Atlético Ottawa is on fire.
With a thrilling 2-0 victory at TD Place against Valour FC on July 9, Atlético secured their third consecutive home win and have leapfrogged Valour for sixth place in the Canadian Premier League standings.
Ottawa picked up a crucial three points in the league playoff race, improving to a win-draw-loss record of 4-3-6 (15 points). They’re ahead of Valour (3-6-5, 15 points) on both goal differential and having a better head-to-head record.
Atlético captain Carl Haworth expressed his delight over celebrating his 34th birthday with a win.
“The three points is the biggest thing for us today. Our motivation going into the game was looking at the table and where we sit and knowing we can climb up,” Haworth said. “We knew it was an important game for us to get some points on the board and start building momentum for the second half of the season.”
Atlético head coach Carlos Gonzalez said he was happy with the performance overall, highlighting his team’s consistency.
“We created a lot of chances and defensively we were very solid,” he said during a post-game press conference. “And (solidness) is something that we have to maintain. We have to be unbreakable. We have to be a tough team, a team that doesn’t concede as much. I think that this is the key to continue growing as a team.”
‘We knew it was an important game for us to get some points on the board and start building momentum for the second half of the season.’
— Carl Haworth, Atlético Ottawa captain
Gonzalez said being clinical in front of the goal is still a priority to improve, but added he was impressed with the performance of the team’s two new additions — midfielder Alberto Zapater and forward Ruben del Campo — and predicted they’ll help produce more goals.
Valour started strong and was the better team for the first 25 minutes. The Winnipeg club controlled possession and marched into the attacking third often with their clever passing, intricate runs and speed down the wings.
Despite their efforts, Atlético’s defence did well to close down open spaces. They blocked passing lanes and crowded the box to stop Valour from creating open shots.
Ottawa only conceded three shot attempts despite defending continuously for much of the first half-hour.
“They came out pretty well,” Haworth said of the visitors. “They were moving the ball well, getting in behind our fullbacks, creating spaces near our goal and were very dangerous. So we had to kind of tighten things up a bit.”
In spite of Valour’s better start, Atlético opened the scoring. Ottawa secured a penalty kick in the 25th minute after Valour forward Anthony Novak kicked Haworth in the box.
Ollie Bassett converted calmy and slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal, to score his sixth goal of the season. He not only leads the team in scoring but is tied with Vancouver forward Singh Hundal for the second-most goals in the CPL. They’re both one goal behind the joint leaders: Cavalry forward Myer Bevan and Forge forward Terran Campbell.
Bassett is the lone midfielder in the Golden Boot race. It demonstrates his talent and how critical he is to Ottawa’s success. His incredible work ethic, determination to help his team win and his leadership have made him a valuable asset all season.
Creating multiple quality scoring chances every game, finding open teammates and helping out defensively could make him the CPL Player of the Year for the second straight season. At 25, he is a mentor to the younger players in Ottawa’s midfield.
Valour head coach Philip Dos Santos said conceding the first goal — especially at a point in the match when his team had been better than Ottawa but was having trouble scoring — haunted the Winnipeg club.
“Our last goal was (three) games ago,” he said. “Obviously, it’s hard to win games if you don’t score and it’s been a recurring situation.”
Valour’s last goal from open play came five games ago, in a 2-0 win over Forge FC; their goal three games ago against Vancouver came from the penalty spot.
“We need to find solutions and ways to score. I’ve said it way too often for the last few games,” said Dos Santos, adding that failing to respond after conceding goals builds up pressure on the players.
“You’re trying to force things, you lose clarity or you’re taking risks that normally you wouldn’t take on the ball,” he said. “You make uncharacteristic mistakes . . . I think that once they found the first goal and as the game progressed, we started to take too many risks and that opened up the game for them to create more chances.”
‘Our last goal was (three) games ago. Obviously, it’s hard to win games if you don’t score and it’s been a recurring situation.’
— Philip Dos Santos, head coach, Valour FC
The tides shifted in Ottawa’s favour after Bassett’s penalty. They almost doubled their advantage toward the end of the first half, but some desperate defending by Valour and an outstanding six-save performance by Winnipeg goalkeeper Rayane Yesli kept the score at 1-0.
