Match Analysis: Pacific FC 1-1 Atlético Ottawa

September 11, 2022 – Canadian Premier League (CPL) – Atletico Ottawa News Release

Final Score: Pacific FC 1-1 Atlético Ottawa

Goalscorers: Didic 45+2′ ; Bassett (Pen.) 26′

Game of the 2022 season: 95

CPL match: 345

Match in a minute or less

The final matchday of the weekend provided no movement in the table as Atlético Ottawa remained in the top spot and Pacific FC in fifth after a 1-1 draw at Starlight Stadium.

The two sides traded first-half set-piece goals. Former Pacific midfielder Ollie Bassett drew the ire of his former fans after opening the scoring from the spot and then proceeding to greet them with a finger wag. But they were ignited by an Amer Didic free-kick goal on the final kick of the first half.

Both sides also extended their winless streaks, as Ottawa have now drawn three straight matches, while this was the first point Pacific have picked up in their last four outings.

Three Observations

Draw keeps Canadian Premier League playoff race incredibly tight

At the start of this weekend, the Canadian Premier League saw five points of separation between its top five sides. Nothing changed in that regard over the past three days.

In fact, things are arguably even tighter than they were previously as Pacific now move into a tie on points with fourth-place Valour in the table. They still sit outside of the playoff line as Valour have a +7 goal difference compared to their even 0, but do have a game in hand on three of the top four.

With Valour and Cavalry losing this weekend, however, this match was a missed opportunity for Pacific to climb back above that line. Head coach James Merriman spoke after the match about how his side continues to squander chances to move up the table.

“It has felt like that for the last few weeks,” he said. “So we keep speaking about the same things and we need to really understand this. We need to understand it and I’m not sure, I think there were a lot of good things today. But in the last 20-30 minutes we have to want it more. We have to push for the three points, and we have to push for the win, and I think we lacked that again today.”

With margins so thin at the moment in the league, any points left on the table could prove costly.

“Looking forward, we’ve got five games left and it’s close as everyone knows,” said Pacific defender Amer Didic. “It is a top-five battle and every point is going to matter. So coming out of here with one point, it’s better than zero obviously, but we’re gutted not to get three and…