'Hopefully we make history': Valour FC hungry for chance to finally play CanPL playoff football
Valour FC are on the cusp of history: with a win on Saturday versus Cavalry FC, they could punch their ticket for coveted playoff football.
Earning a chance to compete for the North Star Cup would be a first for a club that has too often found itself on the outside looking in. And the gravity of the moment, with so much on the line, is not lost on Valour’s players and staff, some of whom have toiled for years without experiencing the thrill of the CPL playoffs.
“Honestly, it would mean a lot to me personally,” says captain Raphael Ohin, who was part of Valour’s inaugural squad in 2019. “But the most important thing is it’s about the club, it’s about the city, it’s about the people of Winnipeg and our fanbase, who have been waiting for a moment like this. I think making the playoffs for the first time in club history would bring a lot of joy to the fans. It’s history in the making.”
However, Valour’s destiny will not solely be decided at Princess Auto Stadium. With three points separating the Winnipeggers from Pacific FC, who currently occupy the fifth and final playoff spot, Ohin and his teammates know a few things will need to go their way.
The first piece of the puzzle is that head coach Phil dos Santos’ squad need to topple Cavalry at home to secure a potentially club-defining three points. Pacific will also have to lose to Forge, who won the CPL Shield this season, and Atlético Ottawa will have to beat or draw Vancouver FC’s last-gasp push.
Looking at the table, there’s only so much Valour can control and, from a coach’s perspective, it makes for a simple message to the players.
“We have a match to win and that’s the only way to see it,” dos Santos tells OneSoccer.
“I think that the reality is it’s a must-win match for us. It’s true that we choose what we want to let in our locker room or not. In many weeks, I’ve allowed us to see it as a process and the growth of the team and the fact that the sun will rise the next day but I think this week we don’t want that to get into our locker room now. We want to think about winning a football match. We want to make sure the guys are driven and excited about winning. They’re almost obsessed about it.”
And with all of Saturday’s matches being played concurrently as part of The Outcome!, it’s almost guaranteed that Valour’s fate will be decided in the final moments of the regular season. It’s a reality they’re excited by, especially given the many peaks and valleys of their campaign.
A CHALLENGING BEGINNING
Valour had the misfortune of being the CPL’s Wooden Spoon recipients last season.
Understandably, the club embarked on an off-season of change, recruiting players like Themi Antonoglou, Shawn Hundaal and Jordan Swibel to add some punch to their offence while veterans like Jonathan Viscosi and Tass Mourdoukoutas rounded out the backend. They also said goodbye to some club favourites, including U-21 Player of the Year Matteo de Brienne, Diego Gutiérrez and Rayane Yesli. Only a handful of players, like Ohin and midfield stalwart Dante Campbell, were kept on.
Despite the widespread change, the club started the season on the wrong foot, playing the first two months on the road as renovations were completed at Princess Auto Stadium. They lost their first five matches by a combined score of 13-3.
“At the beginning of the year, everybody knows that when Valour goes down 1-0, we’re not coming back. Or if it’s 2-0, we’re done. But we’ve shown that we’ve grown from that (start) and can bounce back in difficult games,” says Ohin.
Valour earned their first win of the season on May 20, beating the Wanderers 2-1.
And although it may have been a difficult start, dos Santos notes, it taught the group some important lessons early on.
“I think that we became a very resilient group,” he says. “There’s a lot of teams, when you find yourself down — I think we had 10 points in the first 14 games — there’s things that could happen in the locker room, people could turn against each other, but we never did that. We tried to find solutions. We tried to find ourselves. I think it says a lot about the character of the group.”
Campbell has spent parts of three seasons with Valour. Looking back at the beginning of this season, he credits the club’s coaching staff for keeping the group on the right path.
Ultimately, he says, their patient approach worked and they find themselves competing for a playoff spot because of it.
“It’s a crazy feeling. How did we make it here when we were falling behind before?” says the Etobicoke-born midfielder when asked to reflect on Valour’s journey.
“It can be a heartache and put stress on the mind when you’ve got this huge obstacle to overcome. But that’s not how we looked at it. We looked at it as a process and we trusted in our coach. We trusted in training. And step by step, we went, knowing we could eventually get there. We did that and thankfully we’re in the position we are now.”
The retention of both Campbell and Ohin has been integral to Valour’s midfield, especially given their drive and leadership. But 32-year-old goalkeeper Viscosi has also been a big part of the squad, his off-season recruitment lending a veteran voice to the backline.
When asked about Viscosi, whose 78 saves ranks him second in the CPL behind only Vancouver’s Callum Irving, dos Santos points to what the Wanderers did with Yann Fillion’s recruitment last year.
“It’s an example of the type of stability that I wanted to bring into this club. Even though we’ve always had very good goalkeepers, it was important for us to add a bit of a voice and leadership. (Viscosi’s) been at his best in the second phase of the season. You make a move on Rayane Yesli (to Atlético Ottawa) so it was important to get this one right,” explains dos Santos.
BUILDING ON A STRONG SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON
Valour certainly started to find their form once they returned to a more routine home and away schedule. With the playoff race heating up, the club has only dropped points in three of their last 13 matches, positioning themselves within striking distance of Pacific.
And even if they don’t get a result against Cavalry on Saturday, dos Santos says he’s excited by the culture and competitiveness that’s been built this season.
“There’s a very good foundation that’s been brought into this club with the majority of the players being under contract or under options (next year),” he says.
For his part, Campbell feels momentum is on Valour’s side as they go toe-to-toe with the CPL’s best defensive club. If they manage to beat Cavalry, he notes, anything is possible in the playoffs.
“To have that momentum going towards playoffs, not only for the first time with this club, but in this particular moment we’re in right now would be massive for us,” says Campbell.
Valour has done decently against Cavalry this year. They’ve drawn two of three matches, including a thrilling two-goal second half rally on August 30. Cavalry’s lone win against the Winnipeg-side was a 1-0 affair back in July.
But the last few years haven’t been easy for Ohin. A number of knocks, including a serious ACL injury, have kept him off the pitch. It’s one of the reasons dos Santos says, out of anyone at the club, Ohin deserves a chance to represent Valour in a playoff match.
It’s also one of the reasons Ohin’s eager to get over the hump by beating Cavalry.
“I’ve had my own trials, going up and down with my injury struggles. As long as I’m breathing, I’ll always be grateful to God,” he recounts, adding he tries to lead by example.
“They can see the passion that I play with, they can see what it means to me. This city has given me the opportunity to dream again. I will always put myself out there to fight for the badge, fight for the city and I always tell the guys, listen, this is what this city’s about.
“Hopefully we make history this Saturday and cross that line and get a taste of what playoffs feel and taste like. I’ll tell you this: a lot of players in the locker room are desperately wanting a playoff match and our fans are dying for this moment, too. We’re excited but at the end of the day, we have to go in there and do our part.”
With only one match remaining — and their playoff hopes hanging in the balance — there’s only one thing left for Valour to do: they have to win. And if they do, this will be remembered as the year that Valour finally played playoff football.
