CCSG Player Ratings: Matchday 4 @ Cavalry FC (26/4/25)
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 it, and finding a way to take control of a game that could have very easily slipped away from them. They are at the same point they were last year in terms of results, with three wins and a draw through four games, but to call them the same team would be incorrect, and I’ve stressed this drastic change through everything I’ve written about the team thus far. It is the most obvious contrast we’ve seen, and the evolution of players who weren’t necessarily playing their best previously are now able to make genuine impacts on the game in many ways.
Going forward, the comparisons to last year are going to stop. We’ve seen 360 minutes of this team through the month of April, and now their task is continuing to meet the bar that they’ve set for themselves. Winning against a Cavalry side that historically struggles out of the gate but picks up quickly as the season wears on is still a good result despite the time of year. With Halifax playing their best football, potentially ever, so far this season, the opening day draw looks like a true coup of a result, particularly with what happened in that game. The biggest test now isn’t any one team, it’s making sure that the team can handle the third and fourth time playing the same sides who might catch on to the approach of Diego Mejía. How we adapt going forward, and how we weather any storms that come our way, will be what decides if we’re raising any trophies going forward.
Ignition Troubles
Aside from the match against Vancouver, Atlético Ottawa’s performances in the first halves have been pedestrian at best. While this match against Cavalry did not see the home side take the lead, they certainly had the better of the chances. What’s especially odd is that the first ten minutes in this game, the York game, and the Halifax game, could all reasonably be assessed as net positives for ATO. The remaining 35 minutes, however, have seen the team be clearly second best. Against Cavalry, this manifested in consistently misplaced passes in the middle of the park, in all thirds of the pitch, which required excellent individual efforts from those in the back line to quell Cavalry’s explosive attack led by Ali Musse and Tobias Warschewski.
The reason why Cavalry’s attack looked so forceful through the first 45’ was partly because Sergei Kozlovskiy looked every one of his 16 years in the first half of this match, particularly in moments against last year’s golden boot winner Tobias Warschewski, where the German forward was able to outmuscle and out pace the young centre-back. Despite his tactical and technical ability as a defender, there are still legitimate physical limitations that give some cause for concern going forward. Given the injury to Noah Abatneh, it may not be a surprise that Sergei slotted in the back three, but he was certainly thrown into the fire with not only Warschewski but also Ali Musse screaming down his side of the pitch. Fortunately, the first half saw Amer Didić and Loïc Cloutier make important individual interventions to make up for Sergei’s mistakes.
The first half against Vancouver stands out because the initial burst was met with continuing execution in the ability of the attacking players to cut through the defence. Perhaps the matchup allowed for ATO’s attack not to need to be inch-perfect to create the opportunities that they converted? The balls that were getting from Coque and Aparicio to Rodriguez or Tabla faced little resistance when the team played their most effective first half, while in this game Cavalry clogged the middle of the pitch and got in the path of the transition between midfield and defence. Now, this slightly more static approach can also be attributed to some indecision on the part of Tabla and Salter, who, when handling the ball in transition, slowed the play down on a few occasions when opportunities presented themselves going forward.
This very thing is a remnant of two players who played for Carlos Gonzalez for multiple seasons and truly feels like an antithesis to the overall mentality that the team has displayed through the first month of the season under Diego Mejía. Tabla, in particular, has unfortunately continued to feel a step behind in attacking moments, and is one of the primary reasons why the first halves have felt stagnant after the first ten minutes. Compared to his fellow inside forward, David Rodriguez, there is a lack of directness and forcefulness with his approach towards goal. What’s strange is that the stats suggest more impact from Ballou than the eye test does.
Firing on all Cylinders
Of course, all of that is forgiven when Tabla does what he hasn’t done in ages, and converts his first genuine chance of the game. In a position where he has wasted so many similar opportunities, the 26-year-old calmly slotted home the pass from David Rodríguez at Marco Carducci’s near post for a 2-0 lead and Ballou’s second goal of the season. A Ballou Tabla who is taking his chances will create an impossibly difficult dynamic for any defence, as the commitment from the team to attack means that the opposition will not be able to dedicate all of their efforts to stopping those two, as may have been the case in the past. Ballou also managing to win 66% of his duels not only in this game, but across the entire season, is indicative that the new system is benefiting him as well, even if it may not be as visible with David Rodríguez earning the bulk of the praise through the first four games.
