Tigers edge out 3-2 win over Huskies in pre-season matchup

The exciting Halifax derby pre-season tussle between the Dalhousie Tigers and Saint Mary's Huskies took place at the Huskies Stadium on Friday, August 25^th with the Tigers walking away with a 3-2 tight win.

Former HFX Wanderers FC midfielder Scott Firth (Windsor Junction, NS) started off his Huskies Stadium debut for the Saint Mary's Huskies by scoring the opening goal just over one minute into the game, as he beat a Tigers defender to the ball and fired a shot past Tigers goalkeeper Sinclair Astridge (Victoria, BC). 

Moments later the Tigers nearly equalized when forward Suliman Elomrani (Halifax, NS) made the first of his many runs on the Huskies goal, but just missed a chance by inches.

The keepers from both sides displayed some top-class goalkeeping which made it almost impossible for any shot to get through them resulting in a lot of corner kicks to be taken in this game. After being stymied on several attempts by Huskies goalkeeper Ryan Davis (Lake Loon, NS), the Tigers forwards switched up their attack strategy, with Elomrani and Mykeo Parker-Christmas (Halifax, NS), connecting on a nice passing play before finding teammate Ben Thompson (Hammonds Plains, NS), who beat Davis to tie the match at 1-1 in the 29^th minute. 

The Huskies attack kept trying to get good looks to get back in the lead but Astridge made several quality stops to keep the game tied.

Elomrani's (Halifax, NS) brilliant goal at the 33^rd minute brought the Tigers into the lead for the first time during this game. Subsequent efforts by Dalhousie's attack to further extend their lead were all stopped in its tracks by Davis. The score sat at 2-1 at half-time with the Tigers leading. 

The second half saw a couple of substitutions for both teams particularly notable being Tigers goalkeeper Emmett Workman (Halifax, NS) who put on a show-stopping end to the Huskies free kick attempt at the 51^st minute.  Tigers forward Mykeo Parker-Christmas found himself in a favorable position inside the box at the 54^th minute to extend the Tigers' lead to 3-2.

The Huskies got yet another free-kick opportunity in the 67^th minute where the ball was tapped in by a blazing fast Colby Mercer (Beaverbank, NS) off a cross from defender Woody Bain (Dartmouth, NS), but the linesman called off the goal due to offside.

The Huskies continued to press for an equalizer, with forward Jalen Loague (London, ON) finally breaking through with a goal to cut the score down to a one-goal advantage for the Tigers.

Bain made an attempt with a long shot at the 77^th minute that landed off target. Subsequent efforts by the entire Huskies team continued well after regulation into extra time, but ultimately the Tigers walked away with a close win. 

Both the Tigers and the Huskies will begin the 2023 AUS regular season on the road, as the Huskies head to Wolfville, N.S. to take on the Acadia Axemen, Friday, Sept. 1 at 7:15 p.m. 

The Tigers will head to St. John's, NL to visit the Memorial Sea-Hawks on Friday, Sept. 1, with kick-off scheduled for 7:15 p.m. NDT (6:45 p.m. ADT).

Game recap by Vivek Philendra, Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Eduardo Ibarra, Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics