The Gatorade Team of the Week for the eighteenth week of Canadian Premier League action in 2022, brought to you by Kristian Jack and OneSoccer’s Oliver Platt.
Goalkeeper
Rayane Yesli (Valour FC)
The young keeper hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to start this year, but he was given to consecutive chances this week against Cavalry and York United. Yesli kept a clean sheet in both games making eight total saves in a pair of 2-0 wins at home for Valour.
Defenders
Rezart Rama (Forge FC)
The Forge fullback appears here for the third consecutive week — and his fifth time overall this season since joining the Hamilton club earlier this summer. Rama had a team-high 138 touches in Forge’s win over the Wanderers on Saturday, making 94 accurate passes. He won eight out of 14 duels and won four fouls, playing a key role in his side’s forward progression with the ball.
Alex Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge FC)
Similarly to Rama, Jönsson was all over the ball against Halifax. He attempted 101 passes and was accurate with a remarkable 99 of them. The Swedish midfielder-turned-defender won possession six times and made three clearances and two tackles, leading his side from the back in quite a difficult win for the Hamilton club.
Nassim Mekidèche (Valour FC)
Mekidèche played all 90 minutes of both of Valour’s games this week, and he was a key part of the two clean sheets they recorded. The Cavalry and York games were his second and third starts for the club, respectively, and he seems to have fit right in. Mekidèche had six clearances against the Cavs and seven against York, helping with last-ditch defending alongside his experienced partner Andrew Jean-Baptiste. He also assisted Moses Dyer’s early goal against the Cavs with an ambitious long ball over everyone.
Brett Levis (Valour FC)
Playing at left-back for both of Valour’s wins in the past week, Levis was bright on both sides of the ball. He led his team in touches in both games, and he was key to advancing the ball forward to help feed attackers like Sean Rea. Defensively he was solid as well, winning 15 duels across the two games and producing a handful of interceptions, clearances, and won tackles in both contests.
Midfielders
Alessandro Hojabrpour (Forge FC)
The young midfielder was tasked with sitting in front of Forge’s back four against Halifax to help provide cover and win balls (which he did six times). Although Forge often played down the flanks through the likes of Rama, Hojabrpour was excellent on the ball as usual, passing with 94% accuracy. His dependability in the middle allowed fellow midfielders Kyle Bekker and Noah Jensen to venture forward and try to break down the Wanderers’ block.
Abdou Sissoko (Atlético Ottawa)
The veteran midfielder gets credit for an assist to Ballou Tabla in Ottawa’s win over FC Edmonton, as he won the ball and sprang an excellent forward pass to find the forward in space. That was just one of the 11 times Sissoko won possession in the game, as he won nine duels — and went four for four in the air — and constantly helped impede the opponent’s ability to transition with his workrate and pressing.
Forwards
Billy Forbes (Valour FC)
Another Valour newcomer, Forbes made his first two starts for the club this week and made an instant impact. He had a solid, if a little quiet, outing against Cavalry, but then he was one of the most dangerous players on the pitch on Sunday against York. Forbes assisted Sean Rea’s opening goal, and then he went on to score one of his own with a superb finish in transition. Forbes is evidence of the continuously improving depth up front for Valour.
Moses Dyer (Valour FC)
Dyer is now up to nine goals on the season with his brace against Cavalry this past week. He was very aggressive with his movement, looking to bring down long balls over the top and challenge defenders quickly, and he was rewarded for it with two very good finishes to deliver a massively important win for the Winnipeg club.
Ballou Tabla (Atlético Ottawa)
Tabla lined up in a more central role than usual on Sunday, playing in a front two with Brian Wright, and he had plenty of freedom to hunt for space. Tabla had eight shots and scored two second-half goals in fairly short succession, looking incredibly dangerous every time he touched the ball.
Woobens Pacius (Forge FC)
Pacius scored his 10th goal of the league season — and his seventh in the last six games — with an early header against the Wanderers, and that was all Forge needed to secure a sixth consecutive win. That would be Forge’s only shot on target of the game, but it just goes to show how results and positive moments can compound when a striker is as confident as Pacius is at the moment.