Matchday 19 Player Ratings: @ Forge FC (17/8/25)
Perspective. It is so difficult to maintain it when experiencing the sheer emotion that comes with supporting a club. The reactionary take is such because it’s always the first thing that comes to mind. I often project the worst case scenario into my brain before anything else, especially in cases where it’s impossible to imagine anything going right. I’m sure some, if not many, of you felt the same way after Sunday afternoon’s defeat to Forge. Without a doubt, this result capped the worst week of Atlético Ottawa’s season by a country mile. Nothing went right for the away side, in what was not only the worst team performance of the season, but really the worst performance from every individual as well. Nothing was coming off, none of our outfield players looked to be able to provide anything truly positive going forward, and when something seemed to be building, it was snuffed out for various reasons. There’s plenty to talk about with regards to this team’s trajectory as a result. The difference though, is what you choose to focus on and what perspective you choose to take.
To lose two games in five days in such significant fashion is a cause for concern. To think that these results might be indicative of a team regressing after flying out of the gates is reasonable. Neither the performance on Sunday, nor the performance on Wednesday against Vancouver FC in the first leg of the Voyageur’s Cup semi-final, looks anywhere close to the level that Atlético Ottawa has demonstrated throughout the 2025 season.
Against Vancouver, the team had the bulk of possession, but were not in control of the game. Much like we did to teams during our 2022 league title campaign, Vancouver held us outside the 18-yard box and minimized our chances and the number of touches in dangerous areas. They then took advantage of our young defenders’ mistakes, managing to convert three goals on four big chances, with the other coming off the post directly into Nathan Ingham’s hands on the goal line. Vancouver managed four big chances on nine shots, while ATO managed to create only one big chance on 16. This disparity speaks to how the game was played on Vancouver’s terms, despite the gulf in shots and possession, of which ATO held 72%.
The performance on Sunday against Forge was even more calamitous. There’s no statistical measurement by which this team could hang its hat on following the 2-0 defeat. As mentioned earlier, any time there may have been an opportunity on offense, the execution faltered heavily. Ballou’s penalty miss of course being the most glaring instance, but even moments like players running down the byline to drive in a cross, with no one making runs, occurred on several occasions. It’s frustrating, especially given how much of an issue this has been in years past. With all that said, we were lucky to concede only two given the plethora of mistakes that occurred at the back. Brian Wright himself probably should have had four himself, and at least a couple of other Hamiltonians had chances that were either missed terribly or saved remarkably by Nathan Ingham. Despite conceding twice, the Atléti keeper made six saves and really was the sole bright spot in an otherwise horrific afternoon in Hamilton.
With all that negativity present, it’s very easy to slip into a negative perspective about the nine remaining games in the season. Especially when you think back to the previous two years. The last quarter of the season has not been kind to Atlético Ottawa, as September slides have seen the team lose a chance at winning the league (in 2024), or fall out of the playoffs entirely (in 2023). This anxiety is only ramped up when you realize that the team has not won a home game on or after September 1st since October 20th, 2021, when they beat Valour 2-0. That’s 11 consecutive home games in the final two months of the season without a victory. An 0-8-3 record at home in any period is eye popping, but when it’s in the most important stretch of the season, it begins to creep into your mind whenever anything bad happens. Yes, there are still moments in that stretch that feel like victory – the playoff successes against Pacific and York – but those were still draws. This is why the fanbase is starting to get anxious; this team has a history of finding a way to blow it in important fixtures.
So, how can this perspective shift? It is hard to not be doom and gloom about all of this, but it feels spoiled to even consider this level of negativity. This is only the third loss ATO have suffered in 23 games in all competitions. That type of run would normally have the team firmly positioned at the top of the league, but the circumstances have meant that this season is different, with Forge still unbeaten and four points ahead of ATO. This also goes without mentioning the tremendous amount of travel that the team had to endure over the last week, with three games in three different time zones without a return home between any of the fixtures. Their body clocks are messed up, and as much as I hate using this as an excuse for poor performance, the reality is that this amount of time away from home takes its toll. Having a full week before the game against Cavalry will allow the team to recuperate and hopefully be back to full strength from a physical and mental perspective.
The most important part of that recuperation is going to be the mental aspect. This specific group has not had to face adversity like this in this campaign. We have a different coaching staff, and we’ve heard from the team that the dressing room vibes are significantly improved from where they were at the end of last season. The attitude around the team surely contributed to the decline in performances at the end of the last two seasons. A better team atmosphere will undoubtedly have the players be able to refocus on the task at hand rather than spiral and repeat the tune of the last two seasons.
The fact of the matter is, we’ve had an incredible season, but once again a tremendous start has created a level of mid-season expectation that was not there prior to the beginning of the campaign. Looking at 2024 through the lens of what we thought going into the season presents far better than how we perceived it after starting the season with nine games unbeaten. The same can be said for 2025. This is anecdotal of course, but the prevailing attitude about this team was hovering somewhere between second and fourth in the league, which seemed reasonable given a coaching change, a few key players leaving, but also still having a returning core that could excel given a change of scenery. It’s not unreasonable to shift expectations based on what happens, it’d be almost foolish not to, but it’s important to have perspective on just how far we’ve come, and how much better we’ve had it than essentially everyone else.
Yes, this loss hurts. Yes, I hate Forge with a fiery passion that mirrors the smoke that consumes the skyline of Hamilton. Yes, the next time we play Forge, they’ll have two extra days rest from their midweek game to ours. Yes, the world feels against us at this moment. We’re four points back with nine games remaining. The climb seems impossible because of Forge literally not being able to lose, but stranger things have happened. Do I believe that we will overtake Forge? No. Do I think it’s absolutely impossible? Also, no. If we play our own game, we can still position ourselves well to challenge Forge through the remaining portion of the year. The fear of the last two years certainly looms large, but if there’s no belief that the team has changed, what are we all doing here?
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 ATO's Wikipedia pages.
