First-half woes haunt Valour FC in Hamilton

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This article was published 24/06/2024 (830 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Valour FC is like that beloved old car trying to start in the depths of winter — it just needs some time to get going.

Unfortunately for them, late starts haven’t been conducive to wins in the Canadian Premier League this season.

For the second week in a row, Winnipeg’s pro soccer club found themselves in an early two-goal deficit that cost them the match. Despite being followed by a much stronger performance in the second half, this week’s first-half woes led to a 2-1 defeat to Forge FC in Hamilton on Sunday.

It was an eerily similar tale to the one Valour authored nine days earlier at home in a 3-2 loss to Pacific FC — which saw the club claw back from down two goals only to concede an own-goal late in the second half — and was followed by head coach Phillip Dos Santos publicly challenging his squad to play with more humility and urgency in the opening 45 minutes.

It’s tough to tell if his players heard him, as Forge midfielder Kwasi Poku struck twice in the first 31 minutes of Sunday’s match.

“Two games in a row where I feel that we stepped into the game timid and then when we’re in the hole we react to it,” said Dos Santos.

“It’s unfortunate because I felt that the response was good. I felt that for what we created, they also had their chances… but I think that our response is a lot more of what we want to be about and that’s what gives me hope.”

The distance between Valour and the chase pack of the table continues to widen as the club now sits at 2-1-8 on the season, seven points behind sixth-placed Calvary FC. Forge improved to 5-2-3, good for second place behind Atlético Ottawa.

It was Abdul Binate’s first CPL goal in the 71st minute that drew Valour within one, but the club would not be rewarded for their strong play again.

The hosts controlled 63.4 per cent of the possession while outshooting Valour 7-3 — 3-0 on target — and creating two big chances to the visitor’s one in the first half.

It was a different story second act, as Valour held the ball 57 per cent of the time while out-chancing Forge 2-1 and outshooting them 11-5.

“We have a good side, we have a good group of players,” Dos Santos said. “It’s young. At times, we forget to play 90 minutes and that has hurt us, so it’s about pushing the guys, it’s about making them understand that this is how the game goes if you play large periods where you don’t compete enough.

“I have to hold onto the positives here, I have to make sure that we build from there, that we understand that the season is no longer young but it’s still a deficit of points that is possible for us and we need to try and find stability and consistency in order to try and close the gap and meet our objectives.”

Valour will try to regroup for a two-match home stand, beginning with York United (5-2-4) on Thursday (6:30 p.m.).

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

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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.

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