Richmond’s TSS Rovers FC advance to the Quarter-Finals after a 3:1 win over Valour FC

TSS Rovers FC have advanced to the Quarter-Finals of the 2023 Canadian Championship after a historic 3:1 win over Winnipeg’s Valour FC. The Richmond, British Columbia club became the first semi-professional side from League1 Canada to eliminate a professional club from the Canadian Premier League in the history of the Canadian Championship. In the next round, TSS Rovers FC will meet either Calgary’s Cavalry FC or Vancouver Island’s Pacific FC in the month of May.

Captain Matteo Polisi earned the Gatorade Performance of the Match honours after he scored two goals while Ivan Mejia came through with the match winner late in the first half. Erik Edwardson got two assists while Kyle Jones got the third assist.

While League1 semi-pro teams first entered the Canadian Championship in 2018, this marks the first year that winners of the newly-formed League1 BC have entered the competition. Before this year, only League1 Ontario side Vaughan SC had beaten a CPL team, although they failed to advance across their two-leg series in 2019 against Halifax Wanderers FC.

Against Winnipeg, TSS Rovers FC opened the scoring in the 39th minute after a failed clearance that went well up in the air. When the ball came down, it knocked off Edwardson into the path of Polisi. The goalscorer took a couple of touches inwards and fired his low, left-footed shot past the Winnipeg goalkeeper.

On the second goal, Edwardson made the move down the right side and crossed it into the box past Polisi and a pair of Winnipeg defenders to Mejia on the left side. Mejia steadied the ball, took an extra touch, then fired it off the opposite post and in.

The third goal was scored on the second phase after a corner kick. This time, Mejia won the turnover and drove towards the box, Jones continued the run into the box and centered it for Polisi, and Polisi made no mistake for his second of the night. Five minutes later, Polisi had a chance for the hat trick, but his penalty attempt was stopped by Winnipeg’s goalkeeper Rayane Yesli.

Winnipeg finally got their goal in the 89th minute after a Richmond handball in the penalty area. Anthony Novak scored from the penalty spot for his second career Canadian Championship goal.

About Canadian Championship
Canada Soccer’s Canadian Championship, also known as the Battle of the North, is the nation’s highest men’s domestic competition featuring clubs from coast to coast across the country, notably professional teams in Major League Soccer and the Canadian Premier League as well as league winners in League1 BC, League1 Ontario and Québec’s Premier League (Première ligue de soccer du Québec). Winners of the 2023 Canadian Championship lift the Voyageurs Cup and qualify to the annual international competition, Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. Winners of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup.