HIGHLIGHTS: Pacific FC vs. Atlético Ottawa (August 17, 2024) | Presented by tonybet

Atlético Ottawa reclaimed their spot atop the CPL table on Saturday, beating Pacific FC 3-0 at Starlight Stadium to end their winless streak in convincing fashion.

The visitors wasted no time, getting out to an early lead less than two minutes into the match. Dani Morer lobbed a free kick into the penalty area from distance, where Aboubacar Sissoko headed it into the bottom right corner of the net, past the outstretched arm of former Ottawa goalkeeper Sean Melvin.

It didn’t take long for them to double their lead either, as Ilias Iliadis made it 2-0 in the 15th minute with a curling corner kick that went off the far post and in, the latest Olimpico in a league that has become known for them.

Kunle Dada-Luke made a play that saved a goal in the 22nd minute, lunging in to clear the ball away from the line after it slipped past Melvin and looked destined for the back of the net. From the ensuing corner, though, Ottawa made it 3-0 with a third set piece goal.

Iliadis curled another corner kick toward the back post, which the defenders weren’t able to deal with. With Melvin on the ground after attempting to play the ball, Ruben Del Campo had a lot of net to shoot at, and thumped a low shot through a crowd of defender, making it 3-0.

Sam Salter had an opportunity to add a fourth for Ottawa in the 37th minute, getting his head onto the end of a deep cross into the penalty area, but this time Melvin was in position to make a fairly comfortable catch.

Pacific upped the tempo after the third goal, and some intense encouragement from the coaching staff, but still struggled to create many legitimate scoring chances, hitting the target just once on four shot attempts in the first half. Their best opportunity of the first half came on the final kick before the break, as Thomas Meilleur-Giguère redirected an errant shot from Dario Zanatta high over the crossbar from very close range, missing the wide open net in front of him.

Tridents head coach James Merriman took off three of his attackers at half time as he looked for a response from his side, bring off Reon Moore, Adonijah Reid and Andrei Tîrcoveanu and replacing them with Sean Young, Devin O’Hea, and Moses Dyer — the latter player coming on for his club debut up top after being acquired on loan from Vancouver FC on Friday.

They nearly found a goal immediately, but Dario Zanatta’s shot on target 78 seconds into the half was saved by Nathan Ingham. Dada-Luke nearly set up a goal a few moments later with a dangerous cross into the box, but O’Hea wasn’t able to get his head on the ball as he lunged for it.

Pacific finally put the ball into the net in the 70th minute as substitute Zakaria Bahous headed home from a free kick that was chipped over the Ottawa backline. It was quickly called back by the referee, though, after Bahous was caught marginally offside.

Ballou Tabla nearly took advantage of a giveaway from O’Hea in midfielder, picking off an errant pass and charging toward the Pacific net, but his left-footed effort was stopped by Melvin after he did well to make himself big to narrow Tabla’s targets. Moments later, Zachary Roy had a chance for shot from close range but skied it over the bar, letting Pacific off for a lapse in concentration after an improved second half performance to that point.

To Pacific’s credit, they kept battling hard for a goal to the final whistle with Dyer getting a couple of late attempts on target, but they lose a fourth match in a row and remain on the outside of the playoff spots looking in. Ottawa, meanwhile, climb back to the top of the table for now, with fellow CPL Shield contenders Forge FC still to play this weekend, on Sunday against Vancouver FC.

BOX SCORE

Lineups 

Pacific FC: Melvin; Dada-Luke, Meilleur-Giguère, Ceceri, Mukumbilwa; Toussaint; Zanatta (Bahous 65′), Reid (O’Hea 46′), Yeates (Lamothe 83′), Tîrcoveanu (Dyer 46′); Moore (Young 46′)

Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Morer (Roy 77′), Didic, Walker, de Brienne (Singh 77′); Sissoko (Bassett 65′), Aparicio, Iliadis, Antinoro (Zapater 59′); Salter (Tabla 59′), Del Campo

Goals

2′ — Aboubacar Sissoko (Atlético Ottawa)
15′ — Ilias Iliadis (Atlético Ottawa)
22′ — Ruben Del Campo (Atlético Ottawa)

Discipline

28′ — Yellow: Andrei Tîrcoveanu (Pacific FC)
40′ — Yellow: Dani Morer (Atlético Ottawa)
64′ — Yellow: Georges Mukumbilwa (Pacific FC)
90+4′ — Yellow: Ballou Tabla (Atlético Ottawa)