Final Score: Valour FC 1-0 Forge FC
Goalscorers: De Brienne 20′
Game of the 2022 season: 87
CPL match: 337
Match in a minute or less
Valour FC put themselves firmly in the playoff conversation on Wednesday night, moving to within two points of the top four with a statement 1-0 win over Forge FC at IG Field in Winnipeg. Matteo De Brienne was the goalscoring hero for Phil Dos Santos’ side, finishing a Sean Rea cross with an acrobatic volley just 20 minutes in. From there, Valour shut down Forge’s talented attackers to preserve a well-earned clean sheet and extend their home unbeaten streak to five matches. The match did turn into a heated affair toward the end, with 12 total yellow cards handed out — eight of them after the 80th minute, including a second yellow to Valour’s Moses Dyer — which might set the tone for when these two sides meet again this Sunday.
Three Observations
Valour build playoff-level urgency from steady defence
Knowing how talented Forge’s attacking players are, Valour opted to play this game with a five-man backline of Brett Levis, Nassim Mekidèche, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Stefan Cebara, and Andy Baquero from left to right. When out of possession, the hosts kept that back five extremely flat, knowing how dangerous Forge can be when allowed to play overlaps between wingers and fullbacks. Valour effectively neutralized those options by staying so wide in defence; even when a wingback was pulled out or forced to step up and challenge an attacker one-on-one, the wider centre-backs were always available to shift and cover enough space. Although Valour’s press wasn’t particularly aggressive — they were clearly well aware of how Forge like to punish teams that step forward rashly — they won the ball very effectively, playing a fairly high line when Forge tried to play out of the back. The home side chose smart moments to challenge for the ball, especially in the first half when they won more than 55 percent of their duels. Each member of the back five won at least half of their duels (except for Jean-Baptiste, who somehow wasn’t credited with any duels won or lost). Between them, they managed 19 clearances — although nine of them were Mekidèche alone. Jean-Baptiste also cleared a Kyle Bekker shot off the goal line in the first half, reading the play well and working hard to get to it — again demonstrating how hard Valour are willing to work in their pursuit of a playoff spot. This was exactly the type of performance one would expect out of a club that’s serious about its postseason aspirations. By shutting down Forge’s attack and holding onto the ball when necessary, Valour demonstrated top-four credentials by making so few mistakes. Above all else, Valour did not give the ball away cheaply, especially not in their own half. “The maturity of our guys, the ability to commit to what we wanted them to commit to, the understanding of where the threat was, how important it was for us to control the space well in the moments we did have the ball — I think the guys were fantastic,” head coach Phil Dos Santos told media after the match. Although much praise is owed to the back five, though, Dos Santos was also quick to point out the contributions his midfielders and forwards made to the defensive effort. In a match where Valour had less than 40 percent possession on the whole (though it was far more even in the first half), it was critical that they hold their shape in midfield, and that the front three of Sean Rea, Walter Ponce, and Matteo De Brienne choose the right moments to press. As a result, Valour kept Forge to just six shots, two of them on target, with an expected goals of 0.53 despite their wealth of possession. “For me, defending starts from the front, and how you press or close spaces from the front. I think the guys did that very well. It always helps that in the backline we also have a lot of maturity when you look at a guy like Andy [Baquero], [Andrew Jean-Baptiste], Stefan Cebara… There’s a lot of maturity there, there’s a lot of experience. So when you put it all together, we were confident in that aspect we would be solid. We knew it would need to be a mistake, it would need to be a moment where you don’t deal well with the action that would break us down.” There’s still a lot of work to be done for Valour to get into the top four, but the past few weeks — especially at home — they have looked the part of a team that will make things very interesting in September.
