Welcome back to Wandering the Tides, where we take a look at Halifax in the NSL and CPL alike.
The Wanderers
We have two more games to the Wanderers' name, with a tussle against Pacific on the 26th and then a July 1st matchup against Ottawa.
The challenge against Pacific was perhaps not expected to be a difficult one. Regardless of any scoring woes, I think most would regard Halifax as the stronger side. What was perhaps more surprising was the nature of the match.
Pacific put up a spirited fight, with goals from fan favourite Bustos and Gomulka. Halifax replied with goals from Arilla and Johnston. However, defensive errors from Pacific also led to two own goals, bringing the regular-time score to 4-2. A rather careless foul and a subsequent penalty kick set the final score at 5-2.
Certainly a morale booster. It can be argued that some of the outcome came from Pacific errors, but Halifax’s pressure helped create those opportunities and forced those mistakes. Pacific showed up to compete, but Sartini’s setup went the distance.
The Canada Day game against Atlético Ottawa was a less pleasant outing, with Ottawa quickly going ahead by two goals and adding a penalty for a third, while a second-half effort pulled one back for a 3-1 final result. It was not for lack of effort, as Halifax had more possession and outshot the opposition as well, but ultimately struggled to make it count. Ottawa keeper Kalongo played a major role with an excellent performance. That’s not good news for the Wanderers, but fair is fair.
A mixed bag then, but six goals in two games is still something that feels pretty positive.
The Tides
Halifax–Calgary has often been a fixture that suits the Tides, but this time it turned into a far more stubborn affair, with the Wild arriving well-prepared to make life as difficult as possible.
Halifax were comfortable in possession and controlled large stretches of the game, but their opponents were clearly intent on avoiding another heavy defeat. Despite several promising chances, it took until late in the second half for the breakthrough, with Miller once again stepping up to add another crucial goal to her record for the Tides.
Overall, it was a solid day’s work, even if the scoreline didn’t fully reflect the volume of control Halifax had across the match.
Standings
A third win is what it takes to climb back into the table, landing in fourth place. It does feel a bit like watching the team ricochet up and down the standings, never quite settling in one spot for long. The gap to Ottawa is now five points, so it’s very much a case of “all hands on deck” from here on out.
Fortunately, the next match is against Pacific again. Even away at Starlight, this is the kind of fixture that Sartini will feel confident about taking all three points from.
Another win would keep the Tides on track in third place and still within striking distance of Montréal, who sit just a point ahead.
After that comes Toronto; a tough opponent on paper at the start of the season, though they’ve arguably been below expectations for a while. Three points are within reach, but Tides fans won’t mind quietly hoping Vancouver can do them a favour against Montréal as well.
