Atlético Ottawa bounceback but come short in controversial finish vs VanFC
Atlético Ottawa looked to get back into the win column after their first loss of the season a week ago against Halifax, but fell short against Vancouver. An early injury to the backline caused a shakeup in the formation, and the team, without their head coach, Diego Mejia, saw themselves trailing at half-time. Ottawa seemed to find some composure in the second half in Langley as they were able to break through Vancouver’s defence and managed to escape with a point. Now, looking back at the pre- and post-game reactions of the team.
Brett Levis was asked about the challenge of facing teams multiple times in a season and adapting to keep teams on their toes:
“You know the teams you start to understand their models and and you you start to understand how they play and part of that is on us and part of that is on the coaching staff to to find new ways to sort of break teams down and I think we're doing that and we're going to kind of stick to our our our overall model and and and I think we'll we'll find a way”
“Trust the Process” is a common phrase in sports, and Levis emphasized that mentality in his response. It seems as though the team, expressed through Levis, believes in the model of Atletico Ottawa this season and that it will bring them success.
Brett doubled down on the model in his response of how the team bounces back after a loss in Halifax:
“...really tough game credit to Halifax their quality side you know it was it was a bit of a wet day… and we definitely weren't at our best, but I think just going back again to our our our original model and and understanding how we want to play and at the end of the day making sure that that all 11 players on the field are putting in the full effort and I think that's kind of going back to the the drawing board and just saying you know we understand our model, we know the players that we have, we know the quality that we have, and if we all can continue to work hard we we'll get back to winning ways and and it's one loss it's going to happen…”
There is belief that if the whole team continues to stick to the model, and the success will come. Levis seemed to not be too worried about a game of bad form since the model the team has will lead them to success. Unfortunately, Levis did leave this match early with an injury.
Diego Mejia was also asked about the quick turnaround from a loss in Halifax to the game in Vancouver:
“This team works for the process, not for the results, wins and losses are part of the game. It wasn’t our best game for sure, but all the defeats give us an opportunity to learn so the team is ready to compete”
The Ottawa head coach believes the loss in Halifax is a learning experience for the team and that they will grow from it prepare them for the next game. Diego also emphasized the process of the team over the individual results. When asked about the mentality in the dressing room, Diego’s response stayed the same, saying Atlético’s model is the best in the league and they just have to move on and stick to it.
Sam Salter kicked off the post-game interview by being asked about trailing at half-time but coming out strong in the second and securing one point in the match:
“Yeah it was it's bittersweet you know we came back like we said two down I thought we played great in the second half we had a lot created a lot of chances we had a lot of chances at the end couldn't finish so it's bittersweet no direction was good but at the end we think we could have deserved more but it is what it is what”
Atlético Ottawa’s form did improve once the second half began, and the scoreboard reflected that, however, it seems as though Salter believes they could have pushed for the 3 points with the chance that they had, and for a moment at the end, it seemed as though they would.
With Head Coach Diego Mejia absent from the pitch on yellow card suspension, assistant coach Diego Campos took to the post-game interview:
“We try to to develop a model and we know that sometimes we can take this advantage, but we know what we are and we are capable of, and we are still in the process of becoming a better team as you said, we were able to come back…”
Echoing what Mejia had said in the pre-game interview about the model that the coaching staff has developed this season, Campos believes this model is the reason Ottawa was able to fight through adversity and come back in the second half in Langley.
Campos also commented on the goal that was called off at the end of the match, with much confusion on the pitch believing that the official had called a good goal but then reversed the call for a foul. When he was asked for the explanation that was given he said:
“Well actually I didn't get any, It's just when the match ends that the referee turned back a decision that he had made. I don't know what he called, we already saw the video and really nothing happened…If he thought it was a foul he called a goal, if he saw a foul then he calls a foul, but if he didn't see anything and he called a goal then why turn back the decision?”
The call at the end of the game caused confusion for everyone on the pitch, with Atlético Ottawa believing that they had found the go-ahead goal, before it was reversed. There seems to have been no explanation given to the Ottawa coaching staff about the decision that was made, allowing for frustration and even more confusion. Campos believed that the official had called a good goal, but turned back his decision moments later, and said it was confusing because it is a league without VAR to make these decisions.
The match in Langley ultimately ended up with Atlético Ottawa managing to snag a bittersweet point with a second-half comeback. The common theme in both the pressers seemed to be about trusting the model that has been created for the team, and moving forward from a couple results that the team would like to put behind them. We all move on to the next match, and be sure to join Capital City Supporters at the pub for the watch party!
