It was a must-win game for Vancouver FC against Ottawa.
VFC’s postseason came down to the 28th and final CPL regular season match on Saturday against Atlético, with Vancouver needing a win to grab the final playoff spot.
It ended in a scoreless tie,with Ottawa finishing the regular season in third place, while Vancouver missed out on the playoffs as the league’s seventh-place side.
Vancouver Head Coach Afshin Ghotbi declared himself "very proud" of the way the team played.
“I think it’s one of the best team performances we’ve had all season," Ghotbi said post-game.
"What was missing was the goal; we were looking for it, and in every stage we tried to add more attacking players hoping we could win the game and score the goal. But even when we started playing open, the way we defended in big spaces, getting caught in one-versus-one situations, the defenders did exceptionally well."
VFC captain Callum Irving – who set a new CPL record on Saturday for the most saves in a single season, with 95 – feels the lessons learned from this year’s race will serve them well down the line.
“We tried to make a real push in the last four games of the season, and I thought in these last four games there was a different mentality and a focus,” Irving said.
“A good chunk of people haven’t been in a fight for the playoffs at this point in their careers, so I think at any point when you get those pressure games and you can put those in your back pocket and move forward with that experience, you become better for it.”
Next season, Ghotbi would like to bring in an experienced central defender, but kids will continue to be the future at Vancouver FC, after another year where the club was near the top of the CPL in U-21 minutes.
“We want to be the football factory, we want to be the club that not only identifies young local players but develops them. We’ve already taken a step by building an under-19 team, we want to build a bigger pool of squads and selection, so we can bring players at younger ages into our organization, give them the training, give them the education so once they come into the first team they’re more prepared, they can perform and help us get results.”
CanPL.ca Player of the Match was Vancouver FC's Vasco Fry, after winning possession 14 times, making three tackles and winning seven duels. With the ball, he created two chances and led his side with 76 touches and 39 completed passes, also taking two shots of his own.
Ottawa’s playoff journey begins with a quarter-final on Sunday, Oct. 27 at TD Place, where they’ll play the winner of Wednesday night’s game between York United and Pacific FC.
