Final Score: Valour FC 3-1 Vancouver FC |
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Match in a minute or less
Valour FC delivered a statement performance on Wednesday afternoon in a 3-1 victory over Vancouver FC in front of a club-record 11,390 fans during the club's first-ever School Day Match.
After Vancouver FC opened the scoring through Emrick Fotsing in the 17th minute, Kris Twardek responded before half-time for the hosts. The match delivered more drama in first-half stoppage time as a shoving contest following a foul saw both sides converge, and resulted in Vancouver's Kunle Dada-Luke and Valour's Gianfranco Facchineri being sent off.
With the game reduced to ten players on each side, it was Valour that went in search of a winner, and found a pair of second-half goals to do just that through Kelsey Egwu in the 73rd minute, and Jordan Faria in the 82nd.
Valour are now undefeated in their past five matches at home in all competitions, and move above the Eagles in the table.
Three Observations
Valour FC put on a show during dramatic School Day game victory in front of club record crowd
It was a historic occasion in Winnipeg, a true showcase event for the club during their first-ever School Day match, which featured a club-record crowd and an electric pro-Valour atmosphere.
The occasion was met with a dramatic match between two clubs who were desperate for a result under the Wednesday afternoon Winnipeg sun. But in the end, it was Valour who lived up to the occasion, with yet another big-game performance in front of their home fans.
Less than a minute into the match, Vancouver already had the game's first chance as Alejandro Díaz got in behind, but couldn't make Valour pay as he had done so many times before.
From there, an electric back-and-forth pace continued throughout the half with a number of great chances for each side. Vancouver opened the scoring with some great build-up in the 17th minute, finished off brilliantly by Emrick Fotsing. The hosts responded just before half-time, with some great play of their own, creating a goal for Kris Twardek.
Just before the half-time whistle, the match boiled over and both sides came together just in front of the benches after a foul on Gianfranco Facchineri from David Norman Jr. Two red cards were brandished, one to each team. It was the second consecutive game with a pair of red cards shown in this fixture as there is clearly no love lost between players on these respective teams.
Valour undoubtedly adjusted better to the sending offs in the second half, bringing on Roberto Alarcón and shifting Zach Fernandez centrally to play alongside Kelsey Egwu in the back four. They used the newly opened spaces on the pitch well, particularly in transition, where they began to find a lot of joy.
If it didn't seem like the second half could possibly live up to the drama of the first, that was quickly dispelled when Valour were awarded a penalty after just five minutes. Shaan Hundal's attempt was saved, but the moment was an early symptom of Valour's relentless pressure in the second half.
Again and again, they kept pressing for the winner, and finally went ahead when a brilliant delivery from Bruno Figueiredo off of a corner kick found the boot of Kelsey Egwu, who tapped home his third of the campaign. Substitute Jordan Faria then put the match to bed in the 82nd minute on an outstanding solo effort.
After delivering a strong performance against the Vancouver Whitecaps in a 2-2 draw last month in the Canadian Championship, Valour once again showed up when the lights were brightest. It is a good sign for a club that know they will need many more big game performances ahead if they want to make a first-ever CPL playoff appearance.
"I think you go down 1-0 in a game where, emotionally, the guys were hyped, and they felt the energy, so you go down 1-0 and sometimes the balloon could deflate, and they didn't," said Valour FC head coach Phil Dos Santos of his team's performance.
"Very, very happy with the outcome, but I feel that the team has been growing, and for me, that's the most important."
Valour's attack comes alive as they use their width to unlock Vancouver FC
It has been a while since Valour FC delivered a performance quite like this. In fact, they had not scored three goals at home and won since August 11, 2023, and just the second time they have scored three goals at home in a league game in the past four seasons.
Valour finished the match with 3.61 expected goals, the second-highest single-game total in club history. Having come into Wednesday's contest with a league-low six goals in eight matches, this offensive outburst was incredibly welcome for the Winnipeg club.
