Goals explosion no big surprise

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This article was published 28/04/2022 (1404 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Apparently the Winnipeg Football Club owns two teams that score touchdowns.

Their soccer unit, Valour FC, is coming off of an incredible road performance where they stomped Atlético Ottawa 6-1 last Sunday to earn their first victory of the Canadian Premier League season.

“I always said I feel this team has goals in it,” head coach and general manager Phillip Dos Santos told the Free Press.

Their scoring outburst came at a perfect time as Valour was 0-1-1 after their first two matches.

Moses Dyer and Alessandro Riggi each scored a pair and Rocco Romeo and Brett Levis chipped in with markers of their own. Forward William Akio didn’t get credited with the assists, but he set up three of the strikes, and was named the CPL’s Player of the Week.

“I would give thanks to our offence, but it’s mainly thanks to the way we were defending,” said the 28-year-old Riggi, who signed with Valour in the offseason after two years with HFX Wanderers FC.

“The system the staff wants us playing is a high press. If we execute it properly, it means we recovered the ball closer to the opponent’s goal which makes the transition a lot easier to get goals. So, I think that went pretty well on Sunday.”

No kidding.

But it wasn’t all fun and games. Star defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste made his long awaited return after the torn ACL he suffered last season, but he left after 32 minutes due to a hamstring injury. The former MLS talent from New York will not be ready to play the team’s home opener at IG Field Sunday at 1:30 p.m. against Forge FC (1-1-1).

“It’s gonna be a couple weeks before he’s able to contribute and be with us again,” said Dos Santos.

“That I’m telling you right away. I don’t want to create a hype or false expectations for anyone. I’m actually relieved when I say this because when I saw him go down the way he went down, I said ‘Oh no, not again.’ It looked like it could’ve been his right knee, but I was relieved when they said ‘No, no, it’s his hamstring.’”

With or without their best player, Valour is eager to finally play in front of their fans — even if the weather in town has been less than stellar.

“The weather? We’ve been through worse,” said Riggi, who’s questionable for Sunday after suffering an injury in Ottawa

“… Weather (aside), we’re excited to play at home. We’re excited to see how many fans come out and support. Regardless of how many come, our goal is to just keep entertaining week in and week out so by the end of the year, the last 15 games we’ll be having record attendance in the stands. We want to help the game grow in this city.”

Forge, who won the first two CPL championships, is also coming off an impressive effort after beating FC Edmonton 3-0.

“(They’ve) just been a team that’s been consistent in the league. But it’s just a team. Like any other team, they’re human beings,” said Riggi on Forge. “So we just have to, obviously, respect them, but come out hungry and come out showing that we don’t fear them and that we’re here to take three points. You can’t forget that this is our home. People should be scared to play in our house and not vice versa.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31