The Forward Press for Matchday 17 vs YOR: Low Blocks, Antonio Álvarez, and an Ode to the Fans
Welcome back to The Forward Press, where this week Head Coach Diego Mejía, for his 20th match in charge, and wing-back Gabriel Antinoro joined the media bracketing a scoreless and frustrating 0-0 draw at home against York United, the second in a row between these two clubs in the league. There were many words spilt about facing low blocks, but also about ATO’s newest addition in Antonio Álvarez, and Antinoro was full of praise for the home crowd. Read on for all that and more!
In a break from tradition, we will begin with general impressions of the match, starting with a question on the topic posed by AJ Jakubec of TSN 1200 to Diego Mejía at the post-match conference:
“It was a really tough match, when you play six matches against the same rival there's a lot of things you need to do to break the situations that they present in the (game), I am very happy with the team, we have conceded just one goal in the last seven matches, that’s incredible … when we need to press after we lose the ball it’s incredible, we create chances … it’s very tough when one team comes here to not play and waste time … just defending, it’s hard, but I am very proud of the team…”
Mejía has a point when he criticises York’s approach to playing football – ATO outcontrolled their opponents to a tune of 74% possession, and completed nearly 500 more passes than the away side. Gabriel Antinoro also had some choice words about York’s game, not only about their playing style but the general competitiveness of the fixture, one that has produced the most cards of all Ottawa’s matchups:
“...I think they came here with the goal just to waste time … they know how to get on the ref’s good side, how to get us mad, (but) I think at the end of the day it's just two competitive teams that want to win, and it just stays on the field, it's not like we’re going to fight after the game or anything. I think it's good for the sport to be honest.”
When asked a similar question in French by club representative Thomas Stocking, Antinoro mentioned that York are good at playing mind games, and ATO needs to be better at staying calm and letting the ball do the talking. He finished by reminding the audience that Ottawa knocked York out of the Voyageurs Cup with consecutive victories this campaign, as well as beat them in the playoffs last year, and that Atleti aims to beat them once again in their final matchup this year.
In the same sequence, Antinoro was pressed about the fact that this was the first time ATO failed to score a goal at home this season. He responded in French:
“... it's a match we were expecting, we know that teams need to play in a low block to try and beat us, because if they press us we can be very dangerous, but I think we played a good game … I think we were very solid defensively, on offence we kept the ball well, we had chances too but we weren’t able to finish them … I don’t think we need to worry about it, we know how to attack, we won’t be held scoreless again, we just need to train hard and win next week in Winnipeg.”
Speaking of the low block, a significant portion of the answers this week returned to the subject, starting in the pre-match conference after Kristen Jack of OneSoccer asked Mejía about his team:
“...we (are entering) into a really important part of the season … and right now we have the certainty that all the teams defend in the same way, in a low block, we need to break that low block and (also) not concede many runs, so for us we need to still improve the way that we can break the lines...”
Antinoro, when posed a question about the lack of space, mentioned again that it was what the team was expecting, that teams now have to play in a low block to avoid getting broken down, and that in the next game, the chances will get converted. Finally, Mejía gave an in-depth breakdown of what it takes to dismantle such a system, starting with this match:
“… I think that we created the chances, I think we created superiority to the outside, we had runners inside, we played with a lot of patterns to find the free pockets … I think that we had the chances … I am very proud of my team, and I think that this is the way we need to play to (secure) the championship.”
Without getting overly sycophantic, this type of mentality is exactly what you want to see from a manager. Teams have adapted to Mejía’s overwhelming style of play, something very reminiscent of top teams in Europe’s elite leagues, and this will be the pattern going forward until Mejía or someone else evolves something new.
Moving swiftly along, this week Ottawa unveiled their newest signing, Antonio Álvarez, on loan from Liga MX’s Club America, who will provide depth both at attacking midfield as well as at wingback. Mejía was asked in the pre-match by Mitchell Tierney of CanPL.ca about his most recent addition:
“It's a very important signing for us, because we need to analyze not just the way the players play but (also) how they are as human beings … he played a lot of years in Mexico, (for Club) America, he is an amazing player, he is a very good person … he can play inside, he can play outside, he has (good dribbling), so I think that it is a good signing for us.”
Gord Smith for TSN 1200 had the same question after the match:
“...Antonio is a great player, I think that he will give us the opportunity to try to break the lines, because he has a lot of quality in the short spaces, he can play inside or outside, so I am very happy for this (signing)...”
Quickly, Antinoro had a lot to say about the effect of playing at home in front of 5,175 supporters at TD Place this week:
“Honestly, I think the fans underestimate the difference that it makes to play at home in front of our supporters, these are the matches that we look forward to playing, to come to the field and to see the same fans each week … I hope that it continues and that more fans keep showing up, because in the future we will have a lot more games at home, and it’s important that the fans know that they make a huge difference for us, when there are tough moments in the match, at home we have an extra gear … today during the game I was very close to cramping up, but I realized I was playing at home and I tried to push … I hope that everyone continues to support us, and we aim to win it all this year.”
Finally, Mejía was confident after the match in his team's ability to keep pressure at the top of the table, even after dropping points in scoreless fashion:
“...I know that this point (in the table) will give us the championship at the end, maybe it’s a (valid) point that we could not score a goal, but this (result) will give us an opportunity to raise the shield for sure … It’s nothing to be worried (about), we need to keep pushing, because these players have a lot of room to improve yet … I don’t know if you have watched this kind of play in this league (before now) … (but) for sure that we will raise the shield, and in the future we will talk about this team for (a long time).”
With those stirring words, and assurances that both Tyr Duhaney-Walker and new signee Antonio Álvarez are good to go for the next match (Patterson, Didić, Levis and Grant remain unavailable), catch ATO next as they travel to Princess Auto Stadium to play Valour FC on Sunday, August 10th, at 3 PM. After that, they will confront Vancouver in the semi-finals of the Canadian Championship, and Forge in the league, before a return home to TD Place on August 23! Be there, and vamos!
About Alexander:
When he isn't busy playing or watching sports (or going to school at uOttawa), 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.
