2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #46
Atlético Ottawa vs. Forge FC
June 28, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario
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The league leaders face another major test at home this Friday, as Atlético Ottawa prepare a frosty reception for Forge FC at TD Place.

Entering matchweek 12, Atleti remain atop the CPL table, where they’ve been for the last eight weeks. With a 6-4-1 record, their 22 points so far is the best run the club has ever had in its first 11 games of the season.

However, Ottawa are now feeling more pressure than usual, with their lead in first place down to just five points. They managed a solid point on the road at Cavalry last Friday, but lost the week before against York United.

The side breathing down Ottawa’s necks is, conveniently enough, Forge, who come to play them this week. Forge beat Valour on Sunday to move into second place in the table with a 5-2-3 record — meaning they’ve also got a game in hand on Atleti, having played just 10 matches.

That’s why this will be such a crucial fixture for both sides. A win for the Hamilton side would give them full control of their own fate, and if they win their extra match they’d climb to the top of the table. For Ottawa, fighting a the resurgent Forge would make a powerful statement and keep them comfortable ahead of the pack.

Atleti have already beaten the reigning champions once at TD Place this year, dispatching Forge by a 3-0 scoreline back in late May. That was an uncharacteristically poor showing from the Hammers, who admitted they might’ve been feeling the effects of a marathon Canadian Championship clash with CF Montréal a few days before but still didn’t excuse the dud performance.

Historically, it’s Forge who have had the upper hand in this fixture. In fact, the game earlier this year was Atleti’s first win over Forge at TD Place, although they’d also beaten them twice at Tim Hortons Field. Overall, Forge have won 11 of the 17 meetings between these sides, including the 2023 Canadian Championship quarter-final on penalties and the 2022 CPL Final. Still, Ottawa are unbeaten in their last three games against the Hamiltonians, including winning the last two.

Both teams have largely healthy squads to pick from, with Ottawa’s only major injury concern still Kevin Dos Santos. Forge, meanwhile, remain without Terran Campbell to injury, but also have two suspended players this week in Tristan Borges and Khadim Kane.

All that’s to say, it’s very hard to make any kind of prediction ahead of this match, where both sides have plenty of reason to believe all three points are there for the taking.

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3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Fascinating midfield battle expected: Both of these two sides feature a wealth of riches in the middle of the park. Forge have consistently dominated that area via Kyle Bekker and Alessandro Hojabrpour, perhaps with Noah Jensen involved as well (though he’s come off the bench mostly this year). Ottawa, meanwhile, offer several of the league’s best in those positions, from Spanish veteran Alberto Zapater to energetic workhorse Manny Aparicio, not to mention former Forge player Aboubacar Sissoko and constant attacking threat Ollie Bassett. The key thing to watch will be whether Forge and Ottawa both opt to go head-to-head in the central areas and see which team can establish control, or whether one side chooses instead to operate more on the wings, staying away from that part of the pitch. Both sides do have incredible quality out wide as well, from Daniel Parra to Matteo de Brienne, among others; so, the tactical blueprint from both Bobby Smyrniotis and Carlos González could factor heavily into how this game plays out.

• Atleti not taking Forge lightly despite prior win: While Atlético Ottawa were lopsided winners last time they saw Forge, they’re not taking that memory as any reason to assume this game will be an easy one. Forge were unusually off their game for that one, considering their match in Montréal just a few days prior. By now though, Carlos González is very familiar with what to expect from the Hamilton side, while Ottawa are a fairly different opponent to what Forge faced the past couple of years. Atleti are ultra-focused on this contest, knowing that a result here could end up being a keystone moment in a special season if that’s how this year ends. González said on Thursday that he still can take a lot of information from that last meeting with Forge considering how similarly they usually play. “Although they’d played a couple of days ago with Montreal and maybe could be a little bit more fatigued [last time], I don’t expect a very different team,” González said. “I think that Forge has a very clear style, they don’t change much. The players that are playing at the moment are similar to the players they played against us.”

• Forge attack adjusting without Borges: After receiving his fifth yellow card of the season last weekend, Forge star Tristan Borges will serve a one-game suspension on Friday and therefore miss out. It’ll be a blow for the Hammers; Borges has started all but one of their 13 games in all competitions this year, and has contributed three goals and three assists, which is the most goal contributions of any Forge player so far. That’ll require a significant adjustment from coach Bobby Smyrniotis, who will be without Borges’ creative ability in open play as well as his excellent set-piece delivery. One potential option could be a first CPL start for Ghanaian attacker Nana Ampomah, who made his first two appearances off the bench the last couple of games and could soon be ready for a larger role, though he’s still acclimating to the Canadian experience. Smyrniotis also mentioned Noah Jensen, who is back to full fitness after missing last week, so maybe he adds an extra body to midfield and pushes Kyle Bekker further forward.

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Twardek, Didic, Singh, De Brienne; Antinoro, Bassett, Zapater, Aparicio; Del Campo, Tabla

Forge FC: Kalongo; Duncan, Achinioti-Jönsson, Metusala, Parra; Hojabrpour, Bekker, Jensen; Choinière, Poku, Badibanga

ALL-TIME SERIES

Atlético Ottawa wins: 3 || Forge FC wins: 11 || Draws: 3

Last meeting:

May 25, 2024 — Atlético Ottawa 3-0 Forge FC

KEY QUOTES

“It’s as big as any game. At the moment it’s still a little bit early in the season, I don’t think it’s going to be a definitive game. So we’ll be going for three points against an opponent that is fighting for similar things, so at the end of the day it’s important, but it’s not a final; we focus on us and we focus every single game on doing the right things to take three points.”  — Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos González

“We have the 80-2o rule: 80 per cent is what we do and 20 per cent is what the opponent may show us. So it’s a big focus on us and what we’re doing, and then how we can manipulate the opponent and take advantage of certain spaces on the field that they don’t occupy.”  — Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis