‘The talent and the quality is there'
A lacklustre start to the year has Valour FC on pace to finish dead last in the Canadian Premier League for a third straight year.
Through eight league matches, Winnipeg's professional soccer club is 1-5-2 for six points, but they do have an opportunity to climb out of the basement and into seventh place if they can pick up a win Wednesday morning against Vancouver FC (1-4-3) at Princess Auto Stadium.
Despite the discouraging start, Valour defender Gianfranco Facchineri believes the group can turn things around.
Daniel Crump / Free Press Files
Winnipeg Valour midfielder Diogo Dias da Ressurreição (left) takes the ball from Wanderers midfielder Sean Rea. The Valour lost their home-opener in a heartbreaker in stoppage time to Halifax in April.
'Confidence is high in the locker room right now. Now it's a matter of putting everything in our process together and stringing some results together,' said Facchineri on Tuesday.
'Every game is incredibly important, but (Wednesday) is a game against a team where we're very clearly in a playoff push with… It's one on the calendar you look at and (we) would love to walk away with three points… I think we've had to iron out some buffs and I think we've done that now.'
'I believe now is a time where this team will pick itself up and give our fans something to be proud of.'
It would help tremendously if Valour could find the back of the net. They've only scored six times in CPL play, whereas first-place Atlético Ottawa (5-1-3) has 24 goals in nine matches. Valour's last outing was a scoreless draw against visiting Pacific FC on Sunday.
Forward Shaan Hundal and defender Kelsey Egwu lead the Winnipeg side with two goals apiece.
'We've had good chances and we've gotten to those last 30 yards. And sometimes you just have to make that right decision at the right time instead of taking those 30-yard shots,' said head coach and general manager Phillip Dos Santos.
'I think the talent and the quality is there. We just have to find a way and make sure it happens sooner than later.'
Valour has shown flashes that they can play at a high level. There's no better example than May 20 when they earned a 2-2 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps of the MLS in the Canadian Championship quarterfinal at home in what was arguably the club's most impressive result in their seven-year history. Valour will meet the Whitecaps again in the second leg at BC Place on July 9.
Daniel Crump / Free Press Files
Winnipeg Valour midfielder Kris Twardek (left) battles against Halifax attacker Wesely Timóteo. The Valour lost their home-opener in a heartbreaker in stoppage time to Halifax in April.
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'As long as we're together, and unified in what we do and our gameplan, we're confident we can play against absolutely anyone,' said Facchineri.
The top five teams at the end of the 28-game season will qualify for the CPL playoffs. Valour is still on the hunt for its first post-season berth.
'We know that the margins are very slim in this league,' said Dos Santos.
'Apart from Pacific, we still play everyone three times so things could change very fast and it's on us to make that happen.'
taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca
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.
Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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