Match Thread: Island Games - September 5, 2020 - Forge v Valour

[jonovision]

How has Bekker not seen yellow yet for dissent?

[jonovision]

Whoopsie from Pantemis.

[jonovision]

The fact Valour is even in this match, or any of their last 2 or 3, is a miracle given their injuries. 

Edited September 5, 2020 by jonovision

[jonovision]

Nice ankle stomp from Samuel to put Bouka-Moutou out after a minute.

[jonovision]

That HAS to be a yellow for Maan and an FK, or that rule might as well not be in the book.

[jonovision]

And now a stone cold penalty. Dave Barry should stick to jokes.

[jonovision]

2-2 draw. I don't know how a team could have done much better under the circumstances (only 1 legitimate defender healthy for the match).

[Winnipeg Fury]

 

An improved Valour side.  Most important,  they did not stop trying.  Last years squad just rolled over and died, this side showed some fight.

As we all said at the start of the tournament, Valour need a striker.  

Much improved defence and in goal.  A lot of talent, hard to believe we are probably going to finish in 7th place.

Can we keep our good players ?  

Hopefully we will be in the stands in 2021 !

 

 

 

 

[Shortdutchcanuck]

Props to Valour, they deserved better and outside of injuries this would have been a 7 team complete toss up for 4 spots.  Need Jean-Baptiste back and a replacement for Dunn-Johnson if he goes, as well as a proven striker obviously, but the talent is clearly there.

[Shortdutchcanuck]

Congrats to Baj Maan on his debut, some shaky moments but also 2 huge saves late in second half, this is why we have the u21 rule so kids like him get opportunities in those kinds of big moments

[jonovision]

I wonder what happens to Julian Dunn in 2021. I don't see him getting MLS minutes with Vanney in charge, but do they look to transfer or loan him out again? 

[Ansem]

15 minutes ago, jonovision said:

I wonder what happens to Julian Dunn in 2021. I don't see him getting MLS minutes with Vanney in charge, but do they look to transfer or loan him out again? 

Vanney would likely send him to TFC II again. I think Valour should try to acquire him. He's definitely worth it and they could possibly develop him further and flip him later if it works out.

Not sure much he'll grow at TFC II.

Yet another reason why the cap need to increase. Not because we want guys like Cavani signed but ro allow enough cap so that teams can sign guys like Dunn and other Canadians rotting away on MLS benches and USL One.

CPL should have the capacity to be a viable option for these guys.

[Cheeta]

Think everyone would absolutely love to see Dunn & JP back in the league next year.  Especially the Valour supports if they're reunited again at IG Field for 2021.  Not hopefull though.  Both men have impressed. 

Some pretty smart saves at both ends of the pitch today.  Maan a bit sketchy at times but would have been surprised if he hadn't been.

Ricci's brain/decision making isn't as sharp as it needs to be in that attacking third where he is supposed to earn his keep.  Decent match I thought by the man as a whole but bugger me.  Quit dithering. 

Thought that was easily Aird's best match today.  LOL.  Went looking to get a booking and got it all right.  * shakes head*  Fraser, man.  Couldn't help yourself, eh?

When does this stop being Bekker's team?

Great goal by Jonsson.  Rubbish defending but still a great goal.  Though all the goals sharp today.  

Peace, love & understanding.  See you in 2021

Cheeta.

P.S.  Nice gathering at King's Head today.  Especially for a match where Valour needed everything plus a partidge in a pear tree to advance.   

 

 

 

[Ansem]

The cap needs to go up. Dunn should be a guy that thebclub targets for a transfer. He has room to grow and he has no business in USL-1. Dunn and Jean-Baptiste was a hell of a duo and Valour needs to build around them at defense.

Valour needs better finishing from their offence. This is an area where they should invest for a proven international 

Pantemis was a huge improvement but I don't see Montréal letting him go. I'd fight hard for another loan but Valour needs someone there as well.

I'm excited for this team!

[jonovision]

2 hours ago, Cheeta said:

Ricci's brain/decision making isn't as sharp as it needs to be in that attacking third where he is supposed to earn his keep.  Decent match I thought by the man as a whole but bugger me.  Quit dithering. 

Ricci is a really frustrating player to watch but he was hauled down for what looked like a pretty clear penalty late on, which would have been the third one he's drawn in the tournament.

Edited September 5, 2020 by jonovision

[gator]

I just finished watching this match as I had to record it, it was quite entertaining, I'm sorry to see Valour go out, as others have said they certainly didn't quit and were unlucky not to get a winner! I'm impressed with the depth of Forge as they can rotate the squad and keep a good 11 on the pitch, Forge once again were poor at defending set pieces, I like Samuel but not so much at CB, he definitely was at fault on the goals and scared the #### out of me with some of his defending! I take it Forge made up the U21 minutes the were required, the keeper had some good moments late on, he did look shaky at times which maybe isn't surprising in his pro debut against a desperate team! It will be an interesting off season for Valour, they are definitely improved and were unlucky with injuries!

