Know Before You Go: April 16 vs HFX

April 13, 2022

Atlético Ottawa Book Drive Canadian Premier League Carlos González HFX Wanderers FC Kid's Book Drive Match Preview Pajama Jam Match TD Place Twice Upon A Time Zakaria Bahous

Atlético Ottawa returns to action this Saturday at 1PM as HFX Wanderers FC travel to TD Place in the second game of the 2022 Canadian Premier League season. Off the pitch, Atlético Ottawa continues to focus its efforts to better the community. Last week’s incredibly successful home opener raised money for humanitarian assistance in Ukraine and this week we are hosting a ‘Pajama Jam’ as we collect books for local charity ‘Twice Upon a Time’.

As for on-field action, Atleti and their Nova Scotian counterparts faced each other six times last year, with little to separate the two sides in each fiercely disputed encounter.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s kick-off.

Atlético Ottawa beat HFX Wanderers 2-1 in the club’s first-ever home game last year, coming back from a goal down to win the match courtesy of an 87th-minute winner by Brian Wright.
Atleti’s front pairing, Wright and Malcolm Shaw have scored a combined five goals against this weekend’s opponents.
Fans are encouraged to don their pajamas and bring along new and/or gently used kid’s books to be donated to ‘Twice Upon a Time’, Click HERE for more info.
Much like Ottawa, the Wanderers also won their opening game of the current campaign thanks to a late penalty as they beat York United 1-0.
A key takeaway from the last week’s game at TD Place was the improved defensive display by Atlético Ottawa as they hope to keep quiet the CPL’s ‘2021 player of the season‘, João Morelli, who scored eight times against us last year.
Record head-to-head (all time): 1W-2D-4L; 8 goals scored, 12 goals conceded

Quotes

Carlos González, Atlético Ottawa Head Coach”We have many points to be proud of [from the opening game]. They were a tough opponent but we had great support from the local fans and the atmosphere they created. We showed we are going to be a competitive team however, we showed some nerves, and I’m looking forward to improving them. If you can do that through a win, then it’s even better.””[Stephen Hart] is a very experienced manager with experience not only in Canada but abroad too. I respect so much his work and what he’s done with Halifax. I think it will be a good chess match between us from the benches. This is good for me and for us as coaches to develop our skills throughout the game.”
Zakaria Bahous, Atlético Ottawa Midfielder“We’re feeling good ahead of this weekend, the group is feeling confident. We know what we have to do and what’s expected of each other. Together we have been working hard to make sure we give the best on the field, especially at home in front of our fans.”“It was great to see support like we received from the city in our opening game. We are all focussing and are going to do our best to perform and hopefully encourage more people to come out and watch us.”