Brace earns Swibel ‘Player of the Round’ in Canada
Swibel scored a goal in rounds one and six, during a tough period in which the club played their first seven games away from home, losing five of them.
After stints with two A-League Men clubs, and NSW NPL club Marconi, Jordi Swibel wanted one thing more than ever – the chance to prove himself as a member of a professional club’s starting side as a striker.
Seizing the opportunity of gaining a contract with Canadian Premier League (CPL) club Valour FC, the 25-year-old Jewish Sydneysider and former Hakoah player relocated to Winnipeg in February and worked hard in pre-season training during a freezing Canadian winter.
Signed to offer what the struggling club has been lacking – a clinical goalscorer – Swibel has so far delivered, not only by earning a start in every game, but scoring four goals in the first eight rounds, equalling the most goals scored by any Valour FC player in 2023.
Swibel scored a goal in rounds one and six, during a tough period in which the club played their first seven games away from home, losing five of them.
Last Sunday, in their first home game in 2024, Swibel scored a brilliant brace in a confidence-boosting 2-0 upset victory over second-placed Vancouver FC.
In the 38th minute, he took advantage of an error by a Vancouver defender and launched a shot at goal that was superbly blocked by goalkeeper David Norman, only to regain possession and deftly slot the ball just inside the left goalpost.
And in the 48th minute, Swibel latched onto a long ball, dribbled towards the keeper and calmly chipped the ball past him into the back of the net.
On Monday, he was named the CPL Player of the Round.
Swibel described the win over Vancouver as being “on the back of hard work by the whole team and myself, and it was a great feeling to score in front of the home fans, after being away for so long”.
“It was really important to bring a good performance today, and on a personal note – this is what I came here to do and there’s nothing more I love [than scoring goals].
“That was also our first clean sheet, which is fantastic. We’ll just continue to work on this.”
He added that the team’s improved form in its previous two rounds – a win and a draw – gave them belief. “Momentum in football, and confidence, are the main things … and I think you saw that today,” Swibel said.
“No matter what was thrown at us, I think the momentum helped carry us through.”
Head coach Phil Dos Santos paid Swibel the ultimate compliment in his post-match press conference, saying, “What you saw is a guy never quitting … even if the play looks a bit lost, he still goes for it and it pays off.”
Dos Santos was also pleased with the side’s defence in the win, which moved it up one place to seventh and within one win of fifth-placed York United, ahead of another home fixture this weekend against first-placed Atletico FC.
comments