CCSG Player Ratings: Matchday 28 vs. Vancouver FC

The more things change, the more they stay the same. I’m pretty sure I’ve led off at least one of these pieces in the exact same way at some point this season, but that only further serves my point. A week after a midfield performance that completely overwhelmed the top team in the league, the entire group went missing on Saturday. Vasco Fry was in complete control of the middle of the park and ATO could do nothing they wanted anywhere on the pitch. It’s incredibly disheartening to see a violent swing back to reality after such a great performance last week, but should we really be surprised. It only further serves to fuel this idea that has been bouncing around in my head for at least a year or so and is demonstrated by the fact that Forge was the team we won the most points against this season. Letting ATO have possession is the way to beat us. In basketball, there’s a distinction between your “half-court” and “transition” offense to describe when you’re attacking against a defence that is set or not. ATO cannot operate in “half-court” situations with any effectiveness. 

Forge, last week, was a game where there were plenty of opportunities in transition that ATO capitalized on. It’s no secret that the most effective sequences in this game for ATO were late on, when both teams knew they had to fight for a goal, and as such were throwing everything at us. Outside of those last 15 minutes, what did ATO really create in this game? When Vancouver was organized, there was never a threat to Callum Irving’s goal, and that’s evidenced by the wide disparity in total shots, and that every shot on target from ATO was directly into Irving’s hands. Regardless of the result in the Cavalry game, this team needed a result in this game, and they didn’t get it. What’s especially frustrating is that Vancouver had never earned points at TD Place in their short history. It needs to be better next week, or a swift playoff exit is certainly on the cards.

#9 Samuel Salter

(6.5): On the surface, Salter was able to win out against the Vancouver defence fairly frequently, being the only member of the front five to win more duels than he lost, and even managed to force Callum Irving into a couple of saves. Look into it more however, and that performance fades away slightly. His hold up play, in particular his first touch which I have harped on heavily in the past, was not up to par, and the duels he won didn’t turn into anything meaningful. The shots he took were headers without much power directed into the waiting arms of Callum Irving. He has been effective at points this year, but he’s also had these types of games where the little things overwrite the effectiveness that the statistics suggest. 

#19 Rubén Del Campo

(6.4): Unfortunately for Rubén, going the final five games without scoring and a dramatic late season run from Tobias Warschewski has denied him the golden boot. Combine that with a wholly subpar performance in this final regular season game, and we end up with the question of who should be leading the line for Atlético Ottawa going into the playoffs. Yes, it was frustrating to hear the final whistle blow as it appeared Rubén was seemingly through on goal mere seconds after the four added minutes had expired. But we have no one to blame but ourselves for all of this, regardless of every 50/50 decision in the second half going Vancouver’s way. His disallowed goal was fairly ruled out for offside, and the potential penalty shout was far more debatable than the angle from section W would allow (particularly with no replay being shown for it in the stadium).

#13 Ballou Tabla 

(6.4): Coming onto the pitch with some new eyewear, Ballou chucked them aside rather quickly into his shift. Besides those goggles, nothing about this felt different to much of Ballou’s season. He missed the one big chance that came to him, despite being relatively effective in other phases of the game. We’re at the stage in the season where those misses can’t be excused, as execution is paramount with so little room for error, especially as every game from here on out threatens elimination. I do think he probably should have come into the game about ten minutes earlier to provide a bit more threat in between the lines, but even in the 25 or so minutes he played there was threat there. I’m assuming the goggles were the primary reason he didn’t end up starting the match, but I feel it’s impossible for him to not be in the XI next Sunday.

#7 Kevin dos Santos

(NR): Coming on so late into such an open game, Kevin dos Santos wasn’t really afforded much opportunity to showcase himself, as has been the case all season between his injury and his only start featuring a red card 25 minutes into the match. Hopefully next year is more fruitful for the Portuguese winger, or he can find a way to finally make an impact in the playoffs.

