It’s far too simplistic to suggest Valour FC take the Ted Lasso approach after their latest loss – forget the negative and be a goldfish — even with some positives to cull from the performance.

Valour fell 1-nil to Canadian Premier League front-runners Pacific FC in Victoria on Wednesday in a match where the visitors made one mistake and it cost them in transition. And so as much as GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos would want to do the 10-second memory thing and forget that moment and the loss altogether, that’s simply not how a team gets better.

Especially with Vancouver FC here on Sunday.

“We are critical,” began the Valour boss after training on Friday. “It was good to be defensively sound, but we felt there were opportunities to be a little more aggressive going forward and we missed out on them. We rewatched the game and we got into good spots with opportunities to keep the play forward, be more aggressive and create overloads in central areas and we didn’t do that.

“Sometimes we play a game that is mature where we understand the importance of breaking a rhythm to an opposition that likes to play at a very high temp and capitalize on transitions, but we can’t fall asleep on our own game, and I felt like there were moments we could have accelerated the game and we didn’t. Had we been a bit more ambitious on the ball we might have come out of that game with more.

“When you’re playing that type of game, you’re always at the mercy of one mistake after one loss of possession. It’s a very dangerous game to play. “Now, there are a lot of good things. The team, defensively, has been very sound. We’re conceding an average of less than a goal per game. It tells you we have a good base to get into games and win them. But now we have to challenge ourselves for the next level.”

The loss dropped Valour to 2-6-3 on the season and with 12 points they are in sixth spot in the standings, but still only five points out of second place. Valour has allowed the second-fewest goals in the CPL this season – Pacific has surrendered one fewer – but has managed just 10 goals in 11 matches.

Critical now is to continue to attack, but also to be bolder in the final third.

“I don’t have this fantasy that we have to dominate possession,” said Dos Santos. “For me it’s about making the right choices at the right times and that’s where we fell short a little bit.

“We are hard on ourselves, but we also need to understand where we’re at. With all this adversity this team is still five points behind the second-place team with a game in hand. We need to look at it like that so that we don’t see a mountain too big.

“We have to see the next game and if we win it, we’re back there above the (playoff) line and closer to those top positions. That’s the way I want our group to see it and to approach this game with confidence.”

Valour is in the midst of a 12-match unbeaten streak at home with six wins and six draws dating back to last summer. Having a short week leading into Sunday’s showdown with Vancouver.

“That’s the game of soccer. You make a little mistake like that against that type of opponent and unfortunately, they get the result out of it,” said fullback Andy Baquero of the loss to Pacific. “It’s difficult when you finish a game like that after the big win over Forge at home. But the good thing is we have a new game in two games so that’s what we ca focus on now.

“It’s our field, our home and in front of our fans. We’re trying to continue doing good things at home. We’re getting the points at home, and we’ve got to keep doing that because it’s already tight in the standings. That’s the next step for Valour.

“The last time we played them, we missed a lot of chances (in a nil-nil draw in late May),” added Baquero. “We’re working on that and we’re trying to capitalize on those chances. We have all the respect for Vancouver, who are coming off a big home win against Forge. Now it’s about fighting for the three points on Sunday.”

‘V’ Notes

-Valour welcomes back speedy winger Pacifique Niyongabire, who was called up to the Burundi national team for their African Cup of Nations qualification match last Tuesday – a 3-2 win over Namibia.

-Winger Kian Williams, who dressed but did not play in Victoria, is still listed as day-to-day.

-Fullback/winger Matteo de Brienne expected to be available next week.