Matches are coming thick and fast for Valour FC right now, as they travel to Hamilton on Saturday for their third in eight days.
The Winnipeg side won't mind, however, as they are flying high following winning back-to-back games for the first time this season. After a 3-1 win over Vancouver FC in Langley on Friday night, they returned home on Tuesday to defeat Cavalry 2-1.
As they look to make it three straight against Forge FC at Hamilton Stadium, they face an opponent running a very different race. Still undefeated as the CPL enters its 17th match week, Forge are just a single point behind top-of-the-table Atlético Ottawa.
Valour, meanwhile, moved up to sixth in the table with their win over Cavalry on Tuesday night, but are still 10 points out of the fifth and final playoff position. There is a further 20-point gap between them and second-place Forge.
While Valour have given Forge plenty of problems over the years, the vast majority of those have come on home turf. The Winnipeggers have won just once at Hamilton Stadium in their history, all the way back in 2022.
They did, however, manage to take points off of Forge when they travelled to Hamilton earlier this season, in a 1-1 draw back on April 19. The most recent clash between the two sides, however, was far less favourable to Valour.
The 5-0 drubbing Forge handed them at Princess Auto Stadium was the second-worst CPL regular season loss in club history, surpassed only by an 8-0 result they suffered against Cavalry FC back on September 2, 2019.
Brian Wright scored a first-half hat-trick for the Hammers in that match, and also tallied his first Forge goal in the opening meeting between the two sides back in April.
Forge will be bolstered by the return of Alessandro Hojabrpour, who is back in training and available for Saturday's match after missing several weeks due to injury.
Valour, meanwhile, were forced to make a pair of short-term goalkeeper signings with both Jonathan Viscosi and Eleias Himaras unavailable for Sunday's match. They have added 21-year-old Callum Weir and 17-year-old Adam Kour for this weekend's matches.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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Valour's goalkeeping situation: As the Winnipeggers travel to Hamilton on Saturday, they will do so without their two starting goalkeepers. Jonathan Viscosi was injured during Tuesday's 2-1 victory over Cavalry FC, while late in the match, Eleias Himaras saw himself sent off from the bench and as such is suspended for Saturday's match. In response, Valour added Callum Weir, a 21-year-old who actually played against them earlier in this season for TSS Rovers in the Canadian Championship. They also brought in Adam Kour, a 17-year-old who has trained with the club in previous seasons and spent this past year with CS Saint-Laurent. Both players join the Winnipeg club on short-term injury replacement contracts. Whoever starts on Saturday, likely Weir given his age and experience, they will have a big test on their hands against one of the CPL's most lethal attacks.
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Forge FC's Filion finding ways to make an impact off the bench: While his season high is 22 minutes, Max Filion made his 13th appearance of the season for Forge FC this past Friday. The 22-year-old has consistently proven to be a reliable player for Bobby Smyrniotis this season, coming off the bench late in matches and filling a role tactically. Against Halifax, Filion had his best moment yet in a Forge shirt, scoring an 88th-minute winner against the Halifax Wanderers -- his second of the season. Having mostly been a central defender before his most recent campaign at the University of Montréal, from whom he was selected 15th overall in the 2025 CPL-U SPORTS Draft, his transition to a forward has been impressive, particularly in as tactically demanding an environment as Forge. "His first time in a professional environment, I think two years removed from being a defender, and he's had to learn a lot here, and he's doing an excellent job," said Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis.
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Valour's fluidity in attack igniting offence: A big part of Valour's recent resurgence has been the five goals they have managed to score over the past two matches combined -- an attacking outburst which has come from Valour finding a good attacking balance and fluidity. Kianz Froese has been central to this, demonstrating his quality whether he is playing as an attacking midfielder or leading the line as he did this past week in a more advanced role. Bruno Figueiredo, meanwhile, played as a ten against Cavalry -- a role which Dos Santos thinks suits him well given his ability to be creative with the ball. Myles Morgan has shifted out wide to the left, but still gives the team a more traditional target to play towards if they need to get out of pressure, while on the opposite flank, Kris Twardek brings directness and an incredible work rate. These players can shift roles, even within a game, which is going to make it difficult for Forge to know exactly what to expect on Saturday.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Forge FC: Koleilat; Rama, Nimick, Achinioti-Jönsson, Jevremović; Hojabrpour, Bekker, Babouli; Borges, Massunda, Wright
Valour FC: Weir; Fernandez, Egwu, Facchineri, Antonoglou; Ohin, Mlah; Twardek, Figueiredo, Morgan; Froese
ALL-TIME SERIES
Forge FC wins: 13 || Valour FC wins: 8 || Draws: 3
Last meeting:
June 22, 2025 — Valour FC 0-5 Forge FC
KEY QUOTES
"I've got a lot of trust in these guys, and they've given me a great ability to be more tactically flexible with them, allow them to change looks on the field. And I think that's been an enjoyable part of this group."-- Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis
"It's been great, I had one season in University as a striker. And honestly, Bobby helped me, the whole coaching staff helped me tactically and everything. So it's a good environment, and you learn from the best." -- Forge FC forward Max Filion
"It's very difficult for players when they get into a spell of losing matches, and the doubts start kicking in, and you start asking yourself when the next win is going to come. So when you're able to get out of that, you need to cling to that and just build on it." -- Valour FC head coach Phil Dos Santos
"I think we can [make the playoffs], just one game at a time. It's taking one game at a time and by the end of the season we'll see where we're at." -- Valour FC forward Myles Morgan
