AGR's High Press: Analyzing Atlético Ottawa, Vancouver and Valour's big long weekend road wins
A busy weekend of CPL action kicked off with a battle of heavyweights, as Atlético Ottawa were able to grind out a crucial 1-0 road victory over Pacific FC to stay undefeated atop the CPL table.
That set the tone for an intriguing weekend of action, as Vancouver FC followed that up with a big road win over Forge, before Valour picked up a crucial road win to give them their first points of 2024.
Along with an entertaining 2-2 draw between Cavalry FC and York United, it was certainly quite a memorable matchday #6, one fitting of the long weekend.
It paved the way for some big CPL news in the week, too. First, there was the news out of York, who ended up parting ways with manager Martin Nash, as their new owners look for a reset of leadership at the head coaching position.
Official club communication on Martin Nash.https://t.co/RpNGvzUCa5 pic.twitter.com/nOnqZXuEVW
— York United FC (@yorkutdfc) May 21, 2024
Then, on the pitch, Cavalry and Forge had weeks to remember, as Cavalry beat the Vancouver Whitecaps on the road in leg 2 of their Canadian Championship quarter-final tie to only lose on away goals, before Forge one-upped them by beating CF Montréal 2-1 on the road to advance 3-2 on aggregate, becoming the third CPL side to eliminate an MLS one in the tournament.
That’s set up an intriguing matchday #7 of action, as some intriguing battles await, including a couple of derby matches, two top-of-the-table clashes and the beginning of York’s new era, among others.
Before then, however, here’s a look at what stood out from matchday #6, in this week’s ‘High Press’.
Ottawa’s defence steals show vs Pacific:
Atlético Ottawa continued their impressive start to the 2024 CPL season with a statement win over Pacific last weekend, defeating the Tridents 1-0 at Starlight Stadium to improve to 4W-2D-0L (14 points).
They’ll have a lot to be pleased with in that win, too - Rubén del Campo stayed red hot and scored in his fourth straight CPL game, vaulting him atop the Golden Boot race, while Ottawa did well to overcome a late Pacific push to hold onto the result.
And, most importantly, they won while sticking to their Atlético DNA, showing that they have no problems winning by playing cagey, low-event soccer.
That might not seem like much, but throughout a long season, there are going to be games where teams need to put their head down and grind, and this was one of them for Ottawa.
On the road against a strong Pacific side, Ottawa will want to have avoided playing the game into their hosts' hands, especially given how strong they’ve been defensively, entering this game without conceding a goal in their previous five games.
So not only will Ottawa be pleased that they snapped that streak through del Campo, but they’ll be happy that they were able to play the game on their terms, as they ceded the majority of possession (57.3-42.6), yet won the xG battle 1.06 to 0.37, showing that they had Pacific right where they wanted them, keeping them out of dangerous areas. 
In particular, their defensive play was excellent, as their back four of Kris Twardek, Luke Singh, Amer Didić and Maxim Tissot were solid in front of Rayane Yesli, who earned the start after Nathan Ingham’s injury. Set up in their usual 4-4-2, Ottawa were organized off the ball, supporting that quintet as much as possible, limiting Pacific to just three shots inside of their box (Ottawa had nine, for context).
And that’s key. There’s no doubt that this Ottawa team has the weapons to score, and they’ve shown that, scoring a league-high 10 goals in six games, sitting as the only CPL side to find the net in each game they’ve played. Along with a seven-goal outburst against Valour in the preliminary round of the Canadian Championship, that shows the sort of offensive pedigree they have at their disposal.
Yet, a big question was going to be if they could maintain that sort of offensive production while remaining solid defensively, something that this win can help them prove, as they got the goal they needed to win, and did the rest with their defensive play.
GOAL 🏡@AtletiOttawa's Ruben Del Campo opens the scoring vs. @PacificFCCPL, as the Tridents concede their first goal in the 2024 #CanPL season
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 18, 2024
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/YV0udYibWf
Given that they’ve now only given up four goals in six games, and never more than one in a game, they’ve given themselves a shot at picking up points in each game they’ve played, which is why they’re the lone CPL side that’s still undefeated.
