All the momentum and good vibes generated by Valour FC in their season-opening victory has come to a full and sudden stop in shocking fashion.
Winnipeg’s professional side was humbled Wednesday night at Swangard Stadium by League1 British Columbia champion TSS Rovers – a semi-professional side — falling 3-1 in the preliminary round of the Canadian Championship.
The result, coming in the wake of Sunday’s 2-nil road win over York United FC, not only eliminates Valour from the single-knockout event in quick succession, but is also historic as TSS Rovers becomes the first semi-pro side to advance in the quest for the Voyageurs Cup since the inception of the Canadian Premier League in 2019.
As OneSoccer’s Adam Jenkins said in the match’s dying seconds “It was David vs. Goliath and Goliath prevails. One for the history books and it was not a fluke.”
They’ll now meet the winner Pacific FC-Cavalry FC in the final preliminary round matchup Thursday.
“First off, you have to credit Rovers – they were very good today,” said Valour forward Anthony Novak, who scored on a penalty in the 88th minute. “They brought exactly what we expected, and we didn’t deal with it appropriately.
“We have to look at ourselves, hold ourselves accountable and move on to the next one.”
The next one comes Saturday in the home opener at IG Field against Atlético Ottawa, with a 6 p.m. start.
After a rather non-eventful opening 30 minutes Valour was guilty of a couple of egregious errors defensively within a three-minute span, as Matteo Polisi – whose brother Marcello is on the Valour roster but was unavailable due to injury – opened the scoring with a pinpoint shot behind Rayane Yesli.
Then in the 42nd minute, Ivan Mejia found the back of the net with a shot that glanced off the woodwork. Rovers jumped ahead 3-nil on Polisi’s second after some superb work in the Valour box before Novak’s penalty late at least put Valour on the board.
The score could have been even more lopsided, but Yesli stopped Polisi in the 66th minute on the match’s first penalty.
“It’s hard to pinpoint what happened out there. I’m going to have to rewatch the game. But I just felt we didn’t do enough today. It wasn’t good enough,” said Dos Santos.
“We didn’t play fast enough. Even our touches, everything seemed like we were over-working things. It was slow. Not enough rupture. I look at the first half… yes (possession), but not enough effectiveness and we didn’t do much out of that possession. I think we had one shot on goal in the first half. Again, it’s good to have the ball, but it’s what you do with it that’s going to be most important.”
Valour will return to Winnipeg Thursday and then has a quick turnaround before facing Ottawa on Saturday. Asked how he might manage the frustration and disappointment of Wednesday’s result and getting ready for the first home match of 2023, Dos Santos was succinct.
“I dealt with it already. It’s done,” he said. “I spoke with the guys for three minutes and we’re off to the next one. We can’t dwell on these things. We can’t. We have to be strong mentally. We have to hold ourselves accountable and understand what went wrong, but not dwell on it.
“My head’s already on the next one.”
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‘V’ NOTES
-Dos Santos did not have an update on midfielder Raphael Ohin, who suffered an injury in the 79thminute and had to leave the game. He was able to walk off the pitch but was also visibly upset.
“Look, it was good to see him walk out of the field, but nothing (in terms of an injury update),” said Dos Santos. “It’s too fresh. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.”
-Valour is now 1-0-5 all-time in the Canadian Championship since the franchise was founded in 2019. Valour’s lone win came in 2021 in Ottawa, with a 3-2 road decision.
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TSS ROVERS FC 3 FC VALOUR FC 1
GOALS:
TSS Rovers FC
38:10’: Matteo Polisi (assist: E. Edwardson)
41:15’: Ivan Mejia (assist: E. Edwardson)
61:23’: Matteo Polisi (assist: K. Jones)
Valour FC
87:48’: Anthony Novak (penalty kick)
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CARD SUMMARY
Valour FC:
35:22’: Matteo de Brienne (foul, reckless offence)
65:19’: Matthew Chandler (handball)
83:08’: Diego Gutiérrez (tactical foul)
95:25’: Rayane Yesli (dissent)
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TSS Rovers FC
15:55’: Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé (foul, reckless offence)
51:59’: Matteo Polisi (foul, reckless offence)
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VALOUR STARTING XI (4-3-3)
GK Rayane Yesli
D Andy Baquero
D Matthew Chandler
D Abdou Samake
D Matteo de Brienne
MF Kevin Rendon
MF Dante Campbell
MF Raphael Ohin – C
FW Kian Williams
FW Jared Ulloa
F Anthony Novak
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Valour substitutions:
45:00’: on Juan Pablo Sanchez; off Kian Williams
45:00’: on Diego Gutiérrez; off Dante Campbell
45:00’: on Pacifique Niyongabire; off Jared Uloa
62:30’: on Walter Poncé; off Kevin Rendón
78:36’: on Guillaume Pianelli; off Raphael Ohin