Not even the presence of 颅Winnipeg-native Desiree Scott, on hand with her women鈥檚 颅soccer gold medal from the Tokyo Olympics, was enough to lift Valour FC on Monday 颅evening at IG Field.
Canadian Premier League-leading Pacific PFC (7-2-4) pushed its undefeated streak to six games, on four wins and two draws, with a 2-0 victory. Valour FC, which began the season 6-1, kept reeling and fell to 6-6-1.
Island-based PFC鈥檚 first tally at 29 minutes was the result of a piece of precision teamwork with Manny Aparicio splitting defenders with a probing lead pass to Josh Heard, who crossed the ball to Alejandro Diaz for the goal. Aparicio again took the role of playmaker, with a cracker of a run in and then cross, that a driving Terran Campbell directed into the net at 73 minutes.
鈥淢anny [Aparicio] is one of the most creative midfielders in the league, and he wants to win, and that鈥檚 why he came here,鈥� said PFC head coach Pa-Modou Kah.
鈥淗e has been hampered by injuries but is finding his groove. That鈥檚 a testament to his hard work.鈥�
Aparicio said the first goal wouldn鈥檛 have happened if Heard didn鈥檛 make the run to track down the lead pass. As for the second goal, he heard 颅Campbell calling for the ball.
鈥淲hen you hear a guy yelling, that makes the decision for you,鈥� said Aparicio, the sa国际传媒-capped former MLS Toronto FC prospect.
Former sa国际传媒 U-17 player Campbell scored for the third time in five games, bringing back flashes of his form two years ago, when he scored 11 goals for PFC in 2019.
鈥淭erran kept working. It鈥檚 always been the same Terran,鈥� said Kah.
PFC goalkeeper Callum Irving preserved his CPL-leading seventh clean sheet of the season with a reaction hand save on a close-in header. It came off a Valour FC corner kick on the last play of the first half.
鈥淭hat was a wonderful save 鈥� a true game-changer,鈥� said Kah.
鈥淔or our style, he is the best goalkeeper in sa国际传媒, and 颅provides great leadership at the back.鈥�
Valour FC head coach Rob Gale pointed to a couple of other saves Irving made and labelled him man of the match. But no excuses, said, Gale, adding his team needs to find a way to finish those chances to halt its freefall.
The win moved PFC four points ahead of second-place Cavalry FC of Calgary with the clubs set to meet Friday night at Starlight Stadium in Langford.
CORNER KICKS: Valour FC announced during halftime that its supporters section will be renamed The Destroyer 颅Section in honour of gold-medallist Scott鈥檚 nickname 鈥� The crowd of 12,064 for Atletico Ottawa鈥檚 first-ever home game, a 2-1 victory over Halifax on Saturday, was the second-largest in the CPL鈥檚 three-year history.
