2024 CPL Regular Season – Match #104

York United FC vs. Atletico Ottawa

October 6, 2024 at 5 p.m. ET

York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ontario 

Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

York United welcome Atletico Ottawa to the Greater Toronto Area on Sunday, in a clash that could be a dress rehearsal of what we see in the playoff stages of this season’s Canadian Premier League.

With Forge having clinched the league with games to spare, while on the surface, there might be little to play for this weekend, the team that wins this all-Ontario clash could host a decisive playoff game at their home ground, giving them a huge advantage in clinching the North Star Cup, and potentially secure a place in next season’s CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Fourth-placed York have done well since Benjamin Mora was appointed head coach in early June, but their recent form has been inconsistent: Forge clinched the title with a 2-0 win when York travelled to Hamilton last week, and the Nine Stripes were on the back of another embarrassing home defeat against Cavalry with the same scoreline, suffering the ignominy of having a man sent off as well.

In fact, their last victory – a 1–0 win away to Vancouver on Sept. 6, was more of an isolated incident: York have only won one of their last five matches, losing three and drawing one of the remaining four. Their record currently stands at 10-6-9 this season.

Their opponents on Sunday, Atletico Ottawa, are in a much better vein of form, having gone the last seven games unbeaten, although their last four games have all ended in draws. The capital club spent much of the opening rounds of this season’s CPL unbeaten atop the table but have among the highest number of draws among the top four sides (10, second only to Cavalry), with a performance record of 10-10-5.

Head coach Carlos Gonzalez knows that while the season has taken its toll on the players physically, the mental stressors will also be weighing upon them, as they prepare for the playoffs.

“I think that now, everything is harder,” he said. “We know each other much better, because now everybody is focusing on the small details. I think it is harder, but I think we can see things with with two perspectives here: The more positive is that we are a team that has a good dynamic, in which we’ve been unbeaten since seven games, and we can see it with the other vision that we are achieving: that we’re ambitious and we want to win.”

York United welcome back a number of players from injuries and suspensions: Max Ferrari, Oswaldo Leon, Nyal Higgins, Noah Abatneh, and Dennis Salanovic are all available for selection. Juan Cordova and Jorge Guzman are still unavailable due to suspension.

Atletico Ottawa have just the one absentee: veteran midfielder Alberto Zapater is still nursing an injury, but aside from him, Gonzalez has a full roster to choose from, including CPL leading scorer Ruben Del Campo, who has 11 goals in this year’s league, and 13 in all competitions.

All CPL and Canadian Championship matches will be broadcast live on OneSoccer, available as a linear channel on Telus’ Optik TV (Channel 980) as well as online at OneSoccer.ca, through the OneSoccer app and on the fuboTV Canada platform.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Ruben Del Campo on the verge of clinching this season’s Golden Boot: Atletico Ottawa’s Swiss forward with the Spanish name has plundered 11 goals in this season’s CPL, and 13 in all competitions. With just three games left in the regular season, he has the chance of clinching the Golden Boot if he keeps up his scoring record. But that might be easier said than done… hot on his heels is York’s Brian Wright, who has nine goals, and will be looking to overtake his fellow striker. While Ottleti head coach Gonzalez is happy for Del Campo and hopes he will take the Golden Boot to Ottawa, he is more concerned with more prestigious, collectively earned silverware coming to the capital. “I think that this is a team sport, and what he’s doing is helping the team. Let’s see if he can maintain his strike rate. I also went into today hoping that other players can get to the level that we expect.” His opposite number, York head coach Benjamin Mora, meanwhile, is hopeful that Wright can once again return to scoring form following his recent return from injury. “Brian got injured and then came back, and of course, it’s not the same confidence. Sometimes, you take time in order to feel a hundred percent in the game, with the timing, tempo, and coordination of your positioning. All that is required to be at a good level. He has been scoring in training sessions more than ever, so he’s on fire in that situation. I hope we can consolidate that on Sunday.”

