CCSG Player Ratings: Matchday 22 @ Valour FC
For what may be the first time in recorded history, Ben Hoskins did us a favour. The 77th minute penalty that was converted by Rubén Del Campo was dubiously earned to say the least, as the ball struck the arm of Dante Campbell despite it being in a wholly natural position. The late goal helped to mediate immediate consternation with a frankly lifeless performance against a Valour side that was extremely compact, just as they were in the previous matchup between these two teams. That Carlos González thought to combat this by essentially starting a box midfield, as both Ollie Bassett and Gabriel Antinoro were operating far more in the middle of the pitch than along the wings, was baffling to me as I saw it unfold and remains so in the aftermath of the full-time whistle. There were still decent performances in and amongst the feeble attacking display that saw only Rubén’s penalty hit the target, but it won’t be the main takeaway as this team continues to flounder in open play. This is what we are now, time to get used to it.
#19 Rubén Del Campo
(7): Rubén deciding on power over placement for the penalty put a smile on my face. Even though it was in a spot that was saveable for Jonathan Viscosi, the purity of the strike was such that the Valour keeper was beaten despite guessing correctly. Rubén is the first player in the CPL to score ten goals this season, and he did so in a game where he was effective despite being limited to only 16 touches in 90 minutes. After a few weeks in which he was controlled by the opposing centre backs, Rubén managed to win four of the five ground duels he contested, and earned Atléti three free kicks. Being effective with such limited involvement in the game is certainly encouraging, and is the kind of thing that Rubén had managed to do when he wasn’t scoring last year. Now that he is putting the ball in the back of the net, these little things only help to enhance his performances. With one more goal in the final six matches of the season, he’ll equal Ollie’s league total from last year, and eclipse the record in all competitions. For the first time in a few years, we have a striker that is leading the line in the way that he should, and hopefully he sticks around.
#11 Gabriel Antinoro
(6): Unfortunately, Monday night was much more of the same for Gabriel Antinoro. A lot of energy, being involved in the game, but not quite putting it all together on the pitch. This is most notable with his dribble attempts, where he only managed to complete one of his four attempts. This is in line with his overall performance on the year, where he’s only managed to complete 14% of his attempts. Given that he’s being played primarily on the wings, an inability to beat his man 1-on-1 makes it really difficult to justify his continued presence as a starter outside of providing much neededu21 minutes. While he may have managed 88% pass accuracy in the first half on Monday, there’s still the issue of Gabi only winning two of seven ground duels, which again is on pace with his success rate of 34% for the season. With a dog fight for second place in the cards and the return of Kevin dos Santos to supplement the attacking rotation, I’m not sure there’s enough return to justify Gabi continuing to get minutes.
#10 Ollie Bassett
(6): The frustration continues for the 2022 CPL Player of the Year and 2023 POTY nominee. Ollie Bassett continues to be unable to put anything together in the final third, either in his distribution or with his goal scoring. Not helping matters is that he was wholly ineffective in the defensive areas of the game, winning only one of the six duels he contested and giving away four fouls, most notably a cynical take down of Jordan Faria on the edge of the Atlético Ottawa box in the 55th minute. Often, there’s a little scrap in Ollie’s performances that you can pick out to try and salvage it, but Monday night did not offer anything in that regard. No key passes, no set piece deliveries, not even a bit of skill to make you think he could be confident on the ball. 90% pass accuracy only gets you so much leeway if you can’t make any incisive or progressive decisions. With more players getting back to health, and those that were already healthy outperforming him, I think it’s time Ollie heads back to the bench to try and find himself again. This was just another performance in a long line of disappointing ones from a player who will become the all time appearance leader for this club the next time he steps onto the pitch.
#34 Manny Aparicio
(7.3): On CCSG’s latest venture, The Pulse of CCSG (available now on podcast platforms), I was adamant that Manny Aparicio needed to be the engine of this team in the stretch run, much like he was at the beginning of the season. While the rest of the team was far from their best, Manny held up his end of the bargain, controlling the middle of the park while also trying to get on the ball wherever he could in the Valour half. His 8/11 success rate in duels is the stand-out statistic, particularly as it exceeds his success rate of 46% on the season, which helped to quell a Valour midfield that looked dangerous in the early going. On the attacking side, Manny completed five of six long balls, and completed two of his three attempted dribbles, the last one leading to his only shot of the game. That attempt was one you want Manny to feel confident in taking, given his ability to score from distance, and even though it went wide, his willingness to take that shot shows how confident he was in his play Monday night. More of this from Manny, with a little bit of a boost from his supporting cast, will lead to good things for Atlético Ottawa.
