Score: Valour FC 2-0 York United
Goalscorers: Rea 46′, Forbes 70′
Game of the 2022 season: 73
CPL match: 323
Match in a minute or less
For the second time this week, Valour FC racked up a 2-0 win at home, continuing their push up the CPL standings. This time, York United was the team that they downed, as Valour picked up their third win in three matchups over York this season, continuing to get their number in 2022.
After a cagey start to this game, Valour broke the game wide open in the second half, as Billy Forbes first set up Sean Rea for the opener, before Rea repaid the favour by setting up Forbes for the insurance marker later in the half.
From there, Valour did what they needed to do to see this game over the line, keeping the good times rolling for them, all while slamming the brakes on what had been a positive run of games from York heading into this one, stealing the spotlight in this matchday’s ComeOn! Match of the Week.
Three Observations
Valour rides defensive solidity to another commanding result:
You may as well call it the ‘Valour blueprint’ now. Defend solidly, find a timely goal or two, and then ride that out to a win.
Especially when they’ve got Andrew Jean-Baptiste in the lineup, giving them that extra bit of solidity that they lack at the back when he’s not there, they can be a tough nut to crack on their day, which when you combine with some of the offensive threats that they have, makes for quite the dual-pronged approach to deal with.
Just ask York in this game. York didn’t necessarily have a bad day at the office, as they were certainly more than up for this game, especially in midfield, yet in the key moments, Valour really took care of business.
As a result, while the possession was even, Valour dominated the Expected Goals (xG) battle, winning that 1.89-0.54, showing how they were able to keep York quiet in their defensive third, while punishing them in the attacking third.
Through that, Valour wasn’t able to just win, but do so in ruthless fashion, too, hardly feeling threatened by their guests.
Yet, if you look at the standings, that’s why Valour sits with third-most goals for, and third-fewest goals against, as their ability to take care of business in both final thirds in most games is a huge asset.
Before this run, however, they just lacked a bit of consistency in their approaches to games, as while they would play well at both ends, they’d just find themselves unable to take advantage of key moments.
Now, however, they’ve found a way to change that, making sure that they ride the ebbs and flows of a game, something that these last few games have been a great example of their ability to do.
You add in the added tactical versatility that they’ve been able to show as of late, with players stepping up in new roles that aren’t necessarily familiar to them, such as nominal left back Matteo de Brienne now playing as a striker, you can really see the sort of buy-in that Dos Santos is getting from his players right now.
“We’ve got really mature players defensively,” Valour’s goalkeeper, Rayane Yesli, said of his team. “And when we have really good players, as we do, you just need to try to keep them in good structure, as we do.”
As they push towards the playoffs, that’s key, as while they might not have gotten off to the brightest start, they’ve been just as good as anyone else as of late, if not better, and on their day, are a tough unit to break down.
Ahead of these big games that await them here, which are often decided on the finest of margins, that could give them a big edge, one that could prove to be a big asset for them, knowing that they’ll be up for the occasion.
They certainly were in this game, and have been in a lot of them as of late, and will look to maintain that as they continue their push towards the top four.
“It’s very important,” Valour’s head coach, Phil Dos Santos, said of his team’s ability to capitalize on moments. “I tell the guys that when you play 90 minutes, you’ll have highs and lows in the game.”
“And if you’re able to go through the lows without conceding and shut things off as we did, then you need to capitalize on your highs.”
He added: “So it was important for us to come in and take advantage of the key moments of the game. (We also wanted) to put a solid performance together, yes, but also score in the moments that matter the most, and I think that’s what the team did.”
Lack of depth scoring continues to trouble York in key games:
It was a story that has become far-too-familiar for York this season. Shut out, unable to breach the net even once, they just can’t find a way to ditch their offensive struggles, who just seem to keep coming back to haunt them everytime that they seem to get rid of them.
Having seemingly ditched them in their last game, where they had a surprise four-goal outburst in a win over the HFX Wanderers, they went right back to usual service in this game, shut out for the 11th time in 19 games this season.
Plus, as seen earlier with the xG stats, it’s hard to say that it was undeserved, either, as while they had some good looks at goal within this game, there were none that really forced any difficult saves out of Yesli, who had a pretty comfortable day at the office all things considered.
Yet, that’s been a theme for York this season. Other than Osaze De Rosario and his team-leading eight goals, which represent 56% of his team’s 14 tallies, goals haven’t exactly flowed for York this season.
