July 30, 2023...Match Analysis: Fernandez screamer, Morelli heroics lead Halifax Wanderers past York United (from canpl.ca)
MATCH ANALYSIS: Fernandez screamer, Morelli heroics lead Halifax Wanderers past York United
2023-07-30
by CHARLIE O’CONNOR-CLARKE, DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR (@CHARLIEJCLARKE)
Final Score: York United 0-2 Halifax Wanderers
Goalscorers: Fernandez 45', Morelli 61'
Game of the 2023 season: 69
CPL match: 436
Match in a minute or less
Halifax Wanderers leapt into fourth place in the CPL table on Sunday, beating York United 2-0 at York Lions Stadium
for the Nova Scotia club’s first away win of 2023.
After a strange first half that saw both sides need to make changes due to injury, the Wanderers took a lead into halftime
as Zachary Fernandez hit a screamer from well outside the box in the 45th minute to put his side ahead. Although York
had some second-half chances, Halifax doubled their lead and put the game to bed around the hour mark as João Morelli
— one of those first-half subs — scored on a counter-attack for his first goal since suffering an ACL injury.
The match ended tensely, as the tackles got a little rougher — including a Matthew Baldisimo challenge on Morelli that
earned him a red card — but the Wanderers held on for what may be a pivotal victory.
Three Observations
Morelli’s recovery journey comes full circle with goal at York
Sometimes the story really does write itself.
João Morelli, the CPL’s 2021 Player of the Year and Golden Boot winner, scored his last goal on this pitch back
on April 7, 2022 — opening day of last season — to secure a 1-0 win for the Wanderers. A week later, he tore his ACL in Ottawa.
On Sunday, Morelli made a triumphant return to York Lions Stadium, coming off the bench in the 34th minute — much earlier
than he’d expected, due to Théo Collomb’s injury — for his longest shift yet since returning to Halifax after that knee
injury. If anybody had forgotten what kind of player Morelli is, he reminded them quickly — and not just by pointing
to the back of his shirt in celebration.
Morelli wasn’t the only hero in this game for Halifax — Zach Fernandez’s likely goal of the month candidate must not
be forgotten — but for him to score, as he did, was a touching moment for the Brazilian.
“This is where I scored my last goal, and I thought it would be the last of my career for a long time,” Morelli said
postmatch. “It’s funny how things happen; I got the chance to come on in the first half and I was waiting for that opportunity
because the team is playing well, it’s hard for the coaches to simply but me in and say like, ‘Oh, I can take someone out,’
because our front four is impeccable too. This is football, it happens like this and I’m really proud of myself and the team.”
With that goal, Morelli moved into a tie with Akeem Garcia for the most goals (all competitions) in Wanderers history
at 21, and a four-way tie for fifth in the entire CPL’s all-time leaderboard.
Indeed, Morelli could probably have had another goal or two with the Wanderers striking so dangerously in transition
— particularly later in the match when York were pushing forward in search of a way back into the game. Patrice Gheisar
suggested postmatch that the Morelli of a few weeks from now, when he’s at full fitness, might score a hat trick
in this game.
“João is a big part of this team. The plan was not to play him that much; he has been on me — I’m sure he made comments
about me, he already said that I’m crazy; I think he’s crazy, maybe that’s why we get along,” Gheisar joked. “So I was
proud of him.”
The triumphant comeback story had to start somewhere, and João Morelli has now properly reintroduced himself to the CPL.
Wanderers roll with punches for resilient win; first-half subs force adjustments for both
No manager ever wants to make a substitution in the first half; the tactical plan built in training is usually designed
to carry a team through at least a half, if not 60 minutes or so before fresh legs can come in to change the game.
Unfortunately, things did not go to plan for either side on Sunday. York boss Martin Nash was forced into a change
just 20 minutes in when Brem Soumaoro went down, meaning Matthew Baldisimo — who left last week’s game at halftime with
an injury — had to play the latter 70 minutes in midfield.
