CPL Atletico Ottawa

Away Match Preview: Cavalry FC vs. Atléti - Sunday at 5:30pm

Published on August 20, 2022 under Canadian Premier League (CPL)
Atletico Ottawa News Release


For the first time ever, Atlético Ottawa are taking on Cavalry FC in Calgary, as they travel to Alberta to take on Cavalry at ATCO Field on Sunday, August 21st.

In their seventh-ever meeting between the two sides, the rest have all either taken place in a bubble, or at Ottawa's TD Place, giving Ottawa a pretty significant edge in the all-time series. As a result, through their first six meetings, Ottawa has won four, lost one and drawn one, maintaining a pretty good run against them in their history.

This time, however, they'll be in much tougher to maintain that strong run, as while they are in good form, tied for first in the CPL, Cavalry is hot on their heels in fourth, just one point behind them, and have picked up the most points of any CPL team at home this season.

At the same time, that doesn't mean it won't be a challenge that Ottawa won't be able to rise to. In fact, they'll probably relish it.

After a chaotic result in midweek, where they picked up a crucial 3-2 win over the HFX Wanderers at the death, Ottawa did well to bounce back from a couple of harsh results in their last few games, which included losses to Pacific FC and Forge FC, sandwiching a tidy 2-0 win over FC Edmonton.

Because of that, as they get set to take on Cavalry in this latest top four clash, they'll want to continue to make up for those past results, while continuing their good run of form over them historically, giving them the hunger to chase down a result.

"It was a very important three points," Ottawa's head coach, Carlos González, said of his team's win in midweek. "After losing to Pacific, we were in a stage where we knew that we should grab the three points again in front of our fans versus Halifax. So it was really really important to continue to add as many points as possible for the future, and to come into a good dynamic again, which we did."

RELATED: CanPL.ca Newsroom: Cavalry-Forge drama, chaos at York & home wins all around (ft. Tommy Wheeldon Jr.) | Match Analysis: Atlético Ottawa 3-2 HFX Wanderers - CPL Match #78 | Match Analysis: Cavalry FC 2-1 Forge FC - Match #74

Meanwhile, on Cavalry's side, they'll be also looking to build off a similarly momentous result, as while their last game came over a week ago, it was a memorable one, as they snatched a massive 2-1 win from Forge FC at the death at home.

As a result, it gave them a nice little boost as they prepared for this game, keeping them in this tight playoff race, where just one point separates first and fourth, making every game extra important from here on in, both in terms of maintaining a spot in the top four, and then pushing ahead to grab a high seed from there.

"Yeah, it was really good," Cavalry's head coach, Tommy Wheeldon Jr., said of his team's win over Forge. "We knew in the running that everybody would have to face each other. So whilst it was an important win, and it was we knew we were capable of it, we think we're capable of beating every side that we play against, we've just got to show up and we've got to stick to the game plan and also be able to adjust our game plan as teams adjust to ours."

If not, that could prove costly, especially with Valour FC still lurking, which is why both teams will be expected to come out hungry in this game, eager to avoid losing any ground in the race right now.

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3 THINGS TO WATCH

Cagey chess match expected once again: Arguably two of the most tactically complex teams in the league, their first two meetings this season have so far reflected that, as Ottawa first nabbed a 1-0 win over Cavalry back in April, before they both combined for a cagey 1-1 draw back in July. In both instances, tactics and defence, not free-flowing offence, won the day, yet that just shows what these teams are capable of on their day. On one side, there is Cavalry, who continue to be a tactical force, maintaining a high level of flexibility and unpredictability from game to game, making it hard to plan for them. As a result, they often adapt to what their opponents are doing, instead of vice-versa, which can give them a big psychological edge in these matchups. Meanwhile, with Ottawa, while they're not as unpredictable as Cavalry, as they do have a set way of playing, that way of playing is very clear and defined, which is part of the reason why they have the second-best goals against record in the league. On their day, they remain very hard to break down, something that Cavalry will know from their previous two meetings, in which they scored just one goal, which was from a free kick, meaning that they're yet to penetrate Ottawa in open play this year. Because of all that, expect a similarly cagey matchup once again in this game, as both coaches look to catch their opposing numbers out by surprise, getting the leg up on what is quickly becoming one of the most intriguing coaching matchups in the league. "I think they're very well coached," Wheeldon Jr. said of Ottawa. "Look at their identity there, they flip between a 4141 in defence to a 3142 in attack, and it's very fluid. Everybody knows their jobs. You can see they're synchronized. And that's the showing of some really good coaching." Meanwhile, on the other end, his opposing number feels the same way. "They are a team that makes you uncomfortable in games," González added. "It's never easy to play against them, especially with the high pressure with this man-to-man pressing that they usually do, making it very physical. So we think that is going to be the same type of game that we have had in the past, which in other words, means that it's not going to be an easy game."

