Canadian Championship Preliminary Round
ATLÉTICO OTTAWA vs VALOUR FC
When: Wednesday, May 1st, 6 p.m. CT
Where: The Stadium at TD Place, Ottawa, ON.
How to watch: OneSoccer is broadcasting all Canadian Premier League games live https://onesoccer.ca/
Supporters group viewing party: Elephant & Castle, 350 St. Mary Ave.
MATCH PREVIEW:
Valour FC is on the pitch again Wednesday as part of a busy week that saw them fall 2-1 to Forge FC in Hamilton last Saturday before these two back-to-back games in the nation’s capital against Atlético Ottawa – this first one a Canadian Championship opening round match, with a Sunday afternoon rematch in league play.
Valour opens the 2024 season with eight straight road matches, partly due to weather concerns in Winnipeg and with the new turf being installed at Princess Auto Stadium. This is the fourth of the eight matches following a 4-1 loss to Vancouver FC, a 2-0 defeat in Victoria to Pacific and the loss in Hamilton last weekend. The club has shown marked improvement over the three matches and, if not for a late error against Forge, could have easily emerged with at least a draw against the four-time CPL champions.
Centre back Tass Mourdoukoutas and midfielder and captain Raphael Ohin have yet to make their 2024 debuts for Valour, but have accompanied the team on this trip.
THE OTHER GUYS:
3 Facts about Atlético Ottawa:
-Ottawa is unbeaten through its first three games in league play with two wins and a draw. Their two wins came in a 2-1 decision over York United FC and 3-1 over HFX Wanderers while they tied Cavalry FC 1-1.
-Veteran midfielder Manny Aparicio, who spent 2019-20 with York and 2021-23 with Pacific FC, has made an instant impression with his new club, having already scored twice.
-Two former Valour FC players moved to Ottawa this offseason. Midfielder Matteo de Brienne has played in 253 minutes over the first three matches, while goalkeeper Rayane Yesli started the 3-1 win over Wanderers and made four saves.
VALOUR FC SPOTLIGHT:
#11: Noah Verhoeven, midfielder: The 24-year-old veteran returns to Ottawa and his old squad – he is on loan to Valour this season – after playing 27 matches for Atléti last season. Verhoeven has been steady for Valour through his first three games, showing his considerable experience. He has now played in 115 CPL and Canadian Championship matches during his career with Pacific FC, York United, Atlético Ottawa and Valour.
CRITICAL NUMBER
1-0-5
Valour has one win and five losses in its six Canadian Championship matches since the franchise’s birth in 2019. That includes 2-1 and 2-nil losses to HFX Wanderers in 2019, a 3-2 win over Ottawa in 2021 that was followed by a 2-1 loss to Forge in 2021, a 2-nil loss to Vancouver Whitecaps in 2022 and last year’s 3-1 setback to TSS Rovers in Vancouver.
Only one of the club’s six Canadian Championship matches have been played at home, but the winner of this preliminary would guarantee a date at Princess Auto Stadium as the quarter-final round features a home/away two-game format.
All-Time: Valour FC vs. Atlético Ottawa
Overall: (win-draw-loss): 6-3-4
Last meeting: September 24th, 2023, at The Stadium at TD Place: Atlético Ottawa 0 Valour FC 1