Valour open season with win at York United

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This article was published 16/04/2023 (1229 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Valour FC’s completely overhauled roster had a superb kickoff to the 2023 Canadian Premier League season.

Winnipeg’s pro soccer squad posted a 2-0 triumph over York United FC in Toronto on Sunday afternoon. Remarkably, 16 players from last year’s team that missed the playoffs have been replaced by Valour GM and coach Phillip Dos Santos.

“It reassures you. It reassures the team,” Dos Santos told reporters. “There’s the win and there’s the way you achieved the win. And then, when you get such a high number of new players coming in the first question is: are they willing to pay the price for each other? Are they willing to work with each other? Today there was no doubt that the guys worked for each other out there. They worked as a team, they committed to what we had proposed as a game plan.”

Valour notched both goals in the second half. The club opened the scoring in the 51st minute as midfielder Raphael Ohin — sidelined all of last year with a knee injury – blasted a shot toward the York net that was inadvertently headed past goalkeeper Nik Giantsopoulos for an own goal.

Just minutes later, Pacifique Niyongabire fed Anthony Novak for a pretty tally to seal the win.

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Valour booted six shots on the York United goal, while allowing just two on net. Goalkeeper Rayane Yesli earned the clean sheet in the win.

The Winnipeg club now prepares for its home opener on Saturday, April 22, at 6 p.m. when Atletico Ottawa visits IG Field.