As the old saying goes, “when it rains, it pours.”
Despite it being a bright, sunny day at TD Place, Valour FC poured goals all over Atlético Ottawa’s backline. The former league leaders suffered an uneasy defeat losing 6-1 to the Winnipeg-based club at TD Place on April 24.
Going into the match, Atlético was at the top of the league with two wins in two games, while Valour was tied for last place with one point out of a possible six. Judging from the stats alone, one would have expected Ottawa to walk away with a victory, but Valour had other plans.
From the first minute of the match, Valour looked hungry for goals. Their well-organized high-press defence forced turnovers from Atlético in Ottawa’s defensive third, creating many chances for Valour throughout the afternoon.
It was a simple strategy of using defence to create offence, something Valour head coach Phillip Dos Santos said he expects of his side.
“We need to be a threat, we need to score goals by volume,” Dos Santos said. “But I want them to be excited about defending as well—as excited to win a dual as they are to score a goal.”
Dos Santos said following through with this plan brings high energy and produces good results.
Good results followed for Valour, indeed.
Valour broke the deadlock from the penalty spot after forward Moses Dyer was taken down inside the box on a breakaway. Atlético goalkeeper Nathan Ingham dove in the right direction, almost saving Dyer’s shot but let it slip through his fingers.
In the 27th minute, Valour’s star winger William Akio took on three Atlético defenders before driving in a low-powered cross to the back post for forward Alessandro Riggi to tap in.
“[Akio] is probably one of the [fastest players] in the league. He also has individual talent,” Atlético head coach Carlos González said. “This type of player can kill you with space.”
Ottawa awakened with some attacking play of their own. Winger Ballou Tabla beat his defender and tried to deliver a low-driven cross that was cleared by the Valour defence. The cross only went as far as Atlético midfielder Keven Steven Alemán Bustos, who turned the clearance into a powerful strike from the top of the 18-yard box. Valour goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois saved the shot.
The 39th minute found Akio in another one-on-one situation. This time, he rolled the ball onto his left foot just inside the 18-yard box and unleashed a shot that hit the post. The rebounded ball fell to Riggi’s feet, who skied the ball over the net from point-blank range.
Minutes after Riggi’s miss, Atlético’s players found themselves attacking Valour’s backline. Midfielder Maxim Tissot was played through on the left side of the 18-yard box. What appeared to be a slightly miss-hit cross from Tissot was knocked into the Valour net by an overcommitted Sirois.
With the score 2-1, Atlético seemed to have breathed life back into the match, but Valour stuck to their game plan. In the 45th and 47th minutes, two minutes into injury time, Valour doubled its lead to 4-1.
The third goal came from a set-piece where defender Antonio Rocco Romeo headed home a goal that left Ingham with no chance of saving it. Another rebound fell to Riggi again. This time, he made no mistake and displayed his fancy footwork to beat his defender and send his shot into the bottom right corner.
“Instead of getting through to halftime and regrouping, we conceded another two goals and 2-1 [turned into] to 4-1. That was a big turning point,” Atlético midfielder Oliver Bassett said. “Maybe it would’ve been a different game if we [went] in at [halftime] 2-1, but at 4-1, we’re just giving ourselves a mountain to climb.”
Unfortunately for Atlético, that mountain only got taller. Dyer added his second goal of the afternoon, five minutes into the second half, to make the score 5-1.
Valour defender Brett Lewis then went on an amazing run, skipping past multiple defenders before unleashing a rocket of a shot from his weaker foot that bounced off the post and in.
The five-goal win difference has seen the Winnipeg-based club skyrocket into third place ahead of Forge FC on goal differential. Ottawa now finds itself amongst Cavalry FC and FC Edmonton for the worst goal-differential in the league.
Despite the flood of goals for Valour, Atlético remains in second place and has the chance to bounce back on Friday against York United at 7:30 pm EST.
