2022 CPL Regular Season — Match #43
FC Edmonton vs. Atlético Ottawa
June 19, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. MT/5:00 p.m. ET
Clarke Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.

The games are coming thick and fast this week in CPL action, as FC Edmonton gets set to host Atlético Ottawa this upcoming Sunday, June 19th, at Clarke Stadium, in the second meeting between these two teams this season. And speaking of that meeting, a lot has changed since that game went down, just over a month ago. 

When Edmonton hosted Ottawa on May 22nd, it was a battle between an Edmonton side struggling for attacking creativity and points, facing off against an Ottawa side who was playing nice soccer, but not necessarily getting the results that reflected that. 

But since that game, which ended up 2-1 in Ottawa’s favour, things have changed a fair bit for both sides. 

For the hosts, they might not have become the point machines they hope to one day be quite yet, but they’ve figured out how to score, finding the net six times in their last four games, after scoring just four in their first seven. 

So while they still remain at the bottom of the CPL standings, things are looking up for them right now, as they’ve put together some of their best performances as of late. 

Instead of just sitting back and trying to survive, as might’ve been the case at the beginning of the season, they’re really starting to control large patches of play, putting their opponents under pressure for a change. 

Now, they just have to turn one of those performances into a win, something that they’ve come close to, but still remain winless on the season, but if their latest games are to be any indication, it feels like that win is coming very soon.

“There is a progression,” Edmonton head coach, Alan Koch, said in his pre-match press conference this week. “Obviously, for all of us, for our supporters, for the team, we want to turn those moments into victory.”

“But that’s why we keep working very, very hard every single day, to try and get the team to that place.”

RELATED: CanPL.ca Newsroom: Abzi to Ligue 2, Cavalry go top in Week 10 & Canada U-20s revealed (ft. York United’s Angus McNab) | After career-threatening injury, FC Edmonton’s Andreas Vaikla is back and giving it his all

Meanwhile, Ottawa has been one of the hottest teams in the CPL as of late, as that win jumpstarted a three-game win streak, and even though they snapped that this week with a draw against York, they’re still undefeated in their last five games. 

Plus, they’ve just been playing with a bit of extra confidence over that span, too, as some of those wins included a dramatic road victory over Valour and a big win over the then-league leaders Pacific FC at home, further boosting their morale. 

Because of that, Ottawa is feeling good right now, and understandably so, as they get set to head out to Edmonton, a team that they’ve actually never lost to in their short history. 

“I think that the work that we’ve done since the start is that is starting to be seen,” Ottawa head coach, Carlos González, said of his team’s recent form this week. “The team has a good dynamic right now, we have been with five games without losing, and we have to continue that as this is going to be a very long season, so we have to continue improving.”

So looking at that recent history, as well as that long-term history, there are a lot of trends to keep an eye on in this one. 

Can Edmonton keep up their good run of form, and finally turn one into a win, a historic first one over Ottawa? Or will Ottawa keep their good times going, while getting the last laugh over their Albertan foes? 

That will be what both teams are chasing when they take the field on Sunday.

Make your match picks prior to kickoff at canpl.ca/predictor for a chance to win prizes, including the grand prize of a trip to the 2021 CPL Final!

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

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Battle of mentalities expected to be put on display this Sunday: There’s no doubt that despite their recent run of good performances, given how their results have differed, the moods surrounding both teams are very different right now. And that’s expected. On one side, you have a team playing its best soccer this season, yet has nothing to show for it in Edmonton. Despite seeing strong improvements in its overall play, as well as improved performances from individuals such as Wesley Timoteo, Mamadi Camara, Gabriel Bitar, among other underappreciated figures, that has yet to turn into any wins, which has to be frustrating. And Koch admitted as much when asked. “It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions,” Koch explained. “We go through those lows after a game, but I have to give all the players and all of our staff credit – everybody’s willing to dig deep and get themselves going here, and I can safely say by the time we play the next game, everybody is 100% committed, everybody’s 100% ready to go.” So as they get set to take on this Ottawa side, it’ll be important for Edmonton to not let that affect them, as their opponents will actually offer them a good look at the blueprint they could build long-term, at least in terms of how they’ve really become a team that can grind out results. As Ottawa has shown, it doesn’t always have to be pretty, and it’s all about taking things one game at a time, and then building from there. It might be easy to say, but considering that Ottawa actually suffered one of the most brutal results in CPL history earlier this year, losing 6-1, yet have actually been one of the top teams in the league since then, that just shows that, as they’ve found a way to not let a result like that define their season. “The most important thing is the mentality that our players have,” González explained when asked about what’s been working for his team right now. So for Edmonton, they’ll look to channel that sort of mentality into this game, taking inspiration from their opposite numbers, before finding a way to use that to grab that first win. 

