Final Score: Atlético Ottawa 2-2 (5-4 pens.) York United
Goalscorers: Bassett 47′ del Campo 92′ (pen.); Jimoh 90+4, Babouli 94′
2024 CPL Playoffs
Quarter-final
Match in a minute or less
Atlético Ottawa are headed to the CPL Playoff semifinal after an electrifying quarter-final victory over York United 2-2 (5-4) on penalty kicks.
It was the first time that a CPL playoff match had ever been decided from the spot. The two sides first cancelled each other out through regulation as an Ollie Bassett Olimpico was nullified by a stoppage-time screamer from York’s Shola Jimoh. Then almost immediately in extra time Atleti regained the lead on a Rubén del Campo penalty, before York captain Mo Babouli scored a header to force penalties.
In penalties, Babouli then saw his second-round effort stopped by Nate Ingham, and Atlético Ottawa confidently stepped up and scored all five of their kicks. It was the first time that Atlético Ottawa have won a playoff game at home, and put them into the semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 2, where they will face Forge FC.
Three Observations
Instant classic in the capital as Atlético Ottawa outlast York United on penalty kicks
With all the hype in the lead-up to Sunday’s quarter-final between York United and Atlético Ottawa, it felt like the match itself might struggle to live up to the expectation.
For 94 minutes, and 31 seconds that was largely the case, as a typically cagey knockout matchup played out, one in which Atlético Ottawa looked like they were in control of after a 47th-minute Ollie Bassett Olimpico had put them in front.
On York United’s first shot on target of the game, however, 16-year-old Shola Jimoh scored for the Nine Stripes to force extra time, kicking off a wild sequence of events as the match transformed into an instant classic.
Almost immediately into extra time, Atlético Ottawa went down and won a penalty, which Rubén del Campo scored. Mere minutes later, the match took another wild twist as a lovely cross from York’s Jimoh found Mo Babouli at the back post and the match was once again tied.
This set up a dramatic penalty shootout, the first time a Canadian Premier League playoff match had been settled from the spot. Through five rounds, just one penalty was not expertly struck — a Babouli penalty which was stopped by Nate Ingham.
When Atleti’s Ilias Iliadis had finally sent the decisive penalty into the top of the net, it was the final act in one of the most compelling contests in CPL Playoff history.
“An epic night, a night to remember, I think these playoff emotions everywhere,” said Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos González.
After all of the talk in the weeks leading up to Sunday’s match, Carlos González was complimentary of his opposition on the night after the match, recognizing the sort of performance they had both just put on.
“We were making a little bit of show,” said González, “We spoke before the game and we knew that, this is the mediatic part of the spectacle. And the most important thing, and we knew it, is that we should be an example today, both on the field, and that’s what we did.”
Now a further test awaits this Atlético Ottawa side in the playoff semifinal as they meet Forge. Asked after the match which of Forge or Cavalry he preferred to face, not knowing the result of Sunday’s other contest at the time, heroic goalkeeper Nate Ingham wasn’t about to start another media frenzy.
“The reality is we’ve got to go through both, so I don’t care,” said Nate Ingham.
What he and his team do care about, is that their final impression with fans at TD Place for the 2024 season will be a happy one. After an uneven ending to their campaign at home, with just one win in their final seven regular season matches in the capital, there was plenty to celebrate from the home supporters on Sunday.
“It’s a special win, because we have it at home, you know with our fans, that’s so important to end the [home] season with a win, and they go to drink a beer now, and that’s very important,” said González. “This is at the end of the day, the purpose of the sport, the purpose of professionalism, to make people happy. So I’m very proud of that.”
Atlético Ottawa now head out on the road for the remainder of the playoffs, where they will feel just as if not more comfortable, having collected the second most points (23) and the most goals (21) of any team away from home during the regular season.
Atlético Ottawa survive multiple scares to reach semifinal
Much of the talk in the lead-up to Sunday’s match was the weight of pressure that was on the home side.
