Wanderers draw against Atlético Ottawa but lament conceding another late goal

When the Halifax Wanderers and Atlético Ottawa square off, late match drama is all but guaranteed. That was the case again Saturday afternoon as the two sides drew 1-1, with both goals coming in an action-packed extra time, at the Wanderers Grounds.

The majority of the match can only be described as choppy, 90-minutes of football filled with fouls and frustration. Atlético Ottawa played with a five-man backline and low block, working hard to clog up passing lanes and strike on the counter. And although head coach Patrice Gheisar's side struggled to create, his players visibly frustrated at times, they also limited their opposition's chances, resulting in a stalemate of sorts.

Until extra time, that is.

A cleared ball by Atlético Ottawa struck a retreating Cale Loughrey in the back and bounced to striker Rubén del Campo, who coralled it just outside of Halifax's 18-yard box. He then played a nifty through ball between Loughrey and defender Dan Nimick to former Wanderer Sam Salter. Taking a touch, Salter cut back against the grain and booted a right-footed blast which deflected off a defender and ended up in the back of the net.

Salter's goal felt eerily similar to several other late match heartbreakers the Wanderers conceded this year but they responded with their own heroics as captain Andre Rampersad was cut down in the box off a sloppy challenge by midfielder Manny Aparicio, giving his side a penalty.

With only second remaining in the match, Nimick once again took to the spot — as he has multiple times this season — with a result on the line for him and his teammates. He just beat Atlético Ottawa keeper Nathan Ingham with a low shot to the bottom left corner to tie things up.

The Wanderers rescued a point on Saturday, leaving them six points behind Vancouver FC for the fifth and final playoff spot. But hearing from the players post-match, they spoke about the need to clean up in front of their goal if they're going to find a way into the post-season.

"First of all, we don't have to concede that goal," full-back Zachary Fernandez told reporters. "Soccer is like that, one second can change the whole game. We were good (defensively) for 89 minutes, but a soccer game is 90 minutes, so we need to stay concentrated until the end, we’ve conceded a lot of late goals, and we’ve got to stop that."

Nimick shared a similar observation during an interview with OneSoccer's Adam Jenkins and Oliver Platt, lamenting the fact that the ball deflected off him to give Atlético Ottawa the lead.

"It actually deflected off of me and I felt it summed the season up. I tried to get a block in and it deflects top bins," said Nimick.

"But I think the reaction from the guys, no one got their heads down even though it was late. Rampy does well to get a PK and I can put it away. It seems to always happen with us and Ottawa where there's late drama but I wish it could be a win because we desperately need points right now."

Fernandez went a step further, adding he felt that instead of a point gained, Saturday was an example of two points lost.

"We're going to take every point that we can get. But yeah, for me, we lost two points today," he said.

Given the Wanderers had the bulk of possession but failed to force Ingham to make a single save, sending only seven shots towards net, it's understandable that Fernandez felt like his side didn't make the most of their opportunities.

And at this juncture of the season, every match is do or die for the Wanderers. It's something, said Gheisar, that could be felt on the pitch.

“Every one of these games is a playoff game, and I felt that today,” he said. “I don’t know if (everyone) felt it, but it felt like a playoff game (for us).”

The Wanderers continue their homestand on September 2 as they host York United FC. They currently have nine matches left.

From the Notebook:

1. Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos Gonzalez was fuming as he headed into the post-match presser. I asked him what he thought of the match from his perspective: "The performance today was great. We managed the game and we should of won. You know, at the end of the day, we lose because of a bad decision from the referee, a clear offside. I'm very disappointed, very disappointed because we fight so much, we work so hard, and it seems it's not enough. It seems that when you have it in your fingers, somebody takes it from you. As I say, I'm very disappointed because I think today is a confirmation of what I've been feeling in the last few months. I've been feeling that somebody doesn't want us to win the league. And today, with the clear decision of the ref on that action, the last action, is a clear confirmation — not only on the field, also off the field," he said. Surprised, I followed up to ask for clarification of examples he felt were going against his side. Gonzalez said their recent match against Cavalry had two bad refereeing calls. He also accused the league of delaying Atlético Ottawa's signings "for two months," saying "we cannot sign players." Now, every coach in the CPL has a go at the refereeing once in a while; it's a tactic and easy crutch when you feel your side has been hard done by. Gonzalez took things a step further yesterday, calling into question the integrity of the league across multiple fronts. It'll have the opposite effect of what he intended: by lumping in a refereeing call (and I've seen the photo online referring to the missed offside) with signing issues, Gonzalez has cheapened any legitimacy of his allegations. I'd heard a few weeks ago going back to the Sean Rea saga that Atlético Ottawa were frustrated with the signing processes; as I reported last week, they've also signed Spaniard Jesús del Amo but haven't been able to announce it for whatever reason. But putting the league on blast isn't going to help his woes. If anything, he's only guaranteed himself a nice fine.
2. Salter's post-match interview was a little less heated. He also alleged that Wanderer Massimo Ferrin was offside on the play that led to the penalty and added his side were unlucky not to leave the East Coast with three points in the bag. But one thing's for sure: Salter puts on his work boots to play his former club as he's continued to make an impact anytime he comes back to the Wanderers Grounds. Last year, in that electric 3-2 Wanderers win, he netted a late brace; he again found some last minute magic on Saturday. Speaking post-match, I asked him how it feels to come back to Halifax and, in his quiet way, he smiled and talked about how much he likes to play in front of fans. His celebration in front of The Kitchen was certainly a cheeky nod.
3. With his penalty heroics, Nimick now has eight goals on the season. He's third in the Golden Boot race, which is impressive. What's even more wild is the fact that Nimick has set a single-season record for PK goals. He passed Salter, who previously scored six from the spot in 2022 for the Wanderers. Although he's clearly frustrated by some of his mistakes the last month or so, Nimick's ability to concentrate and deliver offence cannot be understated: he leads the Wanderers in goals and is tied for the lead in assists. In total, he has 11 goal contributions.
4. To unpack Nimick's quote about his deflection summing up the season: the Wanderers are giving up goals they shouldn't. As per footystats.org, their expected goals against per match is  1.28 but they're giving up 1.63 or roughly an extra goal above expected every three matches. This discrepancy could be a number of things, ranging from goalkeeping, poor decision making, bad luck or a concoction of all of the above. Whatever the culprit, Nimick's got a point.
5. Not to make this Notebook Nimick-centric but I asked Gheisar about the defender post-match in light of what's been a difficult stretch (by his standards) for the 23-year old defender: "I think you go back and Dan wanted to really come out today. He's been excellent in training this week. He was really upset about the result against Valour. No discredit to Valour, they're a good team, but he blamed himself for the own goal. So you look at a guy like that, he's willing to put the weight of the world on his shoulders, to defend, to pass, to tackle, and to put himself in a pressure situation at the 90, I don't know, fifth, sixth, seventh minute, to tie the game up. So I was really, really happy to see him, but he's a growing individual with great abilities to take on pressure and set the standard for the team. So there's not a lot of guys that can do that, I guarantee. I know it looks easy for all of us but to score that many PKs in those pressure situations is not easy. I think it speaks more about his character than it does about his abilities." As Gheisar highlighted, Nimick was all over the pitch on Saturday with two shots, nine passes into the final third, 10 out of 14 completed long balls, a couple tackles and 10 out of 13 duels won in addition to his match-tying PK.
6. Looking at the starting XI, I was surprised to see Ryan Telfer and Tiago Coimbra both on together at the same time in attacking roles. Post-match, Gheisar explained it was part of a plan to try and surprise Atlético Ottawa tactically as clubs become used to certain setups. Also, given Gonzalez's squad's set piece ability, Gheisar said he wanted Coimbra's ability to win aerial duels. Although maybe a bit disjointed in attack, Coimbra did his bit defensively with two shot blocks and four clearances, including a goal line ball.
7. Just a quick note on Wesley Timoteo, who I thought had a fine match before being subbed off with injury. When asked, Gheisar said Timoteo "was really shaken by it" but that there's no update at this time. Timoteo was seen leaving the Grounds with a walking boot and crutches. If he's out for any length of time, it'll be a huge blow to the Wanderers who have depended on his consistency and set piece ability on both sides of the ball.
8. It may not feel like it but the Wanderers are now undefeated in six matches at home. They last lost at the Grounds on May 20 against Valour. Given they still have five out of their remaining nine matches at home, it bodes well for their playoff push if they can keep it up.

Cover Photo Credit: Trevor MacMillan / Halifax Wanderers FC