Atlético Ottawa upset Toronto FC in Canadian Championship

Toronto FC head coach Robin Fraser said his Major League Soccer team should feel "embarrassed" after surrendering three unanswered goals in the second half to lose 3-1 to visiting Atlético Ottawa on Tuesday in the 2026 Telus Canadian Championship preliminary round.

"(I) felt like we weren't assertive enough in the moments we needed to be, and then I thought the goals we gave up were tragic," said a visibly frustrated Fraser.

Ottawa's upset was fuelled by forward Ballou Tabla, whose brilliant hat-trick performance gave Atlético their first-ever win against TFC. After the match, Tabla said he was pleased he made his teammates happy.

"I always want to go forward in this competition," he said.

Tabla drew even for Ottawa in the 71st minute when he snuck a shot past TFC goaltender Luka Gavran. Ten minutes later, he scored the go-ahead goal off a breakaway. Tabla secured the hat-trick in extra time on a penalty shot.

Atlético head coach Diego Mejia said he hopes that his team, 1-1-3 in CPL play this season, can use the win to build momentum.

"We are a team that, if we follow the plan, we can compete all the time," Mejia said.

TFC led early after Canadian forward DeAndre Kerr took a feed from Derrick Etienne Jr. and slipped the ball past Ottawa's goaltender Tristan Crampton in the 16th minute for his first goal of the season. But TFC couldn't net a second goal, despite recording eight shots, three on net.

After the match, TFC veteran Jonathan Osorio apologized to the fans for the performance and attributed the loss to Ottawa capitalizing on TFC's mistakes.

"I wish them the best (for) the rest of the tournament," he said. "For us, it's about turning around quickly, because what's happened has happened. We have to learn."

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