2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #65**
** Valour FC vs. Forge FC
** August 4, 2024 at 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET
** Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba
** Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980** // Tickets available here
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Valour kicks off a crucial portion of their schedule with a massive Canadian Premier League clash, as they get set to host Forge FC at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday. Their first of nine home matches they’ll play over the last 12 games of the CPL season, it represents a huge opportunity for Valour, who sit just six points behind the playoff line heading into this weekend after beating Pacific away in their last match. Thanks to that victory, they can now head into this stretch with belief that they can quickly make up that gap and claw their way into a playoff spot, and there’s no better way to prove that with a win over Forge. A team they’ve matched up evenly with historically, sitting with a record of 7W-2D-11L in 20 all-time meetings against Forge, they’ll use that as fuel to try and kick off this stretch on a high note. Coming off what head coach Phil Dos Santos recently noted was their best back-to-back stretch of the season, as they drew Atlético Ottawa 2-2 before they beat Pacific, Valour enter this game filled with confidence, too. Starting to find their feet offensively while looking like the solid defensive unit that they’re typically known for, they’ll feel that they have what it takes to go on a run, especially knowing that they’ll have the chance to do so while playing several crucial games in front of their home fans. After a long stretch away from home, having played just five of their first 16 games at Princess Auto Stadium, they want to make up for lost time now, and rightfully so. “We’re looking forward to it,” Dos Santos said. “We’re looking forward to see how the players are going to respond, and how they’re going to embrace the responsibility of having to get points now that we’re home and and that we’re getting this stretch, where it’s going to be about making up for the points that we’ve potentially lost after so many games on the road.” On the other side, however, Forge will be happy to spoil Valour’s party, as they continue to tackle a strong stretch of their own. Undefeated in their last four (2W-2D-0L), they’ve quietly started to climb up the CPL table, entering this weekend in third place, four points behind leaders Ottawa. Sitting with a game in hand, however, Forge knows that they’re well-positioned to catch Ottawa, who they face next week. First, however, they’ve got their focus on Valour, knowing that a win in this game could be massive in their title quest, giving them a big boost. Especially given their past struggles at Princess Auto Stadium, having won just one of their last six visits to Winnipeg (1W-0D5-L), they’ll know that this game won’t be easy, and will prepare accordingly. “Getting into the second half of the season, it’s important for us to pick up maximum points from these games over the next couple of weeks, which are very important for us,” Forge’s head coach, Bobby Smyrniotis, said this week. “And it starts with this one on Sunday in Winnipeg.”
In terms of squad availability, Forge is set to welcome back full back Daniel Parra after he served a suspension in their last match, but remain without some key regulars due to injury. Meanwhile, Valour will welcome back Roberto Alarcón after a three-match ban, but will be without Raphael Ohin due to yellow card accumulation, although it looks like Juan Pablo Sánchez is set to make his return from an injury.
All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, FuboTV, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
- **Valour getting set for start of crucial home stretch: **As Valour gets set for this key stretch of home games, however, they’ll want to find a way to clean up what they’ve shown at Princess Auto Stadium so far in their first five home games. Sitting with a record of 2W-0D-3L in those matches, having scored just five times and conceding six goals, they’ve been unable to impose themselves as much offensively as they would’ve liked across that stretch. Despite that, they’ll be encouraged by their defensive numbers, as they’ll have a good opportunity to pick up wins if they can keep up that form, but that will only happen if they get going offensively. For what it’s worth, they’ll be helped by getting this stretch of games to get used to their home ground once again, especially after they replaced the turf this offseason. Having typically done well to play at home in the past, using the width of their pitch to their advantage, they’ll feel they can return to those ways now that they’ve gotten a feel for their new surface. A team that does well to stretch the pitch with wide overloads while using the middle to their advantage, they know that they’re well set-up to take of their home field, and will look to prove that going forward. * **Kwasi Poku finding different ways to lead offensively for Forge: **No doubt, Kwasi Poku’s been a key bright spot for Forge as of late, helping them push up the table, as he’s now scored eight goals, tied for the CPL lead, while adding