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“Now we’re looking for blood no matter who it’s against.” | Valour FC 3, York United FC 1

There was an anger and bite to their game. Perhaps a tiny dose of desperation, too.

And based on what unfolded Sunday afternoon, it is a concoction Valour FC should somehow bottle and ingest before every match going forward.

Valour FC served up their best performance in weeks in a 3-1 victory over York United FC at York Lions Stadium and in the process ended a five-match winless streak. The result also moves the squad back into the Canadian Premier League’s playoff picture with a 3-4-4 record (three wins, four draws and four losses) and 13 points – four back of HFX Wanderers FC and Forge FC, whom Valour will meet Wednesday at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.

“We want more. We’re hungry,” said veteran centre back Andrew Jean-Baptiste in a media conference after the match. “The way we started (the season) wasn’t exactly the most-ideal situation. Coming off our last three home games (two losses and a draw) was the worse-case scenario. It just left us hungry for more because we know we’ve left those home games unfulfilled, so now we’re practically in ‘revenge mode’, so to say.

“Now we’re looking for blood no matter who it’s against. We’re looking to come out against every team and any team and try to leave with as maximum points as possible.”

Valour had 11 days between matches heading into Sunday’s matchup but has been fighting to find some consistency in the lineup. Co-captain Daryl Fordyce did not make the trip due to injury; midfielder Matthew Catavolo is with the Canadian U-20 team while two recent international additions – Colombian midfielders Daniel Ascanio and Kevin Rendon – are with the team but not eligible to suit up until the team returns home to face the Wanderers on July 10th, due to visa issues and a FIFA suspension, respectively.

That said, they were facing a York team that was minus fullback Diyaeddine Abzi, who signed with French Ligue 2 side Paul FC, and was working on a short week after falling to the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 in a Canadian Championship match on Wednesday.

After generating chances early, Valour opened the scoring in the 51st minute as Alex Riggi buried a low cross from Walter Poncé, following some solid work by Jean-Baptiste and Rocco Romeo in quick transition.

Alex Riggi’s third goal of the season:

York United countered immediately with a goal by Osaze de Roasio just over a minute later, but Valour found another gear and through the excellent work by their wingers and forwards – Riggi, Poncé, William Akio, Moses Dyer and Sean Rea – were able to punish the home side.

Dyer put Valour ahead 2-1 in the 72nd minute, heading home a cross by Rea for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.

Moses Dyer’s fourth goal of the year:

“We knew at that time that we were the best team on the field for the majority of the game,” said Valour GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos of conceding the equalizer. “It’s part of the game. We had a few mature guys there, older guys on the field, and they responded well.

“It’s not a good moment when you get the lead away from home and you give a goal right away so fast, especially in a moment when the team was not set defensively.

“At that point you need to weather the first five-10 minutes after you score, so we didn’t do that well. But we reacted and credit to the guys for that.”

Rea then sealed the victory with his third goal of the year after some sensational work by Brett Levis and Akio in transition, as the young midfielder buried a chance directly in front of York United goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos.

Sean Rea’s third goal of the year:

Critical now for Valour as it continues the two-match road trip through southern Ontario is to follow up the work against York with more points Wednesday against Forge FC.

“Some would say – and I used to hear this a lot when I was younger – ‘winning is contagious’ and this was the first one we needed to bring it to the next match,” said Jean-Baptiste.

“York is going to battle you the whole way through with the quality they have, they’re going to see you through the whole 90 minutes. We knew it was going to take a lot to leave here with three points. We’re glad we did and now it’s to take that into (the match) with another good opponent and match them with intensity and see them on the field for 90 minutes.”

V’ NOTES

-Rocco Romeo picked up a yellow card in the match and will have to serve a one-game suspension for Wednesday’s match against Forge FC.

YORK UNITED FC 1 VALOUR FC 3

GOALS:

Valour FC

50:16’: Alex Riggi (assist: Walter Ponce)

71:30’: Moses Dyer (assist: Sean Rea)

88:38’: Sean Rea (assist: William Akio)

York United FC

51:47’: Osaze De Rosario

CARD SUMMARY

Valour FC:

12:29’: William Akio (yellow, reckless offence)

47:53’: Rocco Romeo (yellow, tactical foul)

78:04’: Federico Pena (yellow, reckless offence)

90+3:08’: Sean Rea (yellow, not retreating)

York United FC

57:15’: Noah Verhoeven (yellow, reckless offence)

VALOUR STARTING XI

GK Jonathan Sirois

D Andy Baquero

D Rocco Romeo

D Andrew Jean-Baptiste – C

D Brett Levis

MF Diego Gutierréz

MF Moses Dyer

MF Sean Rea

FW Alex Riggi

FW William Akio

F Walter Ponce

Valour substitutions:

75:31’ – On Jacob Carolos; off Alex Riggi

82:19’ – On Stefan Cebara; off Walter Poncé

91:25’ – On Matteo de Brienne; off Moses Dyer