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CPL Atletico Ottawa

Match Preview: Atlético Ottawa vs. Valour FC

July 20, 2022 - Canadian Premier League (CPL)
Atletico Ottawa News Release


Atlético Ottawa Canadian Premier League Match Preview TD Place Valour FC

2022 CPL Regular Season - Match #60

Atlético Ottawa vs. Valour FC

July 20, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m CT

TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario

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Atlético Ottawa and Valour FC battle it out in the final match of the Canadian Premier League's midweek action, at TD Place in Ottawa on Wednesday evening. The match was supposed to take place this past Sunday, but was postponed due to League Covid Protocols, and rescheduled for Wednesday.

Both teams are in good form at the moment. Valour head to the nation's capital riding a three-game win streak, which has included two wins on the road in Ontario - a 3-1 win over York United, and a 1-0 win over Forge. The third win, a 1-0 victory over HFX Wanderers, came last week at home at IG Field.

Valour's leading goalscorer Moses Dyer was the hero, scoring his fifth goal of the season late in the match to earn all three points for his team. That wasn't the story of the match, however, as William Akio's error in the first half to clear his own teammate's shot off the line has been viewed online over ten million times.

Akio has been in the headlines for a much better reason this week, however, as it was announced on Sunday that Valour has sold him to Scottish Premiership club Ross County. There he will play with his brother, and former Cavalry FC midfielder, Victor Loturi, who also recently made to the move to the club.

Atlético Ottawa, meanwhile are coming off a 1-1 draw with fellow CPL frontrunners Cavalry FC last weekend. After Jose Escalante's first half free kick gave the visitors at TD Place the lead, Ballou Tabla scored a fantastic goal to tie things up at one goal apiece. That's how the match would end, snapping Ottawa's two-game winning streak, but extending their unbeaten streak to three matches.

Valour have had the upper hand in their six all-time meetings, winning four of them, with Ottawa winning the other two. The two sides have met twice in 2022 - a 6-1 win for Valour at TD Place in April, and a 1-0 win for Ottawa at IG Field in June.

With a win on Wednesday, Ottawa could jump over Cavalry to the top of the CPL standings, while if the visiting Valour FC come away with three points, they could climb over Forge FC into the top four. Both Forge and Cavalry play games on Tuesday night, however, so those possibilities will depend on the results of the other matches.

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 2022 CPL Final! To learn more about ComeOn!, click here.

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

3 THINGS TO WATCH

Valour lose a star player, and Ottawa add some depth: The big news in the Canadian Premier League this weekend was that former Valour FC star William Akio had been sold by the Winnipeg-based club to Scottish Premiership side Ross County, where he joins his brother (and former Cavalry FC standout) Victor Loturi. Akio became a star in the league after scoring some fantastic goals, and usually following them up with acrobatic celebrations. His consistently good performances caught the eye of The Staggies, and the 23-year-old joined them on a three-year contract. "The league was made for this," Valour head coach Phillip Dos Santos said to CanPL.ca on Monday. "I think that he's moving to a league that has many, many years of existence, big stadiums, big scenes for him to play in, and it's great for a player like him. Now he has to work hard, it's not going to be easy. I always said that I'll never hold back a player that has a chance like the one Willy had, so we're excited for him, we'll be following from afar, but now we have to think about what that means for us, and how we're going to go about replacing Willy." Ottawa, meanwhile, have signed 19-year-old Canadian midfielder Owen Antoniuk on loan from the Vancouver Whitecaps. Antoniuk had scored three goals in 13 games for Whitecaps 2 in MLS Next Pro this season, but heads to the nation's capital in search of first team playing time, and will also help the team with their need to meet the U21 minute quota. "Owen is a smart, technical player that will add another dynamic option to our roster," said Fernando López, CEO of Atlético Ottawa, in a press release. "He's a young, promising talent we're excited to see on the pitch with us. It's no secret that we also need to start raking up some U-21 minutes, and we expect he will help us in that."

Away side has won both meetings this season: Both 2022 matches between these two sides have been entertaining, unless you're a fan of the home team. After two wins from two to begin the season Atlético Ottawa were brought back down to earth in match number three, suffering a difficult 6-1 defeat to Valour FC at TD Place. Moses Dyer, Alessandro Riggi, Rocco Romeo and Brett Levis all found the back of the net - Dyer and Riggi twice - as Valour picked up their first win of the season in convincing fashion. Ottawa have bounced back well from that early roadblock, and are right at the top of the table, while Valour have been a little inconsistent at times, but a winning streak sees them on the verge of jumping into the top four. Ottawa did get their revenge in the second meeting, at IG Field in Winnipeg. With the clock ticking toward the end of the game, Zach Verhoven scored a late goal for his team, an 84th-minute winner to secure a 1-0 victory. "We are looking forward to a tough match," Ottawa head coach Carlos Gonzalez said in his pregame press conference on Tuesday. "It's a match against a hard team to beat, a team that I think is going to be fighting until the end for the playoffs. Tomorrow's going to be a good match between two good teams, and we'll see who takes more care of the details, I think that will be the team that gets the three points."

Valour in good form, on the cusp of a playoff spot: Valour are in good form at the moment, having won their last three matches in a row, and the last two matches with clean sheets. After a shaky couple of weeks that saw them slipping down the table, they're right back in contention again, and on the verge of climbing into the top four. If Forge FC lose to, or draw with, FC Edmonton on Tuesday night, Valour will be able to climb into fourth spot, over the two-time CPL champions, although Forge would have a game in hand. Valour currently sit in fifth place on 19 points from 13 matches, while Forge have 20 points from 12. At the start of the season Phillip Dos Santos told CanPL.ca that the goal every week is to be in or around the playoff bubble, and after a strong few weeks, that's exactly where they are as they reach the midway point of their season. "You look at how tight those front positions are, and if we get a win on Wednesday it puts us right up there, a few points behind a team like Ottawa with games in hand," said Dos Santos on Monday. "You still have to win those games, they're not free points in the bank, but this where we wanted to be. We wanted to be either close or at the playoff mark. We need to keep pushing and working knowing that things change quick, you look at us a few weeks ago and we're out of the picture and suddenly with three wins we're back at it."

ALL-TIME SERIES

Atlético Ottawa wins: 2 || Valour FC wins: 4 || Draws: 0

Previous match:

June 1, 2022 - Valour 0-1 Atlético Ottawa

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Canadian Premier League Stories from July 20, 2022


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