Valour FC hangin’ in in P.E.I.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/09/2020 (2160 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rob Gale definitely knows his pop culture, kicking out a couple of clever references Tuesday to describe the journey his soccer squad has been on this season.

“It was like Survivor at the start and now I think it’s more like the Hunger Games,” Valour FC’s affable head coach said, by telephone, 24 hours before the Winnipeg team was schedule to meet the HFX (Halifax) Wanderers in a pivotal Canadian Premier League match.

Valour and HFX collide at noon Wednesday in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Eight teams are vying for the CPL championship in a ‘bubble’ tournament — labelled ‘The Island Games’ — owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We had a chance to eliminate Edmonton (on Saturday) and we did that. If we win (today), we eliminate Halifax. So, that’s gotta be the mindset,” Gale said. “Hopefully, we can raise our level of performance again and continue on in these games.”

Valour’s tidy 2-1 triumph over FC Edmonton raised the club’s record to a pair of wins, a draw and two defeats in five games, with just two games left to play in the first stage of competition. Gale’s group must finish in the top four to advance to the second stage.

Seven squads are still in the fight. Forge FC (Hamilton) and Cavalry FC (Calgary) lead with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Pacific FC (Victoria) has eight points, Valour and York9 (Ontario) each has seven, the Wanderers have six and Atletico Ottawa has five.

Winnipeg plays its seventh game in 21 days Saturday, wrapping up the round robin against front-running Forge FC.

Gale said he’s been blown away by the strength and resilience demonstrated by his 23-man roster, which underwent a major overhaul during the off-season. 

“The schedule is brutal. It’s almost the same for everybody, although our draw is a little harder because we were the last team to get going and so it’s packed up toward the end,” he said. “We don’t have four days off in any part of the tournament. Forge will have six days off before they play against us in the final game. I’m really proud of the group to have gone through everything and to now play probably the toughest schedule and to still be in contention with two games to go. All credit to our players.”

A few players hadn’t met prior to the squad coming together inside the bubble, yet have created a cohesive force, Gale said, noting care has been taken to ensure each individual is coping under trying conditions in a season like no other.

“The league offered up a sports psychologist off the field for anybody to use, and I think we were the only team that took the league up on it. As a staff we always preach about caring more about the person than the player, and to have that resource for them to talk about the stresses has been really important,” he said. “We’re trying to find that balance of being a pro athlete and getting through as human beings, with so much going on in the world… COVID-19, the important issues of social justice.

“Life here isn’t just about the wins and the highs or the defeats and the lows. We live somewhere in the middle and manage expectations that way.”

While star keeper and national team hopeful James Pantemis — with a pair of shutouts — has been called on for all five matches, Gale has not been shy to alter his other starting 10. And he’s got a strong bench at his disposal as well, illustrated Saturday when midfielder Daryl Fordyce and attacker Masta Kacher were substituted in and booted goals in the second half.  

Just four other players — Fraser Aird, Dylan Carreiro, José Galán and Andrew Jean-Baptiste — have scored for Valour this season. Unmistakably, its most effective trait is its ability to defend, surrendering the fewest goals (five) of any of its CPL brethren.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

The Warm-Up

Winnipeg Jets Game Days

On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.

Sign up for The Warm-Up

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

“We knew we’d have a top-level goalie for this level. But the defending is being done right from the front. The group knows in order for us to be successful, it’s group defending,” Gale said. “There’s no finger pointing or blame. It’s about taking responsibility to do a job.”

The Wanderers have one victory but have earned three draws to go with one defeat. They also boast two of the league’s most dynamic attackers, Akeem Garcia and João Morelli (each with three goals), although the latter will be sidelined Wednesday as he’s serving the first of a two-game suspension for an elbow he threw Saturday against York9.

“Halifax is a good team in transition. They’re physical in the back end but smaller, more mobile as an attacking unit, clever movements,” Gale offered. “They try and shift, so you’ve gotta be organized defensively.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell