2021 CPL regular season — Match #107
HFX Wanderers vs. Atlético Ottawa
November 7, 2021 at 2:00 pm AT/ 1:00 pm ET
Wanderers Grounds, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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HFX Wanderers and Atlético Ottawa both finish their regular seasons on Sunday, squaring off with each other at Wanderers Grounds. Kicking off an exciting CPL double-header — with Cavalry FC and Pacific FC playing an important match later in the day — Sunday’s contest is an important one.

The home side is still fighting for a playoff spot, after the results in the Saturday games in the CPL went their way, but Ottawa will also be hungry to play spoiler, and pick up a first-ever clean sheet against the Wanderers.

After York United lost to Forge FC, and Valour FC drew with FC Edmonton, HFX were given a lifeline. A win on Sunday would see them leap into fourth place.

Joao Morelli has had Ottawa’s number this year, dominating them in an incredible way. The two sides have met five times this season, and in four of those games, Morelli has scored two goals — eight of his 14 goals on the year against a single opponent. It’s undeniable that Morelli is HFX’s star man, having scored 14 of their 27 goals (and another in the Canadian Championship), and will be looking to continue that run of form again on Sunday.

HFX won three of those four matches that Morelli has scored twice in, with a 2-2 draw at TD Place the other result. In the match where the Brazilian didn’t find the back of the net, a late Brian Wright winner earned the home side a win in their first CPL match in the nation’s capital.

The two teams also met once in 2020 at the Island Games, a match that ended 2-0 to the Wanderers, with goals from Akeem Garcia and Alessandro Riggi the difference.

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3 THINGS TO WATCH:

• Regular season comes to an end for both teams: Sunday’s match at Wanderers Grounds will be the 28th and final regular season match for both sides this year. Both sides have had highs and lows in 2021, and will have a lot to reflect on as they finish their campaign and look ahead to 2022. “It’s not easy with everything new for the guys this year,” Ottawa head coach Mista reflected ahead of the match, adding that his team played much better after the bubble to begin the season. “It’s positive, we’re happy. Maybe not for the result because we expect to have better results, but this is a project, we’re thinking to the future… we’re happy with what happened this year.” Wanderers head coach Stephen Hart is also proud of his side’s performances in 2021, but admitted that the smallest of margins have perhaps let his team down at times. “You can’t fault the players, they’ve been trying their best to get results, things have not gone our way the last two games, we’ve been in some bad moments,” he said. “If you look at the losses we’ve had this year, there’s only been one game I can remember, maybe two games, that we were really outplayed and torn apart. In the course of a season that’s 28 games, you’re going to have one or two games where those things happen, and we just have to take care of our own business at home. Whatever happens elsewhere — we aren’t in control of that.”
• Too late for HFX to jump back into top four?: After Saturday’s results — York United losing to Forge FC and Valour FC drawing 3-3 with FC Edmonton — HFX Wanderers may still be able to jump into the top four with a win on Sunday. The Wanderers are on the outside looking in, and have to win this match, but it isn’t over until it’s over. Expect Stephen Hart’s team to come out firing in front of their home fans on Sunday. Hart wants to end the season on a high, regardless of what the match means for the table and playoff positions. If they take care of the stuff they can control, the Wanderers will be in a good spot. “We can at least end the season in a certain way, that may even give us a fighting chance, depending on other results, to stay in the playoff hunt,” he said.
• Highly-rated prospect Antoine Coupland rounding into form: 17-year-old Atlético Ottawa midfielder Antoine Coupland has continued to grow as a player as the season has progressed, and head coach Mista sees him as important player for the future. Coupland has made 14 CPL appearances this season, plus one in the Canadian Championship, scoring his first two league goals in the process. Most of his appearances have been off the bench, but more recently he’s started six of their last eight matches — his only starts of the season. A local player, Coupland has become something of a fan favourite, and scored the first goal in a 1-1 draw with York United in the club’s final home game of the season on October 24. “Antoine is a great guy, a great player, but with the young guys we need to have more patience than the others,” said Mista, adding that they’re taking a step-by-step process with integrating him into the team more regularly. “Now I think he’s more mature, he has more experience, and he’s ready to play. We talk a lot about him for the future in the CPL — he has a lot of quality, he’s young, and he wants to be better, which is very important.”

ALL-TIME SERIES

HFC Wanderers wins: 4 || Atlético Ottawa wins: 1 || Draws: 1

Previous match:

September 29, 2021 — HFX Wanderers 2-1 Atlético Ottawa

KEY QUOTES

“We look at the more recent performances of the opposition, what they like to do, changes that they might make, etc. We prepare for that with as much detail as possible — it’s the same regardless of who we play.” — HFX Wanderers head coach Stephen Hart

“We’re professional, and we need to have a lot of respect for their supporters, the club and the entire team. I told my players that it doesn’t matter what happens after this game because we need to be a very competitive team. We’re going to compete, we’re going to try to win because it’s our responsibility.” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Mista