Their offence still feels like it has another gear to hit, as Ollie Bassett or Ballou Tabla haven’t hit the level they’ve shown they can play at, so things will only continue to progress at the other end, meaning if they can keep up their strong defensive play, that’ll put them in an excellent position.
Either way, it’s been a dream start for Ottawa, who have seamlessly adjusted after their big offseason and look poised to grow from it as they get set for the next round of games.
Still to play Forge for the first time this weekend, that will be an excellent test for them in that quest, proving that there’s still lots more to come as they chase some big goals this summer.
Vancouver battles for a memorable road win:
Away wins were hard to come by for Vancouver in 2023, as they picked up just three victories away from home in their inaugural season, coming against York United, Valour and Pacific.
So far this year, it looked like that trend would repeat itself, as Vancouver opened the year with back-to-back road losses against Cavalry and York by a combined score of 6-1.
Because of that, it made their result this past weekend all the more special, as they picked up an impressive 2-1 win over Forge. A Forge side who has only lost four times at home since the start of 2023, three times in CPL play and once in the Concacaf Champions Cup, they haven’t been a team that’s been easy to beat at Tim Hortons Field, making Vancouver’s achievement stand out.
Yet, how they went about getting that win is just as impressive. It took two timely goals off set-pieces, as Rocco Romeo slotted home on the second phase of a free kick, and then Vasco Fry scored an Olimpico to give his team a 2-0 lead inside 30 minutes, but how they went around the rest of the game was just as impressive. 
Despite dealing with Forge’s late push, which saw them generate 19 shots, they were only able to muster up 1.04 xG, an average of just 0.05 a shot, as they hardly put Callum Irving under enough pressure. Plus, Vancouver could’ve added to their tally at the end of the game, if not for a few misses they would have regretted if Forge eventually broke through.
But the credit for that goes to Vancouver’s backline, as the back four of Romeo, Allan Enyou (who has slotted in the past two games for an injured David Norman Jr), Kadin Chung and Paris Gee were rock solid in front of Callum Irving, ensuring Forge didn’t get an equalizer.
And that may be the biggest improvement with this team. Goals were already in this team last year, with Gabriel Bitar and Mikaël Cantave helping Vancouver finish strong offensively, Alejandro Díaz set for his first full year and Moses Dyer joining the mix. That’s why it hasn’t been a surprise to see Vancouver score a league-high (tied with Ottawa) 10 goals through six games.
GOAL 🦅🦅
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 18, 2024
OLIMPICO IN THE #CANPL, DOESN'T MATTER WHEN YOU READ THIS 💫
Vasco Fry has scored straight from the corner kick to put @vanfootballclub 2-0 ahead. Wow.
Watch LIVE on OneSoccer 🔴 pic.twitter.com/xzFBtL1TxA
The bigger improvement, however, has been at the back, and they showed what that looks like in this game. They’ve been much more organized off the ball, and don’t give up the sort of easy chances they could be prone to giving up last year, which is key.
It’s taken a team effort, with the midfield pivot of Vasco Fry and Renan Garcia an underrated piece of this puzzle in this game, in particular, but the quality of the back four has been noticeable, too.
Through that, they were able to grind out a win that could give them a bit of momentum at a crucial time. Sitting tied for third, they’ve been able to live up to a strong offseason, and still have another level to hit, especially in terms of their consistency.
When they put things together for a full 90 minutes, they can beat a side like Forge, as they did this weekend, and they’ll want to build on this and prove they can start doing so on a regular basis.
If so, there’s no reason they can’t become a solid road team, as this win had all of the elements one would want to see from a team playing away from home.
Valour finally gets win as Halifax’s woes continues:
It took six weeks, but Valour now have a win, as they beat Halifax to get their first points of 2024.
