Vancouver FC Advances to Canadian Championship Final Despite Ottawa Victory
Vancouver FC is heading to the Canadian Championship final after securing a 6-2 aggregate victory over Ottawa Atlético FC, despite a 1-0 loss in the second leg played at TD Place on Tuesday. The win books Vancouver’s place in the October 1st final at B.C. Place Stadium.
Ottawa found the back of the net in the 45th minute through striker Carlos Rodriguez, who capitalized on a turnover and rounded Vancouver goalkeeper Callum Irving to cut the aggregate deficit to 3-2. The goal came after a first half dominated by Ottawa in possession, with 70% of the ball but only one shot on target. Sam Salter, Ottawa’s leading scorer with a CPL-record 17 goals this season, was relatively quiet in the opening 45 minutes.
The second half saw Ottawa continue to press, forcing several key defensive plays from Vancouver, including a diving save from Irving to deny Rodriguez in the 70th minute.Vancouver’s defence, led by Matteo Campagna and Aidan O’Connor, ultimately held firm through six minutes of stoppage time.
Interim Vancouver coach Martin Nash praised his team’s defensive performance. “I thought we defended extremely well today… I don’t think we gave them a ton of chances,” he stated. “They got into some good areas as they’re going to.They’re a fantastic team but we got timely blocks when we needed guys in the right position, guys covering for players when they get stretched.”
Vancouver had previously advanced through the tournament by defeating Pacific FC and Cavalry FC in penalty shootouts, winning the first leg of the semifinal on August 13th. Their league form has been challenging, with a recent win on August 4th against Halifax being their only victory in 11 league games (0-8-3) prior to that, and another win on May 3rd against Valour FC. Afshin Ghotbi was relieved of his coaching duties on July 23rd,with Martin Nash taking over on an interim basis.
This cup run provides a positive highlight for Vancouver amidst a difficult league campaign. Ottawa, meanwhile, has been in strong form, going unbeaten in their last four league matches (2-0-2) and losing only once in their last 15 games (8-1-6).
The final will be a family affair for the Nash brothers, with Martin coaching Vancouver FC and older brother Steve Nash being part of the Whitecaps’ ownership group. Many Vancouver FC players are products of the Whitecaps academy, adding further connections to the championship match.
the Whitecaps are seeking their fifth Canadian Championship title, having won the voyageurs Cup in the last three years, and have been runners-up seven times. This marks only the second time a CPL team has reached the Canadian Championship final, following Forge FC’s appearance in the 2020 (played in 2022) tournament.
