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HFX Wanderers FC will face another strong challenge when they host Calvary FC on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams played the first legs of their third-round Canadian Championship series on Wednesday night and even with the quick turnaround should be in top form for today’s 4:30 p.m. start at the Wanderers Grounds.

“Two difficult opponents, of course,” said Wanderers head coach Stephen Hart. “We had the game against Ottawa which I thought we fought well, but unfortunately we came up short but we are still in the competition. Then we have (Cavalry FC) the champions of the first half of the season so it’s two situations where we are up against some quality.”

The Wanderers lost 3-2 to the United Soccer League’s Ottawa Fury in a drama-filled game at the Wanderers Grounds on Wednesday while Cavalry played to a scoreless draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer.

Cavalry FC surprised many with their effort and had a glorious chance late in the second half to go up a goal but was turned away by a brilliant save by Whitecaps keeper Maxime Crepeau.

“We’re two teams that have had very little rest,” said Hart. “Also we’ve had very little time to prepare because of the nature of our season at the moment. We’ve played each other a couple of times now and are familiar with how they play.”

The Calgary-based team was the runaway winner in the Canadian Premier League’s spring season with an 8-2 record that included a 2-1 win over the Wanderers in Halifax on June 19 and a 2-0 victory at home on May 25.

The Wanderers tied for fourth in the spring session at 3-5-2.

Hart said he believes his team is up to Saturday’s test, especially with another large home crowd expected.

“Cavalry are a difficult opponent in that they have many, many weapons and they are a team that has been together for a couple of years now. We will try to rebound from a slight disappointment from Wednesday night.”

Defensive miscues that led to a pair of Fury goals took some of the lustre off a strong performance by the Wanderers. Hart said the Wanderers spent some time analyzing the defensive side of their game.

“We’ve had discussions and video sessions on trying to eliminate those errors and what exactly we can do better,” said Hart. “We did a little session today (Friday) for about an hour where we tried to address recognizing the situation in different parts of the field and how to deal with it.”

Another factor according to Hart is the high number of minutes the players on the back end have played.

“If I’m being fair, the players at the back have been playing almost every minute because of injuries so they’ve been playing almost every game since May. There is a mental fatigue probably involved there but there’s also the fact that there is a bit of inexperience, especially in playing against higher level opponents so to speak. It’s a learning experience.”

The Wanderers will learn on the fly with little time to implement changes against another top-flight club. Hart said Cavalry offers a slightly different challenge than Ottawa.

“They (Cavalry) are a little more at times direct, they put you under pressure and so that way they are similar to Ottawa, but they are also a team that knows how to possess the ball and move it around. Different from Ottawa, they play a high pressing game that they are very effective at.”