2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #20
Pacific FC vs. Atlético Ottawa
May 17, 2024 at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET
Starlight Stadium in Langford, British Columbia
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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Pacific FC hosts Atlético Ottawa in a top-of-the-table clash to kick off matchday #6 of the 2024 Canadian Premier League season at Starlight Stadium on Friday.

Both sitting with 11 points through five games, this game will be a key test for both, as they look to build off their strong starts to the 2024 CPL campaign.

Yet to lose with identical records of three wins and two draws, this will be a chance for both to prove that their starts to the season weren’t flukes, but instead a sign of what’s still to come for both sides.

As a result, this is expected to be a tight match, as seen when both teams met in leg one of their Canadian Championship quarter-final on May 8th, in which the game finished 0-0, which is why a win would be a big momentum-booster for either side, especially with leg two looming later this month.

Despite having similarities in their record and points total, however, how they’ve gone about getting those results have been quite different.

To start, there’s Pacific, who have put themselves in rare territory with their start – they’re still yet to concede a goal through five matches, becoming the first CPL side to keep a clean sheet in five straight league matches.

Given they entered this year with a re-jigged backline, that achievement is one they’ll be quite proud of, and will be eager to build on as they look to continue their strong start.

If they’re to do that, however, their offence will be a big focal point, as they’ve only scored five times in five matches, which is sixth among the eight teams in the CPL. With how good they’ve been defensively, that’s been enough to put them where they are, but one can only imagine where they could’ve been if they were able to find the net in their two draws, for example – a pair of 0-0 results against Cavalry and Forge, the latter of which came in their most recent match.

Of course, they’ll want to find those goals without sacrificing their strong defensive philosophy, which will be a challenge, but one they’ll welcome as they try and build on this start.

“We put a lot of emphasis and focus on when we’re without the ball,” Pacific’s head coach, James Merriman, said this week. “Seeing how we can we be more organized, more compact, getting everybody defending behind the ball, be more difficult to beat.”

“We’ve cleaned up some of that, we feel strong there, and now we need to work on what we’re doing with the ball, but I think we have players that want to enjoy the ball, so we’re working towards that.”

As for Ottawa, they’ve remained the team with the strongest attack in the league, scoring nine goals in five games, which leads the CPL. Plus, they’re the only team to score in every league game they’ve played, so they’ve done well to find goals at a relatively consistent rate, too.

Combined with a solid defensive record, as their four goals against is third-best in the league, that’s paced this strong start, as they’ve struck a nice balance between attack and defence.

Not only that, but they’ve scored the first goal in four straight games, allowing them to dictate matches, even if they’ll be frustrated that they dropped points in two of those four matches, something they’ll look to clean up.

Other than that, it’s been a good start to the year in Ottawa, and they can further cement that with a win in a match of this magnitude.

“It’s a big test tomorrow on the road against a good team who at the moment has the same points as us,” Ottawa’s head coach, Carlos González, said this week. “They’ve also had a great start, so this is going to be a good opportunity to see at what level we’re at, and see the level of personality and the growth in the team, which has been quite high over the last few weeks.”

In terms of roster availability, Pacific will be without the suspended Reon Moore after he earned a red card against Forge, while Atlético Ottawa remains without Kévin dos Santos, who has a long-term injury, and Nathan Ingham, who has a shorter-term ailment that González noted this week he’s close to returning from.

All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, FuboTV, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Can Pacific’s defence stay strong in face of new challenges? With each passing game, it feels like the question is asked – Will Pacific ever concede again? Yet, that’s the pressure of holding a streak like this – onlookers will be keeping a close eye to see how Pacific defends, opponents will want to be the ones to break it, and Pacific themselves will have the pressure to play perfectly in the face of that. Because of that, this game represents a challenge for that, but also for another key reason – this is the first time Pacific will play a team twice. Through the other seven games they’ve played in all competitions, they’ve played seven different teams, meaning Ottawa is the first team they’ve seen twice after their earlier Canadian Championship matchup. That’s something to watch, as Ottawa will have the added experience of having seen Pacific’s defensive system up close. For what it’s worth, Pacific’s not too bothered by that – a large part of their success has come from their ability to defend as a team in their 4-4-2, with the work their forwards and midfielders an underrated part of that system, something they feel they can maintain in this game. Along with the advantage of playing at home, those are factors they think can help them overcome any familiarity Ottawa will feel they have from their previous encounter. “We want to have a strong start,” Merriman said when asked about this challenge. “We want to be on the front foot without the ball and with the ball, and that’s what that’s how we need to play at home.”

