Match Preview: Atlético Ottawa vs. FC Edmonton
September 1, 2022 – Canadian Premier League (CPL) – Atletico Ottawa News Release
The league leaders take to the pitch in the nation’s capital once again on Friday, as Atlético Ottawa welcome FC Edmonton to TD Place for the second time in less than a month.
Ottawa remain atop the CPL table heading into the weekend, currently two points up on second-place Cavalry FC with a total of 39. Their 11-6-5 record has them firmly among the contenders in the top four this season, and they’ve already blown last season’s 26 points out of the water with a vastly improved squad in 2022.
Currently, Atleti are on a three-game unbeaten streak with two wins and a draw since their last defeat on Aug. 13. Last weekend, though, they were held scoreless by Forge FC in a cagey outing that finished 0-0 in Ottawa. Still, Carlos González and co. remain in first place – especially after Forge lost their midweek game 1-0 to Valour FC on Wednesday.
As for the Eddies, Alan Koch’s plucky group rolls into Ottawa looking to extend their own unbeaten streak to three games for the first time this year. They delivered one of their finest performances of the season last Sunday night, when a brace from Tobias Warschewski lifted them to a 3-2 win at home over HFX Wanderers FC.
Although they’ve officially been eliminated from playoff contention, Edmonton are embracing their final six games of the season and the chance to still play a part as spoilers in the league’s final run-in. FCE sit at the bottom of the table with a 3-6-13 record and 15 points, but they’ve proven themselves capable of going toe-to-toe with every other team in the league so far.
“We’ve had close games against everybody,” Koch told media on Thursday. “All season long we’ve tried to make it as competitive as we can, and we feel like we’ve made it competitive. But we’re all competitors too; I don’t get much satisfaction out of losing games by one goal. I get satisfaction out of players’ development, and then seeing players get rewarded. The rewards in these games are picking up a point or picking up three points.”
These two clubs have only met seven times in their history – Atleti have won four, the Eddies took one (their first triumph of 2022), and they’ve drawn twice – but the soccer history between Edmonton and Ottawa extends back quite a bit further than the CPL era. FCE had plenty of heated clashes with the Ottawa Fury beginning in 2014, both in NASL and in the Canadian Championship. Indeed, the two were bitter rivals for several years, having met in the first round of the Voyageurs’ Cup four campaigns in a row.
Last time Edmonton visited Ottawa, at the beginning of August, the teams had to fight through a torrential downpour in the first half, but the weather eventually cleared up and a pair of Ballou Tabla goals lifted Atleti to a narrow 2-1 win.
These two cities are in very different places soccer-wise compared to eight years ago, but many of the most devoted fans will have memories of some of those historical clashes. All three meetings between Ottawa and Edmonton this year have been close; will this fourth matchup deliver another nailbiter?
Make your match picks prior to kickoff at canpl.ca/predictor for a chance to win prizes, including the grand prize of a trip to the 2022 CPL Final! To learn more about ComeOn!, click here.
All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980. Tous les matchs de l’Atlético Ottawa sont aussi disponibles en français sur OneSoccer.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
Ottawa look to break down low block: One of the reasons FC Edmonton have been difficult to play against away from home this year has been how well they set up in a low defensive block. Often coming into road games with a flat five-man defence and a congested midfield, they open up very little space in their own half when the opposing team has the ball. Carlos González, then, has the difficult job of devising a plan for his side to break down the Eddies and find attacking opportunities. Ottawa have scored four goals in three games against Edmonton this year, but they’ll still need to find new ways through as Edmonton are sure to adapt to what they’ve seen already from Atleti. Addressing that point, González told reporters Thursday: “We know every time we play against a team that plays with a line of five, it’s difficult to break. But we’ve been working in the last months on those types of situations in which we are dominant, in which we can create not only chances by transition but also by organized attack.”
Eddies in good spirits after confidence-boosting win: Edmonton’s 3-2 win over HFX Wanderers on Sunday was one of their finest moments of the 2022 campaign. They showed quality in attack with the goals they scored, and backed it up with an impressive demonstration of maturity in holding onto the lead despite conceding late in the game. The fact they saw out the victory was evidence of the squad’s improvement from the beginning of the season, when they might not have held out like that. Sunday’s win was the Eddies’ first home match after six straight away; they’re back on the road this weekend, but Alan Koch’s side may have been rejuvenated by that afternoon at Clarke Stadium. “We realized we weren’t going to win many games this year, but when we do win a game it makes everything worthwhile,” Koch said. “It’s what we all push for every single day. So the guys are in good spirits, of course they are. But when you get one win you want another one, obviously, so we’ll keep pushing to try and get as many points as we can here through the last few games of the season.”
Home points crucial for Ottleti in playoff race: Don’t look now, but Atlético Ottawa only have two regular season games left at TD Place, including this one. After they play Edmonton, they’ll be on the road for four straight games before returning home for their final match of the campaign on Oct. 9 against York United. Interestingly, Ottawa’s away record is slightly better than their home record so far this year – they’re 6-2-2 on the road (20 points, 2.0 points per game), and 5-4-3 at TD Place (19 points, 1.58 points per game). That said, González is keen on maximizing these two remaining matches in front of their fans, especially at the moment when teams around them in the top four have been dropping points. “For us it’s very important,” González said Thursday. “Every single game is three points; we’re playing in the city with our fans, this is very important for us. But the reality is if you analyze the results of the team along the season, the team has also been winning away with no problem.”
ALL-TIME SERIES
Atlético Ottawa wins: 4 || FC Edmonton wins: 1 || Draws: 2
Previous match:
Aug. 7, 2022 – Atlético Ottawa 2-1 FC Edmonton
KEY QUOTES
“We’ve tried to focus all our energy on ourselves since long ago. It doesn’t matter the opponent we play against, it’s more about us. It’s more about how we approach each single game and what we want to do… We know that nothing is done at the moment, we’re in a good season but still everything is open.” – Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos González
“I think Ottawa will expect to win the game, but I think our group has shown we’ll make it very difficult. We’ll make it difficult for every team we play against, so we’ll go into the game with that same mentality. Players will be willing to work for each other. We’ll try and minimize Ottawa’s strengths, because they have some very good strengths, and then we’ll try and expose their weaknesses.” – FC Edmonton head coach Alan Koch
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