October 5, 2024 – Canadian Premier League (CPL)
Atletico Ottawa News Release
York United welcome Atletico Ottawa to the Greater Toronto Area on Sunday, in a clash that could be a dress rehearsal of what we see in the playoff stages of this season’s Canadian Premier League.
With Forge having clinched the league with games to spare, while on the surface, there might be little to play for this weekend, the team that wins this all-Ontario clash could host a decisive playoff game at their home ground, giving them a huge advantage in clinching the North Star Cup, and potentially secure a place in next season’s CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Fourth-placed York have done well since Benjamin Mora was appointed head coach in early June, but their recent form has been inconsistent: Forge clinched the title with a 2-0 win when York travelled to Hamilton last week, and the Nine Stripes were on the back of another embarrassing home defeat against Cavalry with the same scoreline, suffering the ignominy of having a man sent off as well.
In fact, their last victory – a 1-0 win away to Vancouver on Sept. 6, was more of an isolated incident: York have only won one of their last five matches, losing three and drawing one of the remaining four. Their record currently stands at 10-6-9 this season.
Their opponents on Sunday, Atletico Ottawa, are in a much better vein of form, having gone the last seven games unbeaten, although their last four games have all ended in draws. The capital club spent much of the opening rounds of this season’s CPL unbeaten atop the table but have among the highest number of draws among the top four sides (10, second only to Cavalry), with a performance record of 10-10-5.
Head coach Carlos Gonzalez knows that while the season has taken its toll on the players physically, the mental stressors will also be weighing upon them, as they prepare for the playoffs.
“I think that now, everything is harder,” he said. “We know each other much better, because now everybody is focusing on the small details. I think it is harder, but I think we can see things with with two perspectives here: The more positive is that we are a team that has a good dynamic, in which we’ve been unbeaten since seven games, and we can see it with the other vision that we are achieving: that we’re ambitious and we want to win.”
York United welcome back a number of players from injuries and suspensions: Max Ferrari, Oswaldo Leon, Nyal Higgins, Noah Abatneh, and Dennis Salanovic are all available for…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at OurSports Central Canadian Premier League CPL News…