TORONTO — Atletico Ottawa defeated HFX Wanderers 3-1 Wednesday for its first-ever Canadian Championship win, rallying from an early 1-0 deficit.
But the search for a first victory, in cup or Canadian Premier League play, continues for expansion side Vancouver FC after a 1-0 loss to York United FC in the nightcap of the Canadian Championship doubleheader at York Lions Stadium.
Mo Babouli scored from the penalty spot in the sixth minute for York, which dominated the first half but failed to build on its lead and had to battle a resurgent Vancouver in the second.
The expansion side threw everything in attack in a late bid for an equalizer, often leaving itself open to a counter-attack. York, however, was unable to take advantage.
TSS Rovers FC, a semi-pro side that plays in League1 B.C., upset Winnipeg's Valour FC 3-1 in Burnaby in the late game Wednesday.
On Thursday, Pacific FC entertains Cavalry FC in Langford, B.C., to complete the opening round. The winner will host TSS Rovers in the quarterfinals.
CF Montreal and Forge FC won their preliminary-round matches at home Tuesday with Montreal blanking Vaughan SC 2-0 and Forge dispatching FC Laval 3-0.
Ottawa will host Forge while Montreal visits Toronto FC in the May 9-11 quarterfinals. York will entertain the defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps.
The Whitecaps and Toronto, the 2022 tournament runner-up, both earned first-round byes.
York made the semifinals of last year's competition, beating Ottawa and Pacific in penalty shootouts before falling 2-1 to the Whitecaps.
Ottawa, last year's Canadian Premier League regular-season champion, lost in the first round to Valour and York in 2021 and 2022, respectively. But it rallied for the win after a difficult start Wednesday.
Malcolm Shaw and Diego Espejo scored four minutes apart late in the first half for Ottawa and captain Maxim Tissot added a late insurance goal to dispatch Halifax. Massimo Ferrin scored on a beautiful free kick for Halifax, which finished six places and 20 points below Ottawa in 2022.
York and Vancouver FC were coming off season-opening losses on the weekend. York lost 2-0 to visiting Valour while Vancouver fell 1-0 at Pacific in its CPL debut.
Babouli gave York an early lead after referee Michael Venne ruled that Dutch midfielder Oussama Alou had been taken down by Vancouver's Ibrahim Bakare. The contact seemed minor but that didn't stop Babouli from recording his sixth goal in 10 appearances for York.
Venne made his presence felt early, yellow-carding a Vancouver player for interfering with a York throw-in.
Despite York's early dominance, Vancouver had its chances and came on in the second half as York was forced to shuffle its lineup due to injuries, including veteran midfielder Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare.
York goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos made a marvellous fingertip save to deny Shaan Hundal late in the first half. And Vancouver substitute Gabriel Bitar hammered a shot from well outside the penalty box off the crossbar in the 50th minute.
Halifax had more of the ball in the opening game and perhaps deserved better. But Ottawa took its chances.
"I leave that game scratching my head … I thought we did enough to get more out of this game," said Halifax coach Patrice Gheisar.
"We had 65 per cent possession … but obviously the game is decided by goals," he added. "We've got to do a better job when we get a lead."
Halifax also had the lead over Ottawa on Saturday at TD Place in their CPL season opener. Zachary Fernandez opened the scoring before Ollie Bassett replied for Ottawa on the stroke of halftime. The game finished knotted at 1-1.
Bassett, named last season's CPL Player of the Year and the Players' Player of the Year, lasted just 15 minutes Wednesday before exiting holding his hamstring. And it got worse for Ottawa four minutes later.
Ferrin curled a free kick from just outside the penalty box over the Ottawa wall and past goalkeeper Nathan Ingham, who got a hand to it but could not stop it.
Shaw tied it up for Ottawa in the 40th minute, gracefully heading home a cross from Gianni Dos Santos, who was found in space down the left flank by a fine pass from the back from defender Karl Ouimette.
Four minutes later, after Halifax failed to deal with a corner, Noah Verhoeven's cross grazed Karl Ouimette's head and hit the post, bouncing straight to Espejo to knock home for a 2-1 lead.
Tissot added to the lead in the 85th, racing from box to box to catch up with Jean-Aniel Assi on a counter-attack with just one defender back. After getting the pass, Tissot tucked the ball in before sliding out of play.
"A very complete game," said Ottawa coach Carlos Gonzalez.
Gheisar, who coached Vaughan Azzurri against Halifax in the 2019 Canadian Championship, has revamped his roster since taking over the team in November. He gave debuts to 10 players — seven starters and three substitutes — on the weekend while Ottawa showcased eight newcomers — six starters and two off the bench.
The Canadian Championship winner lifts the Voyageurs Cup and earns a berth in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League, the flagship club competition in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
