2022 CPL Regular Season — Match #55
Valour FC vs. HFX Wanderers FC
July 10, 2022 at 2:00 p.m CT/3:00 p.m. ET
IG Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba
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For the first time in July, Valour FC are back at home this Sunday to close out the weekend in the Canadian Premier League. HFX Wanderers FC will make their second visit to Winnipeg in 2022, as they seek to carry on with their strong away form of recent matches.

For Valour, this match comes at the end of a 10-day layoff since June 29, when they beat Forge FC 1-0 in Hamilton. The extended break came after a massively successful two-game Ontario road trip for Phil Dos Santos’ club, as they beat York United 3-1 just a couple days before the Forge match to claim an impressive six points in difficult venues.

As it stands, Valour are sixth in the league table with a 4-4-4 record, but they’re just one point of both the Wanderers and Forge — who occupy the fourth and final playoff spot. They’ve only won once at IG Field so far this season despite five attempts, their last home game being a 4-2 loss to Cavalry, but the successful road trip will help mitigate that sting — as long as they can find their footing at home soon.

“We go by spells of games, and there’s always a targeted amount of points we want to get after a certain amount of games, and we felt we were a bit behind,” head coach Dos Santos said this week. “Now we feel that we’re a bit more on track and that gives us hope, and allows us to approach the next game with the confidence that we can go three wins in a row. It’s long due for us to have a good performance at home.”

Dos Santos will have a few more options to chose from for his lineup this week, with Daryl Fordyce back from injury and international players Kevin Rendón and Daniel Ascanio now eligible to play as well. They also added domestic defender Nassim Mekideche on Friday, though he may not yet be ready to play this weekend.

Halifax, meanwhile, also haven’t played in over a week, their last contest being a 2-0 loss at home to Atlético Ottawa last Thursday, June 30. Coach Stephen Hart wasn’t too upset after that game, fairly pleased on the whole with his side’s performance, but he’ll be very keen for them to get a result in Winnipeg.

Fortunately for him, the Wanderers have won both of their last two games away from home, at FC Edmonton and Pacific FC — the latter of which was a remarkable 3-0 triumph at Starlight Stadium against the defending champions. As mentioned, Hart’s side sit a point above Valour in fifth place, with a 5-2-6 record through 13 games.

These clubs have met just once so far this year, and it was a sluggish affair, finishing 0-0 at IG Field back in early May. Both managers will certainly hope to see their side attack a little more effectively this time around, though neither would be unhappy with another clean sheet.

Either way, this clash is no doubt an important one for two teams desperate to keep pace with the top four.

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All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Both sides look to pounce on mistakes: Valour and Halifax are both sides that can be extremely dangerous on the counter-attack, in their own ways. Valour’s direct, vertical play — often facilitated by Sean Rea and William Akio, in particular — can be incredibly punishing. That’s how they scored against Forge in their last match, with quick forward passes to get behind defensive lines at pace. The Wanderers are excellent at winning the ball in midfield, with the powerful duo of Andre Rampersad and Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé both among the CPL’s elite in that respect. Neither of these sides can afford to give the ball away cheaply, because their opponent will be waiting for just such an opportunity to attack on the break with their speed. Last time these sides met, both managers lamented that it turned into quite a transitional game (even though neither team managed to score); perhaps both will put added emphasis on individual focus and concentration to avoid mistakes and turnovers. “That’s a big part of their strength,” Wanderers boss Stephen Hart said. “Especially out wide. We have to be prepared to limit the amount of counter-attacks. Last time we played them we did that quite well, but they are a team that are very dangerous in that manner and we have to be fully concentrated, especially when we have the ball.”

• Well-rested opponents expect high-quality tilt: It’s not often that both teams enter a CPL fixture on over a week’s rest. Recently, a few teams have come out of extended layoffs against sides playing on much shorter turnarounds — for instance, Valour’s three-day gap between games against Forge’s nine days last Wednesday. Here, though, we find two teams returning to the pitch full of energy after some much-needed time off. Perhaps that’ll allow both coaches to get a few players back up to full strength after injuries — a healthy Cory Bent would be huge for Halifax, and if Daryl Fordyce could possibly return from his knock for Valour they’d have far more depth in midfield. “It’s difficult to get back into rhythm sometimes,” Hart said. “Hopefully the type of training we did helped us with this. It’s always difficult to come out of a gap because you’re not in that competitive phase, it’s a double-edged sword really.”

• Suspended strikers a concern on either side: Both Phil Dos Santos and Stephen Hart will have to make at least one significant change to their attacking lineups on Sunday, with forwards Walter Ponce and Samuel Salter suspended (for Valour and HFX, respectively) after picking up red cards last week. Both players are key focal points to their side’s attack — Ponce’s off-ball work is excellent as is his finishing ability, and Salter has quickly become a dark horse candidate in the golden boot race with his five league goals — and both will, therefore, be sorely missed. Valour have some reinforcements with newcomer Kevin Rendón now available to play in attacking midfield, but they’ll still need someone to fit in at the point of the lineup. The Wanderers, on the other hand, will look for a solution with the players they have; Akeem Garcia, Cory Bent, and Alex Marshall all came off the bench last Thursday and played reasonably well, which is a promising sign, as at least one of those three is likely to start.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Valour wins: 4 || HFX Wanderers wins: 6 || Draws: 2

Previous match:

May 7, 2022 — Valour 0-0 HFX Wanderers

KEY QUOTES

“It’s gonna be a difficult game, but we know it’s an important one. It’s one that allows us to take a step forward in the standings, maybe even jump into a top four position. We have to go in with the ambition to do the job at home, respect them, know where they can hurt us, but also go in in a way where we’re confident that we can get the full three points.” — Valour FC head coach Phillip Dos Santos

“Every game is the same from the opening game of the season, you need to get the points. They know what they have to do and we know what we have to do, and they’re at home. It’s crucial for us to try as best as possible to control the game.” — HFX Wanderers head coach Stephen Hart