HIGHLIGHTS: Valour FC vs. HFX Wanderers FC (August 17, 2024) | Presented by tonybet

Valour FC moved up to sixth in the Canadian Premier League table after an intense 2-1 victory over the Halifax Wanderers on Saturday night in Winnipeg.

Jordan Swibel scored the winner for Valour, who had equalized initially through a Dan Nimick own goal. Massimo Ferrin opened the scoring for the Wanderers.

Despite some early possession from the Halifax Wanderers, Valour had the first significant chances of the match. Dante Campbell dispossessed Aidan Daniels just outside the Halifax box and slipped Diogo Ressurreição into the box.

The Valour winger’s chipped effort, however, was cleared off the line with an incredible acrobatic effort from Dan Nimick, while Jordan Swibel’s effort on the rebound was denied as well, this time by Yann Fillion. Several Valour players were left visibly stunned that they had not opened the scoring.

The visitors, however, opened the scoring. A long strike from Sean Rea was stopped by Jonathan Viscosi, but Ferrin tapped in the rebound for his third goal of the season. It was the first time in six matches that the Wanderers had managed to open the scoring — and just the fourth time all year.

Just before half-time, however, Valour found a leveller. Themi Antonoglou sent a dangerous cross into the box intended for Swibel, but instead, Nimick inadvertently headed the ball into his own net to tie the match 1-1. That score remained at the half-time whistle.

Antonoglou caused significant danger early in the second half again, with a lovely chipped cross into the box in the 52nd minute. However, Fillion got just enough of a touch on it to take it off the head of Swibel, who was lurking in the middle once again.

The Australian striker, however, finally found his moment of joy in the 63rd minute. After dispossessing his man in midfield, Swibel passed the ball out wide to Safwane Mlah, whose deflected cross into the box was flicked past Fillion from a tight angle by the Valour striker. It was Swibel’s seventh of the season.

Valour nearly added another moments later, as a ball over the top eluded both Wanderers and Shaan Hundal was in all alone. His effort was denied by Fillion, however, to keep his side in the match.

Desperate to get at least a point on the night, Halifax kept pressing. In the 85th minute, Ferrin forced an excellent low stop from Viscosi after good work from Lorenzo Callegari in the box. The Valour keeper was active off his line in the final moments, coming out to cut out multiple Halifax opportunities.

The Wanderers conclude a three-match cross-Canada road trip with three losses, a significant blow to their playoff hopes as they remain seven points below the fifth and final playoff spot. For Valour, meanwhile, they pick up their second win of a four-match homestand — which concludes next Sunday when Vancouver FC come to town.

BOX SCORE

Lineups 

Valour FC: Viscosi; Alarcón, Facchineri, Mourdoukoutas, Antonoglou; Faria (Kwemi 69′), Mlah (Ohin 90′), Campbell, Ressurreição (Chantzopoulos 90+4′); Hundal (Verhoeven 69′), Swibel (Binate 90′) 

Halifax Wanderers: Fillion; Fernandez, Nimick, Alphonse (Loughrey 76′), Timoteo; Callegari, Daniels (Coimbra 76′), Rea (Dias 72′); Bayiha (Vasconcelos 58′), Ferrin, Telfer (Probo 76′) 

Goals

23′ — Massimo Ferrin (Halifax Wanderers)
39′ — Daniel Nimick (Halifax Wanderers) (Own Goal)
63′ — Jordan Swibel (Valour FC) 

Discipline

17′ — Yellow: Sean Rea (Halifax Wanderers)
32′ — Yellow: Jordan Swibel (Valour FC)
36′ — Yellow: Gianfranco Facchineri (Valour FC)
50′ — Yellow: Clément Bayiha (Halifax Wanderers)
62′ — Yellow: Shaan Hundal (Valour FC)
90+6′ — Yellow: Themi Antonoglou (Valour FC)