Atlético Ottawa hosted its first match of the 2026 Canadian Premier League (CPL) season last Sunday, with a dramatic draw against Vancouver FC.
Emiliano García's 97th-minute goal earned Atlético a point in the 'Champions for CHEO' Home Opener and sent a raucous 5,000+ crowd into a frenzy.
Head Coach Diego Mejía was delighted to be back home for the first time since the North Star Cup triumph in November 2025.
Read all of Diego's post-match quotes below...
On the Home Opener atmosphere:
It's amazing, the last time we played here was over five months ago. All our other matches have been away. I'm really happy to be back, to see all the fans - over 5,000 people - with us. It's incredible. We need to understand that the fans are for us; they mean everything. We need to take care of our standards, because all the fans that come to see the game here, they need to have the feeling that the team is pushing to win all the time. I'm very happy to be back.
On the team's performance:
The first 60 minutes were terrible. Our performance, the intensity we used to play, was really bad. We need to try to maintain our standards for 90 minutes. This is one of the values that made us winners last season: the intensity that this team usually has on and off the ball. After 60 minutes, it was good. We pushed, we took risks, we were aggressive, and I think that we need to split this match into two parts. We need to do work, more in our values than in our tactics and respect the team that we are.
On Lopez's injury:
I think that he has a problem with his ankle, but he'll be ok.
On Emiliano García's winning goal:
Emi [Garcia] is an example of a very coachable player. He arrived here with a lot of humility and energy to improve. At the beginning, he struggled a little bit with the rhythm of the league and the demands of the game model. He is a great guy. If there's someone who deserves to score its Emi, and I'm really happy for him.
On how the team is progressing:
The team tries all the time to play the model, but we have a younger team than last season, and we need to manage the games better. In the first half, we controlled the game well, but we need to be much more aggressive in the final third to try and create chances. We need to understand that the league has improved; last season, we played very well, and now teams play us differently. Teams sit in a low block and a resting defence. Even Forge, when we played in their home. It's going to be hard to open up these lines, but we are working on that and will continue to improve our players and our model.
