If only it was a simple formula to bottle up and then ingest regularly, because if it was Valour FC would be downing vats and vats of the good stuff that came during and in the wake of their 3-2 win over Cavalry FC last Friday.
That result – with all three goals coming after the club fell behind 2-nil and from the 51st minute on – provided momentum in the moment and breathed life into Valour’s desperate chase for a Canadian Premier League playoff spot.
The squad heads into Friday’s home match against Atlético Ottawa still eight points out of a playoff spot, but with the vibe having changed dramatically.
“That’s what we needed,” began goalkeeper Rayane Yesli after a training session this week. “We needed that win and especially with it coming against a good team that was coming off their best performance of the season. It did us a lot of good. And so was that point against Vancouver (a nil-nil draw on August 6th) and so emotionally as a team we’re back on the right track.
“We have almost everybody back. That’s motivating, too, and it makes training better now.”
That’s a considerable development that needs to be examined further. The club saw left back Matteo de Brienne, centre backs Andrew Jean-Baptiste and Guillaume Pianelli and midfielder Juan-Pablo Sanchez all return to training this week, leaving just Raphael Ohin and Matthew Chandler unavailable due to injury.
That means GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos will have a near-full roster – minus midfielder Dante Campbell, who has one more game to serve in his yellow-card accumulation suspension – for Friday’s match against Ottawa.
“I don’t think we’ve had healthy scratches this season. This will be the first time. And that’s a good thing,” said Dos Santos. “You come back from that win over Cavalry and suddenly we get to train with 20-22 guys on the field and the energy is high again. It motivates everyone because they look around and realize that finally the team is there.
“That could be a factor that leads to Friday and the next games.”
Now 4-8-7 and with 20 points, Valour is still in full-on chase mode with just nine matches remaining. Friday’s meeting with Ottawa is massive as it is one of the teams Valour is trying to track down, but also because the club’s next three are on the road with visits to Halifax, Pacific and York.
“We went through a period like this last year where our backs were against the wall and we answered for a bit before the unfortunate ending to the season,” said Yesli, who remains tied for the league lead in clean sheets with six. “The game that turned us for a bit last year was actually against Cavalry, too. We find ourselves in the same position again and we’ve got to take advantage of it.”
The three goals scored against Cavalry last year was the highest output this season, and the most since a win over York in June of 2022. Critical now is for the attack to stay aggressive.
“We kept talking about how goals could change something for us,” said Dos Santos. “Then we get that first goal (against Cavalry) the energy became very high. Then we started being a bit more courageous in getting forward and getting numbers forward. It was like a weight had been lifted but there it was almost like a level of desperation kicked.
“Sometimes the best attitude is to just go forward. It’s like you might as well die fighting and at that point in time that’s what happened. So much of it came from emotion. If we could grab that and bring it to the next game, that would be good.”
‘V’ Notes
Valour has added a new keeper with Jordan Tisseur completing the terms of his USports contract and returning to the Université de Montreal. Coming aboard is Darlington Murasiranwa, who was most recently with FC London in League 1 Ontario.
Born in Zimbabwe, Murasiranwa moved to Edmonton when he was 13 and played two years of college ball with Guelph before turning pro with FC Edmonton. He made 13 CPL and one Canadian Championship appearance with the Eddies from 2021-22.
“He’s a keeper that we looked at in the offseason as a potential option, but with the U Sports situation and having the chance to use that to our advantage with the cap we opted on a guy like Jordan, which also allowed us to see what he could be all about for the future and we still retain his rights for next year,” said Dos Santos.
“Darlington has a great chance to be in our environment and show what he’s all about. So far, he’s been good. He has great character and a great personality. As a second goalkeeper on a team if you’re not bringing all the games what is it that you can bring to the locker room? He brings CPL experience and a good personality into the locker room and training.”