After a grueling week on the road that took the team across three cities and time zones in just seven days – culminating in back-to-back losses, including a deflating defeat to Vancouver FC in the first leg of the Canadian Championship – Atlético Ottawa returned to TD Place on August 23rd eager
Let's just get to it, no need for pleasantries. This edition of the Forward Press kicks off with a brief recap of Vancouver’s pressers before delving into the press conferences for the match against Forge, as there was no time for a midweek edition between fixtures. The
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
Welcome to the Forward Press, a summary of this week’s pre- and post-match press conferences! This edition covers ATO’s comprehensive 2-1 win away against Valour this past Sunday, in what was Ottawa’s 60th ever win in all competitions. Joining us this week were Diego Mejía as well
Familiarity. What ATO saw from York United on Sunday produced a terrible sense of nostalgia in the pit of my stomach, and likely all of yours as well. Seeing opposing teams employ the tactics that we were effectively implementing in 2022 is both encouraging and frustrating – encouraging as it brings
Welcome back to The Forward Press, where this week Head Coach Diego Mejía, for his 20th match in charge, and wing-back Gabriel Antinoro joined the media bracketing a scoreless and frustrating 0-0 draw at home against York United, the second in a row between these two clubs in the league.
In July’s final matchday last Saturday, Atlético Ottawa faced down Pacific FC in their 150th ever match played, and came out with a comprehensive 2-0 win against the Island Boys. Joining this week's media scrums were Diego Mejía on Friday, as well as Sam Salter and Diego
Comprehensive. In all facets of the game on Friday, Atlético Ottawa were just that. Come the end of the second half, there was a relative comfort that emanated from the stands at TD Place. Even with the moments of nerves, as the Wanderers continued to send their chances wide of
Welcome to the Forward Press, where CCSG walks you through all the action from the pre- and post-match press conferences. This week's edition, for the 2-0 win against Halifax, which was also ATO’s 50th ever CPL victory, features Head Coach Diego Mejia in the pre-match, as well
Chaos. To ascribe any other word to this game would do it a disservice. Atlético Ottawa’s first win away to York United since the first organized road trip on July 22nd, 2022, has seen the club go through to the Semi-Finals of the Voyageur’s Cup for the first
With the previous week's match ending in a scoreless draw Atletico Ottawa was looking to get back into the win column heading into the match against Cavalry FC. Playing away at ATCO field in Calgary has historically been a strong point for the Ottawa side, and that continued
Stability. Even through the first ten games of the season, you could argue that the team was stable up front in and amongst some chaos in the back. As the young players really began to settle themselves into their role, which maybe took a tad longer than it otherwise would
After a win at Pacific FC and a Voyageurs cup win at home against York United FC, Atlético Ottawa was back home facing Valour FC and were looking to continue their winning ways in league play. The Winnipeg side had more chances and control in the first half, but a
Perseverance. In the face of a woeful run of form, with a team that seemingly couldn’t find a way to keep the ball out of their own net, despite still being lethal going forward, Atlético Ottawa finally managed to keep their first clean sheet of the 2025 season against
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
Expectations. Atlético Ottawa’s relationship with them has been tumultuous to say the least. Last year, heightened expectations made a difficult run into the end of the season even more unpalatable for the supporters. The opening stretch of this season has set ATO up for a similar level of disappointment.
The Forward Press
All good things must come to an end, and so must the undefeated streak of Atlético Ottawa. It was not a pretty game, passes were poor, communication suffered, runs went unfinished, and not a single shot found its way on target. While Atleti were without David Rodriguez, a key piece
Defeat. It was bound to happen, and it’s always difficult to tell if you’d rather it occurs as a result of a bad performance or as a result of just not being able to convert when you’re the better team They each have their respective lessons that
Frustration. Every season is going to bring it at some point, and we’ve been fortunate to largely avoid that emotion through the first quarter of the season. Tuesday morning/afternoon against Forge, that frustration was felt through the individual, collective, and organizational level of fans, players, and coaches alike
Prolific. Prior to 2025, it’s certainly not a word you would use to describe Atlético Ottawa. On Saturday, the new reputation was cemented as the home team put five goals past Jonathan Viscosi. That, to anyone paying remote attention, is not the story of this match. Sam Salter pulling
The Forward Press
Another game, another 3 goals, another 3 points, and another amazing match of football. The 2025 Atlético Ottawa Season continues to deliver phenomenal drama and excitement, and if not always the prettiest football, at least always entertaining. In Week 5 of the season, as we continue to churn through the
Confidence. It’s evident to anyone watching whether you have it or not. It manifests in different ways, whether through the exertion of your will on an opponent, a calm in the face of tremendous pressure, or in the willingness to do the stuff you used to do in your
Ugly. No one who watched Tuesday’s game would confuse Atlético Ottawa’s performance for anything else. It was to be somewhat expected, with a heavily rotated side, and only three days rest after a big win away from home. Even so it still should not have felt as nervy
Opportunity. The best teams take it when it presents itself. Too many times over the past couple of years, this hasn’t been something that Atlético has done. Saturday continued a trend of this team bucking that trend. It was also another instance of the team meeting adversity head-on, absorbing
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It was Noah Abatneh off the cross at the death on Easter Weekend, as ATO rode to new life against York United, claiming all three points. The dub and the 3,337 in attendance on Saturday afternoon were treated to basketball-like soccer as two refreshingly open teams traded blows from
Belief. Every soul that walked into TD Place on Saturday had it coursing through their veins. The first two matches had brought forward the most entertaining football the team has ever played. As such, conceding an early goal didn’t bring down the mood in the stands. A frustrating refereeing
It was easy like a Sunday morning on Sunday afternoon, as Atlético Ottawa played Vancouver FC off the pitch in a 4-1 rout. Diego Mejía’s side showed it was head and shoulders above its opposition from early on in the match, and by the halftime whistle, they were leading
Proof of concept. Any organization, whether it's sporting or not, needs to display a proof of concept when it undergoes fundamental change. Atlético Ottawa gave us glimpses of that in the final 30 minutes of their opening match, and, in their second, showed a full 90 minutes of
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It was a spicy game in the sleet and rain as a new-look ATO opened the CPL season Saturday afternoon. Over 5,000 were in attendance in the Pay-What-You-Can home opener to watch Diego Mejía’s first starting XI of the season return to TD Place against the Halifax Wanderers,
Miserable. Perhaps that’s a bit of an understatement to describe the cold and wet conditions that accompanied the opening of the 2025 CPL season in Ottawa. Equally, it describes the feeling of Atlético Ottawa supporters through the first 55 minutes of the match. The team came out flat, disjointed,
Whether you’ve been taking a much-needed break from social media, sheltering somewhere warm for the winter, or living under a rock, you might have missed key announcements from Atletico Ottawa as they gear up for the 2025 Canadian Premier League season. Don’t fret – that’s why we are
At last, the part you’ve all been waiting for (or not). This is the final article in my series ranking the Atlético Ottawa roster based on how well they performed using my advanced analytics model (detailed here) for the players ranked #5 to #1. Click the following links for