2023 CPL Regular Season — Match #67
Valour FC vs. Pacific FC
July 29, 2023 at 1 p.m. PT /3 p.m. CT
IG Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba
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A busy weekend of CPL action continues on Saturday, as Valour hosts Pacific at IG Field in this matchday’s Tonybet Match of the Week.

A crucial game for two struggling teams, as Valour’s winless in four games, while Pacific’s winless in five, arguably makes it a must-win for both sides, who will both be desperately be looking to get back into the win column as teams around them continue to heat up.

For Pacific, they’ll be looking to climb back to the top of the CPL table in this game, as they fell from their perch there for the first time in months this past weekend after a 2-0 loss to Forge last Friday. Now sitting in a tie for second place with Forge behind new leaders, Cavalry, and only five points ahead of sixth-place Ottawa, they know that they’ve got a get a win, badly, before they risk falling out of the playoff picture altogether if things get any worse.

Despite that, Pacific remains confident in their ability to nab a win in this game. It’ll be tough, as they’ll be on the road, but given that they’ve nabbed a league-high 1.83 points per game away from home this season, they’ll want to keep up that form in this game.

The first of a stretch that will see them play eight of their final 12 games away from home, they’ll need to do that to have any playoff or title ambitions, so they know what’s at stake, and remain locked in as they approach that task.

“We’re aware of the situation that Valour’s in, but to be honest, we’re very much focused on ourselves right now,” Pacific’s head coach, James Merriman, said this week. “We’re respecting the work that we’re putting in every day in training, and we as a group know that we need to be better, we’re not happy with the recent weeks.”

“So I think we need to very much focus on our own performance, how we’re attacking, how we’re defending and show a big team performance to ourselves in this match.”

As for Valour, however, crunch time has already arrived for them, and has been here for a few weeks ago. Because of that, this is about as big of a game as they’ve had this season, as the fate of their season arguably hangs in the balance of this game.

Sitting six points out of the final playoff spot, they need a win, badly, before they risk opening too big of a gap for them to make up over the last 12 games.

Because of that, no better time to get a win than against a struggling Pacific team at home, allowing Valour to get things back on track after a 2-1 loss to York at home on the weekend.

Their second straight home loss, something they haven’t done since September of 2021, they’ll also know that this isn’t just a chance to push back up the table, but to reestablish IG Field as a fortress, too.

With some crucial home games looming in the next few weeks, that’s key, as they continue to tackle this make-or-break section of their campaign with vigour.

“These games are good,” Valour’s head coach, Phil Dos Santos, noted ahead of this one. “They’re games that are difficult. But if you’re able to put a good performance in and win a game like that, it could shift the momentum for us. I think that when we look at our season, we’re critical of many aspects of our game, but there have also been games where we’re scratching our heads after thinking ‘how did we not win this match?'”

“I go back to our last game, I think that we didn’t play well for eight minutes to start, and maybe five other minutes at the end of the first half, and apart from that, we created enough and we had enough chances to at least come out of that game with a point, and we didn’t, which is a bit repetitive for us. But I’m the type of guy that’s going to look at what’s next and work with the team, and that’s what we’ve been doing, we’ve been trying to find solutions to put different guys in good positions, to find goals and make sure that we don’t concede the type of goals that we conceded last weekend.”

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3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Will anyone be able to score? Heading into this game, there will be one big thing that both sides will be focusing on – scoring goals. That’s because, between the pair of them, they’ve only scored a combined four goals in their last eight matches, which has played a big role in each of their respective slumps. Yet, all offensive struggles aren’t created equal, so despite those slumps, both teams will have differing objectives in this game. For Valour, they’re just looking to generate more chances, especially in high-danger areas. In particular, they’ll look to create more in open play, as they’ve only scored one such goal in their last six games, which is a big worry. From there, they’ll be looking to one name to really step up and lead the attack, as they currently sit last in the league in goals for. They’ve had players step up in glimpses, such as Pacifique Niyongabire and Kian Williams, but will look for one of them to really take that next step up and lead this Valour attack forward. As for Pacific, chance generation hasn’t been an issue for them, but they haven’t been satisfied with the quality of chances they’ve created, as well as their execution in key moments. Prone to sometimes over-passing or over-thinking in front of goal, they’ve been their biggest enemy in the final third right now, and they’ll want to change that to return to their high-flying ways. Still the team with the second-most goals in the league, they can score, but will look to prove that once again in this game, led by big performances from the likes of Ayman Sellouf, Josh Heard and Adonijah Reid.

