It was hot Sunday on the Starlight Stadium pitch, but got hotter after the game as Pacific FC head coach James Merriman roasted his club’s performance, particularly those of the offensive players.
PFC failed to score at home for the third consecutive game in a 1-0 Canadian Premier League loss to Atlético Ottawa in front of 3,356 fans. What made the blank scoreline at Starlight more baffling for the home side was that PFC had come off scoring five goals in two road games in beating Valour FC 3-0 in Winnipeg and HFX Wanderers 2-1 in Halifax.
“Today was a big disappointment. We were nowhere near good enough today. Our fans deserve more,” said Merriman.
The bench boss praised his defenders, despite their one lapse that let former PFC midfielder and defending CPL MVP Ollie Bassett dribble down the wing unmolested at 39 minutes to slot the ball short side in Ottawa’s only good chance of the day. That was the worst possible thing to happen against an Ottawa club (8-7-4 in wins-losses-draws) known for its vise-like defensive approach. This is a team that will slow-walk a game to death after taking a lead and makes no apologies for it.
“We rolled up our sleeves and were unbreakable and solid. We bent but didn’t break,” said Carlos Gonzalez, head coach of the Ottawa club, which is owned by La Liga giant Atlético Madrid.
“If you are not that kind of team, you will be mediocre.”
Rookie Ottawa defender Tyr Walker out of Carleton University, making his pro debut Sunday, noted: “They [Atlético] have a plan in place. Once you get it, it is very easy to fit in.”
PFC dominated possession in the second half but could not find a way through the Ottawa defensive wall. The Tridents’ attempts at clever give-and-goes were stymied at every turn by an Ottawa foot or leg getting in the way, prompting Merriman to demand more brash and straightforward approaches on offence.
“We need to be decisive, more direct and with more quality,” he said.
“We need more attention to detail in the final act. We really lacked that today. It can’t come from our defenders. We need more from our attacking players. Our midfield and our attacking players need to be more aggressive. We’ve had too many games where we’ve had possession but no goals. At the end of the day, we need to score goals to win games. Credit to Ottawa. We gave them their best chance and they took it.”
PFC (9-5-5) remained in first place despite the result.
“We are still in the driver’s seat and have been the whole season. But every time we get a chance to really drive away, we let the opportunity pass,” said Merriman. “This is [about] mentality. We need to start showing more personality and taking these opportunities.”
The PFC players know they need to heed that advice.
“We have to keep working to get back to our winning ways,” said reliable Tridents defender and former sa国际传媒 U-18 player and Vancouver Whitecaps MLS-prospect Georges Mukumbilwa.
CORNER KICKS: The Tridents were without standout defender Amer Didic, with Merriman saying he was “not sure” how long the twice sa国际传媒-capped former Sporting Kansas City MLS prospect will be out … Returning to the lineup to warm applause as a late sub, following two games missed due to concussion protocol, was PFC forward Djenairo Daniels … The Tridents are in Langley on Saturday for the cross-strait derby against last-place Vancouver FC (3-11-5).
