Late slump costs Valour playoff spot

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This article was published 03/10/2022 (1425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Another October, another CPL post-season that won’t feature Valour FC.

Winnipeg’s Premier League side was officially eliminated from playoff contention Sunday evening after falling 2-1 to Calgary’s Cavalry FC at ATCO Field. It’s a fall from grace for what was the league’s hottest club just a few weeks ago, a squad that looked primed to wreak havoc in its first-ever post-season appearance.

The group has faltered mightily down the home stretch (0-3-1 in their last four matches), however, and fallen outside of the final four for the fourth-straight season, leaving Valour without a playoff appearance since 2019, when it started as one of the original teams in the CPL.

“It was just a mix of disappointment and just a bit sad,” said defender Brett Levis of his feeling following the club’s fateful loss to Cavalry.

“You know that the season has essentially come to an end – we have a game left – but not making playoffs, knowing that it is our last game and knowing that you’re not going to be playing with some of these players again, whether you stay or they go or vice-versa.”

Valour had firm control of their destiny entering the final five games of the season after a four-game homestand in late August that saw them capture 10 out of a possible 12 points. A perplexing loss to seventh-place Halifax — and a disappointing draw with Ottawa — quickly brought the club back down to earth and required them to be near perfect on the road for the last three matches of the season.

“I think there were plenty of times where it was completely in our hands to clinch a playoff spot and, unfortunately, we weren’t able to get it done. The sport can be cruel sometimes,” said Levis, in his third season with Valour.

“It’s hard to pinpoint, but I think it’s just a mix of maturity in games when you need to win and you need to pick up points. And also over the course of the year, dropping points when it was completely in our control, whether we were winning a game and then getting a red card or a defensive error that’s very amateur in the sense of a textbook ‘this shouldn’t happen.’”

The team stopped short of saying their goodbyes in the locker room following Sunday’s match, as the team still has one more game against FC Edmonton on Saturday at Clarke Stadium.

While meaningless in the standings, it’s a matchup that holds some weight in the way of the club reaching personal and collective millstones. Players such as Sean Rea, who leads the league in assists (nine), can put their stamp on impressive years. A win would also give Winnipeg 40 points on the campaign, the most in a season since joining the CPL.

“Objectives weren’t met, but right away after that you have to be a pro, knowing there’s still one game to be played and it’s not a time for a post-mortem,” said head coach Phillip Dos Santos, adding “that time will come in a week’s time.”

Much of the club’s frustration stems from fielding what many believe to be its most talented roster ever, yet failing to overcome challenges they faced along the road.

Dos Santos said going without key midfielder Kevin Rendon and scoring threat Daniel Ascanio until July 15 due to issues with their work visas, were challenging obstacles for the club to face. The arrival of Ascanio, who suffered a season-ending injury four matches after arriving, was also a major reason the club was comfortable transferring star player William Akio to Ross County FC earlier this season.

“You can’t afford to have three, four guys arriving in July because of paperwork and visas… because you lose competitiveness inside the roster,” said Dos Santos, who is concluding his first full season as bench boss. “You need to start from day one with everyone ready to hit the ground and ready to go and ready to fight.”

“Then it’s the shift in mentality. I think for you to win and to shift mentality, you need guys that have won and that bring that into a locker room. And I think we have that in our locker room but we need more. We need more.”

Dos Santos conceded his club lacked a true scoring threat this season outside of New Zealander Moses Dyer, who leads the club with nine goals. Dyer started the season at a blistering pace that gave way to injuries down the stretch. Appearing in just 21 matches this season, Dyer still has the fifth-most goals in the league.

Dos Santos referenced Atlético Ottawa, who revamped much of its roster last off-season and are now the top seed entering the playoffs. Unlike Ottawa, he said he doesn’t think his club needs an overhaul to get over the hump, but rather needs to strike a balance between adding talent and maintaining continuity within his roster.

Captain Andrew Jean-Baptiste said he believes Valour “would’ve sent a big message” had they clinched a playoff berth.

“It’s extremely frustrating because if you take a look at the results we’ve had against the four teams that clinched playoffs… I knew that all we had to do was just make playoffs. And knowing how we are winning against these teams, it wouldn’t be a walk in the park but I know for sure we can come out on the other end.”

Jean-Baptiste, one of Valour’s most important players, is one who’s dealt with some adverse circumstances over the past year. After tearing his ACL last July, the Haitian defender returned this season but nursed other nagging injuries as the season progressed.

Despite the team coming up short of the playoffs, Jean-Baptiste knows the 2022 campaign was an important one for him personally.

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“It was quite a roller-coaster of emotions and a lot of mental tests to kind of help me get back on the field just because I needed to be there for my team, and ultimately for myself, as well,” he said.

“I know this was something that I told myself I wanted to do, I set myself out to come back and be an important piece to this team. Knowing that I had to miss games due to other issues was hurting for me and I’m just glad that I was able to push through and make it this far.”

The 2022 CPL post-season will include (in order of standings) Atlétcio Ottawa, Forge FC, Cavalry FC and Pacific FC.

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.