From a lack of chances generated, sitting as one of the lowest chance generators in the league, as well as some struggles finishing when they do have chances, there haven’t been many games where York has left satisfied with their offensive output.
“Yeah, I think that final pass, the final product, that’s been something that we’ve been missing all season,” York midfielder, Noah Verhoeven, said afterwards. “We just need to be more consistent in games.”
You add in a lack of depth scoring beyond De Rosario, which puts a lot of pressure on the young striker’s shoulders as teams hone in on him extra tight in games, and it leads to a lot of matches like this one, where it just felt like York could’ve played multiple 90s and not breached the target.
Therefore, as they start to slowly shift their attention to the future, changing that remains a big priority for York now here. Again, there are players who seem capable of being to help that, and there are moments in games where York shows good flashes, but those haven’t come often enough for them.
If not, it will lead to a lot more frustrating games like this one, where York’s attack offered more frustration than elation once again, a sight that has unfortunately become quite familiar for fans of the club.
“We can’t rely on one player to score goals,” York assistant coach Barry Smith, who was filling in for an absent Martin Nash in this game, noted. “We need to be relying on goals from all areas of the pitch.”
Sean Rea finds a way to haunt York once again:
For whatever reason, there’s just something about playing York that gets Sean Rea going.
Heading into this game, he’d built up a bit of a reputation as a York bogeyman, having already nabbed two goals and one assist in two games against them this year, with one of those goals being a dramatic late winner in a 1-0 game from back in May. Plus, if you go back to last season, Rea also had a two-assist game against York in one of their matchups, meaning that of Rea’s 13-goal contributions in his CPL career, five had come against York.
Well, after this game, you can now make it seven out of 15, good for 46% of his overall goal contributions, as he picked up where he left off against York earlier this year in this game.
Starting with a tidy opening goal, one that would later stand up as the winner, to a lovely assist that unlocked Billy Forbes for a key insurance goal, Rea just found a way to hurt York in the key moments, haunting them once again.
Yet, that shows what Rea, the 20-year-old CF Montréal loanee, can do on his day. Up to four goals and six assists on the season, he’s proven to be a real difference-maker on his day, especially when he’s able to find his way into the half-spaces.
A creative attacking hub that likes to operate in wide areas, he’s the sort of modern evolution of the #10 that we’re seeing a lot more of across global soccer, as the disappearance of the natural #10 continues to occur on most teams.
Instead, managers are looking for players who can get things done on both sides of the ball, especially in the middle, meaning that creative players are often shifted out wide to make an impact.
Which, as Rea is proving with Valour, he can be that kind of player. Playing a very similar role to Đjordje Mihailović, Montréal’s talismanic creative hub, these loan stints have been a great opportunity for him to flex his skills, while learning the sort of things that Mihailović did before becoming the player he is now today.
For Phil Dos Santos, that’s being more consistent, especially off the ball, something that he says that Rea has been improving on, but still needs to get better at.
When he plays as he did in this game, however, you can’t help but be excited about what that complete package will look like when it comes together, especially as he looks to be the likely soon-to-be-sold Mihailović’s replacement at the MLS level in the near future.
Until then, though, he’s got a lot of work still to do in the CPL, as he looks to keep on chipping in on Valour’s playoff push. With several games still to play, look for him to add to his already-impressive 10-goal contributions, continuing this fun campaign for him.
Especially considering that they play York once again, you can almost be sure that he’s not done scoring yet, something that Valour fans will be quite pleased to look forward to, one has to imagine.
“Rea is Rea,” Dos Santos said afterwards. “Rea is a player that in any given game, he can pull a rabbit out of his hat and open things up for our team, and I think that he did that for us today.”
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Billy Forbes, Valour FC
One of the newest faces on this Valour side, Forbes has quickly become a difference-maker for this team, and this game was a great example of that, as he nabbed a goal and an assist in a memorable performance down the right flank for Valour. He might not have touched the ball as much as a winger would’ve typically liked, racking up just 39 touches, but he made the most of them, finishing with three shots, three chances created, one big chance created and two successful dribbles, forming a nice one-two punch with Rea down the flanks when his team was in possession.
What’s next?
A trip east awaits Valour next time out, as they get set to travel to the Atlantic next week, where they’ll take on the HFX Wanderers at Wanderers Ground on Saturday, August 13th (1:00 p.m. CT/3:00 p.m. AT). Meanwhile, York will head home, as they get set to host FC Edmonton at York Lions Stadium on Sunday, August 14th (2:00 p.m. MT/4:00 p.m. ET).
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