#34 Manny Aparicio

(6.6): The more I watch the replay, the more I’m convinced Renzo Villanueva made the right decision not awarding the penalty. Anyone who spoke to me in the immediate aftermath of the game will know this is a massive reversal of opinion. This change in thought won’t win me many brownie points with the rest of the fanbase, but Manny did all he could to avoid contact with the sliding Romeo. Outside of that, the dynamic, chaotic Manny that disrupted Forge all of last week was not present in this game. The usual impact he had defensively was contained mostly to our own third rather than high up the pitch to create quick, transition opportunities. It wasn’t all bad from Manny, but he certainly wasn’t playing as well as he did against Forge, and the midfield has been running through him all year. If he’s not up to standard on Sunday, I’m scared of the result.

#10 Ollie Bassett

(6.2): Even more dramatically than the drop off from Manny from last week, Ollie Bassett looked like a shell of himself on Saturday. None of his corners posed any real threat to the Vancouver goal, and looking at the heat map shows a player who was all over the place, and, to the overall detriment of the team, back out wide. Not winning a single duel in 83 minutes is quite worrisome and helps to explain why the midfield felt like it disappeared for long stretches of this game. It’s unclear if all of this is occurring as a result of instruction or frustration in trying to affect the game as it wore on, but it’s not encouraging given how he is at his best through the middle of the park. We’ve been questioning Ollie’s future essentially all season, and it would be a shame for the all-time appearance, goal, and assist leader’s time here to end unceremoniously with a playoff loss at home.

#33 Abou Sissoko 

(6.3): Much like the rest of the midfield, Sissoko was absent in comparison to last week against Forge. He was isolated in the middle of the park for the first 75 minutes, and then couldn’t really do much of anything when he was shifted out to the right upon the change of formation from a 5-3-2 to a 4-3-3. The yellow was unnecessary and the fact that he won fewer than a third of the duels he contested in the position he was playing was detrimental to the team being able to limit Vancouver’s chances, of which there were plenty. He can play better than what he showed on Saturday, and we’ll need him to be at his best in the knockout fixtures to get back to the best version of this team. 

#21 Alberto Zapater

(NR): Aside from one horrid giveaway near the centre circle, Alberto Zapater really didn’t have any impact on this game in the 15 minutes he featured. Much of that comes down to the extremely open nature of that period being outside of his ideal game state, but also because the defenders behind him were cutting out the shots and passes that he would normally be doing. With Liberman Torres suspended for next week’s playoff game (and the next if it comes to that), Zapater will certainly dress pending injury, but more and more as this season has worn on, he is certainly showing his age and his mistakes are starting to become more detrimental than his successes.

#22 Matteo de Brienne

(6.8): The weaker side of Matteo’s game was fairly prevalent on Saturday. There were at least three giveaways that were the result of him trying to do too much, and all of those giveaways were in dangerous areas, the big one being an attempted switch that went directly into the chest of a Vancouver player standing at most six feet away. Thankfully, his defensive work was nearly the opposite of those giveaways. Matteo managed to win eight of eleven duels, had a couple of clearances, interceptions, and tackles, and only committed one foul. That his one foul was deemed to be a yellow card offence despite Vancouver players making similar challenges to no consequence should highlight why there was a frustration that boiled over for the ATO crowd and players. Hopefully next week will see ATO use Matteo out wide like he should be used, and we can finally see him score for the red and white.

#3 Jesús Del Amo

(7): It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get to see more of Del Amo this season, as he has rounded into a very solid option as a part of the centre back trio. He was especially calm on the ball on Saturday and eliminated any threat of the Vancouver press exploiting errors for the team. His five defensive actions may not be a staggering number, but they show a positional aptitude in that he doesn’t need to make miraculous plays to save the situation. Given he was signed on a short-term deal, I don’t know if he’s in the plans for next season, but having a competent left footed centre back like him is never a bad thing, and if he does come back, I wouldn’t be upset. 

