Atlético Ottawa secured their second consecutive home win and third of the season on Saturday, defeating expansion side Vancouver FC 1-0 on a cloudy afternoon at TD Place.
They Ottawa club has climbed to a win-draw-loss record of 3-2-5 (11 points), good for seventh place and just a point ahead of last-place Vancouver in the eight-team Canadian Premier League.
Atlético started the June 17 match strong, something they’ve struggled to do consistently this season, and scored the opening goal for only the third time in 10 games in 2022. Ottawa had 72 per cent possession in the opening 10 minutes and created several quality chances with their precision passing.
The team’s efforts were rewarded when striker Samuel Salter — in only his second CPL start to replace Malcolm Shaw — gave Atlético an early lead by firing home Miguel Acosta’s rebound for his second goal of the season.
“I am very proud to get the goal and I thought I quite played well today — but I’m more happy to get the win,” Salter said later.
Atlético’s pressure didn’t stop there. A cross in by the team’s star midfielder, Ollie Bassett, gave Salter another strong chance on goal. His shot was blocked, but bounced back to his feet in time for him to pass it off to Noah Verhoeven, who sent a rocket straight at Vancouver’s goal.
‘I am very proud to get the goal and I thought I quite played well today — but I’m more happy to get the win.’
— Samuel Salter, Atlético Ottawa striker
Vancouver goalkeeper Callum Irving, though, made a sprawling save to keep the deficit to one. Vancouver head coach Afshin Ghotbi said Irving was critical in keeping his team alive.
“I think if he wasn’t in the goal, maybe we’re already down two or three nil before 30 minutes,” Ghotbi said of Irving in a post-match press conference. “He brings so much on and off the field, in games and in training. I think he brings certain calmness and certain qualities,” added Ghotbi, highlighting Irving’s confidence and leadership.
Despite their win, Atlético remained stuck in seventh after wins by Valour and Halifax Wanderers. However, in this season’s tightening CPL standings, Ottawa is only one point off fourth place.
Atlético head coach Carlos Gonzalez said after the match that he and his players felt it was an important win for the team and a critical step in the right direction. Still, they left the pitch wanting more. And the stats show what they could’ve gotten.
Atlético had 17 shots attempts, five on target and an expected goal rating of 2.23 but just one goal to show for it.
Vancouver FC had seven shot attempts — six came in the second half — and only one shot on target. The visitors had an expected goal rating of 0.23.
Despite their ability to generate chances all game, Ottawa couldn’t buy an insurance marker, thanks to a handful of missed shots and some excellent saves by Irving.
At the end of the day, Gonzalez said his team’s only goal is winning, no matter how it comes. He also acknowledged the team’s ongoing challenges.
“In certain moments, we were not competing as we should’ve been and we’re making small mistakes in every game that are costing us the final result,” Gonzalez said post-match. “It was a week of tension, high demands from everyone to work as hard as possible. Everyone knew it was an important game and we had to win and get the three points, which we did.”
Gonzalez highlighted Salter’s performance in particular.
‘It was a week of tension, high demands from everyone to work as hard as possible. Everyone knew it was an important game and we had to win and get the three points, which we did.’
— Carlos Gonzalez, Atlético Ottawa head coach
“His goal gave us the win but there are things that aren’t visible, like all the hard work that he puts into the game offensively, finding open space and being a target for passes — and defensively, selecting good moments to press and be aggressive. He’s a crucial part of the team.”
Ottawa was dominant throughout the first half. They played free-flowing soccer, moving the ball up the pitch efficiently with quick, accurate passes. Atlético consistently attacked down both flanks and used their strong crossing ability to get balls into the box and create numerous chances from up close; they had 11 shots from inside the box.
At the break, Atlético had 13 shot attempts, five shots on target and almost 60 per cent of the possession.
On defence, Atlético played a perfect game. Vancouver registered only one shot attempt, which came seconds before the halftime whistle, and had no shots on target. They registered an xG (expected goals) score of 0.04, the lowest of any CPL team in a half this season.
Ghotbi said his team was sleepwalking in the first half.
“I think the first 30 minutes was a no show to be honest. We were completely out of the game. The midfield lacked the presence that I wanted it to. I felt Ollie (Bassett) had too much space, and we were very open in the middle of the park,” Ghotbi said after the game.
However, the Vancouver coach said he was pleased about his team’s performance overall, especially in the second half.
“We got into the game near halftime and I think the last 60 minutes of the game we were much better on both sides of the ball. Obviously, I never like to lose, but I’m really proud of the effort and the young players who made their first professional start,” Ghotbi said.
Atlético’s defenders ended Vancouver’s attacks before they even started by reading their opponents’ passes, getting in the way to intercept them and by pressuring the ball carrier by double-manning him and forcing turnovers.
Atlético’s midfield back-tracked with speed, catching up to opposing players and staying lower down the pitch to assist their back line clear away any crosses or through-passes.
Gonzalez said Ottawa’s excellent defending cleared the way for their offence to shine. He was proud of his midfield’s effort to drop down and help the back line intercept crosses, block shooting lanes and press the ball carrier to force him to turn it over.
He added the strong partnership between his defence and midfield helped Ottawa shut down Vancouver’s attack and allowed Atlético, in turn, to attack in transition. This allowed them to expose and counter Vancouver’s high defensive line, especially in the first half.
“I felt that in the first half they were leaving big spaces,” Gonzalez said. “Those triangles outside worked well and allowed us to attack on the outside and cross it in. Supporting each other, and having good chemistry and synergy between the front players, contributed to our success.”
Gonzalez noted that in the second half, Vancouver’s defence dropped back and limited some of the spaces Ottawa had to attack, leading to fewer scoring chances. Vancouver’s triple substitution at the half also improved their play down the flanks. This allowed the visitors to create more offence in the second half and also prevented Atlético from consistently finding open space to attack down the wings.
Ottawa had four shot attempts in the second half, none of which were on target. They had less space on the wings and Vancouver concentrated much more on containing Bassett.
Atlético was still able to create some chances, but the majority were off-target or blocked by Vancouver defenders.
Vancouver was without many key players due to injury or suspension. They have one of the youngest squads in the league, so to keep it a 1-0 game was impressive, according to Ghotbi.
Gonzalez said he’s content with the win but recognizes his team’s need to close out games better. He said Ottawa needs to be more clinical in front of the goal.
“If we don’t close out games ourselves, we leave them open and we leave the chance for the opponent to get back into the game,” he said. “We know that can’t happen. We are working on fixing that.”
Gonzalez pointed to certain situations where his players weren’t making the right decisions near the goal or were rushing their actions and not letting the play develop.
“I think that once we get into a more fluid dynamic in which the team feels that we are winning consistently, all these issues will disappear,” Gonzalez said.
Ottawa travels to Hamilton on Sunday, June 25 to play Forge FC. The Hamilton club, the league’s defending champion, is currently in third place with a 4-4-4 record and 16 points.