Yet, in a sense, this was one that they were targeting to win, as it was a must-win for both sides, who were the two remaining CPL teams without a win heading into this weekend.
Against a slumping Wanderers side lacking confidence at the moment, there was no better time for Valour to put together a winning performance, and they were full value for their victory.
GOAL 🎖️@ValourFootball's Diogo Ressurreição stuns @HFXWanderersFC as he cleans up a 1-2 sequence with a post-kissing shot to open the scoring in our @tonybet_canada #CanPL MATCH OF THE WEEK 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Tzb6vFNH6R
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 20, 2024
And overall, there’s a lot to like, especially with how they defended. Other than a controversial Wanderers penalty for their goal, Valour kept Halifax to just six shots for a total of 0.48 non-penalty xG, which is very good for a road team.
Valour certainly got some finishing luck, no doubt, as Jordi Swibel and Diogo Ressurreição’s goal came off just 0.27 xG and seven shots, but Valour worked for their luck, especially defensively.
After feeling hard done not to get anything out of games against York, Valour and Halifax lately, in which defensive errors and goalkeeping mistakes cost them, they tidied things up in this match to earn the win. 
That’s huge, as it felt like they were a lot closer to a win than the scores indicated, with those big defensive mistakes being the huge thing that was letting them down. Sure enough, they cleaned that up in this game, and the win followed.
As for the Wanderers, however, it shows they’ve still got work to do to turn around this slump, now winless in six in all competitions. Their confidence seems to be at an all-time low, and that’s the hardest thing to turn around as a team.
GOAL 🎖️🎖️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 20, 2024
Jordi Swibel restores the lead for @ValourFootball vs. @HFXWanderersFC and Winnipeg is now up 2-1 with 15 minutes to go in this one! ✨
Can they secure their first W? 👀
🔴 Watch the @tonybet_canada #CanPL Match of the Week on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/YJXCaTlCnc
Right now, it feels like the Wanderers are just not feeling confident in their abilities to execute at either end, and that’s allowing teams to get the better of them. Because of that, it feels like Patrice Gheisar might need to shake up his squad before the losses create too big of a gap to push up the table, as the Wanderers need a shot of confidence, badly, as they have continued to play decently through this stretch.
Yet, that was the difference between these two teams ahead of this match - Valour had been playing sloppy, and the Wanderers had been without confidence, and it turns out that cleaning up the former was easier than overcoming the latter, leading to the Valour win.
Who caught my eye? Allan Enyou
For a 20-year-old who was freshly arrived from Spain when he was called into action for Vancouver FC against Atlético Ottawa earlier this month after the injury of David Norman Jr and the illness of Rocco Romeo, Enyou has hit the ground running with his new club.
Having done well enough against Ottawa to earn another start even as Romeo returned from his illness, Enyou was up to the task against a dangerous Forge attack, finishing with two tackles, four clearances, two interceptions, three recoveries and winning three out of four duels in that win.
For a young defender, he’s got the physical and mental tools to be a strong defender, showing the potential that head coach Afshin Ghotbi raved about when he signed, so expect to see a lot of him going forward, potentially even in a back three when Norman Jr returns.
What to watch: Vancouver vs Pacific
It’s almost like a playoff weekend in the CPL, as first place plays fourth while second plays third on a busy matchday.
Yet, while the 1v4 matchup between Atlético Ottawa and Forge offers plenty of intrigue, the game to watch is between the second and third-place sides, Pacific and Vancouver, who are getting set for the fifth installment of the Salish Sea Derby.
Both in strong form to start this year, it’s a contrast to their meetings in 2023, where one team was usually doing well while the other struggled. That’s why Pacific won the first two meetings as they came out of the gates flying before Vancouver responded by winning the last two as they found some late form.
Now, however, this will be a battle between two top CPL sides, which could make for a memorable matchup between two teams who have already combined for some entertaining matchups in the short history of this derby.
Because of that, this is one not to miss on Saturday.
