July 22, 2023...Preview: Valour FC vs. York United - 2023 Match #65 (from canplca.com)
PREVIEW: Valour FC vs. York United — 2023 Match #65
2023-07-22
by MITCHELL TIERNEY, DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER (@MITCHELLTIERNEY)
2023 CPL Regular Season — Match #65
Valour FC vs. York United
July 23, 2023 at 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET
IG Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba
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Valour head coach Phil Dos Santos called it a six-pointer. As his side welcomes York United to IG Field for the second time
this season, the chance to beat a team so close to them in the standings cannot be missed.
For Valour especially, this game represents a significant opportunity to close the gap in the table. The Winnipeg side
currently sit five points behind York for the fifth and final playoff spot as the race starts to heat up with the second
half of the season officially underway.
“I expected a very difficult game, but I think right now, this goes without saying, every game is going to be like that,”
said Valour FC head coach Phil Dos Santos. “Everyone is trying to hold on to the maximum points they can get. I think it’s
a six-point game.”
Goals have not come easily for either side of late. York United are scoreless in their last two matches, while Valour hasn’t
scored an open-play goal since the last meeting between these two sides, a 1-1 draw on June 4, a stretch of seven matches.
Both clubs come into this match after draws last weekend, with York playing to a 0-0 result with Pacific FC at home last Friday,
while a late Klaidi Cela goal earned Valour a point on the road in Hamilton against Forge this past Saturday.
The Nine Stripes have struggled against Valour of late, winning just one of the six meetings since Martin Nash took over
as head coach. They lost 2-0 to the Winnipeg club in the opening match of the 2023 season, before that aforementioned draw
in June.
Nash mentioned allowing late goals, in particular, has hurt his side against their Winnipeg rival since he took over. In June,
Matteo de Brienne scored a 72nd-minute equalizer at IG Field to earn Valour a point, while last year it was Sean Rea who tallied
a 2022 goal-of-the-season candidate in the 87th minute of their first meeting at IG Field.
Making the prospect of getting back in the win column against Valour even more difficult, York will be without a pair
of key players through suspension, as Paris Gee will miss the match as a result of yellow cards accumulation, while Mo Babouli
remains suspended for one more game. Noah Abatneh is also unlikely through injury, while new U-21 signing
Carson Buschman-Dormond will not yet be available.
Valour, meanwhile, has several players who are questionable for Sunday’s match, including captain Diego Gutiérrez,
Matteo de Brienne, Walter Ponce and Juan Pablo Sánchez.
OneSoccer is also available as a linear channel on Optik TV (Ch. 980), the pay-TV service operated by Telus, one of Canada’s
‘big three’ telecoms companies, as well as on streaming service fuboTV Canada.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
Valour begins critical homestand with four of their next five at IG Field: Winnipeg has been one of the most difficult
road trips for sides in the CPL in recent years, but that hasn’t necessarily translated into points for the home side. No home
team has allowed fewer goals at home than Valour’s five in seven matches at IG Field, but an inability to find the back
of the net themselves has meant that most of those matches have ended in just a single point. Now with four of their next
five at home, this is a critical stretch for the Winnipeg side to use that IG Field advantage to collect significant points.
Starting with York on Sunday, they host Pacific next Saturday, before Cavalry and Atlético Ottawa come to town in mid-August.
“We have to try to maximize points because we haven’t been able to do it as often as we should here at IG Field,” said Dos Santos.
Without Paris Gee, how will York handle the left-back position?: Arguably no player has been more important to York’s success
this season than Paris Gee. The 29-year-old leads the team in minutes and has played a variety of different positions across
the backline, and in midfield to help cover for injuries and absences this year. On Sunday, however, it will be Gee who is
absent as he will serve a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation. Making Gee’s unavailability even more difficult
is the fact that York does not have much cover at the left-back position. Lassana Faye departed the team earlier in the transfer
window, while natural fullback Noah Abatneh is expected to still be unavailable through injury. How York replaces Gee
in the lineup will be key to their success on Sunday. There are a few options, perhaps including Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé who has
played there in the past — especially given how good the midfield partnership of Brem Soumaoro and Matthew Baldisimo was last
match. “He has been one of our best players, and most consistent players, all year,” said Nash of Gee. “He will be a big miss
and obviously with Mo being out as well…our leading goalscorer, there are some challenges but we think we have players that
can fill those roles.”
With centrebacks returning to health, Valour adds another tactical option with the back three: In their last match against Forge,
Valour rolled out a back three that, given their depth and quality at the centreback position, could be an important tactical
option for the club during the back half of the season. Dos Santos said he liked what he saw from his setup defensively as they
limited Forge’s opportunities inside the box, but it didn’t have the desired effect offensively that he would have hoped,
perhaps in part due to the early injury to Matteo de Brienne. However, as his side starts to play teams for a third and fourth
time this season over the next few months, the formation is certainly a different look that they now have in their toolkit.
“With the type of centrebacks that we have it is definitely a tool for us to use when we deem it essential,” said Dos Santos.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Valour FC (4-2-3-1):
Yesli;
Baquero, Pianelli, Jean-Baptiste, Samaké;
Campbell, Polisi; Ulloa, Williams, Niyongabire;
Novak
York United (4-2-3-1):
Giantsopoulos;
Ferrari, Mourdoukoutas, Thompson, Gagnon-Laparé;
Baldisimo, Soumaoro;
Esprit, Alou, Santos;
De Rosario
ALL-TIME SERIES
Valour FC wins: 7 || York United wins: 5 || Draws: 2
Last meeting:
June 4, 2023 – Valour FC 1-1 York United
KEY QUOTES
“They have a lot of quality, they have experience, it is a roster that has been prepared in a way that when everyone shows up,
and they are in their best day, they can be one of the best teams in the league.” — Valour FC head coach Phil Dos Santos
“They are tough to beat at their place, so we are going to have to have a good game. We know really what to expect, an organized
team that is not going to give away a lot of chances.” — York United head coach Martin Nash
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