoring opportunities in the later stages of the game. However, HFX Wanderers sealed the victory in the 93rd minute.

The hosts played with a more positive attitude, something that had been missing so far in 2025. It sets the stage for a potentially exciting match on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in the first leg of their Canadian Championship quarterfinal series against Cavalry FC. If Vancouver FC can advance, it could set up a thrilling all-Vancouver semifinal against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Now that would be exciting for soccer in Vancouver!