2024 CPL Playoffs — Quarter-Final
Atlético Ottawa vs. York United FC
October 27, 2024 at 1 p.m. ET
TD Place in Ottawa, ON
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

As York United’s players and coaches turned their attention toward a quarter-final matchup with Atlético Ottawa following a historic first home playoff victory against Pacific FC on Wednesday night, there was a clear theme in what was on their collective minds.

“They have more responsibility, we’re supposed to be the weak ones,” York United head coach Benjamín Mora said in his post-match interview with OneSoccer. “Well, I heard that we’re the weakest team in the playoffs,” York midfielder Elijah Adekugbe told CanPL.ca in an interview moments later.

Those comments, of course, were a callback to a contentious post-match press conference following a 1-0 York United victory over 10-man Atlético Ottawa back on Oct. 6 — particularly one answer from Atleti head coach Carlos González.

“I think that York is probably the weakest team in the playoffs,” said González on the day. “They’re the weakest team, they don’t have so many tools and the way and the proposal of their football make them be a team that in normal circumstances we have to beat them.”

“Ottawa’s a great team, you know, they have great players, maybe their weak side is in another place,” Mora fired back.

RELATED: 2024 CPL Playoff Preview: Atlético Ottawa || 2024 CPL Playoff Preview: York United FC

All of this sets up for a mouthwatering clash on Sunday afternoon at TD Place when Atlético Ottawa host York in the CPL playoff quarter-final. It is the first time the two Ontario rivals have met in the playoffs, with the importance of this match only likely to add fuel to an already fiery fixture.

For his part, regardless of the original context of his quote being slightly different than what has been portrayed, the Ottawa head coach doesn’t seem to mind the life that it has taken on since.

“I think that growing this rivalry between both teams is very positive at the end of the day,” said González. “It’s good for the league. I think that that is the type of sauce that everybody likes, you know, very positive that we play against each other, that we have a healthy rivalry.”

While, as the hosts and higher seed, they will certainly be the favourites heading into Sunday’s clash, the rivalry hasn’t exactly gone the way of Atlético Ottawa both recently and historically. Atleti have won just two of 19 all-time matches between the Ontario rivals.

While one of those wins, a 2-1 come-from-behind victory, was on the opening day of the season at TD Place this year, Atleti have since lost the other three matches against York this season, all of which came under Mora who took the reigns in early June. In fact, his first-ever victory as the head coach of the Nine Stripes came in a 2-1 win on June 15 in the nation’s capital. That was the first loss that Atleti suffered in 2024 after going undefeated in their first nine matches of the season.

York are also the only club to have defeated Atelti in their last ten matches of 2024, as the Ottawa club can take confidence in the fact that even if they only won three of those contests, they have arguably been the most difficult team in the CPL to beat since mid-August.

Atleti have, however, struggled to find wins at home recently. They have won just once in their past seven matches at TD Place Stadium, and scored just six goals across those matches.

The Nine Stripes, who will certainly be carrying the momentum of their historic first playoff victory, have had inverse issues this season. The just 15 points and 13 goals they scored away from home this season are both the fewest in club history.

In their most important road match in club history, can they find a way to continue this magical season? Or will an Atlético Ottawa team full of CPL champions and award winners prove what they are capable of when it matters most?

The winner of Sunday’s contest in the nation’s capital will be one win away from the CPL Final, advancing to face the loser of the day’s other match, the qualifying semifinal between Cavalry FC and Forge FC. That match, the playoff semifinal, will take place on Saturday, Nov. 2 at either Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton or ATCO Field in Calgary.

All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, FuboTV, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• How do York United deploy Brian Wright?: Easily the biggest lineup surprise from York United’s 2-0 victory over Pacific FC came up top, when Dennis Salanović and Mo Babouli were preferred as a duo to Brian Wright, a decision which Benjamín Mora called “tactical.” The Nine Stripes’ leading goalscorer, who led all Canadian Premier League players in goal contributions during the 2024 season with nine goals and six assists, ultimately didn’t even see a minute off the bench either. That brings with it big questions as to what sort of role Wright will play against his former side on Sunday. The last time there was a playoff match at TD Place, Wright was leading the line for the capital club. Now, two years later, he has been very good against his former team this year, scoring twice back on June 15 in a 2-1 win in the nation’s capital, before adding a goal in a 4-1 win over Atleti back on July 26. One has to think that if he’s healthy, which he appears to be, he should be given the opportunity to further add to that goalscoring record, even if it has been several months since he found the back of the net.

