Despite a statistical supremacy, Atlético Ottawa fell 3-1 to Vancouver FC in the first leg of their Canadian Championship semifinal Wednesday. This match marked the first semifinal appearance by either team in the Canadian Championship.
Atlético had a whopping 73 percent possession and outshot Vancouver 16-9; both teams had four shots on target. The sole difference is that Vancouver scored on three of its shots on goal, something Ottawa, despite creating numerous quality chances, could not replicate. They lacked a clinical edge in front of the goal, missed the net a handful of times, and, mainly, all 11 Vancouver players defended incredibly well all night.
They forced Ottawa to the outside flanks, not allowing them to attack down the middle, where they are incredibly dangerous due to David Rodriguez, Ballou Tabla, and Gabriel Antinoro’s sensational dribbling abilities and the finishing skills of Sam Salter, whose goal ties him for the goalscoring lead in the 2025 edition of the Canadian Championship. Rodriguez picked up another assist, continuing his incredible chemistry with Salter, who headed Rodriguez’s high-arching cross into the top left corner to equalize the match 1-1 in the 58th minute.
Vancouver’s high-press also hindered Ottawa’s ability to move the ball freely and play out from the back, with their double-manning of the ball carrier hurried up Ottawa players’ decision making, which led to numerous errors and turnovers. One crucial mistake –a misplaced pass by Noah Abatneh, who had previously completed all 91 of his passes– ended up on the foot of Hugo Mbongue, who calmly passed it into the back of Ottawa’s net to restore Vancouver’s one-goal lead in the 69th minute.
“No one said this would be easy, and we conceded three easy goals,” Ottawa Head Coach Diego Mejia said post-match. “But I think this match will be anecdotal in the future. The first thing I heard when I entered the locker room was the confidence of the players that we will come back. We have to learn our lessons from tonight. Our fans will be behind us at TD Place.”
Vancouver started the match quite strong. Despite not having much of the ball, they created a handful of chances offensively, mainly in transition with their speedy wingers and fullbacks like Elage Bah, Terran Campbell, and Kunle Dada-Luke. At the same time, their defensive core was resilient and frustrated Ottawa. Early on, Atletico was able to move the ball quite effectively in their own half, but once they moved into the final third, Vancouver’s defense stifled Ottawa’s ability to create space for shooting and passing lanes and limited Ottawa’s wingers and strikers’ ability to make runs over the top into dangerous areas. As the game progressed, especially after Vancouver took an early 1-0 lead, Vancouver’s intense pressure got higher and higher up the pitch, making it harder to move the ball around in its own half.
19-year-old Brazilian midfielder Michel Cavalcante Fonseca da Silva opened the scoring in the 21st minute with a glorious strike from outside the box into the right-hand corner of the goal, past the outstretched arms of Nathan Ingham. Ingham saw the ball a fraction of a second too late and appeared as if he was waiting to see if the ball would take a deflection off one of the many bodies in front before diving.
Both teams, especially Ottawa, created a handful of great chances in the latter stages of the first half, but Atletico couldn’t capitalize, and Vancouver goalkeeper Callum Irving made a few quality saves to preserve his squad’s 1-0 lead.
Just over 10 minutes after Salter’s equalizer, Mbongue’s pressure forced Abatneh’s errant pass, which regave Vancouver their lead.
Ottawa kept pressing and looking for an equalizer, but it wasn’t to be. Vancouver’s defense held on to a one-goal lead until stoppage time, when a counterattack by Vancouver was finished off by Nicolas Mezquida into the bottom-right corner of the goal, stunning Ingham. Vancouver worked hard off the ball, were extremely clinical, and on the night, they were deserved winners.
The return leg kicks off on Thursday, September 18, at 7:00 pm EST at TD Place in Ottawa.
Diego Mejia’s sentiment that a comeback is possible was echoed by goalkeeper Nate Ingham, who emphasized that with the talent of his squad and the energetic and loud fans in Ottawa, they will be able to overcome any challenges.
“Everyone in the country knows we have the most firepower,” Atlético Ottawa goalkeeper and captain Nathan Ingham said post-match. “We can put five past them, which we’ve done before. It won’t be easy, but we have the ability. We’re going to try and get the first one and then chip away until they have nothing left in them. Once you get the first one, it’s going to get stressful. It’ll get loud at TD Place, and let’s see if they can handle that.”
It won’t be easy for Ottawa to overcome a two-goal deficit, but with the firepower, talent, and stellar coaching staff that Atletico has, if anyone can overturn a 3-1 pitfall, it is Atletico Ottawa in front of their always raucous home crowd.
Coming into this match, Ottawa was undefeated in the Canadian Championship and had only lost one match in all competitions (in league play against Halifax on May 24). Ottawa were flying high on a 12-match unbeaten run in all competitions, sitting in second place in the league, only one point behind league leaders Forge FC –who are 22 games unbeaten with their 2-2 first leg draw against MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps– with a 10-6-1 record. Meanwhile, Vancouver FC has been struggling and sits in last place in the CPL, with a 2-5-11 record (11 points), having won only once in their last five games.
That’s the magic of cup football, form doesn’t matter. Whoever shows up on matchday will often be the team that prevails; that’s what makes it so exciting. It gives every team hope.
