For Atlético Ottawa, 2021 was dismal. During their second year as an organization and first at home in Ottawa after a neutral-site campaign in 2020, Atlético hobbled to a 6-14-8 record—bottom of the Canadian Premier League (CPL) table and 10 points from a playoff spot.
It is a season fans are eager to forget.
On Saturday, Atlético took another step towards erasing those memories. The team narrowly won 1-0 over the HFX Wanderers at TD Place, improving to 2-0-0 and first in the CPL table—an unfamiliar feeling, even if it is just the second week of the season.
It’s the club’s first time starting a season with two wins. In 2021, it took Atlético five matches to win two. In 2020, Ottawa took only two wins total, albeit in a COVID-shortened season.
“We still have this ghost of the last season,” Atlético head coach Carlos González said. “I felt like the players didn’t know what was the feeling of winning two games in a row. Mentally, we have to work on this.”
González said changing that mentality is a season-long project. Part of the team’s approach this year is to create competitiveness within the roster—having bench players push starters to play better.
After Atlético defender Drew Beckie received a three-match suspension for stepping on an opponent’s foot last week, bench player Miguel Acosta had to step up. He played a key role in Atlético’s only goal on Saturday, which came in the 81st minute and broke a 0-0 deadlock.
Acosta crossed the ball to attacker Malcolm Shaw, who headed it into the bottom right corner of the goal. Ottawa held on for the win and delivered Halifax their first loss of the season.
Ottawa had many chances to score throughout the game. In the 15th minute, the team took three consecutive corner kicks but couldn’t make anything happen. In the 27th minute, Shaw made a perfectly-placed header but Halifax goalkeeper Christian Oxner deflected the ball out.
Malcolm Shaw breaks the deadlock ⚽️@zaiahshaw heads home the cross to give @atletiOttawa the lead late in the second half #CanPL l 📺: @onesoccer
pic.twitter.com/9RxraUtC4M— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) April 16, 2022
“There’s still some fine-tuning to do offensively with our decision-making and stuff,” Atlético defender Maxim Tissot said. “But to start the way we’ve started, I don’t think we can ask for a better way to kick it off this year.”
The story of the game for Halifax was attacker João Morelli, the reigning CPL Player of the Year who scored six of his 14 goals last season against Ottawa. Despite making six shots Saturday, four of which were on target, Morelli wasn’t able to break through.
Then came disaster for the Wanderers. In the 90th minute, Morelli collapsed on the pitch with an apparent leg injury and was taken off the field in a stretcher. The severity of the injury wasn’t clear, but if it becomes a long-term issue for the Wanderers, it could hurt their chances of improving off an 8-9-11 record last season.
“Mentally, it will be painful for the players. They are all in the dressing room very worried,” Halifax head coach Stephen Hart said. “Nobody wants to see a teammate get injured or anybody get injured badly.”
The goalkeeper who held Morelli at bay was Nathan Ingham, who produced his second consecutive clean sheet after blanking Cavalry FC 1-0 in the season opener on April 9.
In the game’s most exciting moment, Ingham blocked back-to-back shots from Morelli and attacker Samuel Salter.
“I see him training every day. I know what he is capable [of],” González said. “He’s a very explosive player … I wasn’t surprised [by] this situation because I see daily how he works.”
Atlético will wrap up its three-game homestand on April 24 against Valour FC. Former Carleton Ravens men’s soccer player Matteo de Brienne will make his return to Ottawa as part of the visiting squad.
Featured image provided by Matt Zambonin/Freestyle Photography.
