The third meeting of the year between CPL rivals York United and Atlético Ottawa ended in a 0-0 draw on a hot Sunday afternoon at York Lions Stadium. 

The Nine Stripes (4-2-6) four-game home winning streak against Ottawa (7-4-1) came to an end. York remains in fifth place and sits six points above sixth-placed Pacific FC. Ottawa extended its lead at the top of the table to four points.

Atlético Ottawa is now undefeated in three meetings with York in all competitions this season. They won the first two games between the teams, at home in the Nation’s Capital. 

In the first half, neither team wanted to press aggressively in the heat (well over 40-celcius with the humidex) resulting in a slow-paced game. There were only a combined six shots at the break. 

At 10 minutes, York won a free kick in the attacking half and Orlando Botello found Oswaldo León in the box but the defender’s effort was saved by Ottawa goalkeeper Nathan Ingham. Five minutes later, Ottawa wing-back Kévin dos Santos played a through ball into Ballou Tabla who put it over the bar.

Both teams struggled to create dangerous scoring opportunities up until the 45th minute. After a beautiful passing sequence from the Nine Stripes, the team’s leading goalscorer, Julian Altobelli, found space at the top of the box but struck it just over the bar. 

Ottawa came out of the half-time break with more intensity. An aggressive high press won them a corner kick in the 50th minute and it almost led to a goal for halftime substitute Tyr Duhaney-Walker whose header was saved by York goalkeeper Ivan Pavela.

The game started to open up for both teams as York forward Massimo Ferrin got in behind the Ottawa backline in the 61st minute. Defender Loïc Cloutier made a brilliant sliding tackle to prevent the shot and keep the score at 0-0. 

Ottawa continued to put pressure on the York backline, dominating possession and sustaining pressure in the attacking third. The Nine Stripes bent but would not break as they secured a valuable point. 

Takeaways

York United: The Nine Stripes showed their defensive discipline and organization in this match. They stayed compact and made it very difficult for their rivals to create clear-cut scoring opportunities. They limited Ottawa to only three shots on target.  

Atlético Ottawa: Despite recording 65 per cent possession in the game, they were unable to break through a stubborn York defence. Ottawa’s front three struggled to impact the game and rarely troubled the York goalkeeper. 

Key Moment

Early in the second half, league-leading goalscorer Samuel Salter got in behind the York backline and was in on goal but Pavela came up with a huge save. Seconds later, Salter rifled a shot from outside the box and the 20-year-old keeper stopped that. 

Key Stat

This was only the second time Ottawa were held scoreless this season. The league leaders are the top scorers in the league with 28 goals.

Up Next

York will travel to Hamilton to take on Forge FC next Sunday. Forge sit in third place but have games in hand on the teams above them. 

Ottawa will travel to Calgary to take on the defending champion Cavalry FC on Saturday. Cavalry are in fourth place and are unbeaten in their last nine matches in all competitions.