Final Score: Atlético Ottawa 4-3 Forge FC
Goalscorers: Sissoko 2′, Didic 62′, Del Campo 70′, Torres 90+4′; Singh 47′ (o.g.), Achinioti-Jönsson 56′, Poku 88′
Game of the 2024 season: 46
CPL match: 530

Match in a minute or less

Perhaps the most entertaining half of football ever in the Canadian Premier League was the highlight of Friday’s heavyweight bout between Atlético Ottawa and Forge FC, as the two sides traded leads in a remarkable match that ended explosively with a later winner for the hosts.

Ottawa got on the board less than two minutes in as Aboubacar Sissoko scored with an overhead volley from a set-piece, with the only goal of a much quieter first half.

Forge equalized and took the lead rapidly after the break though, as a Luke Singh own goal and an Alex Achinioti-Jönsson header took the wind out of the home side — but not for long. Amer Didic and Rubén del Campo replied with a pair of goals for Ottawa, and they seemed set to carry the 3-2 win forward.

However, Atleti’s Liberman Torres made a critical error in midfield, passing it backward into the path of Kwasi Poku for an easy equalizer. But in the end, Torres went from scapegoat to hero within five minutes, as it was his thundering header that finished Dani Morer’s cross in the 93rd minute to win it 4-3 for Ottawa.

Three Observations

Roller coaster thriller shows the best and worst of CPL’s top sides so far

This match was billed as a clash between the two sides at the top of the CPL table, and it did not disappoint.

Easily the most entertaining game of the 2024 season so far, this was two excellent teams trying to force errors from the other, and both of them were successful in doing so.

Just three days more than a year after Forge and Atlético Ottawa played an electrifying game at Tim Hortons Field that ended 4-3 for the Hamilton side, Atleti returned the favour on their own turf this time.

The back-and-forth began immediately, with Forge getting their marking wrong on an early set-piece for their former player Aboubacar Sissoko to open the scoring 91 seconds into the match.

If the first half was frustrating for Forge as they struggled to create chances after falling behind immediately, the second half was… differently frustrating.

They clawed their way level, and then in front, in astonishingly quick fashion barely 10 minutes after halftime. They’ve proven consistently the past two years that they’re perhaps better than any other side in the CPL at earning points from losing positions.

What’s less characteristic of them, however, is coughing up a lead, especially in the way they did just moments after taking it.

In fact, Forge FC had never lost a CPL match in which they’ve had a lead until this game. Nor, for that matter, had they ever lost a game where they scored three or more goals.

“It was a wild match,” Forge head coach Bobby Smyrniotis said. “When you sit back and look at it, obviously right now, it’s not something you enjoy, but it had a little bit of everything, a lot of bad goals on both sides. But that’s how football goes sometimes. It wasn’t pretty. I thought for periods of the game we were good, but you can’t give up goals off set-pieces like we did today in crucial moments.”

The credit, however, is due to Atlético Ottawa. They had a number of heroes, storylines and redemption arcs en route to a win that, if this season keeps going as they want it to, could be looked back as a keystone moment they remember forever.

Sissoko, for instance, scoring against his former club feels like a distant memory after all the ensuing chaos. Rubén del Campo added another to the ledger of his Golden Boot campaign.

And perhaps the best villain-to-hero story of them all is Liberman Torres. The Ecuadorian midfielder, making just his fourth appearance for the club, was almost solely at fault for the disastrous third Forge goal, where he passed it back into his own box straight to Poku.

Rather than hanging his head until the end of the game though, Torres surged ahead and reclaimed the two points he’d given away. His run through the box to get on the end of Dani Morer’s cross was outstandingly powerful and determined, and he more than made up for his earlier error by scoring the winner.

“I feel that these types of wins are necessary during seasons,” Ottawa head coach Carlos González said postmatch. “I cannot be very pleased with the tactical side, or how the team performed as a whole, but I think this type of win makes a big bond between the players. We were a group of players, then we started to be a team, a good team, and now what I’ve seen in the locker room is we’ve started to be a family.”

González also recalled that 4-3 loss in Hamilton last year, and likened this game to that.

