The Forward Press 2026 MD 5 - ITO vs. ATO: Blunders, Yellow Cards, and Stubbornness
Welcome to this week's edition of the Forward Press, for Matchweek 5 of the CPL, in which Atlético Ottawa faced off against Inter Toronto (formerly York United, formerly York 9) on Friday evening. Ottawa played a stalwart first half, but the wheels came off in the second 45, shipping four within 13 minutes of the restart. Timoteo scored late, but like Chris Paul hitting a huge three, it amounted to basically nothing, and the team slumped to a third loss in five games. Noah Abatneh and Coach Diego Mejia joined the media following the match, and Abatneh's first question pertained to the events of the second half:
“I think in the first half we were really good, I thought that we came out with a new shape and they struggled to deal with that…I think in the second half it was simple, we made individual errors…in football that costs you. It is what it is.”
The individual errors in question were a slip from the selfsame Centre Back in the 6-yard box, gifting it to the oncoming Skublak who proceeded to calmly slot it home, and an awkward rebound from ‘keeper Garrisonne Innocent that clanged off the inside of Loic Cloutier’s boot and into the net from close range. Neither was a result of overwhelming pressure.
Mejia’s first question also touched upon that disastrous second half, and he had a little more to say about it:
“I think that we created a good game plan, I think that the first half was one of the best performance[s] of the season … we created the chances, we [failed to convert] those chances, [and] we are suffering a lot in the final third. In the second half we committed [some] very very bad mistakes, in the transitions, the long balls… but we need to improve in the small details. This game is my fault … I want my players to play in this way. We need to [get through] these bad times, put the mindset in the future, and work to get better things.”
Our own Jon Hopkins had a question pertaining to Mejia’s third yellow card in five matches, resulting from his fiery sideline behaviour. He started out his defence citing multiple examples of more egregious behaviour from other coaches not resulting in reprimands, seemingly identifying a double standard in CPL referees, and then had this to say:
“... I’m not going to change my behaviour, because five meters for a throw-in is important … but for referees, five meters aren't important. I don't worry about referees.”
He also had to defend his comments from last week, in which he was quoted as saying that his team has forced all the teams in the CPL to rest in defence and defend in a low block. Mejia stated that he never intended to provoke any other teams in the league with his comments, and he tries his best to only tell the truth. He also places full responsibility for results solely on his team’s success and failures, and not on the other team’s performance. For someone who used the word “protagonist” to describe his club last year, this tracks; however, whether that mentality is a little derivative or not can be subjective.
Pivoting to the midweek fixture against Toronto FC in the Voyageurs Cup, Abatneh was asked his second and last question on the subject of the team's game plan:
“We’re just going to be thinking about how we always play. We always have the same style, the same identity, the same structure, so I don’t think that has to change just because it's TFC.”
Mejia was also asked essentially the same question:
“With the performance that we showed today, we cannot compete even with the teams in CPL. [However], this team never changes our identity. We will play the same game against Real Madrid, against Chelsea, against Toronto, against everyone. If we need to lose a match 10-0, we will lose a match 10-0 … we will come back in a few days, and try to win the game, and to create chances, and then we will see.”
I would first like to state that this is an admirable position to take, even if it is simply media-facing posturing. The best teams shouldn’t change their mentality based on their opponent, and should always play their game with the goal of crushing and suffocating their opponents with possession-based football. I, Alex Rymek, agree with this sentiment, IN PRINCIPLE. However, with recent results in mind, one must question whether Ottawa is one of the best teams in the league any more, and whether we can afford such stubbornness. Last year was one thing, with two of the best players in the league at the helm, and many other players having career seasons (Aparicio, Antinoro, etc), who had talent to weather the storm of a few bad results and bounce back, but with such tremendous turnover from last season (13 departures with the same number of new faces incoming), do we have the personnel to play this way again? Personally, I don’t want to lose every match 10-0, even if I feel good morally about the way in which we are playing.
I understand the argument that with new faces, and only seven games played (including the Champions League), things will take time to jell, and results may come. Only time will tell, of course, but I counter with the fact that five games into the league last season, Ottawa was 4-1-0, having scored 15 goals, and were sitting top of the league. In 2026, we are 1-1-3, having scored four goals (none of them before the 84’ of any match), and we are in 6th. This despite handily outpossessing opponents in every match. We sport the worst goal differential in the league, and could easily be pointless, if it weren't for late heroics and one outstanding game from Innocent in Laval.
There is clearly something not working on the field. Maybe it is chemistry. Maybe it is personnel. Maybe it's even injuries. The team does not look the same as last season, playing ostensibly the same football. One could argue that with the returning players, they are even playing an evolved, higher-level version of the same system, which should, in theory, be achieving better results. Maybe it's time to acknowledge that this team is not last year’s, and that a change to the system might be in order, even if it is slight, to compensate for what are, in my view, structural weaknesses. I harken back to 2023, when Carlos Gonzalez tried playing the same system as in the title-winning 2022 campaign, with an even more radically altered roster, and failed miserably. The definition of insanity is oft-quoted for a reason.
Ottawa’s next test comes against MLS side Toronto FC on Tuesday, May 5th, in the Voyageurs Cup, and they return to the capital on May 17th for a dance with HFX. I bid my leave with a quote from Mejia about his team's mentality, which hopefully will leave you in better spirits:
“As a young player, it is easy to gain confidence when you win and win and win, like last season. This is the real challenge … for our young guys. They need to put their heads up, and they need to start to try to work… in the bad situations is when you really grow, so the guys have my confidence and I will support them … all the bad results are always my responsibility. So it's a good opportunity for them to grow, to develop their mindset, so I think we will be good.”
VAMOS!
About Alexander:
When he isn't busy playing or watching sports (or going to school), Alexander is managing his Atlético Ottawa database, which he started in 2020, and tracks everything you can think of about the club and its players. He also runs a BlueSky account dedicated to analyzing and rating CPL and NSL players using statistics, CPL by the Numbers.
