HIGHLIGHTS: Atletico Ottawa vs. York United (Oct. 9, 2022)

Atlético Ottawa completed their regular season as champions on Sunday evening, but they split the points from this final match with York United as the encounter ended 2-2 at TD Place.

The hosts Atleti were forced to play this match without a few key regulars, as Miguel Acosta and Ollie Bassett sat out with suspensions — the latter missing from the starting XI for the first time this CPL season. Zakaria Bahous did, as expected, get the start for Ottawa, as they officially fulfilled their requirement by hitting 2,000 Canadian U-21 minutes.

York, meanwhile, received a boost in attack as Mo Babouli returned to the lineup after missing last weekend’s game due to injury. He lined up as a number 10 with Michael Petrasso, Osaze De Rosario, and Kevin Dos Santos across the front, and Matthew Baldisimo made his first start for York in midfield.

The game was quite wide-open in the early stages, with York finding the first chance as De Rosario couldn’t quite get the angle right on a near-post header from Petrasso’s cross in the second minute. Moments later, Brian Wright was down at the other end for Ottawa and set up a shooting opportunity for himself with a good cut to the middle, but Eleias Himaras denied him with a kick save.

After a period of sustained York pressure, though, it was the hosts who would open the scoring just 25 minutes into the encounter. Ballou Tabla brought down a long switch of play at the top of the box and shot quickly before retrieving his own rebound and he slipping another shot through traffic toward goal. Himaras got a hand to it, but it remained on the doorstep for Maxim Tissot to get to the ball and bury it for his third goal of the season for Ottawa.

Unfortunately for Atleti, however, their fortunes would take a downward turn about 10 minutes after the goal. The goalscorer Tissot got caught up in a challenge and went down injured, and he ultimately had to be carried off the pitch on a stretcher. Ottawa coach Carlos González was thus forced into an early substitution, bringing on Zachary Roy at right midfield as Carl Haworth dropped to left-back.

Still, Ottawa continued to press their advantage. Just moments before halftime, the found themselves in the attacking third once more as Haworth whipped in a cross from the left, finding Brian Wright for a gorgeous one-touch finish out of the air to make it 2-0.

York’s Martin Nash went to his bench early in the second half, bringing on Ronan Kratt at the interval and then inserting Noah Verhoeven into his midfield at 50 minutes in place of Dos Santos and Baldisimo, respectively. Soon after, Max Ferrari joined the fray as well in place of Paris Gee.

The changes soon proved fruitful, as York cut the lead in half just after the hour mark. Chrisnovic N’sa, beginning to get forward more as his side chased a goal, came down the right flank and sent a cross into the box, where De Rosario was available to win a header and score his 12th goal of the season.

González went to his own bench shortly after conceding, bringing Malcolm Shaw into the attack to replace Wright and adding Zach Verhoven on the left flank in lieu of Tabla, keeping his side in roughly the same 4-5-1 formation.

After some more sustained pressure, though, York did find their equalizer with 10 minutes to play. A cross flew over traffic in the box and found N’sa, who attempted an overhead kick that didn’t trouble the goal but did fall directly in the path of Jordan Wilson, who made no mistake burying the chance to tie the game at 2-2.

Both sides experienced a brief jubilant moment in the dying stages, thinking they’d found a winner; first, it was York who put the ball in the net, though the prospective goal was called off for a foul in the box. Moments later, Vladimir Moragrega found the net for Ottawa, but the linesman spotted an offside in the lead-up and called that one back.

So, the two Ontario sides were forced to settle for a point apiece as this scintillating clash in the capital ended 2-2.

BOX SCORE

Goals

25′ — Maxim Tissot (Atlético Ottawa)
43′ — Brian Wright (Atlético Ottawa)
62′ — Osaze De Rosario (York United)
79′ — Jordan Wilson (York United)

Discipline

11′ — Yellow: Kevin Dos Santos (York United)
23′ — Yellow: Carl Haworth (Atlético Ottawa)
55′ — Yellow: Tass Mourdoukoutas (York United)
58′ — Yellow: Drew Beckie (Atlético Ottawa)
63′ — Yellow: Osaze De Rosario (York United)
72′ — Yellow: Keven Alemán (Atlético Ottawa)