Preview: Shaffelburg looking forward to Canadian Championship clash with hometown HFX Wanderers

When Toronto FC take the pitch against the Canadian Premier League’s HFX Wanderers FC for the first time in franchise history on Tuesday evening for their Canadian Championship quarter-final matchup, it’ll be a milestone moment for the club, but even more special for Nova Scotia's Jacob Shaffelburg.

With the game taking place at Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, NS., it’ll mark the first time that Shaffelburg’s Toronto FC will play a professional match in his home province.

“It’s the coolest thing ever for me,” said Shaffelburg from the BMO Training Ground earlier this month. "It’ll be one of those surreal moments of just being able to play in front of my whole family. … Pretty much everybody that has helped me along the way back home through soccer, to see them there and be able to watch will be a really cool moment for me.”

Shaffelburg grew up in Port Williams, NS., about an hour away from Wanderers Grounds. He describes it as a small town of roughly 1500 people, so everyone knows everyone, even by their cars. Admittedly, the town is ‘pretty hockey dominated,’ but everybody back home has been happy to see the 22-year-old wingback succeeding with TFC.

He’s expecting all of his family members – aunts, uncles, grandparents, and his girlfriend’s family as well – to be in attendance.

“[My girlfriend’s] mom is already freaking out trying to get her younger sister’s whole soccer team to go to the game and everything, so it should be a lot of fun,” said Shaffelburg with a laugh.

However, there is a chance that Shaffelburg does not feature in Tuesday’s match. He has missed the last five games with a lower-body injury suffered in training. He is close to returning, but head coach Bob Bradley said after Saturday's match that ‘it was too early’ to say whether Shaffelburg would be fit enough to participate.

Nevertheless, Shaffelburg will be there supporting his side, adding that he also follows HFX Wanderers through their social media accounts, keeping up with the progress of the Canadian Premier League club on a weekly basis.

He says he’s been amazed by the way the team has been able to capture the town

“It’s cool to see honestly because for me growing up, we didn’t have anything like that,” said Shaffelburg. “We just had the university teams, so to see that is the coolest thing ever. I wish I had that growing up, so it’s really nice for Nova Scotia to have that.”

“You walk around the city there and everywhere they have scarfs, flags, and the culture there is pretty outgoing, so it’s a fun place to play,” added teammate Lukas MacNaughton, who has made several trips out east while playing for Pacific FC.

MacNaughton joined Toronto this offseason after leading Pacific FC to their first North Star Shield in 2021. He says he has nothing left to prove and is simply looking forward to returning to Halifax and playing against the CanPL side again.

One thing MacNaughton is expecting, however, is a Toronto FC victory.

“I think we should beat them,” he said. “They have very good players, I know most of them. They’ve added some new guys, but historically, I’ve felt like I’ve done well against them so we know what to look for.”

This will be the third time in TFC history that they’ve faced a Canadian Premier League opponent. Last season, the Reds stormed past York United 4-0 before edging past Pacific FC 2-1 in the Canadian Championship.

Fielding a team flooded with inexperienced youngsters, there’s a legitimate argument to be made that Toronto FC have been the worst team in MLS through their first 13 games of the season. They’re just one point better than the Chicago Fire and Vancouver Whitecaps but own the worst expected goal differential by a large margin.

That being said, TFC are certainly better than last year, and HFX may be the worst CanPL side that they’ve faced. Through seven games, the Wanderers have collected just eight points, and sit second from the bottom in the Canadian Premier League table.

But it’s not like Toronto is invincible. The Reds haven’t won in their last six games and played just three days ago in a hot and humid climate, so much so that the match had to be pushed back two hours because of the weather conditions. They’re also dealing with a flurry of injuries, including to designated player Alejandro Pozuelo.

If there was ever a time for a CanPL side to upset the Reds, it would be on Tuesday.

“We’re not loaded with all sorts of options at the moment,” said Bradley after Saturday’s draw. “Canadian Championships are an important part of history for the club, so we take it seriously … we already talked briefly after this game about how important the Canadian Championship is and what it means even as far as if we can win it, we get in the Champions League.”

The winner of Tuesday’s game will advance to the semifinals where they’ll face the winner of CF Montréal and Forge FC later next month.

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