It’s now or never for Valour FC and Pacific FC in their race to reach the Canadian Premier League playoffs, as they get set to meet in a massive clash of sixth and seventh in the table at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday.
With both teams coming off heavy defeats in their most recent matches, as Valour fell 4-1 to the Halifax Wanderers before Pacific lost 5-1 to York United, that has left both teams in a bad spot heading into their final eight games of the season.
Certainly, for Valour, this feels like a must-win, as they currently sit 14 points behind fifth-place Halifax in the race for the playoffs, with only 24 points left for grabs in their season.
Having missed a golden opportunity to potentially narrow that gap between themselves and the Wanderers last week, the last thing they want to do is let it widen any further, as that might spell the end of their playoff hopes, even if they can’t be mathematically eliminated this weekend.
Because of that, it’s expected that they look to come out strong as they try and forget what went wrong for them in Halifax, where they were actually only down by one goal at half time before the Wanderers pulled away with an impressive second-half outburst.
Winless in four games in August after winning back-to-back games to close out July, they’ll want to finish this month on a high note, too, especially at home.
“Status quo is not an option,” Valour FC head coach, Philip Dos Santos, said this week. “We have to try and move things to create a shock within the group, to try and motivate the guys, make them understand that there are moments where you need to go beyond what you see in front of you.”
He added: “We have to go one game at a time, just think about the next one, and find a way to win it.”
As for Pacific, while they sit slightly closer to the Wanderers, only 10 points behind them, this is still just as big a game for them, even if they could technically afford a draw a lot more than Valour could, for example.
Ultimately, given what awaits them in their schedule, with all four of their remaining away trips coming against sides that occupy playoff spots, this is the sort of game they need to get maximum points from.
Therefore, much like Valour, they’ll need to have a short memory. Having also played York close for a large chunk of their matchup, reaching the 70th minute only down 2-1, they were left powerless to a late York wave that pushed Pacific to an emphatic defeat.
Having won two and drawn one of their previous three games before that York loss, Pacific will have felt that they were in decent form, too, showing why they’ll want to show that defeat won’t derail the progress they had started to make this month.
“We can only look forward,” Pacific FC head coach, James Merriman, said. “We can only look ahead to this game and focus on Valour. What happened last week can happen; we debriefed it. We need to take things from it, of course, but we need to move on and move forward.”
In terms of injury updates, Valour looks set to welcome back Kianz Froese into their squad, while Pacific will be without Sean Young and Daniel de Pauli on their end.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
- Who will be able to find an offensive breakthrough? One thing worth watching in this game? Both teams have struggled in front of the goal, as Valour has scored a league-low 20 goals in 20 games, while Pacific has scored the second-fewest goals with just 22 in 20 games. Because of that, it wasn’t a surprise to see that both combined for a 0-0 draw in their last meeting, showing the effect of their offensive struggles. Granted, both teams look a lot different than then - both have switched formations, with Valour using more of a 3-4-2-1 now, and Pacific a 5-4-1, and both have made moves to add to their attack, with Pacific’s headline signing the return of striker Alejandro Díaz, and Valour this week adding attacker Oskar van Hattum. Between that, and what’s at stake in this match, it feels like it’d be unlikely for both to combine for another 0-0 - even if that isn’t a far-fetched outcome on paper. In a game that’s not just a must-win, but a must-not-drop points matchup, it’ll be hoped that desperation can yield an entertaining outcome, even if both teams will be hesitant not to make mistakes in the early going.
- Can Pacific find a formula with a rejigged backline? It’s been a tough few games for Pacific defensively, as they’ve conceded nine goals in their last three games - and they were already struggling a bit at the back before York United hit them for five last week. Namely, the big reason for that has been the departures they recently suffered, as U-Sports players Eric Lajeunesse and Finn Tugwell returned to school, which were two big blows given the roles they’ve played in this Pacific team this year. Because of that, they’re looking for new solutions at the back - the recently signed Matthew Baldisimo, Roshawn Juhmi and Ahmad Mansour have all played there, as has midfielder Sean Young, as they’ve tried a few different solutions to try and alleviate the problem. Because of that, keep an eye out for who they deploy in this game, as it’s hard to know who will get the start other than Aly Ndom, who has remained the heartbeat of this team’s defence all season long, despite the revolving door of options around him. If Pacific’s to have any chance at a late playoff push, they can’t afford to leak goals the way they’ve had in recent weeks, especially given their offensive struggles, showing how important it is that they figure out how to rejig their backline in these last eight matches.
- Valour still looking for offensive leader: It’s a surprise to see, but through 20 games, Valour still are without a player who has scored more than three goals, as Kris Twardek and Kelsey Egwu share the team lead with three goals apiece. Given that Twardek is a wide player who has even played wing back lately, and that Egwu is a centre back, that is a worry for Valour, yet shows why they’ve struggled the way they have offensively this year. During a season where strikers have stolen the show in the Canadian Premier League, Valour haven’t gotten that same consistency up front, something they’d love to change. In particular, though, one name to watch is Myles Morgan - the U21 Canadian has two goals and three assists, with four of those goal contributions coming since mid-July, so there are signs he can carry a bigger load offensively for this team. It’s a lot to ask of a youngster, so Valour will need to support him, but he’s shown a willingness to step up and assume that responsibility, which is what you want to see from a young forward, where confidence can be just as important as any skill in their locker.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Valour FC: Gazdov; Facchineri, Romeo, Egwu; Twardek, Mlah, Alarcón, Antonoglou; Figueiredo, Froese; Morgan
Pacific FC: Melvin; Juhmi, Ndom, Baldisimo; Chung, Browning Lagerfeldt, Daniels, Mukumbilwa; Heard, Díaz, Zanatta
ALL-TIME SERIES
Valour wins: 4 || Pacific wins: 17 || Draws: 4
Last meeting:
June 1, 2025 — Valour FC 0-0 Pacific FC
KEY QUOTES
“Be free, play football, and enjoy playing football, enjoy going out there. We look at the potential of this squad, and these guys haven't forgotten how to play football, so just go out, do what you do best, enjoy the game, don’t hold back. There are eight games, so look at it as a short-shot competition. That’s our message.” – Valour FC head coach Philip Dos Santos
“The group is in a position to attack until mathematically we can't get into a playoff position. We need to keep pushing and fighting. We know the importance of this game. We've been speaking about it for weeks now; we’ve got to focus on the next match. There are eight games left, so we need to finish those games with a strong identity, some consistency and better performances, week-in, week-out. We can't have a couple of good games and then have a result like last weekend. We can’t do that during the next eight matches, so we need to stay stronger mentally - but we can't look too far ahead, either.” – Pacific FC head coach James Merriman