#55 Amer Didic

(7.3): After being honoured with the golden scarf prior to the match, by none other than yours truly, Amer Didic went out and did what he always does in the middle of the back line. He may not have registered any blocked shots until late into the second half, but both the times he laid out to do so were in vital moments that could’ve really tested Nathan Ingham, the last of which looking like it hit him where the sun don’t shine, demonstrating once again his commitment defensively and showing exactly why he deserved to be named our player of the year. Aside from those two interventions, he won all his aerial duels, didn’t need to make a tackle, and didn’t commit a foul. He’s so disciplined in both his one-on-one approach and his general positioning that it’s staggering whenever he makes a mistake. He’s the constant in this lineup, and to me, the reason a lot of these late season draws didn’t turn into losses.

#4 Tyr Walker

(6.9): After a slight scare that he may not return this season, Tyr Walker returned to the lineup to good effect (and to collect the necessary u21 minutes to meet the minimum threshold.) While he was substituted early, that was to change shape and provide more attacking threat, something that he’s yet to really demonstrate in the short time he’s started on the team. Not winning either of the aerial duels he contested isn’t great to see, but he made a key block on a corner in the first half as a Vancouver player was unmarked at the back post. More and more, I’m still convinced a team from a higher level than the CPL will take a chance on the 21-year-old, as he’s an excellent one-on-one defender, even if there’s still work to be done positionally and in terms of moving the ball forward.

#8 Dani Morer

(5.7): Dani Morer having three options to pass to only to dribble directly into Renan Garcia after carrying the ball over half the length of the pitch is the most emblematic moment of this game for Atlético Ottawa - an unbelievable decision that shows just how little offensive spark flowed through this team on Saturday. It’s not as if that was the only moment in the game where Morer was ineffective either. He was drifting all over the place, he couldn’t win the ball back to save his life, and in a situation where he really could have taken it to Allan Enyou, he never really did. Even in the moments where he worked well with the midfield early on, the execution wasn’t there to pose any threat to Callum Irving. I’ve made a lot of statements about Morer’s technical ability being at the height of the CPL, but football is about a lot more than technique. He wouldn’t be playing in this league if those other aspects flourished in the same way. I’m pretty sure Zach Roy is the better choice at right wing back if Twardek isn’t healthy at this stage.

#15 Maxim Tissot

(NR): The celebration for Max Tissot’s career that was held prior to the game deserved a better team performance on the pitch. A player who has had a significant role in professional football in this city will hopefully be able to see his final game played in Ottawa be a bit more fruitful for the team as a whole. It remains to be seen if he can get to play an important role in that game next Sunday, but he deserves to walk off TD Place for the final time a winner.

#96 Ilias Iliadis

(NR): Coming into the game in hopes of finding the last gasp winner, Ilias Iliadis didn’t get to do much, registering five touches and only completing one pass. With Jesús Del Amo’s emergence in defence, Iliadis feels surplus to requirements at this stage, which is unfortunate given how well his second tenure with us started.

#29 Nathan Ingham

(7.5): Unlike the last few weeks, Nate was tested in this game. He met those tests with aplomb, as is to be expected of our number one keeper. Three saves, all of which were challenging in their own way, made sure that Vancouver didn’t totally change the trajectory of this game. It’s been a while since you could say he’s been at fault for any of the goals that the team has conceded, and, at the very least, he ends the regular season with two consecutive clean sheets, the first time that’s happened since the end of May.

Was the Forge result a mirage? It’s looking all the more likely. Finishing the final quarter of the season 1-5-1 is nowhere near meeting expectations. What’s funny is that this team met the expectation I had set for them before the season started. Despite the rest of the table being wrong, I had an inkling that a slow start would see this team round into form but still finish third in the table. I may have got the means wrong, but the end result was right. In the wake of the start we had, the expectations grew far greater than I think anyone should have had. I firmly believe that if this team rounded into form at the end of the year after a rough start, the response to finishing third would have been much better. Perhaps saying that much is evident, but it’s still something to consider when reevaluating this season as a whole. The expectations became totally different due to the results at the beginning of the year. Now, it’s time to get back to that, if we can, so we don’t end up feeling that our second top-half finish in OUR HISTORY was a total waste. There’s a fine line, after all, between expecting success and feeling entitled to it. We should strive for the former and not the latter.

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.