[toontownman]

Really fun match and sad to see no more AJB and Dunn. Levis had a cracking game as did most Valour players.

Definite shout for a penalty and I don't think anyone would have begrudged Valour the win if they got it. I do however agree with Kurt Larson that this was the time to go out. And limping through somehow to the next phase would have been a hard set of games to keep competitive. 

To add to the above I really hope they can keep the squad together as it is working. If they can add two quality strikers to this group I think they could be competitive next year.  I fear another rebuild. Hopefully they can keep hold of AJB and likely soto replaces Dunn as originally planned. Dunn should at least replace ciman in the TFC squad.

 

[jonovision]

The new signings were big, but the development of the central midfield also made a difference, and that was largely with their existing group (Ohin, Gutierrez, Galan, and Carreiro). As long as Gale can resist the temptation to play Gutierrez and Ohin all over the park wherever there's an injury like he did last year, I think that is something to build on in addition to some of the new signings.

[toontownman]

I also see potential in Peña, who got a rough ride in criticism imo. Ohin had a good tournament. Fordyce and Dyer only really showed up today which is too bad. They did however show that they can make an impact. Again over a normal season it would have been interesting to see the team grow. I think Gale did enough to survive.

[jonovision]

13 minutes ago, toontownman said:

I also see potential in Peña, who got a rough ride in criticism imo. Ohin had a good tournament. Fordyce and Dyer only really showed up today which is too bad. They did however show that they can make an impact. Again over a normal season it would have been interesting to see the team grow. I think Gale did enough to survive.

I was pretty harsh on Pena's play as a left back, but it's not really his fault that he's the best option after injuries to Bouka-Moutou and Levis. But we saw today that when he is played in his actual position he can be an effective player.

[top cheese]

I don’t think valour would have made it through a 28 game schedule with the depth they had. I was excited about the additions they made but it’s clear that they still have no where near the correct balance of players to compete in this league. Especially considering Dunn and Campbell where last minute additions only bc tfc II was not operating this year. I understand that there was an international cf potentially signed but this team really needs to sit back and reevaluate the way that they are piecing together a lineup and how the players are being used. I really think the international cards have been for the most part wasted. One of which antiwi appears to not be what he was pegged to be. I also think it’s been poor management not to utilize players from the usport draft, I think it’s poor asset management and a failure to give quality young Canadians an opportunity to develop. Winter will be interesting, the direction this team takes if it wants to get better. 

[jonovision]

13 minutes ago, top cheese said:

I don’t think valour would have made it through a 28 game schedule with the depth they had. I was excited about the additions they made but it’s clear that they still have no where near the correct balance of players to compete in this league. Especially considering Dunn and Campbell where last minute additions only bc tfc II was not operating this year. I understand that there was an international cf potentially signed but this team really needs to sit back and reevaluate the way that they are piecing together a lineup and how the players are being used. I really think the international cards have been for the most part wasted. One of which antiwi appears to not be what he was pegged to be. I also think it’s been poor management not to utilize players from the usport draft, I think it’s poor asset management and a failure to give quality young Canadians an opportunity to develop. Winter will be interesting, the direction this team takes if it wants to get better. 

Ignoring the forward position was a huge mistake, but where else did this team lack depth? Dunn was key player that came late on a loan deal, but he was basically a one for one replacement for Soto. It's hard to imagine the depth being tested more over a 28 game schedule with proper rest than it was in this 7 game tournament with at best 3 days off between games. Six of the players to line up in defense for Valour were injured on the island. I don't think that would be likely to be repeated under any other circumstance.

I agree about the U-Sports draft, though few of the other draftees have made valuable contributions so far. The team wasn't good enough this year, but much improved from 2019, including in organization, defense, and especially mentality. As much as I hate to admit it, much of the credit for these improvements has to go to Gale.

[BearcatSA]

27 minutes ago, jonovision said:

I agree about the U-Sports draft, though few of the other draftees have made valuable contributions so far. The team wasn't good enough this year, but much improved from 2019, including in organization, defense, and especially mentality. As much as I hate to admit it, much of the credit for these improvements has to go to Gale.

So do you think Gale is still the coach for the 2021 season?  

[jonovision]

Just now, BearcatSA said:

So do you think Gale is still the coach for the 2021 season?  

If they didn't fire him after last year, there's no reason to get rid of him now.

[narduch]

Personally don't think any manager should be fired due to how weird the season was.