#33 Abou Sissoko
(6.7): After being the lynchpin to the midfield last week, Abou Sissoko’s performance was understated but still effective next to Manny Aparicio on Monday night. That being said, he only managed to get into dangerous attacking areas on one or two occasions, and couldn’t find his teammates when making the cut back across goal when he ran towards the byline. Otherwise, his passes were accurate, but not threatening in any significant way. Defensively, he did enough, registering two tackles and winning exactly half of the eight duels he contested. Ultimately, this feels like the floor for what Abou can contribute in a game like this. This is why I think he should be penciled in as a starter for the rest of the season. His highs aren’t going to exceed the highs of some of his teammates, but not every player needs to be at their absolute peak at every game. High floor players like Sissoko make the system run, no matter how effective you think the system is.
#9 Samuel Salter
(6.6): While he has been shifted out to the wing since his revitalization, Salter registering seven defensive actions still doesn’t quite look normal. The unfortunate part of those seven is that three of them were fouls, and only one of the tackles he attempted was successful. Furthermore, he managed to contest ten duels in only one half of play, but won only four of them. Defence isn’t what we’re expecting from Sam though, even if it would be a nice bonus. Offensively, Salter’s cutback was the one that was “handled” to earn the penalty and had a header from just outside the six-yard box blocked that would have tested Viscosi were it not for the intervention from his defender. The wing play became more effective when Salter entered the pitch, and while some would say he was a second striker, his presence on the right certainly suggests otherwise. It’s a role that he looks much better in than being up top. He’s the only person to score from open play on this team since the beginning of August, and while I do want him to continue to contribute, that will have to change if ATO wants to hold onto second place.
#13 Ballou Tabla
(6.8): Much of my trepidation with Ballou Tabla’s performance last week was the game state that best allowed him to take advantage of space. In this game, with a tighter Valour defence, he looked just as effective and lively going forward. He may have only had one key pass in comparison to the three he had last week, but for 22 minutes of work, his statistical output is a sign of a rejuvenated player. Winning ground duels, making defensive interventions, and moving the ball forward in transition were all elements in his game that were lacking or absent earlier in the season. This is more like the Ballou that we’ve been waiting to see, a dynamic, attacking presence that can take control of the game in important moments. It’s still to be seen if he can continue this over longer stretches of time, but any encouraging signs from a player that was in a major slump are welcome. Especially knowing who else is slumping, and how this could get them back on the right track.
#7 Kévin dos Santos
(NR): After almost 5 full months out due to injury, it was wonderful to see Kévin dos Santos play even just a few minutes to close out the game on Monday. He looked spry and offered some danger down the right and left in the waning minutes of a game that got strangely open given how closed off it had been for the 87 minutes prior. It’s still probably a good idea to ease him back into the rotation, but the bench has been given a giant lift knowing KDS is getting back to full form.
#6 Liberman Torres
(NR): Coming in for Abou Sissoko in the waning moments of the game, Liberman Torres still had a job to do, and with a ground duel won, a tackle made, and a clearance, his presence even for only seven or so minutes helped to ensure that ATO kept the point they had somehow found. In a deep midfield, there’s not really room for Liberman to get extended minutes, and as such, the impression he’s made in limited minutes might not earn him the full games he’s probably itching to play.
#96 Ilias Iliadis
(6.9): Early in the game, I was concerned that my worst fears about Iliadis were manifesting. Last year, he was at his weakest when he was playing as a left back, and his extension forward left Gabi Antinoro to mark Jordan Faria on the cross which resulted in the Valour goal. However, he worked his way back into the game very well through the end of the first half, and while he wasn’t clinical with his deliveries into the box, he played well and kept up the level he’s been displaying for over a month now. By winning six of ten duels and three of four tackles, he kept the Valour right side in check through most of the second half, and also contributed going forward with two key passes and another six passes into the final third. His positioning was also much improved to what I saw from him last year, barring that situation in the first half, as he posed a threat down the left and through the middle as he drifted inside trying to create overloads. With Matteo de Brienne likely returning to that spot with his suspension served, Iliadis’ position in the team is uncertain. Will Jesus de Amo slot in as the third centre back, or will Iliadis return to a position he admitted he wasn’t 100% sure on?
