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(Photo: Pacific FC)
MATCH ANALYSIS: Atlético Ottawa return to the top of the table with dominant victory over Pacific FC
2024-08-17
by
Benedict Rhodes, CanPL.ca Contributor (@BTFR17)
News

Final Score: Pacific FC 0-3 Atlético Ottawa
Goalscorers: Sissoko 2′, Iliadis 15′, Del Campo 22′
Game of the 2024 season: 73
CPL match: 557

Match in a minute or less

Atlético Ottawa needed a statement victory on Saturday and that is exactly what they earned, beating Pacific FC 3-0 at Starlight Stadium to climb back to the top of the table.

All three of the visitors’ goals came in the opening quarter of the match, scoring from three set pieces in the early stages of the match. Aboubacar Sissoko headed the ball into the bottom right corner after getting onto the end of a second-minute free kick, before Ilias Iliadis scored directly from a corner 13 minutes later to double the lead. Ruben Del Campo made it 3-0 in the 22nd minute, firing home from close range after another corner from Iliadis caused some chaos in the box.

The win is huge for an Ottawa side looking to recapture their early-season form, while for Pacific it is a fifth match in a row without a victory as they remain frustrated by a lack of goalscoring and a self-diagnosed lack of strong mentality in recent weeks.

Three Observations

Ottawa bludgeon Pacific in opening half, end winless streak to climb back to the top of the table

After falling off the top of the table for the first time in months last weekend, Atlético Ottawa climbed back to the top — at least temporarily — on Saturday thanks to their big victory away from home.

They started the season with a nine-game unbeaten run, but since then had gone 2-2-5 in the second string of nine matches entering this weekend, including three consecutive losses in a row to their fellow playoff teams to lose the lead they had built atop the standings. With this win they are now up to 32 points on the season, one ahead of Forge FC and York United and two up on Cavalry FC. The Cavs beat York on Friday night to get to 30 points, while Forge play away to Vancouver FC on Sunday, a chance for the Hammers to end the weekend top of the pile.

Ottawa needed a big response in this match to get their season back on track, and that is exactly what head coach Carlos Gonzalez got. The visitors scored just two minutes into the match for an early lead, but followed that up with goals in the 15th and 22nd minutes as well, putting the game out of reach an hour before it ended.

It was a statement victory for a team in need of one, and they head to the opposite coast to play eighth-place Halifax next as they too look for a much-needed win.

“At the end of the day, I am today really proud of the efforts that the players put on the field,” said Gonzalez after the match. “They showed a lot of courage and a lot of commitment since the beginning. I think that we did the game that we had to do to change a bad dynamic and to show everyone that we are alive again.

“It was important to change the dynamic, it was important to show solidness, it was important to maintain the clean sheet and grow from the details. [There were] very good situations on set pieces, and I think it’s a great starting point to to grow again.”

Pacific’s poor run of form continues ahead of season-defining week

Both Pacific FC and Atlético Ottawa entered this match on four-game winless streaks, but as Ottawa fly back home with three goals and three points in the bag, Pacific leave frustrated by their fourth loss in their last five CPL matches — fifth in six in all competitions.

Pacific’s struggles to put the ball in the back of the net continued as they were shut out for the eighth time in 18 matches this season, and they have still scored just 14 goals in CPL action. That remains an area of concern for head coach James Merriman, but the last couple of weeks he has also questioned his team’s effort — a worrying trend that cannot continue if the club is going to turn around this poor run of form and get back above the playoff line.

“We’re disappointed of course,” said Merriman added after the match. “The first goal coming so early hurt us obviously, but it’s no excuse to give up the second and third so quickly after, and all on set pieces, which is really disappointing.

“We’ve been very good [on set pieces] this season, we’ve been very organized, we’ve been there and we haven’t given up much, so the first one we need to respond in a better way to wake up, and the second and the third is the lack of intensity and mentality and aggressiveness. It’s disappointing because it puts us completely on the back foot.”

Just like after last week’s defeat away to British Columbia rivals Vancouver FC, Merriman did not hold back in his press conference, adding that “the bare minimum requirement is maximum effort when we play professional football, and from some of us we need to improve this immediately.”

The second half was better from Pacific. Merriman made a triple substitution at the break to bring on Moses Dyer, Sean Young, and Devin O’Hea. In the second 45 minutes, Pacific outshot Ottawa 9-3 with five of those hitting the target, although none of them really challenged Nathan Ingham in a significant way. While Merriman was content with his team’s effort after the break, he was still frustrated that it took conceding three goals at home and substitutions to spark some life into his squad.

Things don’t get any easier for his side either, and next week’s schedule could very well define their season. The Tridents travel to play high-flying Cavalry FC on Saturday, then the Vancouver Whitecaps midweek in the second leg of their Canadian Championship semifinal, before heading to Hamilton, Ontario for a date with another CPL Shield contender in Forge FC that Friday night.

Pacific need results in these matches, and depth will be crucial as they face such a busy stretch.

“We’re gonna need everybody, we’re gonna lean on everyone,” said Merriman. “I think Moses came in and he worked incredibly hard, Devin came in and worked hard, Zak Bahous has been very, very good — he’s waiting for for more time, he wants to impact games — so it’s time to to share responsibility and give others an opportunity as well.”

Set pieces make the difference, with Ottawa newcomer Iliadis front and centre

All three of Ottawa’s goals in this match came from set pieces as they scored less than two minutes in and pushed hard to twist the knife.

The first came on a free kick from Dani Morer, headed home by Aboubacar Sissoko. The second was an Olimpico from Ilias Iliadis, a goal directly from a corner kick that should be rare, but seems to happen a couple of times each season in the Canadian Premier League. The third came from another corner from Iliadis, this time finished off by Ruben Del Campo through a crowd of bodies as Pacific goalkeeper Sean Melvin watched from the ground after attempting to play the cross in the air.

Set pieces is something the club has been working on improving, so to see three end up in the back of the net is validation for their efforts.

“We have a lot of good takers on this team,” said Iliadis after the match. “It’s just about execution and everyone being on the same page and we saw that today.”

Iliadis played twelve games for Ottawa last season in his first loan spell with the club. When head coach Carlos Gonzalez had the chance to bring him back a couple of weeks ago, he jumped at the opportunity to add a player of real quality who could be a difference-maker again the rest of the way here in 2024.

In this match Iliadis played as the left-sided centre-back in a back three, but he can also play in central midfield, at either fullback position or further up the pitch.

“I think it’s a great addition for the team,” said Gonzalez about Iliadis after the match. “Left-footed player, very competitive, very solid, able to give us performances in different positions. I think that Ilias is a great addition and makes us better as a unit, makes us better as a team. [I’m] looking forward to continue developing him and to continue with the improving of the team.”

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Ilias Iliadis, Atlético Ottawa

Making his first CPL start of the season after rejoining the club on loan a couple of weeks ago, Ilias Iliadis put in a great shift on the left side of Atlético Ottawa’s back three, and scored the second goal of the match directly from a corner kick.

What’s next?

Both of these teams are on the road next Saturday. Atlético Ottawa head to Halifax to take on the Wanderers (3 pm AT/2 pm ET), while Pacific are in Calgary to take on Cavalry FC (3 pm MT/2 pm PT).

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