Season-opening loss hasn’t dented Valour FC’s optimism

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This article was published 18/04/2024 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The opening 24 minutes of Jordan Swibel’s Valour FC debut couldn’t have gone any better.

In last Sunday’s road tilt at Vancouver FC, the Australian forward scored on a header to give Winnipeg’s professional soccer club an early 1-0 advantage in their first match of the season.

“It’s the kind of things you dream of,” Swibel said Thursday. “I was ecstatic.”

The final 66-plus minutes resembled something closer to a nightmare as Vancouver rattled off four unanswered goals for a convincing 4-1 victory.

To add salt to the wound, Vancouver tied the game right before the first half whistle thanks to a goal from former Valour forward Moses Dyer.

It’s too soon to chalk it up as Valour being Valour (they own the lowest winning percentage out of the six original teams), but it’s not an encouraging start to 2024.

“I think we all know where the club has been and we know where we want to take it,” said Swibel, 25.

“But in saying that, it’s early. I mean, it’s one game out of 28. There’s 27 to go, a lot of points up for grabs, and a lot of football to be played.”

It doesn’t get easier from here as Valour takes on Pacific FC (1-0-0) Friday night at 9 p.m. CT.

The Winnipeggers own a 1-4-14 all-time record against the team from Langford, B.C.

“Look, it’s a very difficult place to come and play. They’re a team that has always accumulated a lot of points early in the season playing at home. But we have to come here twice (this year) so we need to try to get results in difficult places if you want to be a playoff team,” said Valour head coach Phillip Dos Santos.

“It’s a big challenge, but it’s a good challenge to have at this time of the year when you come off a result that we felt was a bit heavy for us.”

Valour’s first seven matches are all on the road as new turf is being installed at their home base. If they can get through this stretch, they will be in a strong position with 10 of their last 12 contests taking place at Princess Auto Stadium.

Their home opener is June 2 in a rematch with Vancouver.

“I think it’s great. A lot of people have been saying it’s going to be tough for us and it’s going to be a long trip. Yeah, it is a long trip, but we’re looking forward to it. It’s a challenge and a time for us to be with each other on the road and create memories on and off the field,” said Swibel.

“We get to come home to a brand new field and we hope to get as many fans out in Winnipeg as possible. We want to bring success and joy to the city. I think that’s what they’ve been longing for in the football space. They’ve got the Jets and the Bombers who are successful teams and we want to be a part of that.”

As for those who are already panicking Valour is destined for another miserable season, Dos Santos doesn’t want to hear it.

“I have to think about down the line. For me, it’s about seeing a response from the team right away in the next game. The math will be done at the end and not now,” said Dos Santos.

”Imagine if I think the same way and lose hope and go ‘Ah, here we go again.’ I can’t think like that. I need to grab what we liked, what was positive for us, and work the team.”

Former Valour boss named interim coach

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Earlier this week Rob Gale was named the interim head coach of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Portland Thorns.

Gale, who coached Valour from 2018-21 before being let go, joined Portland last season as an assistant. The 46-year-old from Winnipeg takes over after Mike Norris was moved to technical director after a slow start to the year.

Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair plays for the Thorns.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

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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.