Forge continue looking for best attacking setup, can’t find ways through
Bobby Smyrniotis has an incredible wealth of attacking talent at his disposal, to the point that he was able to deploy an entirely different front three in this game to what he started with on Saturday against Atlético Ottawa. For this match, the much-heralded Jordan Hamilton made his first start for the club, flanked by creative wingers Tristan Borges and David Choinière. All three players have incredible talent, and the fact that they all came into this game rested after not starting on the weekend is a testament to just how deep Forge are up front. However, the attacking setup was definitely not as fruitful as Smyrniotis would have hoped for this match — as, in truth, has been the case the past four games. Hamilton had just 26 touches, only one of them in the penalty area, as Forge struggled to find him amid the vigilant Valour defensive line. The experienced striker was likely intended to be the goalscoring outlet for Borges and Choinière to find in tight spaces, but Hamilton ended up without a shot in his 68 minutes of work. As mentioned earlier, Forge ended this game with just six shots, only three of which were inside the box and two on target. They actually entered the final third less than Valour (59 times to the opponent’s 62), although they did have about triple the touches in the box (16 to six). Still, there was an overarching sentiment from the visiting camp that the attacking play just wasn’t sharp enough to break down the opponent. “We created some very good opportunities, they cleared one off the line. And again we started well in the second half, but we’re missing that little bit of punch in the final third to get into the spaces that were available — that we saw were available before the game. They were available in the game and we just didn’t take advantage,” Smyrniotis said postmatch. “As the game goes on, obviously for Valour it’s a very important game for them as well and they’re very comfortable with just sitting back and soaking up what pressure they need.” Indeed, Forge have been missing that punch in the final third for a few weeks now. They’ve now been shut out in back-to-back games for just the second time this year (the last time also involving a 1-0 loss to Valour), and they’ve scored twice in their last four. The group is certainly frustrated; they’re far from panicking, or being particularly concerned about their spot in the top four, but considering the quality of football they’ve played at times this year the coaches and players are not content with what they’ve seen the past few matches. “It’s not good enough, and we got punished for it in the beginning of the game,” said Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson. “It feels off. We’ve been feeling off for the last four games. I think we need to come together as a group, all of us, to find what we had during that six-game win streak.” The good news for Forge is they’ll get a do-over against Valour in just a few days’ time. They’ll be laser-focused on returning to their best selves, knowing how important it’ll be to end the season and enter the playoffs in form.
Stage set for fascinating rematch on Sunday
This particular match came at a crucial moment in the season, but what makes it even more intriguing is the fact that the score is far from settled between these two sides. It’s rare that two teams see each other in one game, then reconvene just a few days later for a rematch on the same turf. That’s the case in this situation: Forge will have another crack at Valour on Sunday afternoon, when they return to the IG Field pitch to try and reverse their fortunes and return to the win column. The second contest this weekend will, therefore, be a fascinating tactical challenge for both managers. They’re each very familiar with the other’s plan and players now (having played twice in Hamilton as well), so the two sides should have a good idea of how to play against the other. In practice, that familiarity could lead to several things. Perhaps one coach will have spotted a key weakness in the other that his side will exploit in this do-over. Maybe the two teams will be so well-suited to defend each other that the match ends in a cagey draw. Or, potentially, one of the two managers will be brave enough to throw something entirely different at his opposite number on Sunday, deploying his team in a completely different tactical setup to catch the opponent off guard. Forge have the luxury of being able to deploy a very different-looking team on the weekend; it wouldn’t be surprising to see at least two of the front three changes, with Woobens Pacius and Terran Campbell both candidates to get another opportunity. That’ll be a very different kind of attack for Valour to defend, with perhaps a greater tendency to stretch the pitch and play more direct. Some changes will be forced; Valour’s Moses Dyer will likely be suspended after his ejection on Wednesday at least, notwithstanding any other discipline or card accumulation suspensions that could come out of the scuffles toward the end. A match with 11 players booked is always going to spark some animosity between the teams, but in this case the two sides will not have had several weeks between meetings for tensions to cool off. Sunday’s rematch may well be another heated affair between teams with emotions running hot. Wednesday’s game had a whopping 117 total duels between the teams and 31 fouls, the physicality picking up in the second half as time ticked down. When Valour and Forge meet again, they’ll surely pick up where they left off. With the game coming so quickly after this one, neither manager will have much time to make major adjustments on the training pitch, but they’ll have plenty to consider from watching Wednesday’s match over again. “[Smyrniotis] is going to be in the hotel and he will be trying to find ways to counter what we brought today, but the thing is I told my players that we didn’t play a perfect game, and there’s elements in our game that we need to improve and we’ll be looking at what we can do better,” Dos Santos said. According to Smyrniotis, it may actually be easier to prepare for the next game, since he’s already done much of his scouting and film work on Valour prior to Wednesday. “It’s the easiest way to prepare,” he said. “You’re not looking at another game, you’re not looking at something different, you’re looking at what you saw in front of you. It’s right in the mirror. We’ve got to go look at it, and just be a better version of ourselves.” Either way, with the season entering its final stretch and both teams fighting tooth and nail for points, Sunday afternoon at IG Field is sure to be intense.
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Nassim Mekidèche, Valour FC
Though many on the Winnipeg side could be picked here (including Matteo De Brienne, whose goal was exceptional), Mekidèche was immense at centre-back in a game where Valour had to defend for long stretches. He finished with nine clearances and three interceptions, winning eight out of nine duels (including all three of his aerials) and generally doing excellent work defensively with a difficult assignment against David Choinière.
What’s next?
These two sides will play each other for a second consecutive game this weekend, as Forge remain in Winnipeg to take on Valour this Sunday, Sept. 4 (1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET). Watch all matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.