Valour squanders lead, settles for tie against Pacific FC

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This article was published 28/05/2022 (1562 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A opportunity to notch a rare win against Pacific FC was missed for Valour FC in Langford, B.C., Saturday night.

The club fell to 2-3-2 this season, settling for a 2-2 draw with Pacific FC after holding a two-goal lead in the match.

Winnipeg’s all-time record against Pacific FC is now 1-1-11 after the contest. It would’ve been Valour’s first win over Pacific since May 2019 if they held the lead, now they’ll have to wait until July for a shot at redemption.

“I have to stay positive and I take it on the chin,” said Valour head coach Phillip Dos Santos. “It’s one of those where you had the three points, but you move on. You move on and you take the point and that point was the one that kept us out of the playoffs last year so we have to take it and accept it and move on.”

Valour midfielder Sean Rea opened the scoring with a beautiful goal in the 36th minute of the match. Rea picked up the ball following a Pacific cross, charged downfield and sent a powerful strike from a long distance over the head of opposing goalkeeper Callum Irving.

The highlight-reel tally looked like another moment of heroism for Rea, who scored a late-game winner for Valour on May 15. But that turned out not to be the case as the match progressed.

Winnipeg owned the first half, outshooting their opponent and controlling possession 51 per cent to Pacific’s 49 per cent. The opening half of Saturday’s contest was highly competitive, despite Valour emerging with the lead. Both clubs had chances to score and their defences were sharp.

“We needed to get something out of today’s game,” said Dos Santos.

The momentum from taking a one-goal lead into the break carried into the second half of Saturday’s match for Valour.

Captain Daryl Fordyce blasted a goal past Irving, collecting the ball off a corner kick and made good work of the second chance increasing Winnipeg’s lead. Fordyce’s 48th minute tally was the end of his club’s scoring for the night.

“We just try and jump on the moment,” said Fordyce.

Pacific is at the top of the table for a reason and they wouldn’t go away without a fight.

A clearing attempt by Valour midfielder Jacob Carlos was picked off by Pacific in the 56th minute. Gianni dos Santos made Carlos and Valour pay, blasting a rocket past goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.

Dos Santos’ marker gave Pacific much-needed momentum and the home side showed more life following the goal.

In the 70th minute Valour manager Phillip Dos Santos subbed in Walter Ponce for Carlos and Federico Pena for Andy Baquero. Then the balance of the match shifted as soon as it seemed Winnipeg could ride out the clock after making substitutions.

Canadian Premier League (CPL) leading goal scorer Alejandro Diaz Liceaga tied the match with his sixth goal this season in the 71st minute, snuffing out Winnipeg’s chance at a win.

“You get a point on the road against Pacific, you take it,” said Valour coach Dos Santos. “Now we need to also learn how to play with a lead and and keep the lead because it’s been a few games now that we get a goal and we have the chance to secure a result that is better for us.”

Valour returns to game action in Manitoba’s capital June 1 against Atletico Ottawa, whom they beat 6-1 back in April. It will be a prime opportunity for victory after facing the CPL’s top-two teams in back-to-back weeks.

“You go away to Calgary and then you go away to Pacific, it’s probably the two toughest places to go in the league,” said Fordyce. “We put up great fights in both games.”

Valour’s Dos Santos is looking forward to some home cooking after playing five of the season’s first seven matches on the road. His club’s next three matches will be at IG Field.

“I think that we need to grow in every game, in every moment,” said Dos Santos. “I think it’s important it that… hasn’t been easy for us.”

“We’ve embraced adversity well and all of that makes you grow as a team,” he added.

gavin.axelrod@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: Gavin77axe