Final Score: Atlético Ottawa 5-2 Valour FC |
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Match in a minute or less
Top-of-the-table Atlético Ottawa's incredible start to the 2025 season continued on Saturday in a 5-2 victory over Valour FC in the nation's capital.
Atleti's Samuel Salter made CPL history by becoming the first player to score four goals in a single match -- also the first Ottawa player to score more than twice in a game. David Rodríguez also scored for the capital club.
Valour actually opened the scoring through Shaan Hundal in the fifth minute, and they found a second in the early second half with Kelsey Egwu's first CPL goal. But far too many defensive errors led to another difficult day for the Winnipeg club.
It was a stunning fifth straight match in which the capital club have scored three or more goals. Valour, meanwhile, remain the league's only winless team with their third straight loss.
Three Observations
Sam Salter makes CPL history with first four-goal game in league history
Asked after Saturday's game when the last time was that he scored four goals in a match, Sam Salter said he is pretty sure it has never happened before.
Well, it certainly hasn't in the Canadian Premier League, not only for Salter but for any other player in the league's seven-year history. He became the first to score four in a single CPL match during an incredible performance against Valour FC.
Salter scored Ottawa's opener in the 28th minute, before adding a second in the 42nd minute. He got off to a quick start to the second half, scoring less than 40 seconds into the half, before adding his historic fourth in the 58th. All of this came in just 69 minutes of action, as Salter was removed to give 18-year-old striker Ralph Khoury his debut.
Heading into this season, there were legitimate questions as to who would lead the line for the capital club after Rubén del Campo's departure. The Swiss striker had a club-leading 11 goals for Atleti last regular season.
The answer appears to not be from an outside recruit, but instead the 24-year-old Salter, who has been with Atleti since 2023. In all competitions this year, Salter now has six goals and three assists.
"I think Sam is one of the best strikers in this league," said Atlético Ottawa manger Diego Mejía, "and this model is the best model for him, because we put him in a good way to score a lot of times, and I think that his model improves his level a lot. So I'm very happy for him."
One area that Salter has shown significant value this season is with his runs in behind. He's doing incredibly well to not only stretch opposing backline but take balls down out of the air and then create chances for himself and others.
With David Rodríguez and Ballou Tabla's ability to beat players off the dribble, the threat players like Manny Aparicio and Kevin Dos Santos pose from range, and the club's central defenders on set pieces, Salter's clever runs are adding another element to this Ottawa attack.
This season, Salter has also proven that he can contribute in different ways. Last week against Pacific FC, he played provider, holding up the ball well and creating two assists. His three assists are already the most he has in a single CPL season.
Salter has been a dangerous striker in this league over the past few seasons. With the Halifax Wanderers in 2022, he scored 11 goals and over the past three seasons combined prior to 2025, he led the league in shots on target with 60.
But with the quality that Atleti possess this season, and his continued ability to get into good areas, this looks to be the year Sam Salter reaches his best level yet and club and player are reaping the benefits.
Entertaining Atlético Ottawa continue to score their way out of trouble
Through six matches to begin the 2025 Canadian Premier League season, Atlético Ottawa have five wins, 20 goals scored and zero losses.
But they also have zero clean sheets, and have now allowed the first goal in four of their six games. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a recipe for success -- but this Atlético Ottawa team have consistently found ways to score their way out of trouble.
When asked about the lack of clean sheets earlier in the year, Mejía said what he cares about most is that his team outscored the other. That sentiment, a stark departure from the club's recent past, seems to permeate throughout the team.
After some poor defending in the opening minutes of the match, Valour's Shaan Hundal was allowed to break in behind, and was given too much space to pick a shot past Ingham.
The goal seemed to give Valour all the momentum, as they had a few more chances on the break, and moved it around well in the midfield. However, on a giveaway in midfield in the 28th minute, some magic from David Rodríguez down the left created the opener for Sam Salter.
Even after equalizing, Atlético Ottawa still looked loose defensively, and Valour nearly added another 41st minute. A frustrated Nate Ingham punted the ball forward, and right into the path of Salter, who beat his man and gave his side the lead.
Valour had a few more chances, including scoring a second on a wide-open header for Kelsey Egwu in the second half. But they didn't have the firepower to match Ottawa on Saturday.
After the match, Mejía acknowledged that there is still plenty of improvement for the team in terms of how they are starting games, and in some key defensive moments. That will certainly be the case on Tuesday, when they travel to Hamilton for a big match against defending regular-season winners Forge FC.
But there is no question that Atlético Ottawa are finding ways to win matches right now, and they are doing so in the most entertaining fashion possible.
Valour's 4-4-2 creates more in attack, but fails to deal with direct Atleti offence
Valour came into Saturday's clash knowing they needed a pragmatic and disciplined approach if they wanted to leave the nation's capital with any points.
With that in mind, they lined up in a compact 4-4-2 system, looking to deny a talented Atlético Ottawa team the middle of the park. For the first time this season, Valour started two central strikers with Myles Morgan partnering Shaan Hundal.
Having the two strikers, plus Jordan Faria swapped over to the right flank, allowed Valour to make runs through the gaps in the young Atlético Ottawa back three. A run of this kind by Hundal contributed to them opening the scoring just five minutes into the match.
After taking that lead, however, a pair of defensive mistakes from Valour were the turning point in the match.
During a moment in which they were comfortably in possession in the 28th minute, a giveaway in midfield allowed David Rodríguez space to run at their backline -- something that has quickly proven to not be a great idea this season. He found Salter in the middle and that Valour lead was quickly gone.
Then in the 42nd minute, a simple ball over the top from Nathan Ingham was won far too easily by Salter as he muscled off Kelsey Egwu and gave Ottawa the lead.
Balls over the top, particularly to Salter, were a significant issue for the Valour team all match long. They allowed Salter to get in behind three more times on the day, and he made them pay two further times.
In the end, what was such a promising start and new system quickly devolved into another 90 minutes where they failed to execute, and Valour head back to Winnipeg with more questions than answers about how to turn around their dire start to the season.
What They Said
“I am very happy, because the most important thing for me is the thing that I see in my team, I notice that they enjoy this kind of play. So, for me, that's incredible.” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía
"I think the squad we have, all the players around me, are exceptional, so that gives me the confidence to go and create chances and get on the end of chances. I think it's fair to say it's the most confident I've played at this level." -- Atlético Ottawa striker Sam Salter
“Ultimately, football is about making plays. The first goal is a play that our defenders need to deal with better. I think goals came too easy. Way too easy. Stepping out of line when we didn't need to, we needed to protect the space, being bumped off the ball easily, not following a run. Ultimately, I'm at the centre of the process, but the plays need to be made. And today, I think that's where it felt, in big moments, in important moments, where you could take a lead, we couldn't make the play.” — Valour FC head coach Phil Dos Santos
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Sam Salter, Atlético Ottawa
It was the only choice. The 24-year-old striker was automatic in the box on Saturday afternoon during a match he will never forget. A CPL record four goals in a single match came from an outstanding display of making quality off-ball runs and outstanding finishing.
What’s next?
Atlético Ottawa are back in action midweek when they face Forge FC in the School Day game in Hamilton on Tuesday, May 13 (11 a.m. ET). Valour, meanwhile, head back home where they host York United on Friday, May 16 (7 p.m. CT / 8 p.m. ET).
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