CCSG Player Ratings: Matchday 15 vs. Valour FC
After heaping praise on the side for their professional victory against Vancouver, it is perhaps fitting that it all comes crashing down to earth after this match against Valour. A 2-2 draw that I don’t think ATO had any right to be claiming, especially in a first half in which the team looked wholly disinterested after claiming an early own goal within the first minute of the game. Time after time, despite winning a significant majority of the aerial duels, the ball fell to Valour midfielders time and again, with the disparity in ground duels being as in Valour’s favor as the aerial duels were in ours. The argument that you can maybe score too early perhaps has merit when looking at the result of this match, as given all the circumstances surrounding this fixture, a draw is an unacceptable result. Too many players did not look like themselves, be it as a result of their play or the choices made tactically in this match. Given Valour’s tactics in the final minutes, it’s fitting that this game felt like a giant waste of everyone’s time. Regardless, on to the rankings.
#19 Rubén Del Campo
(6.8): With the results of matchday 15 now in the books, Rubén Del Campo now sits atop the race for the Golden Boot. Given the performances of strikers for Atlético Ottawa in the Carlos González era, that would have been a pipe dream at the beginning of the season. His goal was well taken off a good ball in from Sam Salter down the right, beating Viscosi at his near post. Rubén was denied a potential winner on a rebound late prior to extra time. He consistently found himself in good positions to work off cutbacks, which seemed to be the only way the team could find a way to create anything in the final third. That Rubén was caught offside twice, and he wasted a great opportunity that he created for himself by winning the ball back, was a demonstration of how the game as a whole went. The execution was lacking more often than not, but given his nose for the goal, Rubén helped us salvage a point.
#11 Gabriel Antinoro
(6): It’s been a rough last couple of starts for Gabi. Aside from one instance where he was able to get behind Dante Campbell and put a dangerous low ball into the area, not much of anything was able to be generated down the left side of the pitch. Going into the game, I was hopeful that Gabi would justify a full 90 minutes to help work towards the U21 minute threshold, but his substitution felt inevitable. There is still plenty of time for him to put it together, but more and more the overwhelming optimism I have for his future is waning. One for seven on ground duels, with only one defensive action and having been dribbled past three times is not enough for a player that hasn’t quite been able to find his role in the final third. Time will tell if the potential he has will shine through, and it’s not that he can’t, it’s just the performances aren’t indicative of the growing potential you would have hoped.
#13 Ballou Tabla
(5.9): This is a tricky one for me. On the one hand, I thought Ballou was the most likely to generate something offensively, particularly in the first half. He seemed to connect the play between the midfield and defence in the final minutes of the first half when no one else could. Yet, I can’t look past the stats being as horrific as they are, in combination with the impetuousness that earned him his yellow card. Out of his four dribble attempts, he completed none, out of his eight ground duels, he won none, and gave away four free kicks, three with fouls and one after being caught offside. The more concerning element for me was the off-the-ball stuff. The yellow card he picked up was unbelievably immature, not only because he punted the ball away, but because he did not attempt to try and convert the opportunity he had been given (even if he was offside) but rather he stopped to raise his hand and claim handball. Ballou wasn’t the only one to do this, as it was a feature of many players in this game, but that instance was the most egregious. Take your frustration and bring it into your play, not like that.
#9 Samuel Salter
(7.1): Sam Salter down the wing continues to be a revelation. Perhaps Stephen Hart was on to something not having him start as the out-and-out striker for the Wanderers in 2022. The assist to Rubén was one of several chances created on similar cutbacks, but his appearance off the bench once again featured good play outside of just his goal contribution. Namely the ground duel he won with loose possession in our defensive third with the ball flying around. While there aren’t many numbers to point to, the confidence he’s playing with is demonstrably greater than at any other point in his ATO career. It speaks to the ability of a player to make the most of the opportunities given, and the professionalism that Salter has in the wake of tremendous criticism from both myself and the fanbase as a whole to continue to work to receive opportunities themselves.
#2 Zachary Roy
(NR): The joy I would have felt had Zach Roy’s attempt in the dying minutes of the game found the back of the net could not have been quantified. The young right sided player has been left wanting for opportunities to see the pitch, and this presented itself with the one chance to really stake his case for more consistent playing time, particularly with U21 minutes being an issue. Unfortunately, Viscosi made the save, and the score remained level. Still, it was good to see him get a run-out, even if it was an issue of other depth pieces being unavailable.