Ottawa looking for more depth scoring: Yet, while Ottawa's defence remains a huge talking point when looking at this team, and for good reason, the offence does still have plenty of questions surrounding it as it heads towards the playoffs. Not only are they not scoring as much as one would expect, sitting fifth in the league in goals for, but they're also relying heavily on a few names to really carry the load, with Ballou Tabla (5), Ollie Bassett (5) and Brian Wright (4) accounting for 58% of the team's 24 goals, meaning that just nine goals have been scored by the rest of the roster (one was an own goal), the lowest number of the teams in the top four (everyone else in the top four has gotten at least 10 goals beyond their top three goalscorers). Because of that, that Wanderers' win was key, as it was made possible by goals from Keven Alemán, Maxim Tissot and Iván Pérez, one of the rare instances this season where Ottawa's depth scoring came up huge in a game. Therefore, as they get set for this game, they're eager to keep that run going, because as admitted beforehand, it is something that they are looking for more of out of their team. "Yeah, we need to keep that going in the future," González explained. "We can't think that you can only have two or three players that score, I think that everyone has to help. The correct mentality is to give our all in the defence and in the attack, and I think we've been working on that in the past few weeks."

Cavalry hoping strong depth can continue to pay off: Meanwhile, on Cavalry's end, they're looking to also use their depth, but for different reasons, as they continue to balance their playoff push with trying to stay fresh for the playoffs. Of course, each team wants to strike a similar balance, no doubt, but for Cavalry, who along with Forge is the only team to finish in the top four in every season, it is certainly something they're prioritizing, as they try to finally overcome the final hurdle that has eluded them each season in the playoffs. As a result, while they'll look to go all-out from the first whistle to grab a win, look for them to remain comfortable with turning to their bench early and often to help them see the job over the line. There's a reason why they've been busy all season in the transfer market, shoring up the areas of their squad in which they've felt they were lacking (with their most recent move coming this week when they signed Gareth Smith-Doyle), as they wanted to avoid being beaten down by the same mistakes that dogged them in past playoff runs. Because of that, they'll hope that they can be fresh and ready to go for the big games, something that a good result in this game would certainly help prove. "Sometimes, rotations can give you freshness, sometimes it can create a lack of chemistry," Wheeldon Jr. said of the balance that needs to be struck. "So we've got to be prepared for both, we've got to be prepared to have our plan A and plan B, and respond accordingly, but (we'll be ready), certainly with the heat and the altitude here, especially."

ALL-TIME SERIES

Atlético Ottawa wins: 4 || Cavalry FC wins: 1 || Draws: 1

Previous match:

July 9th, 2022 - Atlético Ottawa 1-1 Cavalry FC

KEY QUOTES

"We've got to love this - we're in a position where everything is in our control, right? Of those eight games left, five of them are at home, we know our environment, and how we play at home, so we're looking forward to it. These are the games you want to be involved in, I think the top four or five play against each other a lot through the run-in, so yeah, it's going to be exciting for us, it's going to be exciting for all the fans, and that's what makes this playoff push special." - Cavalry head coach, Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

"Well, we need the same mentality, as always. I think that one of the key points for us will be to forget the result of last Wednesday, and just focus on the game that we have in front of us now. This is the main thing, and from there, we can have the same ambition as always, we are a team that has been playing game-by-game, only looking at the next match, which is always the most important thing. - Atlético Ottawa head coach, Carlos González.

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