Uninspired Effort Sees Atlético Ottawa lose 2-0 to Forge FC

This game reminded me a lot of the effort against Valour FC. It felt uninspired and lacked any sort of drive, and frankly, Atlético Ottawa was lucky that the scoreline wasn’t the same as the game against Valour.

First Half:

Though both teams traded chances inside the first ten minutes, it was not a great defensive performance by both teams, especially from Ottawa. The Forge gameplan early on was clear, attack on Jarred Phillips’ side. They left him exposed on a couple notable occasions that nearly ended up in the back of the net. I am sure Novak is wondering how he didn’t bury both chances.

In the 30th minute, Krutzen was able to break the tie off a corner kick. Firstly, it seemed like none of Ottawa’s players were goal side on the corner kick, but Zabal misjudged the ball. He should have had his hands before it got to the Forge attacker, and I am sure he would like to have that one back.

The score would remain this way at half, but not before Khabra got a yellow card for … getting the ball first??? And also, Fisk had one great chance on break, forcing Henry to fully extend to his bottom left corner.

Second Half:

The second half was mostly the same story. Though Mista was still reluctant to use his bench until 15 minutes remaining, when he decided to put in Facchineri in place of Kourouma. Interesting decision to put in a defender for an attacker when you’re down a goal.

Mista doubled down on this approach, by subbing in another defender. Though, I was excited to see Michel Djaozandry (subbed in for Jarred Phillips) make his CPL debut, even if in the 85th minute.

Forge added another in the 89th minute, after Choinière had an absolute stroll in the park passed the Ottawa defense.

Down one, Ottawa just didn’t show urgency. Ottawa looked as if they were depending too much on Acuña. Unless he makes something happen from nothing, nothing happens. His teammates often looked like they were hiding behind Forge players and seemed like they never wanted the ball. Never tried to get open. This game felt like a lot of standing around. Surprisingly, Ottawa actually had a slight possession advantage, but most of that possession was inside their own half or at half.

It wasn’t a great performance, but Ottawa has two games left. They can control their own destiny: win and they’re in. The final two games are against Pacific and the Wanderers, two clubs vying for the same seeding into the second round.

Match Facts:

Match Thoughts:

• Ben Fisk had a great game and was maybe the best player for Ottawa.
• While Fisk had a good game, it was his direct approach, sometimes forcing the play, that caught the eye of the commentary. Acuña, on the other hand, was apparently indecisive and slow according to the broadcast. I couldn’t disagree more. What I saw was a player holding onto the ball for longer than he would normally, because his teammates were not running into space, not getting open, and hiding behind Forge players.
• On a related note, I feel that in Canada, the analysis is often too one-dimensional. It almost feels like the analysts and commentators think this is hockey. That the players that play a “dump and chase” style are having the best game. What a hot mess.
• Did you hear the number of times Ottawa was called a hot mess? Not sure how that is exclusive to Ottawa’s team, when most teams are batting inconsistency.
• I am not going to say the reffing was poor this game – it was fine. But, personal preference, let them play a bit. The flow of this game was horrible, in large part to having a whistle every 20 seconds.
• Forge moved into sole possession of first, moving one point ahead of Cavalry.
• If you asked me at the beginning of the week that we would get one win against either Cavalry or Forge, I would have been very happy. Let’s hope we have a chance of beating Forge again this season!
• One other substitution made: Ben McKendry came on, as usual, for Ajay Khabra in the 46th minute.
• Next up: Pacific FC on Wednesday, September 2 at 8PM ET.