First To Fall: Halifax Wanderers Eliminated From Playoff Contention

Following their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Cavalry, the Halifax Wanderers received the unceremonious title of being the first club eliminated from playoff contention this season.

Halifax has recorded twelve losses this year, which is about the same as the three clubs ahead of them still in contention with a total deviance of just one match. However, it was the nine draws and a league-worst six wins that proved fatal for the club’s playoff aspirations.

With one game left to play, they’re now guaranteed to finish with the unwanted trivia fact of having more red cards than wins when 2024 comes to a close.

Much of last year’s playoff-bound squad stuck around for a second season under Patrice Gheisar, who brought in promising-sounding players like USL Championship veteran Christian Volesky while taking chances on proven talents with a chip on their shoulders like Ryan Telfer and Julian Dunn.

Things went off-track at the starting whistle, however, with the east coast side recording its slowest start in league history. It took the club ten games to record a win, having opened to the tune of five losses and four draws. Even the Canadian Championship was no reprieve with the club falling to semi-pro side CS Saint-Laurent.

As Daniel Nimick opined, it was ‘do or die’ time for the Wanderers all the way back at the start of May.

For the disastrous season that ultimately unfolded, the Wanderers are a bit of an enigma: they truly aren’t playing badly. Their 35 goals scored is better than all but three clubs, but it’s contrasted by a league-worst 42 goals against. If they had constructed a more resolute defensive plan, they’d probably have bagged playoffs instead of being the first to fall.

Road form proved to be an Achilles heel for the club this year, with Halifax collecting just one win away from home as the Wanderers ultimately earned just six of a possible forty-two points on the road. Travel difficulties have been a chronic issue for the club extending beyond Patrice Gheisar’s reign.

It’s now clear some of the gambled signings didn’t pay off (Volesky returned to Monterey Bay after failing to make any impact out east and Julian Dunn suffered another injury-plagued season), while even surprise MVP midseason reinforcement Sean Rea didn’t exactly rack up minutes. Patrice Gheisar evidently came close to a winning recipe of entertaining, attacking football that just – and only just – didn’t have the right mix of stock in the soup.

In a salary-capped competition like the CPL, being off on a key ingredient is the difference between a playoff-bound broth and a bitter aftertaste.

That never stopped the home crowds from ferociously supporting their boys in blue, however, with Wanderers Grounds continuing to be an absolute staple of what an intimate CPL venue should be. With ownership still pressing for permanent grounds, the fact that Halifax turns up through good times and bad showcases what a delightful staple it is for the city.

Sturdy centre-back Daniel Nimick somehow found himself a golden boot contender, with the defender delivering an incredible eight goals so far. All but one of those came through a penalty, with Halifax leading the league in terms of fouls received. Given that they also have the least fouls committed, however, their discipline in red card situations will rightfully be called into question.

Another eyebrow-raiser is that the Wanderers had the most shots-on-target per game of any club barring Forge, who took the regular season championship. They lead the league in big chances (59) and are right up there with the leaders for accurate crosses and touches in the opposition box, so finding someone up top who really takes those chances when they come will be top of Halifax’s shopping list.

As the final whistle approaches, this will go down as a tough season for Wanderers fans to watch. It’s a tale of what one felt might could have, or should have, been. It’s a club on the precipice of something, of recapturing the magic formula that it struck so well in 2023, but this year it truly stuck to its philosophical intentions to a fault.

As the league evolves, however, so too does the formula. Now tasked with closing at home against York United, club brass will already be looking at how to serve a winning recipe come 2025.

Header Image Photo Credit: John Jacques