The labyrinth known as the Canadian Premier League playoffs begins today when fifth-seed Pacific FC meets fourth-seed York United at 4:30 p.m. PT in the Greater Toronto Area.
The winner will advance to meet third-seed Atlético in the quarter-final on Sunday at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa.
The CPL is one of the few sports circuits outside curling to utilize the Page playoff system. PFC enters it at the lowest rung, meaning the Island club will play all its post-season games on the road.
The Tridents are in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season but with the longest route of any of the five playoff teams to the CBC nationally televised CPL championship game Nov. 9. That’s because they only recovered from a mid-season swoon by going 4-2-2 over the last eight games to claim the final playoff berth with a rain-drenched 1-0 win over regular-season champion Forge FC of Hamilton on the last day of the regular season last Saturday at Starlight Stadium.
“No one remembers what place you finished in the regular season if you win the whole thing,” said hometown Victoria-product Dario Zanatta, who scored the winning goal against Forge FC.
“I am confident we have more than enough in our squad to shock a few teams.”
The Tridents set themselves up for the win-and-in regular-season finale against the Hammers by edging York United 2-1 in the penultimate game of the regular season in Toronto on two late goals by 28-time Trinidad and Tobago-capped international striker Reon Moore. PFC will be hoping today for lightning to strike twice on the road against the Nine Stripes.
“They are a good team with good players,” said Zanatta, the former Canada Under-20 striker and Scottish Premiership pro.
“We have to stick to our game plan like last time against them by tiring them out by pressuring them up front.”
PFC forwards Zanatta and Moore will be crucial to that game plan.
“Our spirits are high,” said Zanatta.
With cause, it would appear.
“We’ve looked more like ourselves the last six games,” said PFC head coach James Merriman.
“Now it’s a blank slate and we have a chance to go there and do something on it.”
The match-up is a reprise of last year’s 4-5 playoff game, however at a different venue, won by PFC over York United on a late goal by Adonijah Reid in injury time at Starlight Stadium. The Tridents then shook off the cross-country travel on short rest to upset the third-seed HFX Wanderers 1-0 in Halifax in the quarter-final before finally being stopped by Cavalry FC in the semifinal round in Calgary.
“You take big experience from playing in games like that, including Canadian Championship knock-out games the last two years, pushing to the semifinals and playing difficult games against the [MLS Vancouver] Whitecaps,” Merriman said in his national pre-game media conference.
“And last season pushing to the league semifinal in Calgary. We have players in the locker room who were in those matches. That’s where we’ve really seen players really step up and show their leadership with a lot of belief and togetherness. We feel good with the belief and preparation going into this match. Our group is battle-tested. Guys like Kunle Dada-Luke, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, Sean Young and Josh Heard have been through it.”
Merriman described the decision of starting goalkeeper today as “extremely difficult” but would not show his hand and tip-off York. Victoria product and Canada-capped Sean Melvin played the last two regular-season games, holding York United at bay in the 2-1 win in Toronto and recording the clean sheet against Forge FC at Starlight Stadium, after regular starter Emil Gazdov was red-carded and suspended for one game in the third-to-last game of the regular season against Cavalry FC.
“Sean Melvin showed up to work every day [despite Gazdov getting most of the season starts]. He’s experienced and he’s a pro,” noted Merriman, after the Islander’s clean sheet against Forge FC.
PFC leads the all-time series against York United 9-7-7.
In the other playoff opener under the Page system, second-seed Cavalry FC travels to Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton on Sunday to play top-seed Forge FC. The winner advances to the championship game Nov. 9. The loser drops to the semifinal Nov. 2 to await the winner of Sunday’s quarter-final between third-seed Atlético Ottawa and either PFC/York.
