CCSG Player Ratings: Matchday 24 vs. Pacific FC
Unbeaten in six, and I am sick to my stomach. Three of the last five games have seen this team turn leads into draws, this time now at home in front of the largest crowd of the season. All of the same issues continue to pop up, and as such it feels redundant to write these articles sometimes, barring the one player that was involved in all of our big chances. How many times can I complain about set piece delivery, or crosses that find no one, or a counterattack being stalled because we aren’t cohesive. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to find new things to complain about. I want to celebrate this team like we should. But once again, we are failing to get things done in the stretch run of a season. Carlos Gonzalez still has not won a home game in the month of September, which is even more shocking when you realize Atlético Ottawa played the wooden spoon winners in the previous two seasons in that same month. This was a game against a team that had to travel across the country to play midweek before coming here on Sunday, and was without their manager due to suspension. Not getting three points in this game is the most inexcusable of this string of draws. Not finishing in the top two feels more and more likely as the season comes to a close, which feels unfathomable for a team that spent literally half the year atop the league. Here are the player ratings, for whatever they’re really worth.
#19 Rubén Del Campo
(6.5): For all of us hoping for a third consecutive game with a Rubén Del Campo goal, we were unfortunately disappointed. The leading goal scorer in the CPL wasn’t granted the opportunities he had been over the last couple of weeks, barring one break that ended in a cutback to Ballou Tabla and was subsequently skied onto Bank Street. Against a strong Pacific back line, Rubén’s effectiveness on the ball was minimized, as he won only three of the 15 duels he contested, and he committed three fouls as well. The physicality he plays with has its ups and downs, certainly, and these types of games pop up from time to time. That he was able to create a chance and make a couple of key passes despite an underwhelming performance otherwise is why he has cemented himself as the go to up top for this team. With Ballou rounding into form, the end of the season has a chance to be even more prolific for Rubén, but with the team playing the way they have, who really knows if the execution will hit the required level.
#34 Manny Aparicio
(6.4): After a couple of weeks near the height of his powers, Manny Aparicio’s run out against Pacific was him coming back down to earth. I thought his role as one of the two second strikers still worked well enough in the first half, but when he was moved back into the heart of midfield after Abou Sissoko was substituted it shifted for the worse. With a success rate of three for 11 on duels, and only a 77% pass accuracy and no key passes, Manny wasn’t able to assert himself in any facet of the game. His energy going forward is far more useful in the pocket that he started in, rather than being put deep in the midfield, as it opens more holes ahead of the defense for opponents to work in. I’ve said again and again that this team can only be at its best when Manny is at his best. In the first half, he was much closer to his best, and as such, the performance ran with it.
#13 Ballou Tabla
(7.2): When I say Ballou Tabla is back, I mean it, in every aspect. That includes, unfortunately, missing big chances. The first was excusable, as the degree of difficulty to hit that on the volley away from Gazdov is immense, and to not get the favourable bounce it deserved off the post left me shaking my head. The second was mind-blowingly bad. To not get that on target is emblematic of this attack from open play in the second half. All that said, the rest of Ballou’s performance was exactly what we had been waiting for. The assist he provided to Abou Sissoko was the sort of thing that no other player on this team has done this season - dribbling the ball into traffic, drawing three players to him, and still finding the necessary pass to a player that was open because of the initiative he took on the ball. When Ballou is on form, he carries the ball like no other player on the team and can make things happen that this offense clearly has not been able to do without him. We signed Ballou to do these things, and while it’s lamentable that it’s taken 24 games to get to this point, he’s here now for the run in. Now that he’s playing a role that suits his talents, these are the performances I’m going to expect in the final four games of the season and playoffs.
#10 Ollie Bassett
(6.4): After remaining on the bench for the entire game against Cavalry, Ollie Bassett entered against Pacific and made his 86th appearance for the club, making him the all-time leader in appearances. With the success he’s had since he joined the club in January 2022, it’s fitting that he now holds this honour. The hope everyone had is that the time on the bench would allow him to reset and provide a better level to what he has shown recently. Unfortunately it hasn’t borne fruit immediately, as there really wasn’t a difference between what he showed against Pacific and what he had shown previously. Nothing stands out statistically, and from the eye test, that tracks. It’s tough to say if 29 minutes can be extrapolated over a full 90, but there wasn’t anything to suggest that Ollie is building back to his highest level.