two assists. For someone who was only thrust into a starting role as a striker partway through the season on an emergency basis after some key injuries, he’s adjusted to the role masterfully, and has gotten better each week, which has been impressive to see from the young Canadian. Yet, for all of the work he’s done to find his goals, it’s worth noting that the value he’s brought to Forge’s attack has manifested itself in other ways. For example, he’s been a key presence defensively, helping lead his team press effectively, while doing a lot of important work off the ball in possession to open up space for his teammates, who he also tries to link-up with his hold-up play. Often, the hardest thing for a young striker can be to get used to those nuances of the game, as they can be quite focused on scoring goals and forget that their job can be much more than that, but that hasn’t been an issue for Poku. Perhaps, that’s a reflection of his versatility, having played as a full back, winger and midfielder in the past, but Forge won’t complain. For a team who has several attacking options to rely on, it can be a huge asset to have a focal point like Poku to play off of, bringing everyone into play, and Forge’s recent uptick in form is a reflection of the work he’s done in that regard. “That’s all stuff that we’ve worked on with him,” Smyrniotis explained of Poku. “(There’s his) defending, where he’s gone from being a guy who’s chasing everything down to picking his moments and picking his spots, and then we’ve made it a little bit more tactically aware, not only for himself, but for the team, as well.” * **Can Valour attack build off positive stretch? **Quietly, Valour’s attack is starting to heat up, as they’re now up to fifth in the CPL in goals for with 18, thanks to their big 3-0 win over Pacific. The first game in which they’ve scored three or more goals in a game all season, it was a big showing for Valour, and one they’ll look to build off. Especially given their aforementioned offensive struggles at home, they’ll want to prove that Pacific performance was a sign of what they can do at their best, instead of a one-game anomaly. For what it’s worth, however, they’ve got reason to believe that is the case, as they’ve been building offensively, scoring in three straight games for the third time this season, with their six goal haul across that stretch their best three-game showing of that bunch. Not only that, but they’ve found those goals without any goals from Jordi Swibel, either, who has slowed down after a hot start, but will want to re-find his form once again. The good news is that those around him have stepped up in a big way, such as Shaan Hundal, Abdul Binate and Themi Antonoglou, who all scored against Pacific, which is a strong sign of Valour’s growing offensive depth. Now, that’s leading to some tough decisions for Dos Santos, as he’s got to figure out how to best deploy his growing complement of offensive players, but he won’t mind that challenge. “I think that we have goals in us, like you saw in the last last few games,” Dos Santos said. “I think this team is a team that has goals (in them), we create and we get into good positions, so for us, it’s now about capitalizing and not thinking about what’s behind us.”
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Valour FC: Viscosi; Alarcón; Mourdoukoutas, Facchineri, Antonoglou; Campbell, Mlah; Faria, Ressurreição; Hundal, Swibel
Forge FC: Kalongo; Duncan, Achinioti-Jönsson, Metusala, Parra; Hojabrpour, Bekker; Choinière, Borges, Ampomah; Poku
ALL-TIME SERIES
Valour FC wins: 7 || Forge FC wins 11 || Draws: 2
Last meeting:
June 23, 2024 — Forge FC 2-1 Valour FC
KEY QUOTES
“I don’t want us to also play with the pressure of having to win. I tell the players that there’s one thing that we absolutely have to do, and it’s to show up every day and try to be the best that we can be every day. I don’t want them to feel the pressure of having to win, having to perform for our fans, as I think that we need to show up and be the best that we can be and give our best every day, and I’m sure that if you do that, there’s going to be more good than bad. That’s the mentality I want them to come in with, because when you start coming in and thinking that you need to win, that you need to perform for our fans, that’s unnecessary pressure. Pressure is good, we need to deal with it, we need embrace it, but it’s also about finding a balance.” — Valour FC head coach Phil Dos Santos “We’ve played some very good football, sometimes the results aren’t going to go your way the way you want them to, but I think that’s where our drive and our understanding of what we want on the field (comes into play). What brings success? One part is our football, the second one is our drive and the third is our desire to compete each and every week. I’ve always talked about it in the past, there’s a certain level of stress on player’s at Forge, because you can’t disappoint, you can’t fall off your level, you can’t drop, and that’s tough sometimes to maintain, so that’s something that we have to keep on driving into the players and into us, the staff, as well, because it’s not only a players thing, it goes across the club, about what we represent, and what’s expected of us.” — Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis