The Forward Press: Points Dropped as ATO Inches Towards First
With Forge FC dropping points unexpectedly in Halifax on Saturday afternoon, Atlético Ottawa looked in a prime spot to make up the four-point difference on the league leaders. And make up ground ATO did at ATCO field, though only in the form of a singular point rather than the hoped-for three. Manny Aparicio, playing on the left side of an asymmetrical 5-4-1, nabbed the early opener against Cavs as he popped up unexpectedly on a corner. But Atléti immediately found itself falling into old habits, gifting possession to Cavalry and being punished swiftly by an outrageous curler off the foot of Ali Musse, who has been enjoying his football against Atlético Ottawa as of late. Atléti grew into the game after the equalizer, with a second half strike by Rubén Del Campo subsequently cancelled out by a Daan Klomp header. A goal and an assist by Del Campo and Dani Morer respectively meant crowning both Atléti’s new record goal scorer and assister in a single season. But the spoils wouldn’t be shared with Ollie Bassett, who missed out on becoming Atlético Ottawa’s all-time appearance leader by watching the match entirely from the bench - that honour may fall to him at home against Pacific next week. The post-match presser saw Golden Boot leader Rubén Del Campo join head coach Carlos González. Here’s everything you need to hear following Atléti’s 2-2 draw with Cavs:
The Quotes: Rubén Del Campo
On his goal and Frasier Aird’s defending: “I was surprised that he was waiting for me as long as he was like that, because he opened up the possibility for me to strike and it ended with the goal.”
Match takeaways: “Now we have five more finals, and we're still in the race, and it's a good point for sure.”
On what it's like playing alongside Ballou Tabla: “We all know he’s a very good player. He always has opportunities to pass, to score, to shoot. So I think it's important to have players like that in the team because we always create chances, and it's important for the team to create chances and go forward with personality. And I think Ballou Tabla is that.”
On setting the ATO single-season scoring record: “I’m very happy. I'm very proud. I said before, I'm very proud of this team and of all the work of the team, because if I don't play with the team, I don't score this these numbers of goals.”
The Quotes: Carlos González
Match takeaways: “Today, one of our goals was to start strong in the beginning. We wanted to be on alert from the first whistle. We did it in both halves. I think that the team stepped well into the field, and we take advantage of those moments.”
On squad confidence: “We have full trust on the squad. I think that in a good moment, we are strong mentally. We've taken today a valuable point, and we still are on the rise. We reduce the distance between Forge and us. We maintain the distance between the opponents that are behind us. So now five finals.”
On the substitutions: “The subs that we did were to grab the three points. I felt that the Cavalry was leaving spaces in behind. That's why we put Kevin Santos up front and Salter too – more forward players instead of midfielders– so that we could attack their backs in an open game. The last substitution was because Ilias was cramping and we had to do it.”
On Max Tissot and returning players: “[Tissot is] a key player on the roster. He's a leader. He's a captain. It was a player that we've missed so much, and we're very happy to have him back. I think that he's going to add a lot of things on and off the field from now until the end of the season. I'm also happy for the debut of Jesús that he's going to grow little by little. Also, Kevin is given the right steps. I think that we are getting every single player in a good version in the most important moment of the season.”
The Takeaway: Not Good, but Not Really Bad, Either
What a confusing time to be an Atlético Ottawa fan.
Take a look at the form chart and Atléti are the only team in the league to be undefeated in the last five matches, sitting second on form in that period and averaging less than a goal against per game. Take a peek behind the curtain and into the CCSG forums, however, and be met with only discontent. And it’s not unfounded. The feeling isn’t that Atlético Ottawa is a bad team but a team running out of time to be at their best again.
As González said in the presser, the team is back “on the rise.” And he’s not wrong. In fact, ATO is getting results reminiscent of some of the matches early in the season. It’s easy to remember that even when ATO went on its historic 12-match-undefeated streak, Atléti was by no means (aside from Valour) blowing teams out of the water Manchester City-style.
Aided by the incoming Ilias Iliadis and the returning Tissot and Kevin Dos Santos, it’s undeniable that the team is stronger than it was during the storm weathered midway through the season. In most other circumstances, you’d take five matches unbeaten on the bounce. The results are picking up, but with five matches to go, the results just aren’t picking up fast enough.
Take Ballou Tabla as an example. Shoehorned in as the only winger in a 5-4-1, his influence on games has only increased in the final third of the season. But the same underlying issues remain – when the ball fell to Tabla late in the match inside the box for a chance to settle the match, Tabla took two deft touches to settle the ball before blazing it over the bar. He is exceeding previous appearances with regularity, but the steps forward aren’t big enough.
If it were midway through the season, you might be content with these performances. Sure, the players aren’t playing the silky football expected of this superteam, but Atléti is doing enough for at least a draw. Though, with five matches to go and still behind Forge in the form charts, Atlético Ottawa could easily continue on this same undefeated streak and lose the league.
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.
