2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #10
Halifax Wanderers FC vs. Atlético Ottawa
April 27, 2024 at 1 p.m. ET/2 p.m. AT
Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

The Halifax Wanderers are back in Nova Scotia, as they get set to host Atlético Ottawa in their 2024 home opener at Wanderers Grounds on Saturday afternoon.

Following two games in British Columbia against Pacific FC and Vancouver FC to kick off the season, the Wanderers will return to their home patch for the first time this season, where they’ll welcome an Atlético side who heads out on the road for the first time after opening their campaign with two home games against York United and Cavalry FC.

Off to vastly different starts to the season, with the Wanderers yet to pick up any points through two games, while Ottawa sits with four points from their two matches, this game will be a chance for the hosts to find their feet, while their guests will look to keep chipping away at what has been a solid start to the year.

The Wanderers will feel this return home is exactly what they need. However, they had one of the best home records in the CPL in 2023, picking up 28 points in 14 games for an average of two points per game. In particular, they were an offensive force at home, scoring 25 goals in those 14 games, which was joint-best with Cavalry in terms of home production.

Given that they enter this match yet to score through two games, they’ll look to channel their 2023 home offensive form, as they were held off the scoresheet only once at home in the regular season, doing well to send the fans home having celebrated at least one goal on most occaisons.

Because of that, look for their offence to find their feet in this game, as they’ve been unlucky not to score so far, having generated over three Expected Goals (xG), meaning they’re due for an offensive eruption, one that their fans will hope can come in this game.

A team that plays a free-flowing, high-possession, and fluid attacking game at their best, something they couldn’t tap into in their first few games, will want to return to those ways once again.

“We’ll keep at it,” head coach Patrice Gheisar promised. “We’ll keep doing the right things, even if it doesn’t come tomorrow, we’ll keep going.”

Meanwhile, Ottawa is looking to build off their solid start to the season, as they’ve done well to pick up points from both matches, and were unlucky not to have all six points, with a late own goal in their match against Cavalry denying them of that opportunity.

Despite that, they remain content with how they’ve looked through two games, as they’ve shown glimpses of the sort of soccer that they’re expected to play in 2024, which is to combine free-flowing attacking play with lock-solid defence. They’ve also shown growing pains, yes – but for a side who is integrating several new signings into their squad, that was always going to be expected.

On paper, this Ottawa team has the pieces to be dangerous, and they’ve demonstrated that in those flashes and with their point total, with the goal now being to turn it those more consistent moments, allowing them to push up the table.

When they turn it up and play at their top level, not many teams will be able to match them, and they know that.

“We have to maintain our DNA of being a tough team, a competitive team, a team that makes every single match is difficult to our opponent,” Ottawa’s head coach, Carlos González, said ahead of the game. “At the same time, we have to try to stick on the front foot, knowing that there are going to be difficult opponents and hostile atmospheres, but we embrace all those things, I think that is the perfect start for us on the road, and we look forward to a great game.”

In terms of squad availability, Ottawa’s lone absence will be Kévin dos Santos, who suffered an injury in the Cavalry match, while Halifax have several players who are battling knocks and are unlikely to feature, although Gheisar kept mum on who is at risk of missing out.

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

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Return to Wanderers Grounds expected to bring big boost for Halifax: It’s always special to play at home, and the road-weary Wanderers will feel that in this game, especially after the last month that they’ve been on. Having embarked on a lengthy preseason odyssey out West, one designed to help them as they started their regular season in British Columbia, it meant they spent over a month away from home to undergo that journey. Because of that, this home game will be seen as a huge relief for this group, one who will be pleased to not have to think about all that comes with having to travel big distances for games. Combined with the boost that the Wanderers crowd is expected to bring, one has to imagine this Wanderers group will come out of the gates flying, feeling rested and back in their comfort zone. Naturally, that emotion will need to be harnessed, but as seen last year, this is a group that seems to thrive off the intimate atmosphere that being at Wanderers Grounds can bring them, and will look to use that to fuel a performance they can hope that will jumpstart their campaign. “I never knew how important it was to our team to be here until we got here yesterday to train and we were shining on the ground, the guys had big smiles, everybody loosened up and they looked so much more comfortable. You hate to say comfort is important, because as coaches we try to put them in uncomfortable positions, but our mentality is allowing them to relax (and enjoy this).”