Labelled as the Goliath to his side’s David by York United manager Benjamín Mora, a “Super Team” by some and the “winners of the winter” by others, there had been a target on Atlético Ottawa’s back all season as a result of an ambitious off-season of recruiting well-known CPL stars.
After a tough second half of their 2024 regular season, there was a lot of expectation that this team needed to win on Sunday in their playoff opener, at minimum.
For 90 plus minutes, Atlético Ottawa looked like they had dealt with that pressure brilliantly. They had got their goal, and then defended very well, in fact looking the more likely of the two teams to score the next goal on a few dangerous counterattacking opportunities.
But when Shola Jimoh equalized in stoppage time for York, that pressure mounted further. It felt like it had reached a boiling point when Atleti took the lead again in extra time, only for York to quickly equalize and force penalties.
Atleti had never won from the spot in club history, including a loss to York United back in the 2022 Canadian Championship on penalties.
Instead of caving under that pressure in penalties, they were perfect, scoring all five of their kicks in emphatic fashion, and getting a save from Nate Ingham, to secure the victory.
Giving up late leads, and late goals has been a significant issue for Atlético Ottawa for the better part of two seasons now. They dropped 17 points from winning positions this season, tied for the second most in the league. But when it mattered most this year, this Atleti team dug deep and was able to survive this significant scare to keep their season alive.
“I don’t know if I’m more excited to win or more excited to not lose it, to be honest, it’s a weird emotion,” said Ingham. “I think we should have closed it out in the 90, we should have held the lead once we go through to extra time, and then thank God we won it in the shootout.”
He says matches like Sunday, however, are the reason he loves playing the sport and why all the heartbreak and “garbage” players deal with over the course of a season is worth it.
“That was pretty special today, another reminder of what makes this league and this sport so beautiful,” said Ingham.
York United show incredible heart, but historic season comes to an end
As Benjamín Mora addressed his players post-game in the York United locker room, he had one question for them “how did you do it?”
How, after having picked up an emotional first-ever playoff victory in club history on Wednesday against Pacific did they turn around and fight for 120 minutes, coming from behind twice to force penalties? Regardless of the result in Sunday’s quarter-final, York United showed how far they have come as a team.
“They weren’t afraid of coming here, they weren’t afraid of nothing, and they showed it on the pitch,” said Mora. “They came back from two goals very fast, because we know we could with the tools we have.”
If there was any player who demonstrated that fearlessness it was 16-year-old Shola Jimoh. The young attacker came on the pitch at half-time, and created an incredible moment when he smacked the ball into the top corner in the fourth minute of stoppage time sending the game to extra time. In extra time, he then assisted on Mo Babouli’s goal with an incredible cross.
From the spot, however, it wasn’t to be for the Nine Stripes.
“And this is football, at the end of the day, penalties, some say they are a flip of a coin,” said Mora. “Some say it has to do with the mind and emotions. Some say that you have to be very technical to shoot the ball in a proper way. Some say it’s luck. So who knows?”
He wryly pointed out the irony of the fact that the player who equalized the match for his team, Mo Babouli, was also the one whose penalty was stopped by Nate Ingham.
That moment brought to the end a historic season for York United, one where they set a record for regular season points, and won a playoff match for the first time in club history. For a group as ambitious as this, however, they will be motivated to make sure this is just the start of what they believe could be an incredible journey as a club.
“I’m happy for the season, I’m happy from the performance from the boys, but I’m sad for the ownership and the fans that we couldn’t give more,” said Mora.
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Rubén del Campo, Atlético Ottawa
The Atleti striker led the line brilliantly on Sunday for Atleti. He stepped up in extra time to score from the penalty spot, and then again in the shootout. He also contested 15 duels and had five touches in the York box.
What’s next?
Atlético Ottawa advance to the CPL Playoff semifinal where they will take on the winner of today’s qualifying semifinal between Forge FC and Cavalry FC. That match will be played on Saturday, Nov. 2. For York United, this is the end of their historic season, as they now look to continue to build in 2025.
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