• Midfield battle likely to be crucial for Ottawa: When playing a strong defensive team, scoring against them can often become a team effort, something that Ottawa will look to employ in this game. There, they’ll have one big area to hone in on, specifically – the midfield. Especially against Pacific’s expected midfield duo of Cédric Toussaint and Sean Young, who have formed a nice partnership, Ottawa will need to find ways to draw them out and play around them, opening up space to attack Pacific’s backline. That will require big performances from Ottawa’s midfielders, such as Aboubacar Sissoko, Manny Aparicio, Ollie Bassett and Alberto Zapater, who will need to be sharp in their combination play and precise in their movement on and off the ball. They’ve certainly got the quality in that group to do so, but they’ll have their hands full against Toussaint and Young, who are relentless defenders, ones who aren’t shy in playing aggressively and getting stuck in to help muck up the middle. Because of that, don’t be surprised if this a key battleground in a tightly contested matchup. “We have a good game plan with the coaches, so we’re going to study them and then try to bring the best performance to get the three points, but I’m not afraid of their players, we have good players here, so we’re going to put in our best performance to get the three points,” Sissoko said of Pacific’s midfield.

• Upcoming Canadian Championship tie adds wrinkle to matchup: Naturally, this is a huge match for both teams, as picking up three points will go a long way towards both teams aspirations to win a regular season title. Yet, they must balance chasing that win while knowing that they’ll face each other on this same pitch in less than two weeks in the Canadian Championship, where a spot in the semi-finals lays on the line. Especially after a cagey first leg, one that left everything to play for in the second leg, both teams will be expected to come out swinging in that one, which should make for fascinating viewing. Now, however, the challenge will be for both teams to find a way to win this match without giving away too much about what their approach might be in that future matchup. For what it’s worth, both sides are focused on the present, saying this upcoming game is their main and only focus, but one has to imagine that upcoming matchup hangs in the air in some way, which should make for a unique situation. Otherwise, that isn’t the only unique situation both teams will have to manage, however – this is also the first game back at Starlight Stadium for former Pacific players Manny Aparicio and Amer Didić, who joined Ottawa this offseason. Likely to earn a warm welcome given how important both were to Pacific over the years, that’ll quickly turn into hostility when the match starts, with Pacific eager to send them home with a loss as they show them what they’re missing out on. In a game that already won’t be short of fuel given what’s at stake, that’s another layer to keep an eye on, showing why this is quite the unique matchup, without even considering that it’s a top-of-the-table clash.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Pacific FC wins 5 || Atlético Ottawa wins: 4 || Draws: 6

Last meeting:

May 8, 2024 — Atlético Ottawa 0-0 Pacific FC (Canadian Championship)

KEY QUOTES

“You can see our commitment to defend as a team, everyone’s bought in, I think the culture is really, really strong. We have a good group, all of the guys get on with each other, which is important. As the season grows, we know that last season we had that dip, and the season before, too, everybody’s aware of that, all the players that are returning aren’t going to let that happen, we don’t want to let that happen, we want to continue and build every single match. We know there’s still lots we want to add to the way that we’re playing, we’re far from where we want to be, but we’re also in a really strong position. So I think the group is confident, they don’t fear anybody, and they’re ready for every challenge and we’re excited to continue to build..” — Pacific FC head coach James Merriman

“If we just had just our back four and goalkeepers working extra hard to keep us clean sheets, I don’t think that we would be where we are now. All 11 players are working, the forwards are pressing, the midfielders are trying to cover our backline so they don’t face as many shots – we’re all trying to take some pressure off our goalkeeper and back four to make their jobs a little easier.” — Pacific FC midfielder Cédric Toussaint