Pacific FC hosts Vancouver FC
Tonight’s Canadian Premier League game at Starlight Stadium will have all the surrounding glitter as a stand-alone TSN nationally-televised derby under Friday night lights.
The only thing missing is any sign of on-field success this season of the B.C. derby participants. Host Pacific FC is in sixth place with two wins, eight losses and two draws. Vancouver FC is in eighth and last place at 1-7-3. Tonight’s derby has must-win written all over it for both clubs.
“It needs to start [tonight] with a Friday night game in front of our fans. It’s on TSN. It’s a derby match. It’s a big occasion. I’m sure the team is going to show up and be there and be on the front foot,” said PFC head coach James Merriman.
“It’s a very important game for us, absolutely. We’ve set a certain standard here, winning the championship in 2021, and we were right there in 2022 as well and were OK in 2023 and 2024. Now we’re fighting at the other end of the table. We know it’s not good enough and we need to improve and be better on the field. The fans have high expectations and we want to give the fans what they want. We accept that challenge.”
Marco Bustos, the six-time Canada-capped forward who returned to PFC this season after two years in the Swedish Premiership Allsvenskan, knows the importance of this game.
“You have the feeling it’s a must-win game and the biggest game so far of our season,” said Bustos.
Five former Tridents — including goalkeeper Callum Irving and 1-2 PFC all-time club scoring leaders Alejandro Diaz and Terran Campbell — return to Starlight Stadium tonight as members of VFC.
“A derby always gives more to the game but the biggest thing about this game is that we are both pretty much sitting on the same number of points,” said Bustos.
“It’s three points for the taking to hopefully to get away from them and set us up [for the rest of the season]. It doesn’t matter if it’s Vancouver, or whoever it is, now is the time that we need to turn it around and know that we can win games and score goals. This is the perfect game to do that.”
Scoring goals hasn’t been easy this season for PFC, which is the lowest scoring team in the CPL with only eight goals in 12 games and just one in the last six games.
“It’s no secret we are lacking goals,” said Bustos.
“It happens to a lot of teams in this world. We just have to stick to what we are doing in training and working every day on our finishing and showing up in the right spaces. I believe when one falls for us, it’s going to open up and come in numbers.”
VFC leads the all-time series over PFC 5-3-2.
[email protected]