The Forward Press: “Epic” Final Home Match Propels Atleti to CPL Semi-Final
Carlos Gonzalez was right when he predicted fireworks in the quarter-final of the semifinals. After a nail-biting win that went the distance at TD Place, Atletico Ottawa is off to Hamilton and the quarterfinals of the Canadian Premier League.
Twice Atletico Ottawa took the lead against bitter rivals York United on Sunday afternoon, and twice York battled back. Ollie Bassett showed why he’s considered a big-game player in this league, shrugging off his mid-season woes to add yet another Olimpico goal to his catalogue – the third goal scored straight from a corner by Atletico Ottawa alone this season. York struck back with a late scrappy goal through sixteen-year-old Shola Jimoh, who continues to be a thorn in Atleti’s side, taking the game to extra time. Rubén Del Campo was joined late in the match by Sam Salter, a tactical move teased in the pre-match presser by Carlos Gonzalez – and for good reason. Both attackers were lively, constantly testing the York defenders, who were no doubt heavy-legged considering their clash only four days earlier with Pacific FC. Rubén Del Campo continuously nipped in behind Oswaldo Leon, at one point appearing as if he would go through on goal before being controversially called for a foul on an injury to Leon. But what Rubén can do, Sam could do just as well, with his own solo work in the York box earning a penalty that Del Campo coolly converted.
An instant response by Mo Babouli would send the match to penalties, but it would also mark the last time Babouli would hit the net as he saw his weak penalty effort saved by Nate Ingham - the only York player to miss his spot kick. Atleti made no doubt, with Didic, Del Campo, Tissot, Zapater all confidently converting their spot-kicks before Ilias Iliadis stepped up in the freezing cold to coolly convert the final spot kick, simultaneously sending Atleti one step from the CPL final and TD Place into delirium. It marked the first-ever CPL Playoff match decided by penalties, and Atleti’s first shootout victory on its third attempt, with Nate Ingham calling the Atleti penalties “amazing” and the penalty takers “heroes”. He joined the post-match conference alongside Carlos Gonzalez to share some immediate match reactions. Here are all the details:
The Quotes: Nathan Ingham
On the message after regular time: “After full-time, I was telling them, even though they scored late we had the momentum. So don't start thinking that the momentum is with them or anything like that…And then once we got into pens, it's the same thing. ‘All right, they got here. I'll save one. Do your job. Trust your instincts. Don't second guess your shot.’ And that's the message across the board. And every single one of them was coming up to me going, ‘Hey, we know you got me, or you got us.’ So just pumping each other up really.”
On mental strength: “This is why I always harp on for years about having an experienced locker room, because if you're weak minded, these games will absolutely kill you. And if you're strong and you show that body language and you show your reaction, you can kill another team. So every time we got pushed back, we step forward.”
On the Mo Babouli penalty save: “With Mo, the book told me to go the other way, but what I saw was he was shaping up a bit too obvious that he was going to go across his body, which made me think he was trying to just throw me off. So I just changed that last second. It worked out today. Tomorrow, it could have screwed me up. I'm going to leave it at that.”
On a final celebration with the Dub: “It's just fun, man. They put a lot of time and energy into supporting us. And these are the days that make it worth it for them. It would have been a travesty if we didn't win that game, for the boys in the locker room and also for the fans. A lot of draws at home this year. We would have liked to have more wins. We had some fun memories…We're all over the moon, and we ended at home on a good note. It's a shame it couldn't have been the final, but this is life.”
On first playoff experiences for Tyr Walker: “He's the best, man. I love that kid. He works so hard. He does all the right things. Him and I were in the gym together so much this offseason every single day, waking up, it's cold, it's miserable, it's still dark out, and he's showing up and he's doing extra…I'm just glad he got a shot, and I'm glad he took it and is doing his thing. Out of this whole group there's no one I'd rather play with.
The Quotes: Carlos Gonzalez
Perceptions of the match: “An epic night, a night to remember. I think this is play-offs, emotions everywhere, and hopefully we go through. I think that we did a pretty good game until the 94th minute, in which we lose the control in the last action. But we can be very proud of the work of the team, the composure that the players showed.”
On preparing for penalties: “Although we didn't want it to get here to the penalties, we had it in our heads. We knew that it was an option, that in an equal game, a game of details, we could get into the penalties. And they're very happy. Yeah, very happy because they had the personality to shoot. Everybody wanted to shoot the penalties. And it's true that we practiced a little bit, so everything went well.”
On a goal for Ollie Bassett: “I'm very happy for him. I know that he had a tough season because it's not easy to deal with certain situations when you have been a very important player for the team and in certain moments, you are not in the moment that you would like, and then you have a different role….I'm very happy for him because I've never lost my trust in him. That's the most important part. I knew that these type of players, they were going to step into the best level in the important moments. I didn't have any doubt on that because at the end of the day, they have this DNA.”
A final message for the home support: “First, thank you. A big thank you, because we've been seeing consistently a great fan base from the beginning, more than 5,000 people here in the stand every single week at home. Secondly, come to Hamilton and it will be a shorter trip, an easier one, and we will need the support wherever we go.”
Although Atlético Ottawa will be on the road for the rest of the campaign, there’s plenty of ways to get involved even for those not taking the bus to Hamilton on Saturday morning. Expect a Forward Press in the next two days detailing all the thoughts of coach Carlos, Max Tissot and another player ahead of the semi-final clash with Forge. There will also be a watch-party as always at the GCP – the home away from home for the Capital City Supporters Group. Let’s keep this energy until the final kick. Vamos Atleti!
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.
