The second-place Atlético Ottawa settles for a draw against the seventh-place Halifax Wanderers after a difficult second half on Sept. 29 at TD Place in Ottawa ON. [Photo by Matt Zambonin/Freestyle Photography]

Atlético Ottawa’s Sept. 29 match against the Halifax Wanderers was a dose of deja vu. On Sept. 22, a second-half goal cost them a victory against Pacific FC. The same occurred a week later, as a redirected corner kick off the head of Wanderers defender Nassim Mekideche landed in the back of Ottawa’s net in the 79th minute to tie the match.

After clinching a spot in the Canadian Premier League (CPL) playoffs a week prior, second-place Ottawa still had an outside chance of claiming the CPL Shield with a win. The 1-1 draw Ottawa settled for was not what they needed.

“I am very disappointed,” Atlético head coach Carlos González said. “We played a very good first half in which we dominated the game. We were incapable of maintaining it in the second half. We lacked power and our ability to control the game, which is the most important thing.” 

Ottawa’s strong first half was emphasized early by a 4th-minute goal from defender Amer Didić. Atlético forwards Ollie Bassett and Ballou Tabla continued to threaten the defence, making strong runs down the wings. They had Halifax on their heels and spent the majority of the half in Wanderers territory.

However, once the second half began, Ottawa looked listless as they spent most of the latter half in their own end.

That opened the door for the Wanderers’ Mekideche to strike. His goal came on a well-swung in-cross from Lorenzo Callegari, who picked up his second assist of the season on the play. Mekideche had plenty of space on the play, as Ottawa centre-back Didić was tripped up.

Halifax Wanderers defender Nassim Mekideche (4) redirects a corner kick to the back of the Atlético Ottawa net on Sept. 29 at TD Place in Ottawa, ON. [Photo by Matt Zambonin/Freestyle Photography]
The frustration seemed to bubble over late for Atlético. In the final 10 minutes, the officials doled out three yellow cards. A scrappy second half by Halifax caught the attention of González, who shared his frustration with the opposition and the officials. 

“In the second half, Halifax went over the line,” González said. “This is the job of the officials to deal with and not of ours. It is not only a problem of losing players, of losing a mark, but [Halifax’s goal-scoring play] was also a clear foul on Didić, pushing him to get that space.” 

Halifax far and away leads the CPL in red cards with seven, four more than the next-closest club.

Second-half slips have also become a recurring trend for Atlético.

“It’s obviously very disappointing, especially when you’re at home,” said Ottawa defender and Barrhaven local Matteo de Brienne. “It’s back-to-back weeks that you give up a goal that ends up costing your team the game.” 

With draws in their last four matches, Ottawa has struggled down the stretch to close out matches in the second half.  

“In the first half we had a few chances, but in the second half we didn’t have a single dangerous chance,” González said. “We are at that part of the season where we need to find a solution, because this cannot be a trend.”  

It certainly seems that way for Atlético lately. Despite being unbeaten in their last seven games, only two have been converted into wins — a frustrating reality that leaves the club seven points back of first place with only three matches remaining.  

With the most recent draw, Ottawa moves to 40 points in the CPL standings, just one ahead of Cavalry FC in third place. They will look to extend that lead when they clash with York United FC in Toronto on Oct. 6. 

Featured photo by Matt Zambonin/Freestyle Photography

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