Valour FC stopped Pacific FC from going five points clear as Rob Gale’s interesting hybrid shape did just enough to give the Winnipeg side their first ever victory.

VFC play a hybrid 5-3-2/4-4-2 shape and press effectively

In their first match, both Noah Verhoeven and Matthew Baldisimo enjoyed time on the ball in deep positions as HFX Wanderers FC showed no signs of pressing the British Columbian outfit. However, Gale’s men were much more proactive in their pressing and did not allow the two young midfielders to dictate the tempo of the game. Verhoeven coughed the ball up under little pressure early on in the first half which VFC were unlucky not to capitalize on.

The other difference in this match was Valour’s shape. While HFX played a traditional 4-3-3, the visiting side this time played a sort of 5-3-2 without the ball, which turned into a lopsided 4-4-2 when they had possession.

Diego Gutierrez was the main outlet when Valour built up in the first half. Gutierrez had a high starting position on the right side and also had Josip Golubar inside of him, who he combined well with. On the other side, Martin Aguinarena split wide when his team mates had the ball but didn’t venture too far forward. Nicolas Galvis was ahead of him and played a quasi-wing back role. Much of Valour’s possession in the first half took place on their right hand side with Gutierrez who attempted almost as many passes as Arguinarena and Galvis combined in the first 45.

Many Valour players asked to play hybrid positions

Because of the two shapes that Gale instructed his team to play, a number of players were asked to fulfill hybrid roles. Gutierrez played a full back/wing back role on the right, while Aguinarena played a centre back/full back role on the left. Louis Beland-Goyette stepped into midfield when his team had the ball and into a defensive midfield position without, and the aforementioned Galvis oscillated between being a wing back and a wide midfielder. Golubar and Dylan Sacramento were effectively shuttlers in this formation, and the two strikers took turns coming to get the ball with Stephen Hoyle being an outlet on throw ins and free kicks. Valour FC always seemed to have a number of options around the ball to pass to when in possession, and then to immediately win the ball back if they lost it. Eventually, VFC opened the scoring when they again caught Verhoeven in possession, this time with Gutierrez winning the ball in a high position.

This changing of shapes wasn’t perfect, however, and Pacific FC began finding the gaps between the Valour players. In truth, the match was choppy for large stretches, with both sides finding their most dangerous opportunities off of restarts and turnovers. Since VFC pressed much more effectively than HFX, Pacific FC had to rely on quick transitions more often which allowed them to catch Valour out at times. Their equalizer came off of a quick throw in where Marcus Haber and Ben Fisk combined to cut through the dead space in Valour’s left hand channel.

Second half meta game all about Skylar Thomas

While much of the macro evaluation of Valour’s shape focuses on the wide players and midfielders and how they interact, the fact is that in much of the second half the game revolved around their giant centre back, Skylar Thomas. On paper, Thomas is a perfect match up against Haber, and he at times impressively handled the PFC captain in the air. When in the centre of a back three, he was able to effectively defend his area and secure the penalty box. The problem was when he was asked to defend space or anyone other than Haber.

In the first part of the second half, Thomas conceded a couple of fouls when asked to defend players in space, especially substitute Victor Blasco. As the match wore on, Haber began drifting wider in order to go up against Valour’s smaller centre backs, while Blasco and Ben Fisk cut inside to run off the shoulder or at Thomas. Aside from the two dangerous free kicks that Thomas conceded, Pacfic FC’s best chance came when Fisk came round the back of Thomas and tried to chip Tyson Farago.

Pacific FC grew into the game as it wore on, finding better and better pockets to attack and isolating Thomas more and more, but Valour were still threatening at times with their pressing and with the number of people they were able to get involved in the active playing area. They took the lead when Gutierrez again popped up into an advanced position. His pass fell to Dylan Carreiro who scored with the help of a deflection, but it was the organized chaos that the Manitobans relied on throughout the match that helped them score the winner.

Valour defend deep to close out match

After the goal, Valour FC were able to defend deep which allowed Thomas to do what he does best and defend the penalty box. The home side did have some chances off of crosses and long balls, but they were unable (or unwilling) to play through the Valour FC midfield. Noah Verhoeven moved higher up the pitch and looked fairly effective, but his side was unable to find the equalizer.

Looking ahead

Valour FC, along with Forge FC, have offered the most interesting shapes thus far. It will be interesting to see if Gale insists on playing the hybrid shape as a proactive tactic, or whether he will change from match to match. Often times managers will decide to use a back three or a back four in order to maintain a spare centre back, but Valour FC switched based on which team had the ball. The good news is that it appears he has the personnel to switch systems mid match without making any substitutions. The other key for Gale is to find the best way to deploy the unique profile of Skylar Thomas, who can be either his most effective defender or his biggest liability.

Pacific FC played the same shape as their opener, but were unable to play the same style. Valour did a better job of pressing Michael Silberbauer’s men and they struggled at times to cope. A potential solution is to move to a 4-3-3 shape. Terran Campbell had another average match as the attacking midfielder, and playing with a dedicated defensive midfielder would allow that player to drag an opposing midfielder out of the middle and give Noah Verhoeven the opportunity to pick the ball up in higher positions where his passes are more meaningful and his mistakes less dangerous. Such a shape may necessitate dropping club captain Marcus Haber. Although the striker did well at times to drift into wide places to avoid Thomas, he forces his team to play a certain way. Against a team that utilizes large but slow centre backs to counter him, Silberbauer may wish to go with a quicker and more technical front man.