The Forward Press: Atlético Ottawa Looks to Rain on Forge Parade in Hamilton
Just like last year, Atlético Ottawa will spend Thanksgiving weekend in Hamilton with hopes of squeaking a result against Forge, which has already clinched the regular season title and has eyes set on a third straight title. Atleti can glean hope in the theory that Forge might be cruising, having virtually nothing to play for until playoffs in two matchdays. Atleti, conversely, has it all to play for as it battles to land somewhere between second and fourth over the season's final two matches. A win would secure third at the least, while other results across the next two matchdays will help dictate the race for second in the league.
Carlos González will be without a full team on Saturday after the red card to Liberman Torres. Additionally, Zapater and Tyr Walker are “training separately”, and both look unlikely to play after experiencing discomfort. The decision on whether they will even travel remains a last-minute one. If Walker is indeed sidelined, expect Gabriel Antinoro to return after a considerable time out of the squad to lock up the final 111 of the required 2000 U-21 minutes. Shifting from U-21 minutes to O-32, Maxim Tissot announced his retirement at the end of the season, and Carlos González joined the presser to discuss, among other things, Tissot's final chapter. Here are all the quotes from the pre-match presser.
The Quotes: Carlos González
On feelings after York: “The mood was disappointing. We were a disappointed team because we made a big effort in that game, 70 minutes with a man down...But I think that everybody valued the effort that everybody put on the field and the opportunities that we had to win the game. So the mood is the right mood. Everybody's focused, everybody's increasing the level in every training session. And I think that we are going to get into Hamilton in good shape.”
On the matches ahead: “Only two games, but very important ones. I think that how the league is structured, these two games are going to be very important. The game that we have against Forge this weekend, and of course, finishing the league in the best way here at home against Vancouver. I think that we are still in a position that we can fight for the second spot of the league. That's our motivation at the moment. I think that this will make a big difference on the starting point of the play-offs.”
On consistency: “[This weekend we want to] do a consistent performance during 95 minutes and try to take out the best that we have. I think that in the last few games, in the last month and a half, maybe we've been able to play well but not consistently throughout the totality of the game. And this is what we're putting the main focus on. I think that the team is given the right steps.”
On Max Tissot: “For me, Max is a very, very special player, a very special personality. We've been sharing now two years and a half, three seasons a locker room. So I can only say good things about him. He has been a player that, of course, he has impacted in a great way the sports in the city, in Gatineau, and here in Ottawa. He has had a great career. He's always a great example on and off the field, and he has made us very happy in many moments with his actions on the field. So, yeah, looking forward to finishing in the best way, as he says, the last chapter. The last pages of the chapter are getting away. So what we want to help him is to write a good end of the story. So that's what we are focusing on and putting all our energy together and playing for him, playing for the team, and doing well for all the city.”
The Big Takeaway: What Forge Lies in Wait?
With nothing to play for on Saturday, one wonders if newly-anointed manager-of-the-month Bobby Smyrniotis might consider resting a few of his players after having already cemented the regular season title. Though it hasn’t slowed Forge down at all, having reached the semifinals against TFC in the Canadian Championship as well as competing in the CONCACAF Champions Cup has resulted in a congested schedule for the regular season champions, and it's a wonder that Forge has kept its head afloat. Carlos González disagreed with the idea that Forge might not bring the same bite Saturday night.
“I'm not in [Forge] heads, but the reality is that they are going to have a very special game at home receiving the title. And I'm sure that they want to do a party that day,” González said.
“So we want to do the opposite thing. We want to get there and play a solid game in which we test ourselves against the best team of the regular season. And that's how we approach the game, with a lot of motivation and trying to bounce from a negative result.”
Knowing Smyrniotis, you’d be inclined to agree with CarGo that Forge will want to impress on title ceremony night, and Smyniotis said as much in his own presser:
"There's different variables you look at: health of players, card accumulation. There's different things like that, but other than that you play games for three points, you play games to score goals, we play games at Tim Hortons field to entertain our crowd...so that won't change for us."
If there’s one club Forge will want to beat, it will probably be Atlético Ottawa. For this reason, you might see Smyrniotis prefer to sit his top brass against easier opposition in two weeks at Starlight Stadium. But how nice would it be if, two years in a row, Forge FC rolls over and allows five-match-winless Atlético Ottawa to scamper out with another Thanksgiving win in Hamilton. Here’s hoping the Forge players start the party a little TOO early, if you know what I mean.
Ilias Iliadis grabbed the surprise winner in Hamilton this time last season but will more likely reside in the heart of the defense if Tyr Walker isn’t fit enough to see the starting XI. No matter the scorer, Atlético Ottawa proved to have the mettle to defeat Forge this season, twice driving the Hammers out of TD Place back in early summer. So, if you aren’t traveling to Hamilton or tucking into a Thanksgiving meal Saturday evening, get yourself to the Glebe Central Pub to cheer on the boys for the final watch party of the regular season! We hope to see you there.
About the Author
Ben Ralph is a die-hard football fan and a journalism student at Carleton. He has been supporting Everton through the ups and downs (but mostly the downs) and could not believe his luck when he stumbled across Atlético Ottawa in 2021. Now part of the Atleti faithful, his dream has always been to write football stories, and he is excited to join other fans as writers for CCSG. His football journalist idols are Adam Hurrey, James Richardson, and Charlie Eccleshare from The Football Cliches Podcast.
