Final Score: Cavalry FC 1-3 Atlético Ottawa |
|---|
Match in a minute or less
An explosive second half in Calgary was a triumph for Atlético Ottawa and a disaster for Cavalry FC, as an own goal and red card for Bradley Kamdem-Fewo within five minutes of each other gave the visitors all the momentum they needed. A quick Ballou Tabla goal moments after the sending off put Atleti up 2-0 in the 66th minute, and they would add a third via Joaquim Coulanges in the 82nd minute to wrap up the win.
Caniggia Elva would give Cavalry some consolation in the 87th minute with his first for the club, but it wouldn't be enough to take the sting off a 3-1 loss as Cavalry remain winless in the regular season so far. Ottawa, meanwhile, improved to 3-1-0 and reclaimed first place as their unbeaten start continued.
Three Observations
Explosive Ottawa show no mercy as attacking identity continues to grow
This isn't the first time Atlético Ottawa have gone to ATCO Field and emerged with a huge result. In fact, no CPL team has more regular season wins at Cavalry FC than they do, this being Atleti's fourth win in Calgary.
The 2025 version of Ottawa, however, feels unlike any other before. There's a sense of aggression and a killer instinct that has carried them to score 12 goals in just four matches so far. Historically, Atleti have averaged just 1.275 goals per game, and while it's unlikely they maintain an even 3.0 throughout this year, they look certain to score at a more consistent clip going forward.
One of the most evident structural differences in the way Atlético Ottawa set up this year under Diego Mejía, compared to last season, is the 3-4-3 system they use in possession.
Playing with three centre-backs is nothing new for them; in fact, they ended last year playing some of their better football in a 5-3-2, which maintained their trademark defensive solidity, though they largely attacked centrally via Ollie Bassett and Ruben del Campo.
This year, the system is allowing them to play with more width; their wing-backs have more attacking responsibility than before. Under the previous structure, the wide players were more traditional full-backs, whereas Mejía has favoured using Kevin Dos Santos and Gabriel Antinoro, both natural wingers or attacking midfielders, to provide more overlaps in his attack.
Atleti have found a recipe for success -- and more exciting football -- in the early stages of this campaign, and they're in first place because of it. Now, the challenge will be maintaining and evolving that identity throughout a 28-game season.
Frustration gets the better of Cavalry in nightmare second half
A week ago, Tommy Wheeldon Jr.'s assessment of Cavalry's 1-1 draw with Vancouver FC was that their first half had been unacceptable. In pre-match comments this week, Wheeldon Jr. repeated that he was demanding 90 minutes of football, rather than 45, in this second home match of the season.
Instead, he got a little less than 60. Cavalry were, truthfully, at least on even footing if not the better side for much of this game, with the shots and possession roughly level in the first half. The Cavs had arguably had the better chances as well, with Nathan Ingham required for a few crucial saves to prevent the hosts taking the lead.
It all fell apart in the 59th minute, though. First it was the opening goal, a cruelly unlucky deflection off the back of Bradley Kamdem-Fewo. Four minutes later, Kamdem-Fewo's frustration showed in a completely unnecessary lashing out at Sergei Kozlovskiy, earning himself a red card. With momentum suddenly shifted behind Atlético Ottawa, the visitors scored a far-too-easy second goal on a quick counter attack, and the Cavs' afternoon was all but over in the 66th minute.
Cavalry never truly got a handle on the game again after that, and a disheartening start to the season thus continues. It's always difficult to recover when things unravel that quickly, but the fact that things went so badly wrong in that second half will be a source of major annoyance in the Cavs' camp this week.
Of course, the Cavs have rarely started seasons well; the oft-repeated stat the past few weeks has been that they still have yet to ever win a game in April. However, even in years where they've started slow they've always found a way to build momentum at some point.
Their focus now turns to a critical Canadian Championship match against Edmonton Scottish this week; that's a tournament the Cavs are desparate to win, and a game against League1 Alberta opposition might give them an opportunity to right the ship and put this one swiftly behind them.
Ottawa flex young talent in attack and defence
Something Mejía has demonstrated in his early tenure is he's not afraid to put young players in key positions. Already this season he's started three different U-21 defenders in his back three, not including Tyr Duhaney-Walker who will turn 22 in October. With Noah Abatneh injured this week after last weekend's masterclass, Mejía turned to 16-year-old Sergei Kozlovskiy to play left centre-back, with 21-year-old Loïc Cloutier centring the three.
Amer Didić, a veteran of the CPL and one of the league's perennial best defenders, might've been the obvious choice for the high-pressure middle spot, but putting him on the right gives him more license to use his passing range -- a clever move, but not one Mejía could make if he didn't have full confidence in Cloutier and Kozlovskiy.
Elsewhere on the pitch, there's no need to look far to find more young talent. Gabriel Antinoro, just two days after his 21st birthday, was excellent on the left wing and managed to get into the box consistently, taking five shots while also creating a chance -- plus it was his ball into the box that deflected in for the first Ottawa goal.
Even Atleti's reinforcements off the bench featured plenty of impactful youth. Duhaney-Walker replaced a tiring Kozlovskiy for the last 20 minutes to see out the win. Then there was Joaquim Coulanges, who showed a good nose for the goal in scoring the third by picking up on a miscommunication in the Cavalry box.
In total, Atleti will have added just under 250 U-21 minutes to their total this week, which already sat at 727 after three games. For a club that has at times in the past struggled to hit the 2,000-minute mark, the youth movement is out in full force in the capital this year.
What They Said
“I think we've got to do some mental healing and become a team again. We've got to start keeping a few more shutouts and got to start scoring more goals. I think it's a battle of the boxes, and early in the season you need a bit of luck. ... Sometimes you need things to go your way; right now, it's not going our way. But for me, I always believe that character is shown in the tough times, not in the good times.” — Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
“This is very important. We played against a great team, the champions in the Canadian Premier League. They have amazing players, they have a good coach, so it's very important for our process. In reality, the season starts now. It's early to talk about other things, but I am very happy with the process, with my players; they understand really well the model.” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Ballou Tabla, Atlético Ottawa
Tabla scored what will stand as the winner for Atleti, but he was arguably their brightest player even before the second-half onslaught. He created three chances, won six duels and had five touches in the box, also occupying the Cavalry defenders in the build-up to his team's first goal.
What’s next?
Both these sides have home clashes against League1 Canada opposition coming up this Wednesday, April 29. Ottawa will take on League1 Ontario champions Scrosoppi FC at TD Place (7 p.m. ET), while Cavalry FC take on League1 Alberta champions Edmonton Scottish (9 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MT).
In next weekend's CPL action, Cavalry are in Toronto to take on York United on Friday, May 2 (8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT), while Atleti return home to host Pacific FC on Saturday, May 3 (1 p.m. ET).
Watch all CPL matches live on OneSoccer. 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.
