Match #2 – HOME OPENER
VALOUR FC (1-0) vs. ATLÉTICO OTTAWA (0-1-0)
When: Saturday, April 22nd, 6 p.m. CDT (Gates open at 5 p.m.)
Where: IG Field, Winnipeg
How to watch: OneSoccer is broadcasting all Canadian Premier League games live https://onesoccer.ca/
MATCH PREVIEW:
Valour attempts to regroup after Wednesday’s disappointing 3-1 loss to TSS Rovers in the preliminary round of the Canadian Championship in what will their first home match of the season against Atlético.
It’s been a hectic opening week for the squad, with Sunday’s season-opening victory over York United FC in Toronto then followed by the shocker in Burnaby, B.C. on Wednesday. That result aside, Valour does enter he weekend officially atop the CPL standings with one win – along with Pacific FC – and a +2 goal differential.
They’ll open at home against an Ottawa side that lost 2-nil to Forge FC in last year’s league final and opened their week with a 1-1 draw with HFX Wanderers in league play and a 3-1 win over Wanderers in their first Canadian Championship match
THE GAFFER SAYS:
GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos on Atletico Ottawa:
“It’s a good team, a team that is built on the same identity they had last year – they defend and take pride in defending very well. You look at the two games they played against HFX this week, a lot of times Wanderers had the ball but were not necessarily creating. It’s a team that accepts playing without the ball and controls the spaces well. Then they capitalize on moments and that’s something we have to deal with – the moments. We did that against York, and when you look at our game against TSS Rovers, it was defined by moments. We had 63-65 percent of possession, but we didn’t deal well with the moments.
“We’ll need to do that very well against a team like Ottawa.”
VALOUR FC SPOTLIGHT:
#23 Anthony Novak, F: The gritty forward has been all over the stats sheet for Valour in his first two matches in his new colours, redirecting a pass from Pacifique Niyongabire for a goal in the 2-nil win over York United and then scoring the club’s lone marker courtesy a penalty in the loss to TSS Rovers.
CRITICAL NUMBER
1-1-1
Valour’s record in its three previous home openers (not including the 2020 Island Games in PEI).
Valour lost its first ever home opener 2-1 to FC Edmonton on May 4, 2019, in front of 9,699 – the largest crowd in franchise history.
The 2021 home opener was played in the Kickoff bubble at IG Field and saw Valour knock off Forge FC 2-0 and last year’s curtain raiser at home saw the club play to a 0-0 draw with HFX Wanderers
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All-time Valour FC vs. Atlético Ottawa: 5-2-2 (win-draw-loss)
Last meeting: September 18, 2022: IG Field, Winnipeg: Valour FC 1 Atlético Ottawa 1