• Valour aiming to avoid another slow start: For Valour, it’s been a simple equation this year – score first, and they’ll do well. When they do that, they’ve got a record of 3W-1D-1L, doing a good job of not relinquishing leads once they gain them. The big problem? They’ve not done that enough, as they’ve made a habit of letting the other team score first in games. In fact, that’s happened to them 10 times this season now, in which they’ve got a record of 0W-4D-6L, which is less than ideal. Therefore, not only will they be trying to score goals in this game, but do so first, knowing how important that’s been to their success. A solid team defensively, reflected in the fact that they’ve also allowed a league-low 17 goals in 16 games, they’ve got the ability to see out wins. To do that, though, they need leads to work with, and Valour hasn’t provided themselves with enough of them this season, something they’ll now look to change against Pacific. “Yeah, the first goal is important,” Dos Santos said. “And it is for everyone, it’s not just for us. Especially at home, when you start chasing and you’re a team hasn’t scored much, desperation can kick in, and then you lose clarity and you lose references.”

• Pacific looking to regain defensive solidity: While Pacific’s offensive slump has been a cause for concern, it’s also something that they feel will correct itself over time, as they continue to generate chances and get into dangerous areas. Because of that, their main focus in this game will actually be on the other side of their game, defensively, as they’ve really slipped up in that area in recent weeks, allowing eight goals in their last five games. For context, that’s actually been 50% of their season total, as they sit tied with Valour for first in the league with just 16 goals against. Yet, that shows why they’ll be looking to clean up their defence in this game, which would only buy their offence more time to find its feet again. In particular, they’ll be looking to tighten up their team defence, which Merriman feels has been lacking in recent weeks. From how they press opponents, to their defensive shape, Pacific will be looking to clean that all up in this side, returning to their usual service defensively. “‘It’s a big focus for us, to show that personality without the ball that we know makes us a strong team defensively,” Merriman noted.

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Valour FC: Yesli; Baquero, Cela, Samaké, Haynes; Polisi, Campbell; Ulloa, Williams, Niyongabire; Selemani (4-2-3-1)

Pacific FC: Gazdov; Dada-Luke, Đidić, Meilleur-Giguère, Mukumbilwa; Aparicio, Toussaint, Young; Heard, Reid, Sellouf (4-3-3)

ALL-TIME SERIES

Pacific FC wins: 12  || Valour wins: 2 || Draws: 3

Last meeting:

Jun 21, 2023 – Pacific FC 1-0 Valour FC

KEY QUOTES

“It’s important. Look, our guys are not machines without emotions, they’re human beings. I would be lying if we didn’t talk about the fact that when you’re not winning with regularity, and you’ve lost a few games at home, it puts you up against the wall a little bit, so the way you step into games is very important. We need to generate momentum here. I think momentum in football is very important, and I think that when you’re playing at home, the way you enter the games is extremely important. So for tomorrow, it’s about getting into the game well, galvanizing our fans, getting them excited right from the beginning, and then trying to get that first goal. Right now, I’m not looking a lot more ahead than that, I think we need to go one game at a time. Right now, it’s almost like a final tomorrow, and we’ve got 12 finals for the rest of this season. We have this saying in Portuguese that my dad used to say a lot, and it’s that finals are not there to be played, they’re there to be won. And the way we approach this game needs to be with that mentality to win every element and aspect of the game, to win every duel. And once you do that, then you think about the next one. So that’s all that’s in our mind, it’s winning that first one at home, and then looking at the next ones after that.” –– Valour FC head coach Phil Dos Santos. 

“Yeah, this can happen. You don’t want to go through this, but sometimes you also need to in order to shape yourself as a team, so we need to respect the process and continue to play our way and believe in the way that we do things. I think we did have some games where we know we weren’t at our best, but I think last match against Forge, we did a lot of good things. But again, we conceded too easily, and we need to be better going at goal, so we’re staying focused on our daily work in our training environment, and we’re pushing as a group and becoming even closer as a team, knowing that we have to keep believing and trust in what we’re doing.” — Pacific FC head coach, James Merriman