Namu Yoon will be guiding Canadian Soccer News readers through the rest of Ottawa Fury FC’s inaugural season in the North American Soccer League. This is his first column.
By Namu Yoon,
The Ottawa Fury FC NASL franchise was born in 2011 out of a partnership between John Pugh, founder of Ottawa Fury SC (USL PDL from 2005 to 2013), and Jeff Hunt, president of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), with Pugh being named president of the new NASL club. Competing in its maiden season this year, the Fury FC entered NASL as the 9th and 10th club alongside fellow expansion cousin Indy Eleven.
The Spring Season was a success on the field for the Fury FC, as they finished 6th among the 10 clubs in the 9-game Spring Season, above both Indy Eleven and Ottawa’s Canadian rivals, FC Edmonton, while showcasing an attractive attacking philosophy. Ottawa captured some significant wins, such as a 4-0 demolishing of Carolina RailHawks at home, as well as an impressive 2-4 away victory at Indy Eleven. The club made its temporary home at the Keith Harris Stadium at Carleton University, which did contribute to low attendance figures due to the small capacity of 3,044 at Keith Harris Stadium, as well as a rocky artificial turf which contributed to injuries among the players.
However, these issues were overwhelmingly addressed after the NASL summer break, with the club entering the balanced 18-game Fall Season in its new permanent home of TD Place Stadium at Landsdowne Park, where the potential for future growth in attendance is very high. The club set the single-game attendance record for NASL 2.0, with 14,593 fans filling the stadium in the home opener against the New York Cosmos, as Ottawa announced itself in the North American footy landscape. The results on the pitch, however, have not gone as planned, as the club currently finds itself at the foot of the standings after 9 matches, with 6 points in the Fall Season so far, with the sole win coming at Indy.
The club mainly plays in a 4-3-3 formation that emphasizes a great amount of possession and a patient build-up play, while the team can transition to a 4-4-1-1 or even a 4-2-4 when chasing a lead later in the game. The goals have come mainly from ST Tom Heinemann, winger Oliver and CM Tony Donatelli, while assists have come from Donatelli, AM Sinisa Ubiparipovic and DM Richie Ryan. Further offensive spark has come from winger Carl Haworth, while ironman CB Mason Trafford, who has not missed a single minute all season, CB/RB Drew Beckie and CB Omar Jarun lead the defensive efforts of the club.
The club has a high number of Canadian internationals in the squad, and is led by manager Marc Dos Santos, a dynamic and multilingual tactician who has achieved success with Montreal Impact in the USL First Division and gained significant coaching experience in Brazil recently. Dos Santos is assisted by two accomplished former players in assistant manager Martin Nash and GK coach Bruce Grobbelaar.
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Ottawa Fury FC Match Preview
After a dramatic last-gasp 2-2 home draw vs. Carolina last Sunday, the Fury FC will be traveling to Tampa Bay with renewed confidence and belief that they can avenge their 0-2 loss at home to Tampa Bay in the weekend prior to the Carolina match. While GK Romuald Peiser and Ubiparipovic shone particularly against Carolina, they will have to lead the Fury players to an even better showing to grab a result against a side that has been a front-runner throughout the Fall Season.
Tampa Bay comes in with 5-1-3 record in the Fall Season, with the 16 points from 9 matches good for 3rd place, while it occupies one of the 4 playoff spots from the combined year-long table. Tampa Bay does possess a somewhat weak home record of 3-2-4 in league play so far, as they have shown themselves to be stronger away from home. The Rowdies visited Ottawa just two weekends ago, as they grabbed a professional 0-2 away win, taking advantage of a makeshift Fury FC defense that had been decimated by injury and transfers. Two defenders, Jarun and RB Andres Fresenga, have since returned from injury, while the club is expected to sign 1 or 2 more defenders in the coming week.
Ottawa will welcome back RW/RB Philippe Davies from his 1-game suspension, which was enforced due to his two yellow cards against Tampa Bay two weeks ago, in what was a rough and tumble 2nd half between the two teams. Tampa Bay usually lines up in a 4-4-2 formation to take advantage of the stellar play of ST Georgi Hristov, the 2013 NASL Golden Ball winner, while winger/ST Brian Shriver, who won the 2013 NASL Golden Boot, is another dangerous weapon who is regaining his form after an injury in the spring.
Injuries and Suspensions
CB/RB Drew Beckie (injury, doubtful), winger Carl Haworth (injury, doubtful)
NASLLive.com, Saturday 7:30pm EDT