Much like its parent club in La Liga, Atlético Ottawa is near the higher end of the table in the Canadian Premier League. Ottawa, owned by Spanish giant Atlético Madrid, knows its place in the CPL post-season is pretty much secure.
Its opponent today at 11 a.m. PT at TD Place, Island-based Pacific FC, is a much more desperate team and in a pitched battle for the fifth and final playoff spot with five games remaining.
“They are fighting for a playoff spot and we’re fighting for the title race [a perk of winning the 2024 CPL regular season is a berth in the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup], so it’s going to be a good party over here,” said Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos González, in a statement.
If it’s a party in the nation’s capital, PFC head coach James Merriman knows his crew needs to be the one leaving happiest with the streamers, balloons and lampshades.
“I understand Ottawa are expecting a big crowd [with a Franco-Ontarian heritage-theme promotion]. They are making a push to finish as high up in the table as they can. I think it’s going to be another exciting, high-energy match right from the beginning to the end,” said Merriman.
The recent trajectory seems to be on the upswing for PFC, too, as the Tridents have followed up a lengthy dry spell through August with two wins and a draw in their last three games.
“The team is in a very good place in terms of the spirit and belief. We believe we can get something out of every single match now,” Merriman on Zoom.
It has the Tridents to the point they control their own destiny in that they will make the playoffs if they win out, which of course, is easier said than done.
“Now, at least we’re back in control and not relying on anybody else, which we were for a couple of weeks, looking for results of other games to go your way,” said Merriman.
The PFC gaffer said he feels his club has a standard to maintain after having made the playoffs the previous four seasons in the five seasons of franchise history.
“We need to make the playoffs. We need to make that final push,” said Merriman.
Ottawa leads the season series in league play 2-1, including a previous-game 3-0 win at Starlight Stadium in which Atlético scored all its goals in the first 22 minutes to end it early.
PFC, however, edged Ottawa 2-1 on aggregate in their two-legged Canadian Championship quarter-final set to advance to play the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer in the Voyageurs Cup semifinals (won 2-0 on two-legged aggregate by the ’Caps).
PFC leads the all-time series against Ottawa 7-6-6.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
