2022 CPL Regular Season — Match #93
HFX Wanderers vs. Valour FC
September 10, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. AT
Wanderers Ground in Halifax, Nova Scotia
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Things are really coming down to the wire now here. Officially, there is now less than a month until the 2022 Canadian Premier League regular season comes to an end, making way for the playoffs, yet despite that, everything is still wide-open with five games to go. Still with seven out of eight teams alive in the playoff race, and just five points separating first and fifth, there’s all to play for across the table right now, which should make for a fun finish. Because of that, every game means that much more right now, and there’s no better example than this matchday’s ComeOn! Match of the Week, which comes this Saturday as the Halifax Wanderers get set to host Valour FC at Wanderers Ground. There, it’s literally do-or-die for both teams, as one team looks to rescue its playoff hopes, while another tries to keep surging and further cement theirs, setting the table for what should be an entertaining match. Considering that the last time these two teams met led to an intense and physical affair, one that saw the Wanderers narrowly edge Valour at home just under a month ago, both teams will be looking to use that game as fuel for this matchup, just in different ways. For the Wanderers, it’ll be all about building for them, as they build both off of that result, as well as a positive performance earlier in the week, as they drew Cavalry 0-0 in a hard-fought game. After a dry run earlier this summer, it was another solid result for the Wanderers, who have started to find their footing as of late, even if the results haven’t always been there, having won just two of their last 11 games, one of those being that Valour win. Therefore, returning to what they showed in that game is key, especially given that their playoff hopes literally rest on that, as a combination of a Wanderers loss and a win from one of Pacific or Forge will mean that the Wanderers will officially be left to watch this year’s postseason from home. As a result, staying alive will be the main order of business for Halifax on Saturday, and for good reason, giving their fans something to cheer about as the last few games near, as their team tries to stay alive for as long as possible. “We understand the situation we are in,” Wanderers manager, Stephen Hart, noted this week. “We, like everybody else, can see the table, and we can see when we are not being efficient in certain parts of the game. So they (the players) know what’s at stake. We all do.”
RELATED: 5 into 4: Breaking down the CPL’s 5-team playoff race for final stretch of 2022 | CanPL.ca Newsroom: Valour break into top 4, York impress at Pacific (ft. Dominick Zator) | Valour FC’s Phillip Dos Santos named CPL Manager of the Month for August | Valour FC’s Sean Rea named CPL Player of the Month for August
Meanwhile, on the other side, Valour is just looking to keep the good times rolling. Currently riding a three-game winning streak, including back-to-back wins over Forge at home, that has allowed Valour to slot into a spot in the top four, of which they currently stand as of writing. Because of that, Valour is going to want to do whatever it takes to keep that run going, as another win could push them as high as second place depending on results around them this weekend, further giving them the belief that this can finally be the year that they make the playoffs. Currently in the form of their lives defensively, while getting some timely goals at the other end, they’re certainly playing like a team that wants to do some damage in the playoffs, so look for them to try and repeat that once again in this game, inching them closer to that milestone. “We have to keep going,” Valour head coach, Phil Dos Santos cautioned this week. “I think we haven’t achieved anything yet. And more than ever, the race is getting tighter, so the margin for error is very, very small.”
*Make your match picks prior to kickoff at canpl.ca/predictor for a chance to win prizes, including the grand prize of a trip to the 2022 CPL Final! To learn more about ComeOn!, click here.
- All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
- Valour hoping to lean on defence-first foundation once again**:** As mentioned earlier, defence has been the name of the game for Valour as of late, something that they’ll look to bring once again to this match. Having conceded just two goals in their last seven games, keeping a whopping five clean sheets over that span, they’ve been airtight defensively recently, all of a sudden helping explain their hot run of five wins and one draw over that span. All built off a strong foundation at the back, one that is carried by goalkeepers Rayane Yesli and Jonathan Sirois, and supported by a strong centre back core of Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Nassim Mekidèche and Rocco Romeo, that’s provided a good base layer for Valour to turn to. From there, the rest falls into place quite nicely, as everyone else on the pitch is very involved in the defensive phases of the match, especially when Valour loses the ball, making sure that they do their best to get numbers back when that happens. Through that, it’s allowed a foundation that sees Valour currently sit third in goals against with just 24 goals against in 23 games, which is not bad at all, helping explain their recent surge up the table. “Yeah, I believe defending well starts with the front,” Dos Santos explained. “We very rarely isolate defending just with the backline and the defence.” He later added: “Overall (as a whole team) it’s been good, we just need to keep it going now.” * **Wanderers hoping for more growth from young defensive group: **On the other side, however, look for the Wanderers to try and take some inspiration from Valour’s defensive solidity, as they’ve unfortunately been unable to have similar success at the back this season. As a result, they sit second-last in goals against with 33 in 23 games this year, which combined with their league-low goal tally of 22, shows why wins have been hard to come by in 2022. Because of that, they understand how important it is to tighten things up defensively, and they showed that in their last game, a 0-0 result against Cavalry. It might not have been the win that they so badly would’ve craved, but given that they went out and played a back five and goalkeeper that had an average age of 21.2 years of age, they’ll have no complaints about that. Therefore, look for Kieran Baskett (20), Mo Omar (23), Christian Campagna (20), Jake Ruby (22), Zachary Fernandez (20) and Gabriel Escobar (22) to pick up where they left off in that game, giving the Wanderers a chance to win at the other end, provided they can find a way to breach Valour’s solid defensive unit. “I expect for us to build on the last performance,” Hart said. “We were pleased with the way that we played, not with the result, but we were pleased with the way we played.” * **Both teams expecting another physical matchup: **Last time these two teams met, in a surprising turn of events, the game ended up being quite physical, leaving both teams to earn a total of seven yellow cards and one red card (for a second yellow). Yet, that shows how much a win meant for both teams last time out, and given that the stakes are even higher this time around, don’t be surprised if that intensity and physical play are there again today. And that could be key in this game. Of course, both coaches will want their teams to play on that edge, but not go over it, because as Valour learned last time, when they lost Mekidèche to that red card, it ended up hurting them in that game, leading them to pick up their only loss since July. If both teams can find that balance, however, it should be quite entertaining, making for another competitive, tightly-contested match. “We know it was a difficult game for us the last time we travelled to Halifax, so it’s a high alert game,” Dos Santos warned. “We’re going to need to be good and we need to keep this form going.” Hart, meanwhile on his end noted: “I think it’s important that we show discipline when we don’t have the ball (on Saturday).”
ALL-TIME SERIES
Valour wins: 5 || HFX Wanderers wins: 7 || Draws: 2
Previous match:
August 13, 2022 — HFX Wanderers 1-0 Valour FC
KEY QUOTES
“The question is: ‘Can we repeat the performance? Can we better the performance?’. I think the guys were huge last week, but again, none of that matters now that we’re past that, now that we got those points in the bank. Now, it’s all about going out and being able to repeat those performances, and more than that, being able to get points on the road, too. I think now we need to look ahead of us, we’re above that line, we don’t want to drop below the line, so we have to do the job this week.” — Valour head coach, Phil Dos Santos. ** “Yeah, I think it’s more (important to focus) on what we do as a team, and I’m trying to encourage that. We have already shown them the details of what they (Valour) like to do, what their strengths are, what their approach to games is like (…) we have to be mentally prepared to do whatever is necessary to come away with the results.” — HFX Wanderers head coach, Stephen Hart. **