Not long after, York fullback Jonathan Grant collided in the air with Wanderers forward Théo Collomb, and both coaches
had to make a change this time, as Max Ferrari came in for the hosts and João Morelli for Halifax. Of course, this latter
pair of subs fall under IFAB’s protocol for concussion substitutes, meaning neither side lost one of their five changes,
but nonetheless those caused both coaches to adjust their squads significantly.
For York, Baldisimo in for Soumaoro was fairly like-for-like, but Ferrari came in to play at left-back, meaning Paris Gee
had to switch over to the right — a comfortable position for him, but nonetheless a change from the assignment
he’d prepared for.
Halifax, meanwhile, switched their attacking shape, with Morelli coming in to play at centre-forward — kind of a false
nine, occasionally — and Massimo Ferrin moving to the right.
Ultimately, it seemed the Wanderers adjusted better, and their coach Patrice Gheisar was full of praise postmatch for
his side’s confident, resilient win away from home.
“I felt we were in search of this game since February 1,” Gheisar said. “A game that, yeah, sure, they’re an excellent
team with really high-end players, they’re gonna get chances, but most of the time we were in control of the game.
For that, I’m really proud of the group. We talked about 60, 45, 80 — we haven’t got that 90. So that was as close
as we could get against one of, in my opinion, the best attacking teams in the league.”
York held goalless at home for third straight as attack suffers
Last weekend, York United seemed to attack with some freedom in the early stages at Valour FC and scored twice in the
first 10 minutes. This week, though, a similar story to the prior two matches at York Lions Stadium unfolded.
The Nine Stripes are now goalless in three straight home matches. They had nine shots in this game, but just 16 touches
in the box and 0.63 expected goals. Osaze De Rosario, the starting centre-forward, had just one shot (off target).
Martin Nash was left puzzled and frustrated postmatch; there are no easy answers for this problem, but York absolutely
have to find a way to improve their home form. Just two of their seven wins this year have come at home. They head out
on the road now for a three-game trip, but York have a four-game homestand at the end of the season before their last
match on the road, which may make or break their push for the playoffs — as long as they can ensure they’re in a good
position by the time they get there.
“Usually you come home and that’s where you usually play your best, and for whatever reason five of our seven wins
are on the road,” Nash said. “We go on the road, we stick together, stay connected, and for whatever reason at home,
if we get off to a good start we seem to be alright, but if we don’t, we struggle. We’ve got to find out; we’ve been
trying to figure out why we can’t have the same output at home as we were able to produce on the road, which
is crazy to me.”
Similarly, Elijah Adekugbe was searching for answers to York’s troubling home form.
“It’s a funny thing, I don’t know what it is,” he said. “I guess when you play on the road there’s no expectation,
you’re free; even if you lose it’s almost like, we’re on the road anyway, it’s an easy escape. Maybe with that added
expectation and pressure at home… But ultimately we have a group that’s got a lot of experienced players that have been
in these positions before. Usually at home it’s easier because you have the crowd behind you, you feel that energy,
and unfortunately that hasn’t happened the last couple games.”
No matter what, the Nine Stripes will be keen on picking up some points on this coming road trip before prioritizing
fixing their attacking play at home.
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
João Morelli, Halifax Wanderers
Partly for narrative reasons, but Morelli really did seem to lift the Wanderers up in his hour or so of work in this match.
He scored and created two chances (one of which probably should’ve been an assist), and was in many ways the director
of Halifax’s counter-attacking system in the second half. Honourable mentions to Fernandez for his screamer
and Lorenzo Callegari, who was near-perfect on the ball especially late as the Wanderers suffocated the game.
What’s next?
York United head back out on the road next weekend as they’ll be in the nation’s capital taking on Atlético Ottawa
on Saturday, Aug. 5 (7 p.m. ET). The Wanderers, meanwhile, will welcome Pacific FC to Halifax in a holiday Monday matinee
on Aug. 7 (3 p.m. AT/2 p.m. ET).
Watch all CPL matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980
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