A pair of goals early in the second half saw Atlético Ottawa beat Valour 2-0 at TD Place on Wednesday night.

The opening half-hour of the match was dominated by Valour, but they were unable to find a goal to show for it. With over 60% possession, the visitors kept knocking at the door, but it was Ottawa who nearly took the lead in the 33rd minute with the best scoring chance of the opening half.

Antoine Coupland played a pass through the middle of the pitch to Malcolm Shaw, who deflected the ball around Rocco Romeo. Shaw was first to catch up to the ball, earning himself a one-on-one with goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois, who made an impressive stop to deny the striker’s low shot.

Sirois made another big save in first half stoppage time, kicking away a low shot from Ben McKendry in front of goal that seemed destined for the back of the net.

Valour came closest in the 37th minute as William Akio fired a shot at Dylon Powley, but the Ottawa goalkeeper made the first of several saves on the night. Powley, not wanting to be outdone by his counterpart Sirois, made a fantastic save at the start of the second half as well, reaching out to punch an attempt on goal from Rocco Romeo away from danger.

Malcolm Shaw finally broke the deadlock in the 57th minute, finishing off a chance created after a fantastic run from Zach Verhoven. The Ottawa right back picked up the ball deep in his own half, before passing it to himself with a touch around Valour midfielder Raphael Ohin. He kept charging forward, before laying the ball off to Shaw at the edge of the penalty area.

Shaw took a touch before firing a shot across goal into the bottom left corner. Sirois got a touch to it, but not enough of one to keep it out, and the home side were up 1-0. It was the Ottawa striker’s 10th goal of the season, becoming the third player this season to reach that milestone.

Verhoven played a big part in Ottawa’s second goal as well, playing a low pass across the box, which Ryan Telfer smashed home to double the lead.

Despite missing Drew Beckie and Vashon Neufville through suspension, the Ottawa backline held strong for the entire match, and picked up just their third clean sheet of the season. With the win, they move off the bottom of the table, jumping over FC Edmonton into seventh.

While the loss doesn’t officially eliminate Valour from playoff contention, it leaves them on the outside looking in. The club have three matches left, while York United and HFX Wanderers — the other players battling it out for the fourth and final playoff spot, have four. Valour are five points back of the Wanderers, and play them on Tuesday at IG Field in a crucial match in terms of playoff positioning.

BOX SCORE

Goals

57′ — Malcolm Shaw (Atlético Ottawa)

64′ — Ryan Telfer (Atlético Ottawa)