#10 Ollie Bassett
(6.3): If Ollie could channel the emotion he offered to Raphael Ohin into his play, Atlético Ottawa might be on the verge of clinching the regular season title. You can talk about the way that Valour tried to close off the middle of the park and force ATO out wide until you’re blue in the face, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the team never looks to play through the lines in that manner in the first place. Ollie’s attempts to get on the ball have been reduced to often times dropping in between the centre-backs, and this was far from the first time this has happened. He’s not been good at carrying the ball forward or playing between the lines consistently. I think the biggest indictment of his performance is that he only attempted 35 passes in a game where ATO managed to hold 57% possession. If he is supposed to be driving play, that’s not good enough, at least by my standards.
#34 Manny Aparicio
(6): I’m of the opinion that Manny Aparicio probably could have been sent off for his yellow card challenge on Jordan Swibel. It was a tackle born out of pure frustration, and given how he went in, could’ve been much worse for the Valour striker than it ended up being. In the midfield, Manny’s poor streak in terms of winning duels continues, with him succeeding at just over 25%, winning five of 16 contested. His 80% pass accuracy is fine, even with the two key passes he managed to make, but his usual dynamism in the middle of the park has been lacking in recent weeks. Through much of the first half of the season, I crowned Manny the lynchpin player of this team, and he truly was. I think only Triston Borges had a better first 14 games, and yet his level is starting to drop. Maybe that’s inevitable, as a player who could contribute as much as he had week-in week-out would surely have found his way to a higher level. This isn’t to say I don’t think he’ll regain that; I very much assume he will, it’s just the team needs to be able to play well around him. So far, ATO is one for two in that regard.
#21 Alberto Zapater
(6.3): Much of Alberto Zapater’s game this week was spent in his own half. This isn’t too different to the way he has been playing this season, frequently dropping back between the two centre-backs while in possession to give an additional option to retain the ball, but this has usually come with a couple of key passes or a shot on target to supplement his defensive responsibilities. Against Valour, he didn’t really find himself in places to do this, and he wasn’t at his usual level defensively. Alberto won only three of the eight duels he contested, and only had two defensive actions, one of which being a tackle that he lost out on. It’s the type of performance that can be brushed aside if the rest of the midfield steps up, but in this game, where that didn’t happen, it sticks out just that little bit more.
#6 Liberman Torres:
(NR): Given the game state when Liberman Torres entered the game, I’m still not sure what position he played, or if he had any impact whatsoever on the minimal play that occurred between the eons of time-wasting Valour conducted in injury time.
#33 Abou Sissoko
(6.7): Somehow, Abou Sissoko managed to play at least four positions in the 31 minutes plus stoppage time that he played on Sunday. Starting at left back, in a swap with Gabi Antinoro that pushed Morer to the right, and Ballou to the left in front of him, he then moved to right back, then I believe right-wing back upon the final change, and almost certainly was at centre mid at some point in there as well. These positions don’t really play to the strengths that he can display in the middle of the park, but he was still able to be effective defensively. A key tackle against a potentially dangerous Valour attack was my personal highlight of Sissoko’s game, as Loic Kwemi looked to pounce on a break late in the second half. Other than that, he won all three of his duels and avoided committing any fouls in his abbreviated run-out. While it’s nice to have a player who can provide the utility in playing as many positions as possible, Sissoko’s strengths still lie in the midfield, and hopefully, the roster will allow him to do that the rest of the season.
#8 Dani Morer
(5.6): His lowest rating of the season comes, I would say, as a result of circumstance more than his ability. His previous foray as a left-back did not go well, and I think it’s safe to say that this was equally poor. His tendency to drift inside is helpful when playing on the right wing, as it creates much more space for our players who want to operate in wide spaces. That said, his inverting in possession did not do much to try and break down the Valour defence. His best sequences saw him in possession down the wing, winning throws with his deft dribbling ability, but those were few and far between. Ultimately, the pace of Matteo de Brienne would have given this Valour side fits given their tactical approach in this game. Morer is certainly not a one-for-one replacement for Matteo, and the team didn’t quite shift the tactics to match that. Ultimately, I’m going to write this performance off from Dani, as we’ve seen what he can do, but if this doesn’t underscore the notion that Matteo is essential to this team, I’m not sure what will.
