PREVIEW: Pacific FC vs. Valour FC – Match #98

Pacific FC and Valour FC, play us out, will you? The 2019 Canadian Premier League regular season comes to an end with match no. 98 taking place at Westhills Stadium, as Pacific hosts Valour in the last bow before Finals 2019 kicks off one week later in Hamilton. Though neither team can affect the outcome of the Fall season – that's up to FC Edmonton, who take on Cavalry FC on the same day – there's still plenty of pride to play for as the Tridents of Vancouver Island look to bid farewell to their hearty and full-voiced supporters with one last hurrah in 2019. Coming off a 4-0 loss to York9 FC, Valour will be particularly keen to end their own 2019 campaign on the up-swing. It's been a tumultuous and trying campaign for Rob Gale's side, who have endured the highest highs and the lowest lows that a regular season can throw at a team, especially considering the amount of travel the Winnipeg-based outfit has had to endure throughout 2019. But, with one final outing to Vancouver Island, Valour will hope to end their exploits for the year with a win, preventing Michael Silberbauer's side from leapfrogging them up to fourth, and, possibly, finishing as low as sixth in the standings, depending on Edmonton's result. The last time these two teams met, Marcus Haber played the difference-maker with his brace in a 2-1 win for the Islanders. He will likely not be around for this tilt, though, as he's been off the team sheet for a while, with Terran Campbell stepping in up top to great success; in fact, for Campbell, this match provides him with his final chance at snatching the 2019 Golden Boot award; he's just one behind Tristan Borges of Forge, tied with Cavalry's Dominique Malonga for second with 11 goals to their names. If Campbell wants the trophy, he'll need at least a pair of goals to earn it. Luckily, Pacific has scored exactly twice in their last three meetings, lending Campbell the sort of confidence needed to assert himself up top, once more. That'll be it for both these teams in 2019, though; there's no Finals 2019 considerations to keep in mind in this tilt. Instead, this match serves to draw the 2019 regular season to a close, the inaugural season of the Canadian Premier League now at its final bow. KEYS TO THE MATCH

• Limit Campbell's supply route: Keeping Campbell off the scoresheet will be the main task for Valour's backline, and that mission will start with his supply route; namely, Victor Blasco and Ben Fisk, both of whom bombard down the attacking channels in pursuit of a look at goal for their teammate ... or for themselves. Valour will want to make sure that their fullbacks don't get caught in no-man's land, particularly with Blasco, as the Spaniard can be a tricky customer in transition.
• Get Bustos the ball: There's no two ways about it; Valour plays its best attacking football when Marco Bustos is given the lion's share of team possession. It's why Gale has essentially built his offence around the diminutive Canadian talent, and why those efforts have been repaid with a team-leading seven goals. Of course, Michael Petrasso will want to find similar involvement in the match, so there's no need to complicate the issue; get the ball to these talented runners, and let them do their thing. Michele Paolucci can clean up the rest ... as can Tyler Attardo, evidently.
• Don't sweat the small stuff: Valour has been particularly aggravated by the number of non-match factors of late, especially when it comes to penalties conceded, called or otherwise. But, in a 90-minute match, those moments favour the team that works for them. Sure, a bad penalty is a bad penalty, but, as demonstrated against York9, it means very little when that penalty is just one of four goals against. If Valour can focus on themselves and getting their game-plan right, the little things – non-calls, missed chances, etc. – won't matter in the end.

Pacific FC: Mark Village; Blake Smith, Hendrik Starostzik, Lukas MacNaughton, Kadin Chung; Alexander Gonzalez, Victor Blasco, Noah Verhoeven; Ben Fisk, Terran Campbell, Zachary Verhoven Valour FC: Tyson Farago; Diego Gutierrez, Skylar Thomas, Yohan Le Bourhis, Raphael Garcia; Ali Musse, Jose Galan, Dylan Carreiro, Marco Bustos, Michael Petrasso; Michele Paolucci

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