It took time and patience – plus a whole lot of perseverance – but Valour FC finally delivered some magic for their faithful at home.
Moses Dyer deftly redirected a cross from Daniel Ascanio in the 84th minute Sunday afternoon, giving Valour a 1-nil decision over HFX Wanderers at IG Field — the club’s second home victory in six matches this season.
The win improves Valour’s record to 5-4-4 – five wins, four draws, four losses – and the critical three points saw them them leapfrog Wanderers into fifth place in the Canadian Premier League standings, now one point out of a playoff spot behind Forge FC
“All games seem the same at home,” began Valour FC GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos. “Apart from the Cavalry game (a 4-2 loss on June 15th) it looks like it’s all very tight. And at some point I was saying that to my staff again, another game where you’re there, you’re creating, there’s half-chances here, half-chances there. You’re on the ball, there’s good things happening, but quite not enough for us to get a break. Time passes and it’s normal that there’s a bit of anxiety that’s developed.
“The first half we should have gotten a goal and at least gone into halftime with a lead because it changes a lot for us and opens up the game for us where our players find their legs.
“… It was a chess game for large periods of the game but, overall – and with all due respect to Halifax – at the end we were the best team on the field today.”
Valour was in control from the outset and should have been up 1-nil early, if not for a bizarre sequence where a sure-goal was lost because of, well, the video might best describe the moment.
WHAT DID WE JUST WITNESS!? 👀
One of the most bizarre sequences in soccer history, as this player celebrates a "goal" too early and kicks the ball into the sky BEFORE it fully crosses the line 💀#FIFA22 | #FUT | #soccer pic.twitter.com/JdTrfaE0ss
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 10, 2022
“It’s hard to know,” said Dos Santos when asked what he had seen on the play. “I asked Willy (Akio), ‘Were you trying to celebrate the goal just by kicking the ball out? ‘
“I don’t want to talk about it. Things happen so fast on the field, it’s hard to get into the moment and try to recreate it. We’ll all grow with it. The next guy that’s in that position will just run though the ball.
“I just see it as an opportunity for everyone to grow and it’s good we got the three points.”
Those three points came after some individual brilliance from Ascanio, the Colombian midfielder who was making his Valour FC debut and was substituted into the match for Akio in the 54th minute.
Flashing his speed and skill from the wing the moment he stepped on the field, Ascanio sent a perfect ball into the box that was deflected home by Dyer for his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
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Dyer’s 5th of the season:
👀 @ValourFootball take the lead late, thanks to a composed finish from @mosesjdyer#CanPL | 📺 @onesoccerpic.twitter.com/wg6bP2CcTF
— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) July 10, 2022
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“All week I’ve been telling Ascanio to just take the defender on and don’t cut back, just go ahead and cross it in,” said Dyer. “So, I knew exactly what he was going to do. I just had to make a connection with the ball.
“It was a very impressive debut. Everyone is happy with him.”
The result came after Valour’s successful two-game road trip to southern Ontario – a 3-1 win over York United FC, followed by a 1-nil decision over Forge FC – and marks the first time the club has posted three consecutive wins since last July 7-15.
“The confidence is there,” said Dyer. “It’s always been there because even when results weren’t there, we knew there was just one or two things we were missing. It’s just about going forward now.
“We’ve got a lot of (internal) competition now. We’ve got a lot of players in and the two international players we’ve been waiting for (Ascanio and Kevin Rendon, who started Sunday’s match) so everyone is having to fight for their spot now. Everyone’s hungry.”
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‘V’ NOTES:
-F Walter Poncé was not available after picking up a red card in the win over Forge.
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VALOUR FC 1 HFX WANDERERS 0
GOALS:
Valour FC
83:40’: Moses Dyer (assist: Daniel Ascanio)
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CARD SUMMARY
Valour FC:
51:45’: Alex Riggi (yellow, reckless offence)
88:13’: Daniel Ascanio (yellow, time wasting)
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HFX Wanderers FC
77:35’: Jeremy Gagnon-Laparé (yellow, dissent)
86:03’: Marcello Polisi (yellow, tactical foul)
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VALOUR STARTING XI
GK Jonathan Sirois
D Andy Baquero
D Stefan Cebara
D Andrew Jean-Baptiste – C
D Brett Levis
MF Diego Gutierréz
MF Moses Dyer
MF Sean Rea
FW Alex Riggi
FW William Akio
F Walter Ponce
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Valour substitutions:
53:38’: On Daryl Fordyce; off Kevin Rendon
53:54’: On Daniel Ascanio; off William Akio
67:27’: On Matthew Catavolo; off Alex Riggi
91:25’: On Stefan Cebara; off Sean Rea