• Both sides need to urgently get back to winning ways: While second-placed Atletico Ottawa and fourth-placed York United (at the time of writing) have done reasonably well this season, both teams know full well that as they gear up for knockout football that there are no second chances: the winners go on, while the losers go home. But what is troubling for both teams is that they have been unable to turn positive starts into victories. York have won one of their last five games, while Ottleti have drawn their last four games. Both coaches know that while their teams have been creating chances, they have to be more ruthless in front of goal.  “We have been lacking some of the action that we used to have more often, like shooting towards goal, the approaches to the press, the precision of the crosses, and the movement in the box. The effectiveness in the last third, and in general, is what we have been lacking, and we have been working on that specifically.” One of the problems for Ottleti over the last few games (and across much of the season) has been finding the back of the net once they’ve scored their first goal, and Gonzalez is also hopeful that his team up their incisiveness in the box. “I think that during the last few games, after scoring, we created more chances to increase the distance in the score with our opponents. It’s true that we’re not able to score the second goal that gives us a little bit more tranquility to play the games. But you know, I think that from another perspective, we can be satisfied, because the team is able to create in many different ways during the game. We are able to create from set pieces, in live play, and during organized attacking transitions. I think that we are in a moment of the season where these things are very valuable.”

• Experienced foreign coaches make the CPL better: While both Benjamin Mora and Carlos Gonzalez are young, they have plenty of overseas experience in their home countries and around the world that make them better coaches. Now, they are bringing their valuable experiences to the CPL, moulding it into a better product and helping to create quality Canadian and foreign players who will give their national teams a deeper talent pool from which they can draw, especially ahead of major tournaments such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is to be co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico. “I think football all over the world is the same. You play with the ball, you play with 11 players, and you play in a team that wants to win. Of course, I’ve never been in a team that doesn’t want to win, because this is a competition,” said Mora. “I love football, and when it comes to planning, when it comes to micro cycles, macrocycles, pre-season designs and the contents of training sessions and drills, it’s part of the same menu. My model is my model, and my structures are my structures. We just need to adapt towards what we need at the moment.” Prior to his arrival in Canada, Mora had served in a coaching capacity at five Mexican teams: Queretaro, Atlante, Atlético Chiapas, Tapachula, and Atlas, as well as Malaysian outfit Johor Darul Ta’zim. His opposite number Gonzalez was coach of Kuwait SC, before taking on the job of manager of the under-23 side of the Kuwait national team and then handling the senior team. That both coaches are also adept at coaching youth teams is also a testament to sound recruitment policies by CPL sides, with there being a very strong emphasis on youth development: Mora handled reserve teams in both Mexico and Malaysia, while Gonzalez oversaw proceedings for the youth teams at Malaga and Atletico Madrid in his native Spain.

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

York United FC: Vincensini; Botello, Leon, Abatneh, Ferrari; Adekugbe, Martinez, Baldisimo; Jimoh, Babouli, Wright

Atletico Ottawa: Ingham; De Brienne, Didic, Walker, Morer; Aparicio, Sissoko, Bassett; Twardek, Ballou Tabla, Del Campo

All-TIME SERIES

York wins: 6 || Atletico wins: 2 || Draws: 9

Last meeting: 

July 26, 2024 – York United 4-1 Atletico Ottawa

KEY QUOTES

“We have never been a team that characterizes [ourselves by saying] that we’re good just when we play at home. We have been beating teams away, we have been playing the same style, we have been doing it with personality, so as the team grows in the last race, we think the priority is to be very, very focused on what we need to do as a team, in our best shape and in our best decision making. So that will take us to the spots we need to be in, and that will help us to gain confidence in order to achieve what we all want, that is to continue to win games.” – York United FC head coach Benjamin Mora

“Well, it is a massive game for us. We are in the moment where we need to show our best level, to give continuity to the good minutes that we’ve been able to play, and to step forward from the beginning. I think we are at that moment of the season where we don’t have to see or look too much about the opponents. It is about us, and [we’re] looking forward to seeing a big number of fans. Hopefully we can have a great game, and they can get out of York Stadium proud of our place, so that is what we are looking for.” – Atletico Ottawa head coach Carlos Gonzalez