The Forward Press: Atlético Ottawa, Tyr Walker Waltz to Victory Over VFC
After a month of up and down, Atlético Ottawa found its superteam passport Friday night as it cruised to victory in Langley. Atleti put three goals past Vancouver FC, with three different goalscorers putting up markers. Ballou Tabla opened the scoring with what would end up to be the game-winning tally, while Rubén Del Campo would add his seventh of the season before Sam Salter struck a well-created misery compiler in the final minutes. It was an ideal night for Carlos González, who returns home to Ottawa with his team still five points clear of second on 28 points, a league record for this point in the season and now with 104 crucial U21 minutes under the belt. Gonzalez was rewarded for shuffling his pack, with Tyr Walker completing all four of his tackles, winning 8 of eleven duels, as well as 1 interceptions and 2 shots, dribbles, and clearances. It was a performance reminiscent of last year at Pacific, when Walker reminded the league of his potential. Post-match, Carlos González was joined by Ballou Tabla to reflect on a positive week for Atlético Ottawa. Here are all the details:
The Quotes: Carlos González
On finding a decisive victory: “I think the first goal made a little bit of difference, and from there, we started to feel more comfortable in the field. And I'm very pleased for the image that the players gave today…I think that we win with a really good image…It's true that in the last month we've lost a couple of plots, and today we set certain goals that we've achieved in all. So we can be very happy and very pleased for the game that we've done.”
Accounting for the difference between the first and second half: “I think that in the first half we lack a little bit of hunger and ambition. In the last third, we were so vertical and were so deep…Also, I feel that in the first half it was quite warm out there and we still felt the trip and that's why maybe we didn't have that spark. And in the second half when the temperature came down, I think that we started to feel better and we played in a different rhythm.”
On rotating in Liberman Torres: “Zapater, though he's playing so well, I felt that he has played a big amount of minutes in the last month, so he needed a little bit of rest. So it was the perfect game to give this opportunity to Liberman. And I think that he grew through the game. At the beginning maybe he was a little bit nervous in certain moments, but we saw that he started to play well with secure passes, winning duels, and he started to grow through the game.”
On the composed performance of Tyr Walker: “I'm nearly as happy about the win than about the performance of Tyr. I've seen that he's worked really, really hard in the training sessions. He hasn't had the opportunity because Luke and Amer were in good moments, and he has kept working. He has shown resilience and ambition, and today was the day we thought that the type of game and the strengths of the opponent suit Tyr. I think that he was with a big composure, not only defensively, also offensively. And I'm very happy about his performance because I think that he can be very proud today. Now we have to look for consistency. The young guys, now they have the opportunity to do a good game. Okay, that's great, but now they have to repeat it.”
The Quotes: Ballou Tabla
On responding to last weeks loss: “I think we have to forget that game because after the game we were disappointed with each other and it was a long week. The way we prepared the week for this game of today is to win, to get the three points.”
On creating opportunities through pressing, interceptions: “I think the whole week we've been working on pressing…so the closer player has to press and don't give him a chance. So I think we get used to that since the beginning of the season and it's been something in the club. And I think you saw today the goal. It's not the prettiest, but we take it and we go for it from there.”
On personal goals: “My goal is to win every game. And of course, outside of the field is just thinking about the points. Of course we have to be thinking about that. But for me, just each team I face, I try to do my best and get three points.”
The Talking Point: ATO Gets Its Hunger Back
It’s hard to say that Atlético Ottawa hasn’t looked like it has wanted to win games over the past month or so. The work has been there, but the consistency just hasn't. All this changed Friday night in Vancouver when Atleti stormed into Langley and appeared to take VFC by surprise.
Atleti put up six interceptions in the first half and four more in the second, all while winning possession six times in the Vancouver half. Each of Atleti's three goals came from forced errors by the dogged Atleti press. Ballou Tabla followed up on a loose touch by David Norman to bundle home his second of the season. Rubén Del Campo located the ball first as he followed up on his own rebound to stab past an out-of-the-picture Callum Irving. And in the greatest tableau of Atleti’s hunger, a loose pass in the ninety-first minute was read by a marauding Kris Twardek, with the ball quickly finding Sam Salter, who punished a lackadaisical VFC for a third time.
Ben Fisk referred to the defending in the post-match presser as “under-twelve football.” He added: “Like, it’s fucking embarrassing.” Tabla and González both commented on how the press was highlighted pre-match, and how pleased they were to see this hunger be as effective as it was. And long may it continue if it will continue to punish teams like it did against VFC.
Atlético will find Valour waiting as the squad returns to Ottawa and TD Place this week. Kickoff for that much is Sunday at 2 p.m. at TD Place. A reminder that ATO have outscored Valour by a net score of 11-0 across three games this season. Statistics point to this being an unmissable afternoon at TD Place. We hope to see you there and at the GCP before and after the game!
About the Author
Ben Ralph is a die-hard football fan and a journalism student at Carleton. He has been supporting Everton through the ups and downs (but mostly the downs) and could not believe his luck when he stumbled across Atlético Ottawa in 2021. Now part of the Atleti faithful, his dream has always been to write football stories, and he is excited to join other fans as writers for CCSG. His football journalist idols are Adam Hurrey, James Richardson, and Charlie Eccleshare from The Football Cliches Podcast.
