Valour FC’s 2024 Canadian Premier League debut began with a stellar opening act and then quickly decayed into an absolutely forgetful performance.
Winnipeg’s professional soccer squad — a group which underwent more change than any other in the CPL over the winter – opened the scoring but ultimately fell 4-1 to Vancouver FC at the Langley Events Centre Sunday night in a disappointing season opener.
“We have to find ways. We have to find a solution,” said Valour GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos in his post-match press conference. “We have to find what was good and positive from this game, be able to be more aggressive in how we harass the opposition – we gave them too much time and space on the ball – and just keep growing the team.
“I was sitting in the same day last season feeling very good about our team on a 2-1 win in York (in last year’s season opener) and it was the after that became more important. Now we have to breathe, we have to get our head up and keep working and understand this is far from being a sprint.
“It’s going to be a marathon.”
Playing the first of seven league matches on the road to open the schedule partly because of the new turf being installed at Princess Auto Stadium, Valour began with a bang as new Aussie forward Jordan Swibel headed home a perfect volley into the box by Themi Antonoglou in the 24th minute.
But a mistake near the end of the first half led to the equalizer by old friend Moses Dyer – Valour’s all-time leading scorer, now with Vancouver – in the 45th minute and then the club conceded two more goals in the first eight minutes of the second half; the first by Paris Gee in the 37th minute and the second by Gabriel Bitar six minutes later.
And any chance of a valiant rally was snuffed out not long after, as Valour winger Jordan Faria picked up his second yellow card of the match after referee Alain Ruch called him for diving with that decision leaving the visitors with just 10 men to the final whistle.
David Norman, Jr. sealed the deal for Vancouver with a goal in the 67th minute.
“We didn’t come out of the blocks quick enough (in the second half),” said Swibel. “We started very well in the first half and nullified most of their threats. “That’s football. It’s split seconds and little moments and if you’re not switched on for the full 90-95 minutes you get punished, and that’s what happened to us today.”
Valour will be back at it Friday night in Victoria against Pacific FC.
“We have a very strong group. Football’s a funny game,” said Swibel. “People will get caught up in the result today, but I thought we played very well. We’ve got seven games (to open) on the road. That’s one of them. It’s done. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the three points. But we’ll regroup. We’ve got a game on Friday – quick turnaround – and then a lot of games coming up.
“There are positives and also some things to work on. We’re just looking to put this one behind us, park it. It’s one and done. It’s a long season with 27 games left and lots of points up for grabs. Things can change very quickly and we’re looking forward to Friday’s game.
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‘V’ NOTES
-Faria’s double-yellow and ejection means he will not be available Friday in Victoria.
-Valour was without forward Kian Williams, midfielders Raphael Ohin and Marcello Polisi and centre back Tass Mourdoukoutas – all of whom are at various stages of recovery from offseason or training knocks.
-Forward Joe Hanson entered the game as a substitute in the 62nd minute, making him the first player from the Yukon to play in the CPL. Hanson, 20, hails from Whitehorse.
Valour FC 1 Vancouver FC 4
Goals
Valour FC
23:09’: Jordan Swibel (1); assist: Themi Antonoglou
Vancouver FC
44:39’: Moses Dyer (1); assist: Alejandro Diaz
46:01’ Paris Gee (1); assist: Gabriel Bitar
52:18’: Gabriel Bitar (1); assist: Paris Gee
66:58’: David Norman, Jr. (1); assist: Alejandro Diaz
Card summary
Valour FC
47:17’: Jordan Faria (yellow, tactical foul)
55:48’: Jordan Faria (red—second yellow, simulation)
79:26’: Dante Campbell (yellow, tactical foul)
Vancouver FC
30:28’: Moses Dyer (yellow, argument)
51:02’: Vascco Fry (yellow, reckless offence)
78:20’: Mikael Cantave (yellow, simulation)
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VALOUR STARTING XI
GK – Jonathan Viscosi
D – Abdou Samake
D – Haris Chantzopoulos
D – Frankie Facchineri
MF – Dante Campbell (C)
MF – Noah Verhoeven
MF – Roberto Alarcon
MF – Themi Antonoglou
FW – Jordie Swibel
FW – Jordan Faria
F – Shaan Hundal
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Valour substitutions
61:20’: On Abdul Binate; off Jordan Swibel
61:31’: On Joe Hanson; off Shaan Hundal
61:56’: On Juan Pablo-Sanchez; off Frankie Facchineri
71:55’: On Zach Sukunda; off Noah Verhoeven
88:28’: On Jordan Haynes; off Themi Antonoglou