RECAP + HIGHLIGHTS: Atlético Ottawa vs. Forge FC | July 12, 2025

Atlético Ottawa snatched a point at the death on Saturday afternoon in the capital, as a last-minute Ballou Tabla penalty secured a 1-1 draw with Forge FC, keeping Atleti on top of the CPL table.

It didn't take long for Forge to get the scoring started. Before the game was 10 minutes old, Ben Paton — given license to get further forward thanks to Forge's back three — brought down a long ball by Noah Jensen tapped the ball around Gabriel Antinoro to get into the box. Paton's pass across the area met a fortunate deflection and landed kindly for Kyle Bekker, and the Forge captain smashed it home to make it 1-0.

Forge did encounter a setback around the half-hour mark, as midfielder Khadim Kane went to ground without contact in his own half, with an apparent knee injury. Kane, who had already required treatment a couple of times in the game, couldn't continue and Bobby Smyrniotis had to bring Marko Jevremović in to replace the youngster.

Just a few minutes after that, Forge had to make another change, as Malik Owolabi-Belewu also couldn't continue; so, Smyrniotis had to bring 18-year-old Zayne Bruno into his defence instead.

Coming into the second half, Forge sought to add to their lead and created a couple of excellent opportunities within the first 10 minutes. Bekker was inches from scoring his second of the game, but his shot from high in the box took a deflection and hit the post.

Ottawa managed to pick up the tempo in the after the game passed the 60th minute, swaming Forge's half more consistently and playing quicker to try and open things up for an equalizer. Their attempts became increasingly desperate though, as they struggled to get the ball into the middle of the penalty area.

Atleti did generate a few chances to shoot from distance, including a couple for Ballou Tabla, but they did not manage to test Koleilat with those ambitious attempts.

At last though, something fell in Ottawa's favour. A ball came loose in the box and Joaquim Coulanges leapt to get his head on it, as Forge's Rezart Rama kicked high in the air and made contact with him. The referee awarded a penalty kick, which Ballou Tabla expertly scored to his right to make it 1-1 deep in stoppage time, all but ensuring the draw.

Ottawa actually came incredibly close to winning with their final attack of the game, as a ball from a corner got redirected goalward, but David Choinière and Koleilat happened to be in perfect position on the goal line to combine powers and clear it away.

The match thus ended on level footing, which means that Atlético will remain in first place in the CPL, with a one-point margin over Forge.

BOX SCORE

Lineups

Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Cloutier, Abatneh (Duhaney-Walker 86'), Kozlovskiy (Khoury 73'); Antinoro (Coulanges 73'), Aparicio, Castro (Sissoko 58'), Dos Santos (Zapater 58'); Rodríguez, Salter, Tabla

Forge FC: Koleilat; Achinioti-Jönsson, Nimick, Owolabi-Belewu (Bruno 38'); Paton, Bekker (Massunda 68'), Kane (Jevremović 31'), Jensen (Borges 68'), Rama; Babouli, Ampomah (Choinière 68')

Goals

9' — Kyle Bekker (Forge FC)
90+3' — Ballou Tabla (Atlético Ottawa) (Penalty)

Discipline

70' — Yellow: Jassem Koleilat (Forge FC)