| Vancouver FC vs. Atlético Ottawa June 5 at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT The Stadium at The Langley Events Centre Watch Live: OneSoccer Tickets available here |
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Atlético Ottawa's west coast odyssey continues as they take on Vancouver FC in Langley on Friday.
They will now officially begin the post-Diego Mejía era, with the announcement this past weekend that their former coach has taken over as manager with Atlético San Luis in Liga MX.
Friday night's match is one that will certainly be well contested until the final whistle, considering what late goals have meant for both clubs this season.
The last time the two sides met, the Eagles looked like they were cruising to victory in the nation's capital, before Emiliano García equalized in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time.
This has been the story of Vancouver FC's season to date, as this past weekend against the Halifax Wanderers, it happened again in a 1-0 loss on a 90+3 minute Tavio Ciccarelli winner. It was the third time this season, already, that they have dropped points in second-half stoppage time.
By contrast, Atlético Ottawa have now picked up points from second-half stoppage-time goals on three occasions this season. That included Ballou Tabla's penalty in the 90+11th minute equalizer in this past Saturday's 2-2 draw with Pacific FC at Starlight Stadium.
Atleti enter the weekend in the fourth and final CPL playoff spot, six points above Vancouver FC in the standings.
This, despite the underlying numbers telling a different story, with Vancouver FC sitting third best in the league at +3.28 expected goal difference, and Atlético Ottawa second lowest at -6.46.
Through the past few weeks, however, Atlético Ottawa have found ways to win or get points, while Vancouver FC have consistently found ways to lose despite strong performances.
Vancouver FC have just two wins in 15 all-time meetings with Atlético Ottawa. They have not beat them in the league since 2023.
While they continue to search for Mejía's successor, assistant Diego Campos will be on the touchline for Friday's match before heading to San Luis himself with assistant Alex Baró.
Can Vancouver finally turn a strong performance into three points, or will Alético Ottawa continue their unbeaten run as they begin a new era?
NEWS & NOTES
- The Eagles' leading goalscorer Mo Amissi is still on international duty with Burundi -- but is scheduled to be back for next weekend's match.
- Vancouver FC's Emrick Fotsing and Atlético Ottawa's Sergei Kozlovskiy remain with Canada-U20 at the Tournoi Maurice Revello in France.
- Atleti Goalkeeper Coach Romuald Peiser will be part of the Canadian Women’s National Team's camp from June 1 to June 10.
- Roni Mbombio has been called up by Equatorial Guinea for a pair of friendlies, but Santiago López is back and available after coming off the bench last week.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Vancouver FC: Irving; Doner, Campagna, Field, Proctor; Ssewankambo, Polisi; Toomey, Mézquida, Bah; Campbell
Atlético Ottawa: Crampton; Cloutier, Abatneh, Aguilar; Antinoro, Castro, Aparicio, Coulanges; Tabla, Villal; García
KEY QUOTES
"I think they're a really good team, a lot of talent in their group, and we know they've scored a lot of late goals since the start of the season. They've been finishing games really strong, so you've got to play the full 90 minutes against them, and it's something we've obviously got to get better at. - Vancouver FC head coach Martin Nash
"I'm trying to give my knowledge and experiences to the team. We all know that we've had games where we're better than the other team, or we feel like we're better than the other team, then we have to find a way to win." - Vancouver FC defender Isak Ssewankambo
"The team feels really good. We feel confident about going to Vancouver to have a good result. The team is doing very well, not just the comeback against Pacific last week. Not only about the results, but they are playing in the way that the club and everybody here wants. " - Atlético Ottawa interim head coach Diego Campos.