#9 Samuel Salter
(6.5): Sam Salter’s substitute appearances were a sight to behold some weeks ago, and now he has regressed back to the mean. He’s not doing anything terribly, but he certainly isn’t getting into the right positions to affect the game in the way he had been in August. The heavy touch he has continues to make it difficult for him to turn 50/50 balls into opportunities for ATO to attack as it often ends up with a second defender when he does win a duel. I still think the role he is in is where he is best suited, he just needs to tidy up when he’s on the ball and the impact he can make will shortly follow.
#7 Kévin dos Santos
(NR): It’s only his fifth appearance of the season, all of which have added up to less than a full game of time on the pitch, but I’m going to say that Carlos González is probably misusing Kévin by having him on the right rather than the left. He was at his most effective at York when cutting in from that wing, and the effectiveness I saw from him in spurts down the right in these last few games is nowhere near that. Perhaps it’s just him trying to get up to game speed, but I know he’s able to get to a higher level than this, and a role switch feels like the way to unlock him.
#33 Abou Sissoko
(7.1): Abou Sissoko finding three goals from midfield this season was not on my bingo card. The 28-year-old had mentioned in pre-season that he was looking forward to playing further forward in this system than he had in years past, but I wasn’t sure he was going to get those opportunities given who was alongside him in midfield. While his first two goals were crafty set pieces that found the back of the net, this goal was the result of a good run into space and a very tidy finish to the near post of Emil Gazdov. Being able to show the results of a good process that has continued throughout this season is a great sign for what may come if he sticks around next year. 75% success rate on duels is great to see from a midfielder, and while he may have only won one of the four tackles he attempted, there was impetus to stop the Pacific attack before it could get started and that is what you most want out of a midfielder with defensive responsibilities. I would have preferred to see him play more than just two thirds of the game, but given the way Carlos González has managed his minutes this season, I’m not surprised he was the player that was pulled at that point.
#6 Liberman Torres
(6.9): There were a lot of fears about Liberman Torres not being able to perform. He came into the team later than we would have liked, and his first couple of appearances saw him struggle to match the pace of the game. He has grown a ton over the course of this season, and Sunday saw him provide another good performance as the most defensive of the midfielders. Of his six defensive actions, three of them were tackles (all of which were successful), including one in the first half on Andrei Tîrcoveanu at the edge of the 18-yard-box which denied Pacific a scoring chance. There were a couple of wayward passes, including one off a Pacific turnover that should have sent Rubén del Campo through on goal, but he fulfilled his role in attack well, managing 88% pass accuracy with five balls into the final third. With Alberto Zapater taking a more limited role in the back half of the season, it has been vital for Liberman to step up and he’s done just that.
#21 Alberto Zapater
(6.6): After not appearing in the 18 for either of the past two games away from home, Alberto Zapater returned to the lineup for the final 19 minutes of the second half. His presence was palpable, but that’s essentially all that he was able to provide. With Pacific on the back foot for much of his time on the pitch, Alberto’s best qualities were not necessarily on display. He still managed to accrue 12 completed passes on 13 attempts, and managed a single interception, which frankly should have resulted in more from the ATO attack. Time will tell if Zapater is going to be relegated to the bench for the rest of the season, or if he’ll be back to starting as he did for much of the beginning of the season.
#22 Matteo de Brienne
(6.9): The Matteo de Brienne passion moment of the match was his challenge winning a corner in the 77th minute, which resulted in him turning towards the dub and pumping the crowd up, trying to generate something in the stadium, as the previous 20 minutes of the game did not feature much in the way of chances for ATO. Outside of that, Matteo provided his usual dynamism down the left side. He should have had an assist had it not been for that pesky post denying Ballou Tabla a third minute goal, and he largely kept Kunle Dada-Luke in check, save for one instance when his opponent was able to get into the 18-yard box. With 83% pass accuracy, and a successful dribble to his name on top of four defensive actions, Matteo was able to impact the game in all facets, as we’ve come to expect. He can certainly elevate his game, but to continue at this level is plenty for the remainder of the season.
#96 Ilias Iliadis
(6.6): I’m still going back and forth as to who was at fault for giving Moses Dyer more real estate in the box than 99% of the population of Ottawa under 30 will ever own in their lifetime. Right now, I’m on Iliadis for not picking him up with the urgency that was required as Amer Didic directed him to do so. This now marks three of the last four goals Atlético Ottawa have conceded as a result of players getting free in the box for headers. That’s besides the point here, though, as Iliadis was only *fine* in comparison to his fellow central defenders in this game. His main highlights were the 12 long balls he completed, including the one that eventually ended up on Ballou Tabla’s foot in the third minute. Knowing that this offense is almost predicated on this type of distribution when in possession, having a natural central midfielder who can play the passes required is outstanding. Otherwise, I wasn’t overly impressed with him today. Aside from his blocked shot late in the first half, his defensive work allowed Pacific to gain space rather than cutting it off. Sure, the numbers are there to suggest he was effective enough, but it was a performance that hasn’t met the standard he’s been setting since he returned. Nothing to be worried about, just unfortunate.
