It was one of those performances in which everyone involved with Valour FC – players and coaches alike – would just as soon have all evidence be forever expunged from the memory banks.
And yet, now that the sting is fading from last Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the HFX Wanderers in Nova Scotia, at least one positive has been salvaged from the wreckage: veteran defender and leader Andrew Jean-Baptiste made his first appearance of the Canadian Premier League season after a long recovery period.
Sure, his 13 minutes of action is hardly cause for celebration – at least, not yet — but it’s a start.
“It really gave me an opportunity to get my feet under me and it felt great,” said Jean-Baptiste in a chat with valourfootball.club after training this week. “With the offseason as long as it is and then an injury that sets you back and the team looking really good in preseason, I had a lot of high hopes.
“So, not being able to be a part of all of it was not only a setback, it also hurt. I really enjoy bonding with my teammates on the field and so going through that was a lot – a lot mentally, physically, emotionally – and so to get those minutes, even in the result, was good.”
Again, a small step for Jean-Baptiste and Valour but a potentially massive one given where the club is right now. With one win and six draws against two losses, Valour remains in a playoff spot with nine points after nine games.
The club is hopeful Saturday’s lacklustre effort against Wanderers is the outlier, especially with perennial CPL powerhouse Forge FC here Friday night at IG Field.
“That game was a false representation of who we are, and I think everybody knows that,” said Jean-Baptiste. “Halifax caught us on a bad day. I believe they know the next time we see them there’s going to be a lot more passion from us because we need to show them and the rest of the league that’s not who we are.
“It’s a shame last Saturday wasn’t what it should have been, but it’s a long season. We’ve got time to show people who we really are.”
Friday’s match against Forge will come with some added challenges beyond the team’s struggles to score. Speedy winger Pacifique Niyongabire has been called up to the Burundi national team for its African Cup qualifier against Nambia on June 20th, and he’ll miss the match against Forge and next Wednesday’s showdown with Pacific FC.
As well, captain Diego Gutiérrez won’t be available for Friday due to yellow card accumulation, while left back Matteo de Brienne is listed as day to day.
“He’s dealing with a slight injury and is a day-to-day guy right now,” said Valour GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos. “The chances he’s going to play (Friday) are slim because we’re being a bit cautious with him.
“But with Pacifique not available that also means a guy like Jared (Ulloa), who deserves to be on there, gets his chance. He’s trained well, he’s come into games well and given us good energy. This is an opportunity. I want to be able to rotate players and make sure everyone is sharp. Now the door opens for Jared, and this gives him a chance to compete with Pacifique and that’s exciting for the team.”
Dos Santos has pushed his squad in training this week while also reinforcing the message that the performance against Wanderers on the weekend was substandard. Now the key is how the club responds Friday night.
Not to be forgotten here: Valour is riding an 11-match unbeaten streak at home with five wins and six draws with four of those draws coming this season.
“We addressed things with the group,” said Dos Santos. “I don’t think we were good (against HFX). We looked lethargic. We weren’t even close to what this team has been so I can’t take that as a reference. We have to learn from it. We know what went wrong as a team and now we move on. But if I had rewatched the game before my press conference I probably would have been harder on them then.
“We have two very good tests coming up Friday and then Wednesday. These are the games you want to play after you have a bad performance. There’s no better way to respond than to accept these challenges.
“We’ve dealt with it, and we have to move on. We’ve done well in our home and it’s a place where we’ve been solid. We’re excited.”