Valour FC finally back in the win column

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This article was published 16/06/2023 (1175 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The effort was the best it’s been in weeks and, in many ways, Valour FC looked the part of a club that’s finally healthy and could be ready to assume some prestige within the Canadian Premier League.

Winnipeg’s side blanked defending champion Forge FC 2-0 at IG Field on Friday, ending an eight-game winless streak (six draws, two losses) that dates back to the end of April.

Valour’s stiff defence was up to the task against a perpetually potent Forge offence. Defender Guilamme Pianelli — who tallied his first professional goal — and Walter Ponce struck in both halves respectively, and keeper Rayanne Yesli made six saves to register his league-leading fourth clean sheet of the season, while captain Andrew Jean-Baptiste made his home season debut on his 31st birthday, coming off the bench to play the final 20 minutes.

“Today was a fight,” said head coach Phillip Dos Santos. “For me, it was very important to see the response of the team after a performance where we felt that — you know, sometimes things don’t go your way football-wise and tactically you’re not well. But when it’s effort, as a coach, it’s the worst thing to see because it’s a mindset.

“It’s something that could creep into your locker room very fast, so, for me, it was about making sure that we would respond in that matter.”

Valour improved to 2-6-2 on the campaign while Forge dropped to 4-4-3, losing for the third time in the last four matches.

It was the second matchup in a little more than a month between the two foes. The clubs collided in a thriller at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton on May 13 that ended in a 3-2 victory for Forge.

This one produced fewer fireworks, but left Valour on the right side of the score.

A slow start for Winnipeg’s side gave way to an impressive second half, led by an offensive attack that found a spark after going silent for the better part of a month. Valour had been held scoreless in two of its previous three matches entering Friday’s affair, and owned the fewest goals for in the league (eight).

Things changed quickly in the 38th minute following a yellow card to Forge’s Rezart Rama. Indeed, it had appeared as though a much-needed shot of energy zipped through the Valour lineup like a lightning bolt at the time.

Moments later, the hosts were awarded their first corner kick of the match, which came off the foot of Kian Williams, who sent an arching kick into a sea of bodies where Pianelli leaped and waved a beautiful header into the Forge goal to give Valour its first lead in five matches, in the 39th minute.

“The last few games, we haven’t finished our chances. But during the week, we’ve worked in those situations and I think we just capitalized on them today,” said midfielder Juan Pablo Sanchez.

“I’m extremely happy (for Pianelli). Those are things that you dream of as a kid and I’m just buzzing for him. He deserves it and I think the fans deserve it, too. I’m just very proud of the boys.”

In the 63rd minute, following a barrage of pressure from the hosts, Ponce picked a volley clean out of the air and blasted a shot past ‘keeper Tristan Henry to double Valour’s lead.

Valour settled for a league-leading six draws while nursing a lineup that was without most of its backline and some key contributors at the start of the season. A disappointing effort in a loss to the Halifax Wanderers with a squad regaining its health left a spiralling feeling entering Friday’s contest.

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Needless to say, a convincing victory against one of the league’s best was exactly what the doctor ordered for Valour.

“We had to get something,” Dos Santos said of the offensive breakthrough. “It was time to get something and it came at the right time for us.”

Valour begins a busy week Wednesday when they travel to Langford, B.C., to face Pacific FC (9 p.m. CT) before hosting the CPL’s newest franchise, Vancouver FC, at IG Field on Sunday, June 25 (2 p.m.).

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam

Joshua Frey-Sam
Reporter

Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.

Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.