RECAP + HIGHLIGHTS: Atlético Ottawa vs. Halifax Wanderers | July 18, 2025

Atlético Ottawa have maintained their lead atop the Canadian Premier League table, as they defeated the Halifax Wanderers 2-0 at TD Place on Friday, doing so thanks to goals from Sam Salter and Ballou Tabla.

They won't get as much breathing room from this victory as hoped, with second-place Forge also picking up a win on Friday to keep the gap between both teams to just one point, but this victory did extend the gap between Ottawa and third-place Halifax to eight points.

For the Wanderers, that's a big blow, as they missed a chance to get within two points of Ottawa last week, yet fell to Pacific in a 3-2 loss at Starlight Stadium, which is why it'll frustrate them to have then lost a second straight road match.

Returning to this match, it didn't take long for Ottawa to open the scoring, although it didn't happen the way they would've expected. After a scramble in the box, Juan Castro fired a shot from distance, but his shot hit his teammate Sam Salter in the chest and deflected onto the post, before Salter fired home the subsequent rebound into a wide-open net for his 10th CPL goal of the season.

From there, the game slowed down, but Ottawa had a great chance to double their lead in the 34th minute, as Kevin dos Santos found Ballou Tabla inside the box with a nice pass, but Tabla curled his shot over the goal. Then, less than a minute later, the Wanderers had a good look at goal on a counter-attack, as Ryan Telfer lined up a shot from distance, but he was unable to keep his rising shot down.

Once the dust settled on that back-and-forth sequence, things quieted down once again, however, as both teams reached the end of the first half without much further action.

On the other side of half time, however, Ottawa came flying out of the gates, and they were rewarded for that early energy, as David Rodríguez was taken down by Wesley Timóteo after slaloming into the box at high speed, earning his team a penalty. As he's done all season, Ballou Tabla stepped up to take the spot kick, and he made no mistake, slotting the ball into the bottom left corner to double his team's lead.

The Wanderers nearly responded with their opening goal a minute later, as Timóteo looked to avenge the penalty he conceded by whipping in a perfect ball on a free kick, but Tiago Coimbra would be unable to keep his header down despite being unmarked in the box.

Then, the Wanderers had an even better chance in the 64th minute, as Isaiah Johnston found Ryan Telfer with a perfect cross, but despite having the time to settle the ball and fire a shot from the edge of the six-yard box, Telfer somehow sent his shot wide of the mark.

Continuing to push for a late goal, Yohan Baï found Andre Rampersad with a nice cross in the 90th minute, but Rampersad's header sailed just wide of the goal. Right after, Giorgio Probo found Jason Bahamboula with a perfect free-kick delivery, but Bahamboula would also glance his header just wide of the post, coming even closer than Rampersad to scoring.

With that, it was a sign that it just wasn't going to be for the Wanderers on the night, allowing Ottawa to cruise to a victory and a clean sheet, helping them kick off the second half of their regular season campaign on a high note.

BOX SCORE

Lineups

Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Cloutier (Sissoko 79'), Abatneh, Duhaney-Walker (Kozlovskiy 46'); Antinoro, Castro (Zapater 79'), Aparicio, dos Santos (Coulanges 79'); Rodríguez (Ortega 88'), Tabla; Salter

Halifax Wanderers: Yesli; Pearlman (Biello 83'), Meilleur-Giguère, Sow, Timóteo (Baï 79'); Johnston (Rampersad 79'), Callegari; Bahamboula, Telfer (Dias 74'), Rea (Probo 79'); Coimbra

Goals

10' — Sam Salter (Atlético Ottawa)
47' — Ballou Tabla (Atlético Ottawa) (Penalty)

Discipline

65' — Yellow: Tiago Coimbra (Halifax Wanderers)
73' — Yellow: Wesley Timóteo (Halifax Wanderers)