Those who have made a few spins around the Canadian Premier League will insist not all results are created equal.
A win is a win is a win, as the old saying goes, but sometimes a victory on the road, or a come-from-behind result at home can be season defining.
And those who have followed the CPL since its inception in 2019 will certainly agree to this: any kind of result in Hamilton against powerhouse Forge FC, whether it's a win or a draw, can give a squad an emotional lift that carries into the following work week.
Case in point, we give you Valour FC after they earned a 1-1 draw against Forge FC for their first point of the young CPL season. Critical now is to carry that momentum into Friday's home opener at Princess Auto Stadium against HFX Wanderers (7 p.m. start).
"It's funny, after the game it was like some of the new guys new to the league didn't really seem to understand that Forge has been the best team in this league for a while," said Valour forward Shaan Hundal, who scored his squad's goal. "That's a tough place to play so going on the road there and getting a point is a bonus. Obviously, you expect to win a lot of games at home and then on the road it's whatever you can get. But getting a point there is important.
"The vibe this week has already been a lot better than last week after a loss and that's so important to carry into our home opener. "I just told (midfielder Jordan) Faria the same thing -- the vibe this week after getting a point is different."
Valour will be the last CPL team to hold its home opener and will be at Princess Auto Stadium for five of its next six matches. The club was just 5-2-7 (wins-draws-losses) at home last year -- second worst in the league to Vancouver FC. Yet over 2021-22 the team was a solid 14-7-7 at home, posting the fourth-best home record over those two seasons.
Canadian Premier League Home Records
(Wins-Draws-Losses-%)
- Cavalry FC -- 42-19-10; .725
- Forge FC -- 42-14-16; .681
- HFX Wanderers -- 33-21-17; .613
- Pacific FC -- 34-17-21; .591
- Atlético Ottawa -- 19-22-17; .517
- Valour FC -- 26-15-29; .479
- York United FC -- 25-18-28; .479
- Vancouver FC -- 10-7-14; .436
Critical for Valour this season in its push for a playoff spot -- which would be a franchise first -- is to make Princess Auto Stadium a home fortress again.
Again, that's where the draw in Hamilton can help, especially after a lackluster effort in a season-opening 2-nil loss to Pacific FC in Victoria.
"That was our biggest takeaway from that (the loss) -- we didn't give a fair representation of who we are," said goalkeeper Jonathan Viscosi, who made an outstanding save on a Daniel Nimick penalty in the 84th minute to preserve the draw.
"We are a high-energy team, a very high-effort team and that's the way we have to play in order to get results. It was a good reminder of how hard we need to work in order to get something from it and in this league, nothing comes easy; nothing comes for free -- you've got to go and take it.
"We did that really well (in Hamilton). We're going to build on that and keep working and developing our team process and improving it."
That's especially true at home. It's no coincidence that the two best and consistent teams in this league -- Forge FC and Cavalry FC -- have built home fortresses.
"It's about being hard to play against," said Hundal. "Valour has been known as a hard-working team, even when I played against them that was their reputation.
"So that's the No. 1 thing we want to establish. When you play at home you have to bring energy, and you need to bring everything you can with fight and that can help get the fans on their feet.
"I love playing at home, especially with this new turf. We also have our routine where a few of the guys get together and have dinner the day before the game. We did that in the second half of the season last year and it worked so we're hoping to do it again this year."