Final Score: Atlético Ottawa 3-1 Pacific FC |
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Match in a minute or less
Atlético Ottawa won a fourth straight game to stay in first place in the Canadian Premier League on Saturday, beating Pacific FC 3-1 at TD Place as their unbeaten run to begin 2025 continued.
Pacific were the better team in the first half, and Ottawa native Ronan Kratt gave them the lead with by winning the ball near the Atleti area and finishing one-on-one, but the home side turned things around in the second half. Kevin Dos Santos brought Ottawa level with a thunderous strike from distance, and the hosts took the lead not long after thanks to Gabriel Antinoro.
David Rodríguez danced through the box a few minutes later to make it 3-1, and that was all Atlético needed to secure another victory at home.
Three Observations
Dos Santos magic awakens high-flying Atlético attack
Sometimes, all it takes is one moment.
Atlético Ottawa were uncharacteristically sluggish in the first half and struggled to link their attack together, generating just four touches in the box and 0.09 expected goals through the opening 45 minutes. They couldn't find a way to break Pacific's press, turning the ball over far more often than they were able to play between the lines.
Everything changed in the early second half, though. It seemed that all Atleti needed was a wake-up call, and Kevin Dos Santos was the man who provided it.
Ottawa had begun playing a bit more direct to break Pacific's press, and less than 10 minutes into the half the ball fell to Dos Santos near the centre circle. He strode forward at pace and opted to change the game in an instant, hitting a rocket of a shot into the top corner from 35 yards out.
Immediately, Atleti looked more like the ruthless attacking team they've been all year. Sensing a wounded opponent, they increased their aggression with the ball, taking on defenders and playing direct football. Sam Salter's running helped stretch a tiring Pacific, as did Ballou Tabla's desire to dribble forward and create space for himself by absorbing opposing players.
It was as though a switch had flipped with the Dos Santos goal; the momentum, which had been on Pacific's side in the first half, immediately shifted to the home side and suddenly a second and third goal felt inevitable.
The one worry for Ottawa coming out of this game, however, is the health of Amer Didić. The centre-back needed to be carried off the pitch in the first half, and his teammates expressed concern postmatch; if he's out for an extended period it'll be a major loss for Atleti, although their young defenders have proven more than capable of playing well in his absence.
Atlético Ottawa are first place in the CPL right now and at this point it's hard to deny they've been the best team in the league to start the year. They've proven they can overcome difficult moments and turn a game around completely. They've now collected seven points from losing positions (all of them at home), and when they've won they've typically done so emphatically, erasing any memory of a shaky start.
This is the mark of a very, very good team.
Pacific press overwhelms Atleti in first half, falters in second
This match may have kicked off at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, but the Tridents were far from sleepy to begin the game on Saturday. From the outset, they were the far more aggressive side and gave Atlético Ottawa absolutely no room to breathe with the ball.
Having spotted Ottawa's preference to build out of their back three and attack with pace via their front five, Pacific opted to cut off their opponents before they could get the ball into attacking areas. The Tridents pressed high and furiously, working hard to turn over possession as high up the pitch as possible and disrupting Atleti's rhythm.
In fact, the more the home side tried to play short passes out of the back, the more Pacific smelled opportunities to win the ball. The Tridents won possession in the attacking third six times in the first half alone, including Ronan Kratt's sneaky tackle on Tyr Duhaney-Walker ahead of his goal.
It was comfortably the best half Pacific have played all season, which is why it's so frustrating for them to get nothing from this game. James Merriman was evidently annoyed that his side hadn't scored a second in the first half to put the game (perhaps) out of reach -- certainly, Josh Heard had an excellent chance to do so -- but he was somewhat perplexed as to why his team's standard of play had dipped so much after the break.
Pacific still have just one win in 2025, and that was a month ago in their season opener. They have struggled to put games away and to convert bright moments into goals and results, which will be the most concerning thing for Merriman and co.
Clever wingback swap helps carry Atleti in second half
Diego Mejía has made an impressive impact already on Atlético Ottawa, providing them with a new, attack-first identity. He has demonstrated an ability to prepare his team with a game plan and get them playing the football he wants.
What's becoming clear as well, though, is a knack for making clever decisions within the course of a match to turn the tide. Twelve of the 15 goals they've scored in the CPL this year have been in the second half, eight of which have come after the opposing team scored first.
In this game, Mejía's halftime tactical trickery helped his side find a way to break down Pacific and turn the tempo of the game into something that more favoured them. It was a fairly simple move: he inverted his wingbacks, moving left-sided Gabriel Antinoro to the right, and Kevin Dos Santos to the left of the 3-4-3 attacking setup.
Mejía was instantly rewarded for the change. With Dos Santos on the left, he was able to drift inside and use his right foot to shoot and deliver the first goal. Moments later, Antinoro had likewise drifted toward the middle which allowed him to find space in the box to score a goal of his own.
Pacific had largely overwhelmed Atleti in the first half by outnumbering them, especially in the central areas. By inverting the wingbacks, Ottawa were able to create more numerical overlaps of their own, and didn't need to funnel the ball out wide to where Pacific was looking to turn it over.
Both Dos Santos and Antinoro were able to get into far more dangerous areas in the second half, both alongside the box and in the half-spaces. Mejía explained postmatch that he'd noticed Pacific centre-back Juan Quintana jumping out of the backline to defend a pocket on his side of the pitch, which made Dos Santos a more effective player on that flank to get in behind him.
The tactical swap proved that Ottawa as a team are more capable than ever of turning a game around by identifying weaknesses in an opponent, and executing specific instructions to change things mid-game.
What They Said
“It's amazing when you see the fans enjoy the way that we play. ... It's the way I see the game. I don't understand the game to pass a lot of the time defending; I like the ball. I think my players enjoy the ball. Maybe it's a new way to play here, but it's our responsibility as coaches.” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía
“We need to ask questions to why. We need to believe in what we're doing, in the plan and when we're having success, even when we concede. We're working toward this, it's still early; we need to be more clinical when we have clear chances. You need to score, it changes games. They did. It's a great goal to change the game in the moment ... but we need to be much stronger mentally.” — Pacific FC head coach James Merriman
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Samuel Salter, Atlético Ottawa
The centre-forward was rightly named man of the match on OneSoccer for this one; though he didn't score one himself, Salter had two assists, and was a major reason for Atleti's second-half turnaround thanks to his hold-up play and vision to play the ball to oncoming wingers.
What’s next?
Pacific return to Vancouver Island, where they'll play a TELUS Canadian Championship tie against Vancouver FC this Tuesday, May 6 (7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET) before hosting York United on Saturday, May 10 (5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET). Atlético Ottawa, meanwhile, remain at home and will take on Valour FC next Saturday (2 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.
