CanMNT’s first step at Gold Cup, Atlético Ottawa find winning formula

In the latest episode of the CanPL.ca Newsroom, the CanPL.ca editorial crew of Kristian Jack, Charlie O'Connor Clarke, Benedict Rhodes, Marty Thompson, and Brady Reid return to recap the weekend's CanPL action but start with the Canadian men's national team's opening win over Martinique at the 2021 Gold Cup.

Tajon Buchanan's impressive showing marked a rebound for John Herdman's side who, as the gang debates, are craving any sort of challenge. Kudos also go out to attackers Theo Corbeanu and Junior Hoilett, the latter of which became Canada's all-time assist leader with the win.

Up first in CanPL action was Atlético Ottawa's shock 2-0 win over Cavalry FC. Goals from Malcolm Shaw and 17-year-old Antoine Coupland gave coach Mista lots to smile about and gave the gang lots to dissect Ottawa's direct style of play and how it could be the key to results moving forward.

Valour FC's 1-0 win over Forge FC also offered lots of talking points from Austin Ricci's worldie to Rob Gale's side's impressive run of form. At the other end, the Newsroom discusses Forge's current state of affairs as the return to home market lingers.

Marco Bustos (there, we said it) shined brightly for Pacific FC this weekend and the gang just had to talk about it. His well-worked brace against York United – which came in front of his parents at IG Field – was a thing of beauty. But he wasn't the only star for PFC on the day…

Finally, Brady carves out some time for HFX Wanderers FC's 2-1 win over FC Edmonton. Joao Morelli's two-goal output gave the Wanderers their first win of the season – the last team at The Kickoff to achieve such a feat. Marty sheds some light on Morey Doner and one sequence in particular while, again, FC Edmonton only scores beautiful goals, don't they? Take a bow again, Fraser Aird.