Late Collapse Sees Atlético Ottawa Draw 2-2 to Edmonton FC

Javier Acuña. That is all. This website is now a Javier Acuña appreciation site.

In his return to form after a disappointing game against Valour FC, Acuña came out with a bang, scoring 22 seconds in to the game. I barely even had a chance to order a drink at the Watch Party at Hometown Sports Grill. The goal was the fastest in CPL history. A lazy pass back by Edmonton’s Erik Zetterberg was intercepted by Malcolm Shaw, who one touched it to Acuña for a break on net.

Not long after, Malyk Hamilton took advantage of some open space, and slotted a pass to none other than, Acuña, who quickly placed the ball near post to go up 2-0 inside 15 minutes.

The score could have easily been 4-0 by the 18th minute, when Atlético Ottawa hit their second post of the game.

After the bad loss to Valour FC, this was exactly the start Ottawa needed. And they were doing everything right too. They were pressuring the ball, passing well, and playing organized at the back. Edmonton FC looked lost at times and they couldn’t create many chances.

Unfortunately, the fun didn’t last forever, when Ben McKendry went down with an apparent groin injury after a shot attempt. in the 40th minute There was no collision on the play, which always worries me more. Hopefully, he is able to recover quickly.

Antoine Coupland replaced him, making his impact felt with a yellow card only a minute later. Ben Fisk joined him in the card parade with his own yellow card. Kourouma couldn’t stand to see the pair alone with yellows, so he earned himself a booking as well. The players really wanted us to sit on the edge of our seats. With a 2-0 lead and 3 players sitting one caution away from a red, all was missing was a sending off and/or a penalty shot for Edmonton for the Atlético Ottawa recipe to be complete.

Alas, Edmonton didn’t need any of that. As they scored, a goal in the 88th minute by Alemán and another a few seconds into stoppage time by Ongaro.

Despite playing nearly 90 minutes and controlling the play for nearly the entirety of the game, the effort still wasn’t enough. On the first goal by Edmonton, Ottawa allowed for Boakai to dance undisturbed in the box before forcing Nacho Zabal to make a good first save that ended up landing on Alemán’s foot. There was no defensive coverage the entire play and a lot of ball watching.

The second goal was also a result of ball watching and lack of defensive coverage. Although, Hamilton was able to recover to get in front of Ongaro, some miscommunication between him and Zabal led to them to getting tied up forcing the ball to deflect back to Ongaro, who snuck the ball in from the side of the net. In my opinion, Zabal had the opportunity to swallow that ball, and I am not sure I heard any communication from him to his defender.

This felt like a must win against a weaker side. That’s why this one hurt. The schedule for Ottawa will only get tougher from here. There next two games are against the two top ranked teams, Cavalry and Forge. But they still have a chance to secure a spot inside the top 4. They will likely have to do what no team has done yet, and that’s beat one of these two teams. An upset could do a lot for their confidence, starting Thursday.

Game Notes:

• Mista should be happy with this effort. It stings but the team played a nearly complete game. Nonetheless, they cannot afford to not play a full 90.
• I know there is a lot of talk about having a lack of depth in the lineup, but Mista’s decision to only use two subs is odd. He has yet to use more than his allowed 3 substitutes, and in the last 2 games he has only used the 2.
• Acuña played his most minutes of the season with 74. The team looks completely different with him off the field.
• Neufville’s return was welcomed. Although he didn’t show up on the score sheet and wasn’t as visible as he was in the first game, his runs still created a lot of space for Ottawa to operate in, and his play was a constant worry for Edmonton.
• Many heavy hearts were connected to this game. On Ottawa’s side, Brandon John was given the captain’s armband to honor the passing of his father. Big respect for his commitment to the team and his play today. Wish we came out with a win for you and your family.
• On Edmonton’s side, former captain Chris Kooy passed away after battling stage 4 colon cancer. Cancer sucks. May he RIP. His team did him proud to never give up today.
• Next up: Cavalry FC on Thursday at 8PM ET.

For full match highlights:

Let me know in the comments below why you think Mista refuses to go deeper into his bench.