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Centre back Tass Mourdoukoutas in action earlier this season -- photos by Cameron Bartlett
Match Preview | Valour FC vs. Vancouver FC
August 24, 2024
Ed Tait
by
Ed Tait

Match #20

VALOUR FC (6-2-11) vs. VANCOUVER FC (6-5-8)

When: Sunday, August 25th, 2 p.m. CDT
Where: Princess Auto Stadium, Winnipeg, Mb.
Tickets: Available here
Match theme: Latin night

MATCH PREVIEW:

Valour is 3-1-1 in its last five matches, including a 2-1 home win over HFX Wanderers last weekend. That leaves the club in sixth place in the Canadian Premier League standings with 20 points, three behind Vancouver, who hold down the fifth and final playoff spot. (Note: Pacific FC, also with 20 points, fell to Cavalry FC 1-0 Saturday night).

This is the final appearance of a four-match home stand for Valour in which the club has gone 2-0-1 so far and is hoping for one more result before a trip to Calgary to face Cavalry FC this Friday. After that, five of the club’s final seven matches will be at Princess Auto Stadium as they push toward the first-ever playoff berth in franchise history.

Valour will be without fullback Themi Antonoglou, arguably their best player, as he sits out the match due to yellow card accumulation. Forward Jordi Swibel leads Valour with seven goals, including the winner against Wanderers last weekend, while midfielder Diogo Ressurreição and forward Shaan Hundal each have three. Goalkeeper Jonathan Viscosi has three clean sheets, and his 55 saves is second most in the CPL.

As a result of the win over Wanderers, Valour had three players — Swibel, Antonoglou and midfielder Safwane Mlah — named to the CPL Team of the Week.

Gatorade Team of the Week (Week 19)

 

THE OTHER GUYS:

3 Facts about Vancouver FC:

  • The Eagles began the season with four wins and a draw against two losses in their first seven matches. Since that solid they have two wins, four draws and six losses and are coming off a 2-1 home loss to Forge FC last weekend.
  • Vancouver loaned forward Moses Dyer — the all-time leading scorer in Valour history — 10 days ago to rival Pacific FC for Ayman Sellouf, also an attacker for the remainder of the season.
  • Vancouver is led by Alejandro Diaz, who has eight goals — one off the league lead. Moses Dyer had four goals before the transaction sending him to Vancouver Island.

VALOUR FC SPOTLIGHT:

#9, Jordi Swibel, forward: Valour’s Aussie front man leads the club with seven goals and, as he showed last week in the win over Wanderers, has a flair for the dramatic by scoring the match winner in the 63rd minute as the club rallied from a goal down for the victory.

Swibel has a great pace, a good feel for creating space and is a fierce presence in front of the opponent’s goal — all coveted qualities for any finisher.

CRITICAL NUMBER

1.68

Vancouver FC has conceded the most goals in the CPL and an average of 1.68 per match, with Valour tied for the second most and a 1.63 GCM. Six times this season Vancouver has conceded three goals or more in a match.

All-Time: Valour FC vs. Vancouver FC

Overall: (win-draw-loss): 2-2-2

Last meeting: June 2, 2024, Princess Auto Stadium — Valour FC 2 Vancouver FC 0