As has often been the case this year, that attack usually originated from the wide areas, where Valour consistently looked to overload the wings. In his first start since Valour's opening match, Kian Williams provided a consistent outlet down the left flank, with Themi Antonoglou on the overlap, while Kris Twardek and Zachary Fernandez did the same on the right.
There was no drop off when Phil Dos Santos went to his bench, with Jordan Faria coming on down the left and providing a crucial third goal for Valour late in the second half.
Vancouver, meanwhile, continued to play with three traditional number nines up top, and as a result, they perhaps struggled to properly track and defend against those overloads. On several occasions, especially in the first half when the teams were at full strength, Valour created two-v-one situations out wide.
It was from this that their opening goal came, with Valour shifting the ball quickly, across to the left flank to Kian Williams. Striker Terran Campbell failed to pick up the run of Themi Antonoglou, who was free to drift into the box and square for Kris Twardek. Campbell isn't solely at fault for how the move played out, but not having a more defensive-minded player in that position certainly didn't help the situation.
Valour have been effective in finding and creating from wide areas all season, but on Wednesday they delivered the finished product as well, and that will give their attack an important boost of confidence.
Emrick Fotsing's star continues to rise, but Vancouver FC fail to manage the game once again
In front of a crowd full of school-aged kids, one teenager put in another outstanding performance.
Vancouver FC midfielder Emrick Fotsing, just 17, seems to be getting better by the week for the Eagles in his first professional season.
Last week, Fotsing scored his first professional goal in front of Canadian men's national team head coach Jesse Marsch in a 2-2 draw with Atlético Ottawa at home.
He followed that up by scoring a fantastic goal to open the scoring on Wednesday with an acrobatic effort to lift the ball over Valour goalkeeper Elias Himaras. Outstanding at winning the ball and in duels in midfield, Fotsing's increasing confidence with the ball has been clear in recent matches, as he once again created key chances on Wednesday afternoon.
"He's getting dangerous in the box, he's winning tackles, he's breaking lines," said Vancouver FC captain Callum Irving. "He's kind of a do it all type player, and I'm happy for him.
"But at the end of the day, we can't be relying on him to be our main goal threat. We can't be relying on him to be, like a star player. For us, he has to be complementary, and we need to support him and step up around him and try to provide more."
Despite Fotsing's goal just 17 minutes into the match, and a solid first-half performance overall, Vancouver again wilted as the match went on. It is becoming a frustrating trend for the Eagles, who have now failed to win on four occasions this season after opening the scoring.
They had some really strong opportunities to score more than once in the first half in particular, including a Terran Campbell header being cleared off the line by Facchineri shortly before Fotsing's goal.
But they lost concentration and energy toward the end of the half, and gave away an equalizer that not only deflated them but ignited the hosts and the crowd at Princess Auto Stadium.
With both sides reduced to ten men in the second half, they never really found their organization either in attack or defensively. That allowed Valour to go on the front foot and create a number of chances and ultimately find their winner.
It was another harsh lesson for this Eagles team that will need to start showing that they can learn them soon -- as they have now dropped to the bottom of the CPL table.
What They Said
“I think that we have goals in us. I think that the team has created over the last few games, it was important to keep the momentum at home going as well, give these young fans the opportunity, but also a reason to cheer and celebrate. So for me, that was the best part.” -- Valour FC head coach Phil Dos Santos
“We need goals from different players, we need goals from our strikers. And I think those change games and these are games where we are controlling the majority of the first half, and we should take advantage of that control and those chances and put the game out of reach. A game that's 2-0 at half instead of 1-1 is a big difference.” — Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Kris Twardek, Valour FC
Twardek's relentlessness in attack propelled Valour to victory, as he opened the scoring and was a threat throughout Wednesday's match. He finished with eight touches in the opposition box, four shot attempts, and five crosses.
What’s next?
Valour FC are next back in action on Sunday, June 15 (6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET) when they travel to the nation's capital to take on Atlético Ottawa. Vancouver, meanwhile, also have a significant test up next as they host Forge on that very same day (1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET).
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