Basset had other chances. One of his initial shots on target was saved by Yesli, the CPL’s goalkeeper of the month in June. The newly acquired del Campo then headed the rebound toward goal, only for it to get blocked by Valour defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste.
Valour wasn’t safe yet. Yesli had to make another save on Ottawa’s third shot in less than a minute to deny young midfielder Aboubakary Sacko from scoring his first CPL goal.
By halftime, Ottawa had outshot Valour 7-4 and had a whopping four shots on target to Valour’s zero. Ottawa continued to be the better team in the second half.
Gonzalez praised his team’s defence, noting how they were particularly strong at closing down open spaces, blocking passing lanes and intercepting passes.
Ottawa would then capitalize on their strong defensive performance and use their speed and creativity to attack in transition, resulting in numerous high-quality scoring chances.
While Valour didn’t have a shot on target, they still came inches away from tying the game, mere minutes after Ottawa’s flurry of chances.
Valour fullback (and former Carleton Raven) Matteo de Brienne was instructed to play higher up the pitch in an inverted midfield role in an effort to contribute more offensively after Dos Santos sensed the game slipping away from them.
De Brienne made an excellent run down the right flank and crossed it into the box toward Pacifique Niyongabire. His header fooled Atlético goalkeeper Nathan Ingham, but didn’t beat the outside of the post.
De Brienne said after the match that being in a scoring drought is tough. Valour have only one goal in their last four matches, but they are doing everything possible to resolve the issue.
“It’s a collective effort,” he said. “We’re doing what we can, but we need to keep ourselves accountable and consistent to (capitalize on) the opportunities (we create).”
Despite a solid performance from Atlético, a lingering question throughout the match was whether they would be able to find a second goal to secure the victory, something that has often eluded them this year.
In their 1-0 win over Vancouver on June 17, despite generating many high-quality scoring chances and outshooting their opponents, Atlético couldn’t find their insurance marker. They held on to secure the slim victory despite creating enough chances to win 5-0.
Atlético outshot Valour 17-8 and had 10 shots on target to Valour’s one, despite only having 40 per cent of the ball. While Ottawa created many good scoring chances throughout the game, specifically in the middle to later stages of the second half, Atlético couldn’t find the back of the net — mainly due to Yesli’s brilliance.
Leading up to the insurance marker, Ottawa had five shots on target in three minutes, but Yesli stood tall to keep his team in the game. He saved shots from Bassett, Malcolm Shaw and Sacko, while also getting some help from his defenders and his post.
But there was an important lesson about perseverance after all the misses. Atlético’s determination would pay off.
Up until well into second-half stoppage time, it looked like it would be a narrow 1-0 win for Ottawa despite 15 shot attempts, a carbon copy of the Vancouver game. However, with one minute remaining, midfielder Zach Verhoven made a brilliant run onto a perfectly placed through ball from Haworth, firing a rocket past Yesli into the bottom left corner for a 2-0 Atlético lead.
“As the ball was played forward initially, I had a look at the keeper and he was miles off this line,” Haworth said later. “I was about to (shoot) and then I saw that Zach (Verhoven) made a great run — the centre-back had lost him. So I figured there was loads of space over the top. I just had to put it in a position for him. He’s a great finisher, calm under pressure, and made no mistake.”
Gonzalez said he was thrilled with the win and the three vital points.
“We were speaking about that during the week — that the game against Valour today was a very important game because we played against a team that was fighting for similar targets during the season,” said Gonzalez.
“Also, it was an important game because we were down in the standings before the game, and this put a bit of pressure. At the end of the day, what we have to do at the moment is add three by three.”
Harworth said the win was important and meant a lot to the team, bringing Ottawa closer to a playoff spot.
“All it takes is to get a bit of momentum together, put a couple of good results together and you can move up that table pretty quick. Conversely, if you have any drop a couple of games in a row, all of a sudden you find yourself down near the bottom,” Haworth said. “It’s a reminder that every game is as important as the next and we need to stay focused.”
On a short week, Atlético travels to Calgary to play Cavalry FC on July 12. With a win, Ottawa would find themselves within a point of the fifth and final playoff spot.