• Atlético Ottawa looking to stick to DNA: It’s been the big question heading into this season – how will this Atlético Ottawa side look tactically, given some of their new signings? There’s no doubt that this team wants to be one that prioritizes that Atlético DNA, which is to be solid defensively, but it was going to be intriguing to see how they balanced that with their new-look offensive set-up, one bolstered by their new signings. So far, they’ve leaned a bit more on the offensive side of the ledger at home, playing an aggressive 4-3-2-1 with two offensive full backs in Kris Twardek and Matteo de Brienne, sometimes shifting into a back three when Alberto Zapater drops into the defensive line. Then, in the second half of their most recent match against Cavalry, they experimented with a natural back three, dropping in Tyr Walker alongside centre backs Amer Didić and Luke Singh, allowing them to push their wing backs higher up the pitch. When asked about that decision, González noted that he and his staff want to keep experimenting with different looks, with the goal being to stick within the principles – that Atlético DNA, so to speak. Therefore, no matter what set-up that Ottawa looks to go with in this game, which could be a bit more conservative given the opponent and location, sticking to that DNA is the goal for them right now. “It’s very important to have the capacity to be adaptive, to have different different systems and different tactics depending on the opponent, have that capacity to surprise them,” González explained. “So we’re going to keep working on those systems, but also work on others. The most important thing, though, is maintaining the identity, and that’s not so much about the lineup and the tactics, but is more about maintaining the principles that the team wants to wants to employ on the field.”

• Who can win the set-piece battle? Through two weeks, Atlético Ottawa have done well off set-pieces, scoring one goal off a corner and another off the second phase of a corner, while not allowing any goals off those sorts of situations. Meanwhile, Halifax has struggled a bit more, allowing one goal off a corner while still yet to score off one of their own. Yet, make no mistake – this could be an intense battle, one that could very well decide this game. With names on both sides who can be key targets on dead ball situations, such as Amer Didić and Luke Singh for Ottawa, and Dan Nimick, Julian Dunn and Cale Loughrey on Halifax, it’ll make managing those threats crucial for either side. Especially with things likely to be tight in open play, with both teams quite strong in midfield and stout at the back, space might be hard to come by in open play, which puts emphasis on the set plays to be good. As a result, keep an eye on those who can get on the end of them, but also those who can deliver them, too, such as Ollie Bassett and Manny Aparicio for Ottawa, or Halifax’s pair of Lorenzo Callegari and Wesley Timoteo, whose ability to whip in dangerous on dead balls is a huge asset, which can be hard to defend. “That’s going to be big tomorrow, so we need to be tuned in and ready to go so we’re not caught and allow them to be dangerous, because we want to be dangerous,” Gheisar said. Meanwhile, González added: “Set pieces are very important for the for the growth of our team.”

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Halifax Wanderers FC: Fillion; Nimick, Dunn, Loughrey; Fernandez, Callegari, Rampersad, Timoteo; Probo, Daniels; Coimbra

Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Twardek, Didić, Singh, de Brienne; Sissoko, Zapater, Aparicio; Bassett, Tabla; Salter

ALL-TIME SERIES

Halifax Wanderers FC wins: 6 || Atlético Ottawa wins: 7 || Draws: 3

Last meeting:

Sept. 18, 2023 — Halifax Wanderers 3-2 Atlético Ottawa

KEY QUOTES

“We’re going to try and get a result. Everything else is a bonus, but we have a game to play, and we’re dedicated as a team, as a family and as an organization (to win). We appreciate that we’re not tired and that we have so much support, but no matter what, we’re going to give our utmost effort tomorrow, as if the stadium is packed or isn’t packed, it’s our responsibility to perform at the level that we did last year here, if not higher.” — Halifax Wanderers FC head coach Patrice Gheisar

“It’s all about developing a style and giving a scenario on to the players, so that they can feel better when playing. We know the type of players that we signed, and that’s because we had a plan, a plan involving a system, an identity. It’s a process, at the moment we are gelling together every single piece of the team, and it’s not an easy process, because nearly half of the of the squad is new, but we are we are working hard so that they each time we play they feel better between them, and then we can maintain our ideas, grow and develop, as that’s our purpose (as a club).” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos González