The Forward Press for Matchday 25 vs Cavalry FC: Doing It For The Fans

Welcome to this week's Forward Press, where we’ll dive into the two conferences bracketing that 3-0 win over Cavalry at the weekend! In what was a quieter affair than last week’s, Diego Mejia and Ballou Tabla joined the media to talk about the run-in, individual performances, and doing it for the fans!

In a relatively quick pre-match session, Matt Cullen of CBC started off the questions with a query about the challenges that Cavalry pose, but Mejia was quick to reinforce his message from the season:

“We need to still improve in our model. We know (Cavalry) really well, how they want to press, how they want to defend in the low block. We need to try to be perfect in our play, our model, in the way that we play. I worry about the level of our players, and not the (opponent).” 

Josh Healey was also on hand during the scrum, and he had a question about how Mejia is focusing on the upcoming matches and the possibility of winning trophies:

“The trophies are a consequence of our acts. We have been working since January, so we put these goals as a clear objective, but we always put the focus (on) the moment. I think that all these good things give us the opportunity to play for the championship … We have a goal to develop players, to play really good soccer, but we want to win. For sure. But it is a consequence, it is not something that drives me crazy, but if I have the opportunity to win I will.”

Finally, Mejia was asked about squad availability for the upcoming season. In what I am sure was a quip about last week’s Press, he mentioned that he doesn’t list every player injured because a number of them are out for the season, and thus he would be repeating himself every week. As such, any player he lists is a short-term injury - in that regard, he mentioned Coulanges is out with a leg knock, Mbomio has an issue with his foot, and Alvarez is out with a knee issue. This last comment is intriguing, as, with the signings of Assi and Ennin, many fans might have thought Alvarez was out for the season. That Mejia deigned to list him this week is a possible indication that he might be back before the season is over. 

Gord Smith for TSN 1200 had the opener for the post-match press conference, and with it he asked Mejia his thoughts on the 3-0 win:

“I think that this (result) is not the reality of Cavalry. (They’re) a good team, they have good players, a good coach … I think that we played the match that we planned (for) all week, we know really well the defensive players that Cavalry have, we tried to attack (those) patterns … We find that when we score the first goal it's hard (for the opposition) to defend because we move the ball a lot, and we find the spaces. I think that today our strikers had a very good performance. I am very happy” 

He was also asked about Ballou Tabla’s performance, one in which he found the back of the net  twice. Mejia was full of praise for his winger, and mentioned that Tabla deserves to play at a higher level. All Mejia can do is coach him and build him up for that move elsewhere. 

In another question that harkened back to last week’s media scrum, the coach was also asked about the level of refereeing in the CPL:

“There are three teams in all matches. The opponent, Atlético Ottawa, and the referees. The behaviour of these three subjects in the match is really important. The referees need to know that any call in this part of the season is really important; one bad call is maybe the championship. I think that if the league is improving with the kind of coaches the league has, with the kinds of players, with the models, I think that the referees need to know what kind of matches (they are officiating). I want to be (confident) that they are working (on) that, so I (expect) only the best performances in the last part of the season.” 

Mejia’s last question pertained to the importance of Nathan Ingham, penalty hero and also recently nominated for the 2025 CCSG Golden Scarf award. He said he was extremely proud of Ottawa’s captain, and said that in order for the team to improve, they need to follow guys like him. 

Ballou Tabla was the player to face the press this week, and his first question was a cheeky reference to past coaching styles from Gord Smith of TSN 1200: How much fun does Tabla have playing in a more offensively free system?

“ … Personally I enjoy it, and you can see on the field, also my other teammates love to play like that. We’re more offensive, we keep more (of) the ball, and we want the other team (to) run. That's how we get the advantage to get the win.” 

Smith followed up that question with another about Tabla’s adaptability to playing with whoever Mejia has chosen to slot in at Left Wing-Back:

“I’m just adapting myself to play with whoever play(s) on my side. I know if it's Gabi or Kevin, I know how (they) want to receive the ball … if they want to receive it behind the defender (or not) … it's something we've been working on at training, so in the game it's going fast, but I try to adjust. It's how I play and how I enjoy myself.” 

To wrap up what was another speedy session, Tabla was asked what he means to the fans at TD Place and watching at home:

“I know that when I go onto the field, it's to make them enjoy the day, the night, coming to the stadium. I try to do my best, make them have fun, (so) when they go home they’re proud to (have) watch(ed) the game … That's what I enjoy when I play, and of course, after you see kids (asking) for autographs, happy … that's what I like. I remember when I was younger, I (watched) older players and I related to them. When I'm on the field I give 100% to try to make (the fans) happy.” 

On that heartwarming note, Ottawa plays their next match away from home against Valour, and then return to TD Place one last time this regular season when they face off against Vancouver FC on Sunday, October 12th, at 3 PM. Be there to support the boys as they chase down Forge for first place, and don’t forget to buy playoff tickets! 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.