#4 Tyr Walker
(6.6): Once again, Tyr Walker was a good partner to Amer Didic defensively. He won five of seven duels, made three tackles, an interception, and had a couple of clearances. As great as these numbers are, the distribution from Tyr left much to be desired. On multiple occasions, he attempted to thread passes to players across the pitch that were easily intercepted and turned into Valour attacks within the blink of an eye. I’ve been critical of Luke Singh for the giveaways that he has had this season, and as such I need to get on Tyr’s case for doing a similar thing. His value as a U21 player who can play as a centre-back cannot be understated, but that also means the growing pains are going to show through. Carlos González made a point of not playing Tyr at home last season, for whatever reason, and the two of his weaker starts have come at TD Place. Perhaps he still needs to get in the right frame of mind to play in his hometown, and given that we’ll need him to supplement the minutes, that shift in mentality needs to happen sooner rather than later.
#55 Amer Didic
(7.2): To think a player for Atlético Ottawa would register 101 attempted passes in a game given how the team has played is ludicrous. Amer Didic was, by that measure, Atlético Ottawa’s most involved player by far on Sunday. Unfortunately, that says a lot about the game it was for ATO, as the ball kept needing to be recycled back to the centre-backs. This isn’t a comment on Didic’s individual performance, however, as he was certainly the most effective member of the starting XI in this game. As usual, his ability in the air stood out, winning eight of the nine aerial duels he contested, with those occurring both in important defensive moments and in second-half injury time as long balls were pinged forward for him to knock on. Didic also managed a further 10 defensive actions, with seven of those being clearances. Additionally, 14 of his passes were made into the final third, wrapping up a pretty complete individual performance in the face of a poor collective one.
#23 Kris Twardek
(6.8): Aside from Facchineri outmuscling Twardek for the second Valour goal, I was impressed with what Twardek brought to the game going forward and in defence. As I’ve mentioned already, this game was set up for our wing-backs to try and take advantage of a compact Valour defensive structure, and for most of the first half, Twardek found himself in space to get balls into the box. The second half saw a bit less of that, as the chemistry down the right couldn’t quite click, and then he was moved to left back upon the substitution of Dani Morer, where he was adequate. Defensively, he did manage to win four of five ground duels, which given the collective success rate of 35% in this game, is a standout performance in that regard. That may be offset though by his inability to defend effectively on the Facchineri goal, but given the rest of his game, I don’t want to focus too heavily on that. Just one or two moments where a cross could find a foot would have been enough to really send this performance over the top, but unfortunately, it was merely a good day at the office for Twardek, not a great one.
#5 Luke Singh
(6.6): Last week, Luke was not on the pitch for the first time this season, and with him starting on the bench in this game, I wasn’t sure we’d see him this week either. He did come in and handle himself capably for the final 30 minutes, not having to do much defensively, but performing admirably when required. Additionally, his offensive stats reflect the performances he has put up over the rest of the season with close to 90% pass accuracy and 50% accuracy on long balls. It remains to be seen who will be given the task of starting next to Amer Didic for the foreseeable future, as both he and Tyr, in my mind, suffer from similar flaws while also having similar strengths. Unfortunately for Luke, Tyr’s minutes contribute toward meeting the u21 minute threshold, and as such provide more value in the second half of the season.
#29 Nathan Ingham
(7.3): What a waste of a superb goalkeeping performance. Between the double save before Valour’s first goal finally went in, and the other long-distance efforts that were collected without much issue whatsoever, Ingham was the best player on the pitch bar none. On a number of occasions, the defence did not do what was required of them, and yet, Nate was there to calm everything down. This marks the second time in the last month that I’ve given Nate such a high rating despite conceding multiple goals. I don’t regret it in the slightest because he has been playing that well. It’s astonishing to have two keepers I’m supremely confident in when they start, I just wish I could say the same across the rest of the XI.
Friday against York was always going to be a vital game in shaping the rest of the season. It would have been nice to go into that game with a seven-point lead atop the standings, but a win is paramount regardless of the gap between the two teams, especially with Forge lurking just behind with a game in hand. Our road form being what it is gives me some optimism, as well as the return of Matteo de Brienne to the line-up. The play needs to improve however, as inconsistency is going to be the death of this team’s ability to maintain the lead that they established in the first half of the season. The dog days of summer have seen ATO earn their best run of results in the past two years, here’s hoping that can continue in 2024.
About Patrick
Having joined CCSG in 2022, Patrick started his footie career playing at the age of 4 and began watching the pros around the same time. While the first pro team he supported was Manchester United, as soon as Atlético Ottawa came to town, he was immediately on board. His wealth of footy knowledge has been a constant asset, along with his role as caretaker for Atléti Wikipedia pages.
