Valour FC secured its first win of the Canadian Premier League season with a 2-1 victory over York United FC at Princess Auto Stadium Friday night.
Gabriel Bitar gave the visitors at the end of the first half, Valour rallied back in the second, with goals from Kris Twardek and Kelsey Egwu.
“The first win is important,” said Valour FC head coach Phillip Dos Santos post-game. “You’re down 1-0 at home, and so doing it the way we did shows the character of the team. We have to make sure we build on this, that we keep doing the small things right. That’s our philosophy.”
After their defeat to Atlético Ottawa last week, Valour opted for five changes in their starting lineup. For York, captain Elijah Adekugbe returned to the starting lineup after a short injury stint. With Mauro Eustáquio suspended for the match, assistant coach Mateus Lima took over on the sideline.
Loading ...It was a rainy and windy night in Winnipeg, and as both sides got acclimatized to the wet pitch, there were several early turnovers and missed passes at both ends of the field. In the opening 10 minutes, Max Ferrari had two opportunities down the right flank, but they were easily saved by goalkeeper Eleias Himaras, making his first CPL start for Valour.
In the 19th minute, Valour had their first chance of the night. A cutback pass from Zachary Fernandez found Xavi Venâncio in the box, but York goalkeeper Diego Urtiaga saved his chipped shot off the turf.
Penalty appeal for Valour FC, York takes the lead
Valour was denied a clear penalty in the 27th minute. Off a Valour corner, a headed clearance bounced to Julian Altobelli, who stretched his arm to control the ball in the box. A no-doubter handball, the Valour players were bewildered when referee Mathieu Souaré didn’t point to the spot. Following that, the Valour backline had to be steady as Rocco Romeo made two crucial blocks on Riley Ferrazzo and Massimo Ferrin moments later.
In the 42nd minute, York would open the scoring off a fortunate attacking transition sequence. Picking up the ball from the left touchline, Steffen Yeates cleverly got by Venâncio into the middle of the pitch. Taking a hard tackle from Egwu, he laid a pass to Altobelli, who cut inside and hit a strike towards Himaras. Himaras, unable to control the bouncing shot, spilt the rebound to Bitar, who tapped in the easy shot to make it 1-0 for York at half-time.
Valour respond with great chances
Valour would find an equalizer early in the second half. In the 52nd minute, a whipped cross from Bruno Figueiredo found Twardek at the top of the box, who took a touch inside to set up his left foot and hit a powerful rising shot into the top left corner to make it level at 1-1.
In the 70th minute, Valour had a great opportunity to take the lead. Figueiredo delivered a perfect corner into an unmarked Romeo, but he couldn’t connect with the pass. Moments later, a great run by Jordan Faria down the field found Shaan Hundal in the box, but his close-range shot sailed over the bar.
In the 81st minute, Hundal had another great opportunity to find the lead. Faria threaded a through ball into Themi Antonoglou, who sent a cross across goal to an open Hundal, but he could not connect with the ball in front of goal.
Egwu scores winning goal to secure first win
After missing many great opportunities, Valour found the go-ahead goal in the 84th minute. A free-kick delivered into the box from Antonoglou bounced off the heads of Fernandez and Luke Singh into the feet of Egwu, who passed the ball into the back of the net to give Valour the 2-1 lead.
It was a long-overdue win for Valour as they showed resilience in the second half to secure a comeback win for their first of the season. Building on the positive momentum, Valour will look at this match as a spark for the rest of the season.
“You can train all you want, but the guys need to understand that out there, they need to be a team. They need to play together, they need to fight together. Today, we had that, said Dos Santos post-game. Now we have the blueprint. We need to keep going. We need to keep pushing.”
Egwu was a standout tonight at both ends of the field, getting on the scoresheet and winning key defensive duels throughout the match. “The number one thing I’ve learned is to just keep going, keep going and keep being resilient,” said Egwu post-game, I think it’s all the hard work I’ve put in behind the scenes coming to light, and I want to keep reaching further heights.”
For York, it was another disappointing loss, as their recent string of defeats highlights a pattern of issues. Their struggle to defend set-pieces continues to haunt them, as well as their ability to close out games after taking the early lead. For a third consecutive week, they have lost 2-1 off comeback goals and have dropped 14 points from winning positions this season.
“Because we suffer every game on set pieces, we work a lot, we see a lot of videos, but it happens again, I don’t know. It’s difficult for us, said Lima post-game, The way we play and the way we work, I think we deserve more. But the truth is we can’t win…we need to work, work and work more.”
York United FC will look to bounce back as they host Vancouver FC on Sunday, May 25. Valour FC’s next match will be in the Canadian Championship as they host defending champions Vancouver Whitecaps on Tuesday, May 20. They will return to CPL action on the road against Cavalry FC on Sunday, May 25.
