Slow start costly for Valour

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This article was published 15/06/2022 (1373 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been anything but a home sweet home for Winnipeg Valour FC during a three-game homestand at IG Field, which ended with a 4-2 loss to Cavalry FC Wednesday night.

The club is now winless in five-straight matches with their last victory coming May 15 at home against York United. It’s been a tough stretch for Valour, dropping matches to Cavalry and Atletico Ottawa while settling for draws against FC Edmonton and Pacific FC.

It’ll be well over a month since the club took three points when it play its next match June 26 on the road against York United.

“These guys are pros they’re on the field every day, they understand the dynamics,” said Valour head coach Phillip Dos Santos. “I think it’s work. We have to work, we have to make sure that we go back to simple things that we understand where our references are and make sure we don’t overcomplicate things for the players.”

Valour’s last match prior to their loss against Cavalry was a 1-1 draw at home against FC Edmonton June 5. The time off certainly didn’t do them any favours in a nightmare start against their opponent Wednesday night.

It took less than five minutes for the visitors to get on the board. When a team strikes first so early in a match it’d be fair to expect a highlight-reel play or a set piece executed to perfection, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, Valour’s Stefan Cebara was credited with an own-goal after a Cavalry corner kick was sent through traffic, deflecting off him and squeaking past goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.

Eleven minutes later Cavalry struck again, this time with a goal from midfielder Sergio Camargo. The play began when a Valour clearing attempt was picked off by Cavalry’s Elliot Simmons, who found Camargo for the side’s second goal in less than 20 minutes of play.

“There’s things that you can do when you’re playing in the park with your friends there are others that you can’t,” said Dos Santos. “This is a pro team and there’s things that you can’t do and the mistake of the second goal can’t happen.”

The home side found itself down 2-0 when the referee blew his whistle to end the first half, but wasn’t entirely outplayed considering the score. Valour matched its opponent with three shots in the half and had a slight edge in possession at 54.1 per cent to 49.5 per cent.

Whatever Dos Santos told his group during the break appeared to work, as Valour newcomer Walter Ponce scored on an acrobatic finish 11 minutes into the second half. Ponce’s goal ended Cavalry goalkeeper Marco Carducci’s bid for a fifth clean sheet this season and gave Winnipeg a much-needed burst of energy.

“Ponce was the most positive thing that we saw tonight with the team,” said Dos Santos. “I think that you’re seeing Ponce growing more and more every game and today was probably his best game.”

“The goal he scores is a difficult goal to score, I think that was one of the brightest aspects of the game today.”

Just as things were looking up for Valour and the match seemed within reach its window of opportunity slammed shut.

Cavalry captain Mason Trafford redirected a free-kick, helping the visitors retake their two-goal lead in the 60th minute. Trafford walked right in unmarked for the goal, which was his first of the season. Valour’s back line paid the price again in the 64th minute when Cavalry forward Aribim Pepple was also allowed to walk in and collected his own rebound for a goal.

“We have to look at the moments in which it happened, sometimes these things happen when your team is already in an emergency situation and you can’t give too much attention to that,” said Dos Santos.

The home side snuck in another goal before the end of the match, but any shot at a comeback had already slipped away.

Following a lacklustre homestand, Valour’s attention turns to a two-game road trip in Ontario to close out the month.

“We just need to deal with certain situations better,” said Dos Santos.

Gavin.Axelrod@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: Gavin77axe