Valour playing for pride, next season’s roster

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This article was published 04/10/2019 (2510 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Valour FC has three games remaining on the schedule, but they already know their dream of becoming the inaugural Canadian Premier League champion will not come to fruition.

The CPL final was made official last week. Forge FC will challenge Cavalry FC in a two-legged series that begins Oct. 26 to crown the league’s first champion. Cavalry, based out of Calgary, punched their ticket to the final months ago, as they finished five points ahead of Hamilton’s Forge to win the CPL spring season. Both teams continued their dominance in the fall campaign and they sit atop the table once again. With both sides having four games left, Forge sits in first with 31 points and Cavalry is right behind with 29. The next-closest team is York9 FC with 17 points. Valour and Pacific FC have 4-7-4 records to give them 16 points and put them in a tie for fourth place.

To earn a spot in the CPL final, a team must win the spring or fall season. If the same team wins both, which Cavalry has a chance to do, the team with the most total points over the course of the two seasons, which is already guaranteed to be Forge, earns a spot in the championship series.

For anyone who’s been following the CPL, it’s no surprise to see Cavalry and Forge in the final. The two clubs have shown since Day 1 they’re a tier above the five other teams in the league. Valour is a combined 0-8-1 against Cavalry and Forge this year and has been outscored 27-6 in those meetings. Valour’s latest disappointing result came Wednesday in Calgary, where Cavalry scored three times in the final five minutes to come away with a 4-1 victory. A month earlier, Cavalry stomped Valour 8-0 at IG Field.

“You’ve gotta give credit to Cavalry,” said Valour head coach Rob Gale prior to Friday afternoon’s training session at IG Field. “They’ve found ways all season long to take games that are close and find ways to win and that’s why they’re at the top of the table and we’re scrapping for third.”

Valour midfielder Dylan Carreiro was asked what makes Cavalry and Forge so much better than everyone else.

“Their will to win. They’re strong physically, they’re strong mentally and they work very hard together as a team,” said Carreiro, a Winnipeg native with a goal and two assists in 20 CPL games. “And in those special moments, they find ways to score goals or find ways to defend and win them games.”

Despite being knocked out of championship contention, Gale said the group is still as motivated as ever. Valour finished the spring season in last place, so even though there’s no prize for third place, an improved finish is something the squad finds worth playing for.

Valour can begin their climb to third spot this afternoon as they welcome FC Edmonton to IG Field with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. Valour is 2-1-1 against Edmonton this year.

“We want nine (points). Nothing else,” said Gale of the team’s goal in the final stretch of the season. “All teams are beatable. We’ve shown that. We feel good about our play.”

Valour is also looking beatable these days with all the bodies they’re missing. The Winnipeg team won’t have enough players to fill out its bench today.

“How long you got? Is there a limit on this interview?” joked Gale when asked for an injury update.

Goalie Mathias Janssens, midfielders Dylan Sacramento, Raphael Ohin, Louis Beland-Goyette and defender Jordan Murrell have all been ruled out for today’s contest due to injury.

‘In those special moments, they find ways to score goals’– Valour’s Dylan Carreiro , on Cavalry FC’s success

“Derek (McLennan, the team’s physiotherapist) is the busiest man in town,” Gale said with a smile. “He’s looking forward to the off-season.”

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Regardless of the standings, the players should have no trouble staying motivated. With this season being such a roller coaster, it would be no surprise to see Valour make several roster moves in the off-season.

These three games are a chance for players to show why they should be brought back next year or have a bigger role in the future. Carreiro said he and his teammates don’t need to be reminded of that.

“Every day you come, every training day you come, you’re fighting for next year. You’re fighting for another opportunity somewhere else. And I think no matter the situation we’re in now, every game is important. It’s broadcasted, it’s on the media, and it shows Rob the reason why you want to stay here or why you need to find another club and go somewhere else. But yeah, definitely. I think the most important thing is the will to want to stay here and performances are the biggest things,” Carreiro said.

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.

Every piece of reporting Taylor 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.