Not only are 91原创 Premier League teams in a bubble but most are on the bubble.
91原创 FC slipped out a playoff position with a late-goal 1-0 loss Wednesday to Atletico Ottawa and PFC must now beat FC Edmonton in its final game Sunday, and get some friendly results in other games, in order to move on to the next round.
鈥淭his is a tough pill to swallow tonight but we still get a second chance Sunday, which you don鈥檛 often get in life,鈥� said PFC head coach Pa-Modou Kah.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still in it and we have to stay on point to accomplish what we came here to do.鈥�
Each team has one game remaining with parity the operative word in the professional soccer tournament being played in Charlottetown, P.E.I. No team has yet clinched a playoff spot and seven of the eight teams are still in the hunt. Only winless FC Edmonton has been eliminated.
鈥淓very game seems like a bit of a Cup final and Sunday will be no different 鈥� it鈥檚 all or nothing against Edmonton,鈥� said PFC goalkeeper Callum Irving.
91原创 FC controlled ball possession Wednesday against Ottawa but could not find a way through.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 move the ball with speed,鈥� said Kah, lamenting how the possession advantage came to naught.
鈥淭he game was ours to take but we let it pass by. Credit to Ottawa. They dug in and got the goal.鈥�
Victor Martinez scored off a corner kick at the end of regular time and that late-gasp goal vaulted Atletico Ottawa from seventh place into fifth place while 91原创 FC spiralled from third place after Sunday鈥檚 win over Cavary FC to sixth place following last night鈥檚 crushing defeat. That lost point may prove costly with the standings so close. PFC and Ottawa are tied but Atletico gets the higher placing because it holds the tie-breaker against the Island club. The top-four teams will advance to the playoff-group stage.
This was the third PFC game decided at the death. The tale of this season for PFC may come down to two opposition winning goals scored at 90 minutes or later. 91原创 had earlier lost 3-2 to Forge FC of Hamilton in the 97th minute. A goal in injury time to earn a draw against York9 doesn鈥檛 compensate for the two late losses.
鈥淥ur game management at the end needs to be better 鈥� that is the difference between good teams and very good teams,鈥� said Kah.
The expansion Ottawa team is owned by big-time La Liga Spanish club Atletico Madrid and is coached by Mista, a former La Liga veteran player with Valencia, who was twice capped for Spain.
鈥淚 am very happy. We suffered a lot to get to this point the last six months, as has everybody else,鈥� said Mista.
鈥淲e never doubted we could win the game. 91原创 is an extremely hard rival and I wish them the best in their next game.鈥�
The win was sweetest for popular former PFC player Ben Fisk, who now plays for Atletico Ottawa.
鈥淎ny loss hurts, whether [the winner] comes in the 90th minute or the first minute,鈥� said PFC 鈥榢eeper Irving.
鈥淲e should have cleared the ball better [off the corner kick in the 90th minute] and Ottawa punished us for not doing so. You have to learn from these moments. You can鈥檛 shove them away. We want to put this right Sunday to make our fans proud in Victoria and over the Island.鈥