HIGHLIGHTS: Atletico Ottawa vs Valour FC (July 20, 2022)

Atlético Ottawa and Valour FC split the points at TD Place on Wednesday night, drawing 1-1 in a battle of two playoff contenders. The beginning of the match was action-packed, with both teams scoring from the penalty spot inside 15 minutes.

Valour were first to step to the spot, in the 10th minute of the match. After the referee spotted a handball by Ottawa defender MacDonald Niba, Valour’s leading goalscorer Moses Dyer stepped up to take the spot kick. After freezing Nathan Ingham with a stutter step, Dyer slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to give Valour the lead.

The lead wouldn’t last very long, just five minutes, as the home team were given a penalty of their own, after Andrew Jean-Baptiste handled the ball at the other end of the pitch. Vladimir Moragrega stepped up for Ottawa, and his shot struck Valour goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois before going into the roof of the net for Moragrega’s first Canadian Premier League goal.

Both sides traded shots back and forth for the remainder of the opening half, but the score would be 1-1 after 45 minutes.

Ollie Bassett had the first good chance of the second half, firing a shot from the edge of the penalty area. It took a deflection and dipped toward the goal, but Sirois was able to get his fingers to it to push it over the bar.

Not to be outdone, Ingham made an impressive save of his own in the 68th minute, denying Walter Ponce. After the Chilean striker’s first shot from the edge of the box was blocked he fired a second, which forced Ingham to reach and make an acrobatic stop to push it over the bar.

After another 20 minutes of end-to-end play, in which Ottawa seemed to have the upper hand and the better chances, the capital club had two final opportunities to win the match in stoppage time.

Ballou Tabla sliced through the middle of the Valour backline, but instead of taking a shot himself, tried to play it across the box to Malcolm Shaw for an easy tap-in. He slightly overhit his pass, and Shaw was unable to get a foot to it.

Shaw had another shot moments later after Carl Haworth centred the ball for him, but he couldn’t get enough power behind his shot, and Sirois was able to catch it, so the match would end 1-1

BOX SCORE

Goals

10′ — Moses Dyer (Valour FC) — penalty

15′ — Vladimir Moragrega (Atlético Ottawa) — penalty

Discipline

77′ — Yellow: Walter Ponce (Valour FC)

83′ — Yellow: Andy Baquero (Valour FC)

83′ — Yellow: Rocco Romeo (Valour FC)

90+4′ — Yellow: Moses Dyer (Valour FC)