ATLETICO OTTAWA POST-MATCH ANALYSIS – Atletico Ottawa faced off against Pacific FC on May 6th at TD Place Stadium. In what was overall a fairly disappointing match, Atletico Ottawa lost 4-1. The match was also the club’s Mother’s Day match, with the club wearing purple jerseys in partnership with Shelter Movers Ottawa.
FT: A masterful performance from @Pacificfccpl sees them pick up a massive 4-1 victory over @atletiOttawa at TD Place 🔥
RECAP: https://t.co/cfwppPiJmB#CanPL I ✍️ @mitchelltierney pic.twitter.com/ta6Y9Tt6S1
— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) May 7, 2023
Three Atletico Ottawa Post-Match Talking Points for April 6th
Atletico Ottawa’s Defense Was a Major Weakness
In what was a massive strength last season for Ottawa, the defence was a weakness in this match. Atletico Ottawa’s defence had a rough game. Conceding four in a game is never good but it could have been even more if it was not for some lucky breaks. The defence was beaten wave after wave by the Pacific FC attackers. Young defender Diejo Espejo, in particular, had an off-day. On Ayman Sellouf’s amazing solo goal, the Spaniard got completely walked after trying to step up to make a tackle. Luke Singh did also not fair much better on the goal, letting the Pacific forward breeze by him. Karl Ouimette replaced Diejo Espejo at half-time.
While credit absolutely has to be given to Pacific FC, on all four goals the defence got caught widely out of position. ‘When it rains it pours’ is a good expression for the performance overall. Amer Didic’s goal in the 69-minute should also be of major concern to Atletico Ottawa. The whipped-in corner cross from Sellouf saw the ball land right into the path of a completely unmarked Didic. In fact, it looked as if Sellouf was close to scoring an Olimpico should Didic have not made contact.
Nate Ingham’s Injury Will Be a Major Concern for Carlos Gonzalez
Sean Melvin started in goal for Atletico Ottawa with Nate Ingham not making the squad at all. Atletico Ottawa signed Brogan Engbers to a Short-Term Replacement Standard Contract. Engbers took a spot on the bench to back up Melvin. It was Melvin’s first start of the season and unfortunately, it was a poor one.
Nate Ingham’s injury does not have a timeline but Carlos Gonzales did provide some clarity:
“Nate’s been having some small problems with the finger and yesterday it went a little bit worse so we decided to stop him”.
READ MORE: LWOS’ Pre-Game Atletico Ottawa Predicted Lineup vs Pacific FC
Ollie Bassett and Carlos Gonzales Voice Frustrations of Performance
In the post-match availability, Ollie Bassett spoke to his thoughts about the team’s first-half performance:
“Embarrassing to be honest, it’s actually embarrassing. We’re at home, people come out here week in and week out to support us. We concede two goals in the first ten minutes… before you know it we are down 3-0 at half-time and chasing another game.”
Bassett also spoke to the need to turn things around quickly:
“We need to figure things out fast. Things don’t get any easier, we have to Forge away on Tuesday and then fly across the country to face Vancouver. Points matter now just much as they do in September when you’re fighting to get into the playoffs.”
Bassett was the lone goal scorer for the club against Pacific and he has two in three CPL matches so far.
Carlos Gonzalez also voices disappointment in the squad’s performance:
“I am very disappointed [about] the first half and of the individual mistakes. We cannot afford to start a game [and] in the first ten minutes be losing two-nil. After that, you are chasing the game for 90 minutes.”
Both Bassett and Gonzalez’s comments speak to the fact that Ottawa has now conceded first in five consecutive matches.
The club will travel to Tim Hortons Field on May 9th where they take on Forge FC in the Canadian Championship quarter-finals at 7 PM ET. The match will be available via OneSoccer.
Photo Credit: Tim Austen / Freestyle Photography.