#5 Luke Singh
(6.6): Luke Singh’s first start since the 4-1 drubbing away to York was nothing to write home about. Only winning one of five ground duels doesn’t bring much confidence to fans that Luke should be working his way back into the regular rotation. With only one clearance, and one interception, he wasn’t making a visible impact on the game. In some ways, that could be considered a good thing, as the Valour attack wasn’t getting anything done in and around him. However, that comes mostly due to the other players around him than any one thing Luke was doing to limit the Valour attack. His passing stats were as usual pretty stellar, with a 75% accuracy on long balls and a 90% overall pass accuracy. Given those were predominantly simple passes, however, it’s not too much to look into. Perhaps this is a bit dismissive, but nothing about this performance makes me think Luke should be factoring into the rotation significantly in the run in.
#55 Amer Didic
(7): I could probably copy and paste any of the last few week’s paragraphs into this one and it would remain relevant to what Amer Didic did for Atlético Ottawa. Being perfect once again on aerial duels, and successful on six of seven total he contested feels so pedestrian nowadays and it really shouldn’t. Add on a couple of interceptions to the six clearances and you get the best centre back in the Canadian Premier League continuing to do everything he needs to do to keep this team within arms reach of the top of the table. There’s no one in this league I’d rather have anchoring a defence, and in a back three, he looks even more comfortable, which I didn’t think was possible. Didic was the most important signing for this team, and it’s not even close.
#4 Tyr Walker
(6.8): The last two goals Atlético Ottawa have conceded are moments where Tyr Walker was not at his best. In this game, Shaan Hundal simply beat Tyr to the ball, catching him flat footed for just a moment to get inside position on the young defender. These are the moments that you have to deal with when playing a 21-year-old at centre back, but the benefits are still outweighing the negatives at this stage. Despite losing more than half of his ground duels, he was still able to be effective in the air, managing three headed clearances and winning three of four aerial duels. His distribution is also getting to a more consistent level, with a 50% success rate on long balls, and a total pass accuracy at 85%. Playing next to Didic is going to be incredibly helpful for him with regards to his long term prospects. Being able to start for the back half of this season, having been eased in, is going to make next year an even more interesting time, as if he continues this level of progression he might not be long for Ottawa.
#8 Dani Morer
(6.3): Conversely to Ilias Iliadis, Dani Morer only managed to win three of his nine duels and did not grow into the game despite the ball being played down the right side of the pitch so often through the end of the first half. His physicality has always been a bit of a concern to me, regardless of his technical ability, and once again he didn’t provide that extra little switch to get ahead of the opposing full backs. With no key passes made, and only being able to complete one of the six crosses he attempted, the creativity that Dani can express was not on display whatsoever on Monday. On the other hand, he did win both of the tackles he attempted and had another two positive defensive contributions, but that’s offset by the three fouls he committed and the cynical yellow card he took seemingly out of frustration rather than by circumstance. With Twardek returning, perhaps we can now rotate at right wing back to give Morer a bit of a break, as it seems he needs a bit of a reset, much like a lot of other individuals on this team.
#23 Kris Twardek
(NR): Also returning from injury, albeit with much less of a lay-off than Kévin dos Santos, Kris Twardek saw a couple of minutes in injury time. His pace down the right is something we’ve lacked in recent weeks, and could be a big factor in our ability to create down the right wing in the important fixtures ahead.
#29 Nathan Ingham
(6.8): Nathan Ingham’s save on Jordy Swibel was one of the first times in recent weeks that the keeper had been truly tested and he matched it. With a couple of other saves on shots directed right at him, Allstate Nate was in fine form. There’s nothing much else to say about this performance from Nate, because he didn’t really have to command his box outside of those couple of instances.
Outside of the general malaise that the attack provides, I also want to bring up the set pieces that were run out on corners. I’m not a fan of setting up corners to be hit to the back post, there’s already enough inconsistency from our corner takers that the necessary tendency would be for our players to over hit the ball to try and get it to the far post in the first place, leading to what ended up happening, a number of balls lumped over everyone’s head for goal kicks. Maybe the solution is just having better corner takers in the first place, but that routine felt off from the beginning.
Ultimately, this draw puts a real limit on our ability to challenge for the CPL shield. Forge are absolutely on fire, and we no longer control our own destiny given the four point gap between the two teams. Now, it’s about securing second place and maximizing our ability to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup in February. After the start we had, to not end up playing in a continental competition just feels criminal.
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 footie knowledge has been a constant asset, along with his role as caretaker for Atléti Wikipedia pages.
