By the time Ballou Tabla's penalty hit the back of the net deep into stoppage time at BMO Field, Atlético Ottawa had written themselves in the TELUS Canadian Championship history books.
With a 3-1 victory, they became the first Canadian Premier League club to eliminate eight-time champions Toronto FC. It was also the first MLS club that Atleti had defeated.
Ballou Tabla's goal, which completed his hat-trick, was his eighth in the competition, which tied him with Toronto FC's Jonathan Osorio for the most a player has scored in this competition's history.
"It's very special, especially with this club," said Tabla after the match. "I think this win will make the group have the energy we had last year."
For the defending CPL champions, facing a Canadian MLS club for the first time, it was a monumental performance. After a difficult start to their 2026 Canadian Premier League season, Tuesday was a clear reminder of this club's capabilities.
"I am pretty happy for these guys," said Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía. "We started slow with the results, but I focus all the time on the process. We created a good game plan, we created resiliency with the players, and I think that we deserved to win this match."
Atleti had come into the second half trailing after Deandre Kerr opened the scoring inside 16 minutes, giving early momentum to Toronto FC. Ottawa had to survive a number of dangerous TFC opportunities and long spells of possession.
But as the match reached the 70th minute, Atleti still trailed by just one. That's when a Roni Mbombio cross into the box fell at the feet of Tabla, and he dove to poke it past Luka Gavran into the Toronto FC net.
Ten minutes later, after a slip at the back from TFC, Tabla was through again, this time on a breakaway from nearly the halfway line. As he sprinted into the box, he calmly slotted the ball past Gavran to give Atleti the late lead.
Then, in stoppage time, he won the penalty, and when the referee pointed to the spot, there was no doubt who was going to step up.
"I have a lot of conversations with Ballou about what he means for this league, for this team, for me," said Mejía. "I remember that I said to him one sentence, 'I want you to start to play with the thoughts that I have about you, I want you to start to believe more in yourself'. Happy for him, because I think we deserve this kind of performance."
While Tabla was undoubtedly the hero, he was one of several Atleti players who put in strong shifts on the night. Roni Mbombio won possession eight times during an outstanding performance at the back, and Juan Castro and Manuel Aparicio did a strong job of taking control of the middle of the park, especially in the second half.
With Garissone Innocent unavailable, 23-year-old Tristan Crampton started just his third professional game and made some big saves, showing excellent management of the game late to see out the result.
"We win because we play with young players," said Mejía. "It's a team to create opportunities for young Canadian players, and Tristan is one of those guys."
Now, Atleti await Friday's match between FC Supra du Québec and Woodbridge Strikers to learn who they will face in the quarterfinal round.
With no more MLS clubs remaining in their half of the bracket, there is no doubt that after defeating the competition's most successful club, they will have all the confidence in the world to beat whomever they face next.