“It was a similar game,” he said, “but this time, I don’t know, maybe the champion spirit is starting to be more in us.”

All in all, it was undoubtedly the most entertaining CPL game of the season to date, and arguably one of the best we’ve ever seen — challenged only, perhaps, by that reverse fixture between these sides last year.

It feels inevitable we see these sides play each other again at a critical point of the season, maybe even in the playoffs.

Atlético Ottawa show attacking intent, danger from balls in the air

Coming into the 2024 season, Atlético Ottawa were firm on their intention to play a more attractive, attack-minded brand of football this year after accusations of using a more conservative, at times boring, approach before.

Friday was perhaps the best possible demonstration of just how attack-minded this new version of Ottawa can be.

In particular, Atleti were ruthless once they arrived in the final third, sending balls into the box and attacking them in the air.

Two of their goals came from set-pieces whipped into a dangerous area — Sissoko’s and Didic’s — and the other two came from crosses placed exceptionally well into dangerous areas.

There was no overthinking, no passing the ball around looking for the perfect opening; it was quick, it was decisive, and it was deadly. By now, there’s a certain inevitability around Atlético Ottawa in matches when they seem they can smell goals. They feel dangerous every time they move forward.

One player who deserves to be singled out for Ottawa is Dani Morer, who truly changed the game when he came in at the hour mark. The Spanish fullback played a more advanced right midfield role, and he was incredibly dangerous, creating both of Atleti’s last two goals.

Carlos González had praise for Morer individually postmatch, explaining what makes the Barcelona academy product such a good weapon for Atleti.

“Every time you play in the opponent’s field for a long time, Dani’s a very, very useful player,” he said.

“He can find a pass where nobody sees it, and he has the capacity to put the ball where other players cannot put it. … We already knew what type of player we were signing, that’s why we’re looking to put him in forward positions so he can be near the net. He came as a fullback, but because of the type of league and the type of games we’re playing, I think he’s more useful as a winger.”

Forge unveil interesting new tactical look, but undone by mistakes

This was perhaps the most unusual Forge starting XI of the season so far. Heading into the game, it was obvious they would have to make changes, with Tristan Borges suspended for yellow card accumulation.

However, most would’ve expected a less drastic change — Nana Ampomah coming into Borges’ role perhaps, or Kyle Bekker playing further forward in that spot. That’s perhaps what Bobby Smyrniotis knew Atlético Ottawa would expect, though.

Instead, Smyrniotis didn’t start Bekker at all, giving his captain a rare night on the bench (for just the second time this year). Even an initial look at the starting lineup didn’t tell the whole story; with Malik Owolabi-Belewu coming in, the obvious option was him playing centre-back and pushing Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson into midfield.

It was Daniel Parra, however, who was surprisingly moved into attacking midfield, with the usual left-back playing a role he hadn’t been seen in for Forge as Owolabi-Belewu took his place and Achinioti-Jönsson remained in the backline.

“[Parra] is a player that’s very good on the ball, he’s a player that can move forward and skip lines, and can do a lot of that good stuff we need in missing a player like Borges today,” Smyrniotis said.

That’s how it looked without the ball, at least; in possession, Forge eventually began to use one of their more common tricks, as Achinioti-Jönsson would step forward to join the midfield. Behind him, Samuel would tuck in to form a back three, much like Rezart Rama would at times last season.

However, one weakness this setup showed was that Forge were particularly vulnerable out wide, especially without Parra on their left. Ottawa’s last two goals were both the result of a cross from that side of the pitch, and Atleti were intent on attacking the flanks — but also clogging the middle of the pitch defensively, forcing Forge to stretch out.

This game was so chaotic in the end that there may not be all that much Smyrniotis can take out of it tactically, but the first half at least will definitely give him much to think about.

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Amer Didic, Atlético Ottawa

The towering centre-back was heavily involved at both ends of the pitch for this game, scoring one of Ottawa’s four goals while also winning all four of his duels and making three tackles.

What’s next?

Forge will be back at it next Friday, July 5, when they host Vancouver FC at Tim Hortons Field (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT). Ottawa, meanwhile, will be at TD Place again next Sunday, July 7, when they take on Pacific FC (1 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT).

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