The goal itself was emblematic of the team doing what they have done best away from home, putting the foot on Cavalry’s throat immediately after being given an opportunity, which came as a result of one of the more ridiculous decisions I’ve seen in the Canadian Premier League: Bradley Kamdem Fewo deciding to punch Sergei Kozlovskiy in the stomach as Cavalry looked to line up a free kick to potentially equalize the match, and deservedly seeing a straight red card.
Going back to the first goal, the biggest indicator of success for Atlético Ottawa this season has been the connection between the wingbacks and the double pivot. When they have not been able to work together ATO has looked their worst, most notably in the first half against Halifax in the opening match, and to an extent in the first half of this match as well. Diego Mejía’s solution at halftime was to swap the wingbacks, putting Gabi Antinoro on the right and Kevin dos Santos on the left, where both have looked their strongest this season, despite being versatile enough to play on either wing. Gabi’s presence on the right forced Bradley Kamdem to make a decision on a cross and created the first goal of this game. Bringing in Joaquim Coulanges to replace Antinoro in the 76th minute saw dos Santos switch back to the right, and Coulanges took his chance to score his first professional goal in only his second professional match.
Yes, the red card certainly gave Atlético Ottawa ample opportunity to take the initiative through the final 25 minutes of the game, but Cavalry still have the ability to be super dangerous on the attack even down a man. This was evidenced, of course, by their goal in the 87th minute where a lackadaisical pass was pounced upon by Ali Musse and set through to Caniggia Elva, who snuck home a consolation goal and prevented the first clean sheet of the season. That particular instance was doubly unfortunate for Loïc Cloutier, who, in the absence of Noah Abatneh due to a lower-body injury, shifted into the middle of the back three and performed admirably, deserving of a clean sheet.
Royalty
Even more so than Loïc, Nathan Ingham was absolutely deserving of his first clean sheet of the season on Saturday. Allstate Nate was there to step up, when necessary, in a way that he hasn’t been asked to at this point in the campaign. Late in the first half, a save on a very dangerous Ali Musse chance preserved the 0-0 scoreline, and again from him in the second half on Sergio Camargo. Combine that with how he commanded his box on set pieces in the second half, and you have the first real standout performance of the season from our keeper. I won’t spend too much time discussing his distribution, which has played less of a role this season as the team generally plays out of the back more often than not, but there was one concerning pass that floated over the head of Kevin dos Santos and resulted in a half chance for Cavalry.
It's hard to imagine that a keeper has played well when the team as a whole has conceded the joint-second-most goals in the league through four games, but there’s only one goal of the six that Ingham should hold himself accountable for. He’s done well in helping to marshal a very young defence in front of him, and a great sign of this leadership is that we’ve yet to concede from a set piece so far this season. I know there has been trepidation over the past couple of years when it comes to set-piece defence, but already we look far less shaky in those situations, and as we hold more possession, there are fewer opportunities for opponents to capitalize on corners or free kicks. Sure, we might get an aberration like last week against York, but all in all, Nate has to be applauded for keeping us in this game and allowing us to be able to take advantage of the chances we got later on.
Another trip to ATO Field and another three points won. Through seven games played all time away to Cavalry, Atlético Ottawa have picked up 14 out of a possible 21 points. As was stated on the broadcast, ATO accounts for nearly half of Cavalry’s home losses in the league, ever. It’s a comfort to know that the team shows up to play against difficult opposition, particularly on the road. On the other hand, the team’s next game comes against Scrosoppi FC in the Voyageurs Cup on Tuesday. For the first time in their history, ATO will be playing a semi-professional side in an official match. This is not a task to be taken lightly, by any stretch. The expectation, of course, is a win, but the mentality needs to be the same as it has been through the first four matches of the season. I expect Diego Mejía to have the team prepared as they should be, but League 1 teams have proven to be traps for other CPL sides. Look down on them at your own peril, regardless of how many people are actually going to show up, given Game 5 goes at the exact same time Tuesday night.
About Patrick
Having joined CCSG in 2022, Patrick started his footy 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.
