The Forward Press for Matchday 23 vs York United: Fixture Congestion and Crucial Injury Updates
Welcome back to The Forward Press, CCSG’s recap of each match’s pair of press conferences! This edition covers ATO’s 2-2 draw vs York, as Coach Diego Mejía, and Striker Samuel Salter joined the scrums this time around. They cover preparing for fixture congestion, as well as a few key injury updates. Enjoy!
The first question of the session fell to Gareth Wheeler of OneSoccer, and he took the opportunity to ask if Mejía planned to make any rotations for the York fixture, keeping in mind the midweek semi-final clash against Vancouver in the cup and Forge at the weekend:
“The most important match for us is the next match. We need to put focus (on) York right now, and then we need to see who will be available to play the next match in CanChamp to come back in that tournament. I think that we are going to put the best XI that we have against York, and then start to worry about the next match.”
This proved true, as the only change to the starting XI that faced Pacific 8 days prior came as Sissoko slotted in for Castro. Wheeler also wanted to press the coach later in the session about whether he would prioritize one competition over another. Mejía, as one would expect, was resolute in shutting that avenue of thinking down, saying his only focus was winning the game in front of him, and that he wants to win every trophy possible.
To round out the session, Matt Cullen of CBC wanted to know Mejía’s message to the locker room and to the fans before the match:
“We know that York is a really tough opponent … we (have) play(ed) a lot … against them. The first match they tried to be more aggressive, the last (couple) matches they tried to rest in defence a little bit more … I think that with the necessity that each team has, we will watch a very interesting match. I think that they will wait for us, they will wait for (our) mistakes … I think that we will have a really good match.”
That would prove correct, as York capitalized on a couple of mistakes from Ottawa in pegging the away side back both times after they had taken the lead. Sam Salter joined the press after the match, and said as much when asked about ATO dropping points:
“Yeah it's frustrating, (a) couple moments when we score, (then) a lack of concentration for a couple minutes after… of course it's disappointing, like you said we’ve played well (this season), when we were winning we were very comfortable … it was just a couple mistakes and we paid the price.”
He was also asked twice about whether those slip-ups would affect the team psychologically. “No, to be honest I don't think so…” was his response. He repeated the answer in French, saying that in football things happen sometimes, and that they will try to bounce back next game.
After a quick session with the striker, Mejía next took the hot seat. His first question touched upon the open nature of the match:
“I think that it was a similar match in terms of game plan, for both teams. I think that … they tried to press. We commit(ed) a mistake, as a team ... I have one of the youngest teams in the league … to score goals is not easy, because the teams start to relax, they start to think that we will score three, four more goals in the same way. It's my responsibility to work in the mindset of the players, and try to respect our model. They created a lot of chances, but we didn’t play in the way we always play. For the time of possession we had, (conceding) 15 shots, it's a lot. I think that it was an open match, but more because our behaviour promoted it.”
He was also asked about what the game plan will be in the midweek fixture against Vancouver in the Voyageurs Cup:
“It's a different tournament … maybe the behaviour that we had today we need to have in the next match. That match is kill or die, you need to score and you need to win, so it's like a high speed race, not a marathon. This team has improved a lot, I work with my players not only on the pitch … It's my responsibility as a coach to improve my players as human beings, to try to improve (their) mindset… you need to learn to work under pressure. I think that we are ready to come back in the CanChamp.”
Finally, he was asked about the possibility of rotation in the coming matches:
“It's really hard, because I don't know if I will wake up tomorrow. I only have the opportunity to manage the next match. Right now I (am) starting to think about Vancouver, and try to choose the best (XI) for that match, and after Vancouver, I don't know what will happen. That's the way I manage my team, because for me the most important match is the next one.”
Unfortunately, I must end this report on a sombre note. During the pre-match conference, Mejía was asked to provide an update on Amer Didic, who suffered a severe injury early on in the campaign and had recently given signs of a possible return this season. It looks like that won’t be the case, as it seems Didic has suffered a setback – Mejía mentioned that Didic might be ready for next year’s pre-season, at the earliest. He was also asked in the post-match about Levis and Sissoko subbing off for injury in the match, and if he had any prognoses yet. He said it was too early to tell, however he mentioned that one of them had felt something in his hamstring (I am unsure of whom he could have been referring to, he may have been thinking of Levis).
With that news, Ottawa still have everything to fight for, and next up is the second leg of the Canadian Championship semi-final against Vancouver FC, this Thursday, September 18, at 7 PM at TD Place! The team will need all your support to reverse that 3-1 loss away from home, so be loud and proud this week! 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.
