Match #19
VALOUR FC (3-8-7) vs. CAVALRY FC (8-6-4)
When: Friday, August 11, 7 p.m. CDT
Where: IG Field, Winnipeg
How to watch: OneSoccer is broadcasting all Canadian Premier League games live https://onesoccer.ca/
MATCH PREVIEW:
Valour has just 10 matches remaining to get back into the CPL playoff hunt and, despite their recent woes, is still within striking distance with just eight points separating them from their spot in seventh and Atlético Ottawa, York United FC and HFX Wanderers FC, which are all tied with 25 points. Valour is winless in its last six with four losses and two draws, the most recent a nil-nil tie against Vancouver FC in B.C. Of the club’s remaining 10 matches, five are at home, five on the road. This is the start of a two-match homestand, with Ottawa here next Friday.
Absolutely massive for Valour is to start finding the back of the net. The club has not scored at all in its last two matches and has just two goals in its most-recent six-game winless streak.
THE OTHER GUYS:
3 Facts about Cavalry FC:
-Cavalry, Pacific FC and Forge FC – three traditional CPL powerhouses – are starting to separate from the rest of the pack. Pacific is first in the table with 32 points, followed by Cavalry with 30 and Forge with 29. Cavalry is coming off a 3-nil win over Forge a week ago, a match in which two of the three goals were scored by former Valour players in William Akio and Fraser Aird.
-Cavalry has scored 29 goals in 18 matches – 1.61 per outing – which ranks just behind the 30 goals Pacific has this season. By comparison, Valour has just 13 goals over the same number of matches – lowest in the CPL.
-Cavalry attacker Myer Bevan leads the CPL with eight goals in 16 matches, while another former Valour player – forward Ali Musse – is second on the club with four goals.
VALOUR FC SPOTLIGHT:
#9 Walter Poncé, F: The Chilean forward had one of Valour’s many chances in the nil-nil draw with Vancouver last weekend, banging a shot off the woodwork late in the first half. Poncé has just one goal this year, but Valour needs one of its attackers or forwards to step up and start finishing.
CRITICAL NUMBER
53
Every ‘critical number’ with Valour this season points at their lack of finish. Here’s another – the club has 53 shots on target this year, second last only to Vancouver’s 51. Just for context, Forge is first in the CPL with 84 shots on target.
Valour’s 8.84 goal conversion percentage is last and considerably lower than the 14.46 conversion percentage of a year ago.
All-Time: Valour FC vs. Cavalry FC
Overall: (win-draw-loss): 2-4-10
Last meeting: July 1, 2023, at IG Field: Valour FC 0 Cavalry FC 2