Valour FC ended off a three-game road trip in style on Sunday, as they defeated Pacific FC 3-0 at Starlight Stadium for their first win in three games.

With that, they climbed within five points of sixth-place Pacific in the Canadian Premier League table and six points off the playoff line, which is massive for them as they get set to tackle a crucial four game homestand.

As for Pacific, they remain with just two wins in their past 11 games, pushing them out of a playoff spot after spending most of the season in the CPL’s top five off the back of a strong start to the year.

To begin the game, however, there was no indication this match would be a blowout for either side, as chances were hard to come by early. Because of that, Pacific’s Josh Heard had a good look at goal all the way in the 35th minute, as he got into a good position in Valour’s box after a nice pass from Adonijah Reid, but his shot would be just deflected wide.

After another quiet lull, Valour managed to find the lead right before half time, and it came from an unlikely source. Themi Antonoglou, who has spent most of the season setting up his teammates, tied for the CPL lead for assists with five, managed to get forward and curl a shot into the bottom corner with his right foot for his first tally of the CPL campaign.

At the other end, Pacific tried to grab a foothold back in the game before half time, and had a good look right in the 44th minute through Kunle Dada-Luke, as he forced a strong save from Jonathan Viscosi with a powerful shot from just inside of the box.

Valour nearly doubled their lead right after half time, as they caught Pacific’s goalkeeper Emil Gazdov in possession up the field, but Raphael Ohin was unable to get a shot off on the first attempt, before Diogo Ressurreição was stopped by Gazdov on the follow-up play, and then Safwane Mlah curled one just wide of the goal on the subsequent rebound from the Ressurreição shot.

Looking to get back into the game with a key goal, Pacific had their best chance of the game in the 55th minute, as Ayman Sellouf found Reid with a nice cutback, but Reid’s shot would be denied by a huge block from Valour’s Gianfranco Facchineri.

Continuing to push for that second, meanwhile, Ressurreição nearly found it for Valour in the 74th minute, striking a powerful shot from distance, forcing a strong save out of Gazdov.

Then, on the subsequent corner, they found an even better opportunity, as they won a penalty after some contact in the box. From there, Shaan Hundal stepped up to take it, and he made no mistake with his finish to make it 2-0.

Eager to try and pull something back to spark a late comeback, Andrei Tîrcoveanu flashed a shot from distance, but his shot would be comfortably saved by Viscosi.

Any hint of a comeback would be quickly thwarted in the 92nd minute, however, as Valour put the game away in style. After winning the ball back in a dangerous position, Abdul Binaté fired a shot from distance, and he’d pull of the spectacular, curling the ball into the top corner to seal the game against his old club.

From there, despite some near-misses in their quest to make it 4-0, the score would hold from there, giving Valour a massive win while leaving Pacific plenty to ponder in the days to come.

BOX SCORE

Lineups 

Pacific FC: Gazdov; Dada-Luke, Meilleur-Giguère, Amedume, Lajeunesse; Toussaint, Dominguez (Young 67′), Yeates; Sellouf (Tîrcoveanu 67′); Heard (Moore 61′), Reid (O’Hea 61′)

Valour FC: Viscosi; Campbell, Mourdoukoutas, Facchineri, Antonoglou; Mlah (Sukunda 90+3′), Ohin; Faria (Verhoeven 64′), Ressurreição (Kwemi 90+3′); Hundal (Haynes 84′), Swibel (Binate 64′)

Goals

43′ — Themi Antonoglou (Valour FC)

77′ — Shaan Hundal (Valour FC) (pen.)

90+2′ — Abdul Binaté (Valour FC)

Discipline

22′ — Yellow: Steffen Yeates (Pacific FC)

52′ — Yellow: Safwane Mlah (Valour FC)

65′ — Yellow: Raphael Ohin (Valour FC)

84′ — Yellow: Noah Verhoeven (Valour FC)

90′ — Yellow: Jonathan Viscosi (Valour FC)