The Forward Press: Tempers Boil Over as Ten-Man Atleti falls to York
For the second time in one season, a critical error by Liberman Torres cost Atleti, this time on Sunday night against York FC, where Atleti fell one-to-nil. Unlike against Forge, the ill-tempered Ecuadorian couldn’t remain on the pitch afterward to make amends for his error and likely won’t be on the pitch for the remainder of the season after a red card and three-match ban. It’s hard to determine what will have a bigger effect on Atletis end of season standing: The three points dropped after Torres’s moment of madness, goaded out of him by the doting Josué Martínez; or the hole it leaves in defensive midfield with Alberto Zapater still out. It’s especially painful given the form that Torres had just been seeming to hit.
Atleti never really found a balance after the destabilization of the red card, settling on a 4-4-1 which held York at bay for over an hour. But in minute 69, sixteen-year-old York winger Sholah Jimoh was given the liberty to pivot and slot home after another foolish Atleti decision – this time, a ball slung across the top of his own box from Ilias Iliadis. Though Ottleti created some promising shapes late, the loss at York puts the streak of draws to the end, plunging Atleti form even lower with newly-minted CPL regular season champions Forge next up. If the match was feisty, the post-match proceedings were spicier, and Carlos González and Ollie Bassett joined a volatile post-match presser. Here are all the reactions:
The Quotes: Ollie Bassett
Match takeaways: “From our point of view, it's a little bit frustrating because we built up a large gap at the top of the league from the first half of the season. And to see that drift away and then obviously, Forge ended up taking first…I think we were obviously disappointed because we wanted to push them as far as we could and really take it to the last game of the season. But I think for us now, obviously, the difference in this league between finishing second and third is huge in terms of the run to the final in the playoff. So, yeah, two games left. All we can do is try to win both, and then hopefully the results go our way and we finish as high as possible.”
On important figures like Del Campo and Tabla stepping up: “Going into play-offs we need everyone firing, defense, midfield with us and attackers. We need everyone on the top of their game. But these are players that I enjoy playing with. I played with Ruben now for the last year and a half, and me and Tabs have played together this season, then obviously in 2022 when we won the league…So, yeah, we obviously want to get back to the best form and at the top of our game going into the postseason.”
On three straight losses to Mora and York: “I don't know why. I think you can look at the games we played against them this season, but I think if you solely look at tonight and you break down the game, considering we played 70 minutes with ten men and we've limited them to two shots, one on target being the goal…I think we can be happy with how we defended after that. And it's our mistake at the end of the day that's cost us. Two mistakes – the red card and then the ball across the 18-yard box. But apart from that, they created absolutely nothing. So, yeah, we didn't feel threatened. Essentially, we gave them one chance and they took it.”
The Quotes: Carlos González
On the result: “I think it was a difficult game to play. I think that we had plenty of arguments to bring home…to Ottawa. We have to learn because two big mistakes today are responsible of our loss here. I think that we can give a lot of credit to the effort that the team made, the players, the effort that they made.”
On if he’s scared to play York in Playoffs: “Not at all. No, not at all. I think that York is probably the weakest team on the playoffs. Probably. They are the weakest team. They don't have so many tools and the way and the proposal of their of the ball, make them be a team that in normal circumstances, we have to win them.”
On Liberman Torres: “No, I haven't spoke at all with him. I think that he's old enough to see what he's done and to learn from what he's done today. I think that you cannot give the opportunity to the referees to take a red card. I think that the player of York did really well because I don't know if there is contact or not, but even though you cannot give the opportunity with that type of reaction, although he didn't touch him, I think, seeing the replay. I think that he's one of the learnings that we take home today.”
On match takeaways: “I think that today focusing on that the performance was good. The result wasn't good enough, of course, but the performance was good. So I think that we can build from the performance of today. I think that we have two games still to grab this momentum and confidence in terms of victories so that we can get into the play-offs in a good spot.”
The Big Takeaway: Atleti Turns On the Spice
It feels like it has been a relatively tame 2024 Atlético Ottawa season personality-wise to this point. Perhaps this has been a calculated response to the volatile end to the ‘23 season, in which post-match tirades and rumours of dressing room disrepute were a constant. This year has had none of that. Granted, Atleti spent three months with virtually nothing to complain about, but even in the past two months' doldrums, Atleti comments post-match were relatively deescalating. On the field, the situation was similar, with Atleti only drawing one red-card offense and committing none before Sunday afternoon, with all the red cards appearing to be stockpiled on the East and West coasts.
You can’t say it wasn’t coming, however. González’s steady opinion of Canadian refereeing, something we had seen very little of since last season, became increasingly vocalized in the past few months, and with the stream of losses and draws building a perceptible frustration from Atleti players, the dam felt soon to break. On the field and in the ensuing media scrum after the match, it finally happened, with González making some inflammatory assertions towards York. Benjamin Mora managed to fire a shot back at his cup-aspiring counterpart. When told of González’s comments, Mora responded, “Who?” Doubling down, Mora continued:
(The Quotes: Benjamín Mora)
On Carlos González: “I'm an elegant professional, mature. I have 250 games in First Division. All all over the world. I'm not going to get into this conversation with...What's his name? Carlos? Because I don't know his view about the situation. He has all the right to say that about our team. I think 7-2 is…the global score. Imagine if we were not weak. But my father taught me that the opinions of…of others don't determine who we are and what we are. He has his opinion, and it's fine. I don't have an opinion. I really don't have an opinion of him or Ottawa. Ottawa is a great team. They have great players. They have great players. Maybe their weak side is in another place. So that's about it. I don't really care what he says about our team. He must concentrate on his team.”
Ouch. You would imagine this won’t be the end of the CarGo-Mora beef. Maybe this is for the best for Atlético Ottawa. For the past two months, Atleti has appeared listless, lacking the prerequisite fire or desire to win a game. A healthy bit of competition never hurt anybody (except, I suppose, Josué Martínez) and if Atleti wants to rekindle some old rivalries just in time for the playoffs, this is a great road trip to do it both on and off the field. Let’s see if Atlético Ottawa can muster a fighting spirit against Forge next week or if Ottleti will leave Hamilton again with its tail between its legs.
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.
