Doing math and dissecting hypotheticals is not a part of Stephen Hart's preparation for Tuesday's critical Canadian Premier League game against Pacific FC.
It doesn't matter to the HFX Wanderers FC coach what combination of results and scenarios puts his team into the Island Games final, he just wants his players to simpify it all by playing to win.
"I'm not going to worry about depending on what happens with the other result and all of that," Hart said. "We have the way we want to approach the game. I have a type of squad in mind, trying to figure out who they will be playing, and we're going to approach the game that way. Whatever happens in the other game, it's not in my control at all and it would be wrong to sit around waiting for something to happen to make decisions."
The top two teams from the group stage advance to Saturday's championship game. Heading into Tuesday's final two games of the group stage, Halifax (1-0-1) is tied with Forge FC (1-0-1) with four points, Cavalry FC (1-1-0) is one back with three and Pacific FC (0-0-2) is out of it. Forge and Cavalry face each other at 2 p.m. and the Wanderers and Pacific play at 9 p.m.
Even though Pacific is already eliminated, Hart fully expects an intense effort from an opponent who will be pushing hard to avoid going winless in the playoff round.
"I think they're going to come out and, arguably, play one of their best games," Hart said. "There's nothing to lose, they're completely relaxed now and they're playing for pride. They've got a very good coach and they've played some beautiful football in the tournament so they have the potential to do very, very well. They're going to come to prove a point."
For the Wanderers' part, it will be the same basic set of priorities as always - finding a way to rise to the challenge mentally and physically yet again. A key feature of the Island Games has been a condensed schedule that demands players dig deep one day after the other.
"It's normal," Hart said. "And it's normal at the highest level, especially when you're playing so many emotional games and you have two days' rest and small squads. It is something that you just have to try and help the players individually manage themselves through it because it's an individual thing. It's not a team thing. But once individuals start breaking down, it becomes a team problem. For me, I expected it.
"I think we've been really, really good in terms of our resilience. Our medical team with Danielle (McNally) has done a fantastic job of keeping everybody as healthy as possible."
Tactically, it would be a surprise to see Halifax take a conservative approach. The Wanderers have made their mark at the tournament with their aggressive, attacking style of play that has helped produce the league's top two scorers - Akeem Garcia (six goals) and Joao Morelli (four goals).
"I think it's been a part of our plans and we started it in the pre-season training because of the type of personnel we brough into the team," Hart said. "(We are) trying to defend in different ways and not just to be able to be aggressive, but to be in a situation where you could drop off, absorb the pressure and pull teams forward. So we've been working steadily on that - on how to recover the ball in different situations. I'm pleased the players have bought into it."