#55 Amer Didic
(7.1): With eight clearances, and nine aerial duels won, Amer Didic did what he normally does in the middle of the three centre backs. I’m running out of superlatives to describe his play, and this is the flaw of the way I write these rankings. The unbridled consistency with which he plays makes it so difficult to highlight him as a player without constantly repeating myself. There may not be a player in the Canadian Premier League with a more consistent skill than Didic’s aerial ability. Perhaps Dan Nimick’s penchant for own goals or red cards, but those are not so much skills as they are flaws. Regardless, without him in the middle of this defence, I shudder to think what this team would look like. He organizes the defence, he takes control in the air, and he is a silent leader that has allowed his younger partners to develop alongside him, without sacrificing too much in terms of results. If he’s still here next year, that will be a genuine miracle to me. He’s too good for this league.
#4 Tyr Walker
(7.5): Other than being fortunate to get away with a foul against Sami Keshavarz when trying to shield the ball out of play, and one wayward pass directly to a Pacific player in the ATO half, Tyr Walker was majestic. The 21-year-old from Russell had what was quite possibly his most complete game as a defender, managing to provide four passes into the final third, 64% accurate long balls and a shot on goal alongside his 11 defensive actions. Add on his success rate of seven duels won with nine contested, and it’s fair to say that Tyr was an absolute wall on Sunday. All that’s missing from Tyr’s season at this point is a goal contribution. He’s been a rock at the back, and his ability has allowed the team to not feel the pressure of the u21 minute threshold even though the results haven’t necessarily been falling our way. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, sustained play like this will have suitors knocking for his services. A young defender with game experience who is playing like this is going to be a hot commodity in the off-season. As much as I want him to stay, the odds might be that he can’t if he continues at this pace.
#8 Dani Morer
(6.2): I think most people would come out of this Pacific game with a positive outlook on Dani Morer’s contributions. It is certainly suggested by his statistical output, with a chance created, 84% pass accuracy, six passes into the final third, and three successful dribbles. My issue though comes in his defensive stats, where he once again committed a number of fouls (four in total) and saw his fourth yellow of the season. As such, he is now in danger of being suspended upon receipt of his next yellow card, and he cannot receive the relief of the good behaviour incentive as there are not enough games remaining in the season. This speaks to something I’ve mentioned before about Dani in that his physicality seems to lack behind the rest of the league. As a result, he commits fouls frequently, and in a manner that seems petulant at times. It’s especially frustrating as he was certainly close to being sent off in this game, and without Kris Twardek on the bench, there was no like for like change to be made for Dani. I still believe his technical ability is among the best in the CPL, if not the best, but there are other aspects he just can’t quite match with his opposite numbers that makes it so Dani isn’t a runaway best player in the league.
#15 Maxim Tissot
(NR): Given Matteo’s general performance, and how he seemed to grow into the game in the second half, I’m not sure bringing Max Tissot into the game was the ideal choice. There was one instance where he got caught just a little too far out of position to allow Pacific to get in behind him. Fortunately, no chance was created based on that, and the potential issue was averted. His role on this team is going to be to fill in for Matteo in the waning minutes of the game the rest of the way, and here’s hoping that’s to protect leads rather than trying to chase wins.
#29 Nathan Ingham
(6.5): Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything that Nathan Ingham did or could have done in this game. There was one shot on target from Pacific in this game, and he had absolutely no chance at saving a header from that range. It’s hard enough to evaluate a goalkeeper on the best of days, but in a game like this, it’s genuinely impossible for me to do so.
Four games left, two at home, two on the road. Winning either of those games at TD Place will set a record home points total in a CPL season for the club. Right now, ATO is one point ahead of Cavalry, and three points ahead of York, with one game still to play against the nine stripes. Yet, I do not have faith that this team will be able to finish second. Nothing in the last six games has shown me the decisiveness required to hold firm and maximize our chances at continental competition next season. 2-5-3 in our last ten is nowhere near good enough to justify anything more than a playoff game and a hope and prayer. Barring a catastrophe, we will end up hosting a playoff game, it’s just a matter of which one it will be. Hope is a dangerous thing, so it’s probably good that I’ve lost just about all of mine.
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.
