The wins are continuing to pile up for Vancouver FC, who defeated Atlético Ottawa 3-1 at the Stadium at Langley Events Centre on Saturday.
As a result, they've now won six of their last seven games in CPL play, allowing them to leapfrog Ottawa into third place in the table after this latest result.
Ottawa, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat of the Gustavo Leal era, as they were unable to find a victory in their new manager's CPL road debut.
To start this game, Vancouver made three changes to the team that beat Cavalry at home a week prior, with two of them being forced ones due to injury and suspension, while Ottawa kept an unchanged lineup from the side that beat Pacific FC at home in their last game.
Despite those changes, it didn't take long for Vancouver to find their rhythm in this one, as they started the match on the front foot. As a result, they had the ball inside Ottawa's net after just seven minutes, doing well to turn that early pressure into a lead.
After winning the ball high up the field, Vancouver did well to hit Ottawa in transition, which allowed Damiano Pecile to find Mohamed Amissi with a probing through ball. From there, Amissi did the rest, as despite not having the greatest shooting angle, he managed to roof a shot into the near post of the net with his left foot to put his team ahead 1-0.
Vancouver's strong start would continue into the 14th minute, as they managed to build on their early lead. After a nice run into the box from Thierno Bah, he was taken down by Manny Aparicio, winning Vancouver a penalty.
From there, Lys Mousset would step up to take the spot kick, and the veteran striker would make no mistake with his attempt, finding the bottom left corner to put his team up 2-0.
Eager to avenge his earlier foul, Aparicio tried a shot from distance in the 21st minute, but while he got good power on his strike, he'd be unable to keep his attempt below the crossbar.
Unperturbed by Ottawa's attempt, Vancouver continued to push for a third, and came extremely close to finding it in the 22nd minute.
Once again, it'd be Pecile playing a big role, as he made a great driving run through midfield before finding an open Mousset in the box. From there, it took two attempts from Mousset to find the net, as his first shot was stopped by Ottawa's Christopher Kalongo before he fired home the rebound for what seemed to be his team's third goal.
Unfortunately for him and Vancouver, however, the goal would eventually be ruled out after an FVS replay, as it was determined that Vancouver had committed a foul in the lead-up to the goal, keeping the game at 2-0 and handing Ottawa a lifeline.
Ottawa nearly immediately capitalized on that lifeline, too, as they almost found the net in the 32nd minute. After a good cross into the box from Jean-Aniel Assi, Ballou Tabla fired a dangerous half-volley towards goal, but his shot sliced just wide of the post.
Eventually, though, Vancouver would find that elusive third goal before the half-time break even came around, having done well to navigate a period where both teams traded half-chances.
Pecile, this time, would play finisher instead of creator, as he carved through the midfield before firing a low shot towards goal, and he found the bottom corner with his attempt to put his side up 3-0.
With that, it seemed that his team had already done enough to secure victory, although, given Ottawa's offensive chops, they knew that their lead could quickly evaporate if they didn't lock things down in the second half.
On the other side of the break, Ottawa attempted to find some new life, as they made three changes at halftime to ignite a spark in their attack.
Those changes would pay immediate dividends, too.
First, new signing Diego Gutiérrez, who was making his club debut, fired a shot from the edge of the box that almost squeaked through the hands of Vancouver goalkeeper Callum Irving.
Then, moments later, Gabriel Antinoro had a shot from distance, and Irving once again struggled to hold onto it, which allowed Tim Arnaud, who had also come onto the pitch at half-time, to slot home the rebound to cut Vancouver's lead to 3-1.
Having been handed that warning shot, however, Vancouver did well to slow the game down as they looked to protect their lead. As a result, other than a few Ottawa half-chances, the next dangerous opportunity for the visitors wouldn't come until the 81st minute, when Kamron Habiullah found the space for a low shot that forced a good save out of Irving.
At the other end, Pecile stepped up to take a dangerous free kick from distance in the 86th minute, but his curled shot would be nicely punched away by Kalongo.
Continuing a busy sequence from both teams, Arnaud almost found his brace in the 90th minute, as a loose ball found him in a dangerous position inside the box, but he sent his attempt right at Irving.
In the end, though, while Ottawa made a valiant push to cut Vancouver's lead to one goal during extra time, none of their crosses would get past the Vancouver defence, other than a ball that almost forced an own goal in the third minute of stoppage time, leaving that Arnaud attempt as their last dangerous chance of the game.
As a result, Vancouver were able to cruise to victory without too much resistance, allowing them to continue their strong run of form.
Box Score
Starting XIs
Vancouver FC: Irving; Doner, Campagna, Field, Proctor (Godbout 90+2'); Ouattara (Gee 69'), Pecile; Bah (Traore 69'), Mezquida (Toomey 69'), Amissi; Mousset (Campbell 60')
Atlético Ottawa: Kalongo; Assi (Arnaud 46'), Mbomio, Cloutier, Timotéo (Aguilar 46'); Antinoro, Castro (Habibullah 74') , Aparicio, Coulanges (Gutiérrez 46'); Tabla, García (Fleuriau Chateau 61')
Box Score
Goals
7' — Mohamed Amissi (Vancouver FC)
14' — Lys Mousset (Vancouver FC) (pen.)
45+2' — Damiano Pecile (Vancouver FC)
50' — Tim Arnaud (Atlético Ottawa)
Discipline
58' — Yellow: Abdoulaye Ouattara (Vancouver FC)
78' — Yellow: Ballou Tabla (Atlético Ottawa)
84' — Yellow: Daniel Aguilar (Atlético Ottawa)
85' — Yellow: Kamron Habibullah (Atlético Ottawa)
90+3' — Yellow: Tom Field (Vancouver FC)
CPLSoccer.com Player of the Match
Damiano Pecile, Vancouver FC
Pecile was extremely lively in Vancouver's midfield, picking up a goal and an assist in a top showing, one where he also generated three shots, created two chances, completed 35 out of 40 passes (88%), completed one dribble, made six passes into the final third and completed six out of nine long balls offensively, while also making one tackle, one interception and winning two out of three duels defensively.
What's Next?
Vancouver will head east for their next matchup, as they take on Forge FC in Hamilton on Friday, August 7th (4:00 p.m. PT/7:00 p.m. ET). Ottawa, meanwhile, will return to TD Place for a home clash against the Halifax Wanderers on Saturday, August 8th (1:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. AT).