• Edmonton hoping improved attack sparks victory: And speaking of that victory, it feels like if Edmonton is indeed going to grab it in this game, an area where they’re going to have to be especially solid? In attack, where as mentioned earlier, they’ve done well to take some strides forward as of late. Especially in their last game, a clash against the HFX Wanderers, where they were able to generate a solid 10 shots, including four on target, turning that into a very respectable 1.05 Expected Goals (xG), improvements have been brewing for Edmonton for a while now. Thanks to some tweaks in their attack, which now sees Camara lead the line, with the likes of Timoteo, Bitar, Tobias Warschewski and Shamit Shome all playing off of him, it’s given them a bit of a new look, allowing them to be much more fluid in the final third. So now, all that’s left is to do two things with that. First, they’ll need to capitalize on even more of their chances, as while they’re creating a good number of them, it feels like they’ve been left wanting on several occasions, missing chances that could’ve changed the game in their favour. Secondly, they’ll want to be ruthless in the key moments, especially when they’re up a goal or in the second half, where tallies can change the momentum of a game drastically. They do that, and they’ll be well on track to take care of business and win, finally giving them something to show for all of their recent improvements, especially in the final third. “There are several players in this group that are embracing ‘FC Opportunity’,” Koch said of his improving attack. “And they are getting better as we go along here.

• Ottawa looking to maintain improved defensive solidity: But while Edmonton will look to use their attack to vault to victory, they’ll have a big task on their hands in this game, as they get set to face a strong Ottawa defence. In fact, not only is it any defence, but one of the better ones in the league right now, actually, as they enter this game having conceded just four goals in their last six games, a run in which they’ve never conceded more than one goal in a game. Seeing that, you can all of a sudden see why they’re currently undefeated in five, as they’re doing a solid job of keeping opponents away from their goal, and in the rare instances that they do get close, Nathan Ingham has been coming up huge for his team in net. Yet, that shows the improvements that  González has implemented in his team. No matter who’s at the back, be it Diego Espejo, Drew Beckie, Miguel Acosta, Maxim Tissot, Abdoul Sissoko or Macdonald Niba, Ottawa’s back four has really settled down as of late, doing a good job of limiting opportunities. So don’t be fooled by what the standings say in terms of their defence, as their 12 goals conceded in 10 games is good for fourth in the CPL. Recently, they’ve been far better than that record suggests, and even long-term, it doesn’t tell the full story, as it’s important to remember that the 6-1 shellacking from Valour is included in that total, skewing the number. And considering that when you remove that game from the equation, Ottawa has conceded just six goals in their other nine games, that gives a truer picture of how well they’ve been defending as of late, showing why Edmonton is going to have their work cut out for them offensively in this game. “They know that each of them has an individual role,” González explained. “But they have to take this role, and put in full effort for the team. So I think for us being solid defensively, it’s all about mentality, hard work and about tactical work.”

ALL-TIME SERIES

FC Edmonton wins: 0 || Atlético Ottawa wins: 3 || Draws: 2

Previous match:

May 22, 2022 — FC Edmonton 1-2 Atlético Ottawa

KEY QUOTES

“We believe in our group, we certainly don’t have the greatest results. But I think people can see the willingness of our group to work, and the progression that we show every week. We want to get ourselves over the hump, and that’s certainly going be the goal on Sunday.” — FC Edmonton head coach Alan Koch. 

“We have to keep on working, keep on doing the things well so that the results appear. It’s all about how we approach each training session, how we approach each game and then a key point is continuing to play with ambition and continue with a winning mentality.” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos González.