Early goal not enough for Valour FC in Hamilton

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This article was published 16/06/2019 (2619 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT was a heartbreaker in Hamilton for Valour FC.

The Winnipeg club couldn’t have asked for a better start against Forge FC at Tim Hortons Field, but they failed to hang on.

Attacking midfielder Marco Bustos drilled a shot from the corner of the box in the opening minute of the game to give Valour an early 1-0 advantage. Valour spent the next 84 minutes fighting to keep their lead intact before substitute Jace Kotsopoulos scored on a header off a corner kick to tie the game. In the 90th minute, Forge took advantage of a corner kick again, but this time, it was an own goal. The ball went off of Valour captain Jordan Murrell and goalie Mathias Janssens couldn’t stop the game-winner from crossing the goal line. Valour is now 3-4-0 in Canadian Premier League action this season.

“Frustration is the best word,” Valour FC head coach Rob Gale said when asked to describe the tough 2-1 loss. “We were very good in the first half. We stuck to the game plan well. We gave away a few too many corners, but really, they didn’t trouble us other than the one time they slipped someone in behind and Martin (Arguiñarena) cleared (the ball off the goal line) behind Mathias. It’s human nature to sit back as the game goes later and try to protect your lead. We tried to make changes to try to get options over the top and get the lads to be as brave as they could be on the ball.”

Despite the early goal, Valour wasn’t able to find the back of the net again, or the net at all for that matter. The Bustos goal was Valour’s only shot on target all game, as their six other shots were either blocked or off target. Valour also lost the possession battle as they finished at 39.5 per cent. Valour has yet to score more than a single goal in a game since their season-opening 2-1 victory over Pacific FC on May 1. The loss also essentially guarantees Valour is out of the hunt for the spring season title. League-leading Cavalry FC beat FC Edmonton 3-0 earlier in the day to move to 6-0-0.

“There’s no point talking about a loss like that right after a game,” Gale said. “In terms of effort and commitment, they were very, very good. In terms of the first-half performance, they did everything we asked of them.”

Forge improved to 5-2-1 and officially clinched their spot to represent the CPL in the 2019 CONCACAF League. Since the inaugural CPL season doesn’t end before the 22-team tournament starts at the end of July, it was determined the CPL representative would be decided by the winner of the home and away spring season matches between the league’s three inaugural teams: Forge, Valour and FC Edmonton. Forge beat both Valour and Edmonton 2-0 earlier in the season.

Valour has three games left in the spring season, with their next match set for Thursday at IG Field as they welcome Pacific FC to town.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

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