• Can Atlético Ottawa use playoff experience to their advantage?: When Atlético Ottawa built their team over the off-season it was with games like Sunday in mind. Over the winter months, they added multiple CPL Champions, including Manny Aparicio from Pacific, and Aboubacar Sissoko and Johnny Grant from Forge — albeit with the latter missing the entire season through injury. As Atlético Ottawa returned to training in preparation for this week’s quarter-final, head coach Carlos González said that his team reflected the many knockout and playoff matches they have each lived in their professional careers. Having so many players battle-tested in these big moments could prove to be a significant advantage for Atleti on Sunday. “We have a lot of players that have played a great amount of these types of games, so it’s very important,” said González. “It’s important because they already know what the key aspects of these games are, what are the details that have to be focused on, and I think that this is a great starting point for us.”

• Can both sides remain disciplined during emotional clash?:  One doesn’t need to watch press conference highlights to get the impression that there is no love lost between these two teams. How both teams ensure their emotions don’t go over the line could have a big factor in the result of Sunday’s match. York have at times had issues with this in 2024, leading the league with 87 yellow cards and adding a further three red cards. The Nine Stripes will know the impact an undisciplined foul can have in a playoff match, as they took advantage of the second phase of a free kick resulting from one early in the second half of Wednesday’s match against Pacific to take a 1-0 lead. Ottawa are no strangers to bookings either, with their 72 yellow cards this season the third most of any team. The last time the two sides met, Liberman Torres was sent off for Ottawa in the 25th minute, a moment that completely changed the game. He will remain suspended on Sunday, while the club will also be without Luke Singh, who was suspended after an incident against Forge in the penultimate week of the regular season. González said that his team are preparing for these emotions, knowing that York are a team who are very good at, in his words, managing “this extra football” — in other words getting into the opposing team’s heads. Mora, for his part, is not particularly worried about his side’s emotions going into the match, saying that they are just focused on their desire to play football freely and enjoy a match that he says nobody thought they would be in at the start of the season, contrary to their opponents.

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Morer, Walker, Didić, del Amo, de Brienne; Bassett, Sissoko, Aparicio; Tabla, del Campo

York United: Vincensini; Higgins, Sturing, León; Córdova, Adekugbe, Martínez, Baldisimo, Botello; Wright, Babouli

ALL-TIME SERIES

Atlético Ottawa wins: 2 || York United wins: 8 || Draws: 9

Last meeting:

Oct. 6, 2024 –York United 1-0 Atlético Ottawa 

PLAYOFF HISTORY 

First meeting in a playoff match 

KEY QUOTES

“What you’ve done in the past doesn’t matter too much, you know? It’s a brand-new tournament. It’s a new competition, and it’s a knockout game. It’s 90 minutes in which details are going to be so, so important and we have to take care of our business, the things that we can control, and be a team with stability and play the game that we want to play.” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos González

“It takes everything, everything. I think we just have to play our game and then stick to a game plan. And I think with a little bit of luck, and then I think if everything is together we’re going to have the success we deserve.” — Atlético Ottawa midfielder Aboubacar Sissoko 

“It’s David vs. Goliath right? We’re the ones that seem like the underdogs. I say always, We’re a small team because we are building up. We’re a baby that was just born six months ago or eight months ago with the new ownership…They have the backup of Atlético de Madrid. They’re in the capital of Canada. They’re super Ottawa. So they are obligated to win the game. Us, we’re fighters. We’re the David that is wanting to beat any team.” — York United head coach Benjamín Mora

“We know we have the guy up top who can make a difference as score, but it’s important for us as a team and as a backline to get a clean sheet, because then you’re going to get those results.”— York United defender Frank Sturing