‘We're hoping that we can turn the tide soon'

Winnipeg Free Press

7 days ago

It's been the same story with Valour FC since their inception in 2019.
They consistently lose and have never come close to even sniffing contender status. Sure, along the way, they'll show the odd flash here and there that maybe — just maybe — they're capable of turning things around, but they haven't yet, and there are zero signs that this will finally be the year that they do.
The club has lost five straight Canadian Premier League matches heading into Friday's road tilt against Vancouver FC (1-5-9), at 9 p.m. CT, in what is a battle of the basement dwellers as both sides have a pitiful eight points at the midway point of the season.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
Calvary FC celebrate Sergio Camargo's goal against Valour's Raphael Ohin (right) on Sunday. The loss was Winnipeg's fifth straight.
'I think the guys are in a good place. I mean, we keep building, and we keep working on our plan for the next game, and we're hoping that we can turn the tide soon,' said midfielder Kianz Froese.
Valour supporters have heard that one before.
Winnipeg's pro soccer club sits at 2-2-10 which is the worst start the team has ever had through their opening 14 matches. They've also been outscored 16-4 on their current losing streak.
Vancouver had seen enough and sacked manager Afshin Ghotbi earlier this week. If Valour doesn't figure it out soon, head coach and general manager Phillip Dos Santos will likely be next. Dos Santos was asked by the Free Press on Thursday whether or not he's been assured that he will finish the season with the team.
Dos Santos, who took over from Rob Gale in 2021, does not have a contract beyond 2025.
'I think that it's a legit question that you ask. It's the professional world of football. I'm a guy who always stays in my responsibilities. Assurance in football, to use the word assured, never,' responded Dos Santos.
'This is something when you sign up, you can't come in and say, 'I'm assured of what tomorrow is going to look like.' It's just not what we sign up for. And that maybe brings the adrenaline and a little fire. But I'll tell you this, I'm not one who worries too much about my future because I'm a person that lives strongly by faith, and I believe that the one who holds it all together has been taking care of me for years now and he'll continue to keep doing it, and that's all I can say about that.'
Out of all CPL teams that have been in the league since Day 1, Valour boasts the worst all-time record at 45-35-81 in wins, draws and losses.
Their latest defeat came last Sunday at home where they coughed up a goal in the 93rd minute to allow Cavalry FC to escape with a 2-1 victory. It was a game-winner that would even be unacceptable by rec league standards, as Valour left Cavalry midfielder Sergio Camargo all alone in the box for what has to be the easiest goal of his pro career.
York United FC (6-3-6) currently holds the fifth and final playoff spot with 21 points.
'It's these micro moments that are making us go from winning a match or drawing and getting points that allow you to build for the next one, and losing,' said Dos Santos.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
Winnipeg Valour head coach and general manager Phillip Dos Santos said Thursday that 'micro moments' are often costing the club the game.
'There are moments in games that you cannot replicate. You can't replicate in training what happened at the end of the last game. You have to keep working with the guys, and you need to find a balance between holding the guys accountable, but staying positive with them because, the truth is, there's nobody that wants to win more than the group that works together every day.'
It would make a world of difference if Valour had a legitimate striker, but they don't. The past two years they trusted their attack with CPL veteran Shaan Hundal, but with nine goals in 35 matches, the 26-year-old from Brampton, Ont., wasn't the answer. Valour shipped him off to York earlier this week in an uninspiring swap for 21-year-old Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy, a Toronto product who was born in Ukraine and has three goals in 23 career games.
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Valour has found the back of the net just 13 times this summer. Defender Kelsey Egwu leads the team with three goals.
'It's never just one player. I think that it's a collective and that's the way we need to look at it,' said Dos Santos.
'We need to find the solutions internally.'
Valour returns home July 29 for another showdown against Cavalry (7-4-3).
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Taylor AllenReporter
Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.
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