Fury FC Score Big Win in Home Opener
April 18, 2015 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
Ottawa Fury FC Fans
(Ottawa Fury FC)
(Ottawa, ON) - Ottawa Fury FC kicked off their first home match of the 2015 season Saturday afternoon with a 1-0 win over Minnesota United FC. Forward Tom Heinemann netted his first goal of the season midway through the second half which proved to be all Fury FC to collect their first win of the season.
"For our team to get three points off a quality team like Minnesota is very good to get off at the beginning of the year," said Fury FC goal scorer, Tom Heinemann.
Fury FC set the pace early with a few quick chances. The best chance came from Heinemann, who was turned away in the box by the Minnesota United FC keeper Sam Ndjock.
In the 20th minute, Ndjock was given a yellow card for handling the ball outside of the box. Ottawa had a glorious opportunity to take the lead on the subsequent free kick, but Paterson was denied by a fantastic save from a diving Ndjock.
In the 36th minute, home fans jumped up to celebrate what looked like Ottawa's first home goal of the season, but the attempt was ruled offside.
That didn't seem to bother the Fury as they continued to test the busy Minnesota keeper.
Both teams remained scoreless through the first half, with the majority of chances coming from Ottawa, who finished with nine shots on target through the opening 45 minutes.
"It was the easiest the halftime speech I think in my life. 'Guys keep doing what you are doing because the goal is going to come,'" said Ottawa Fury FC head coach Marc Dos Santos.
In the second half, the Fury's offense went back to work with a low drive attempt by Nicki Paterson in the 52nd minute.
In the 68th minute, the Fury would finally get on the board, as Heinemann would finally break the deadlock to ignite the home crowd.
Ottawa would hold on to the 1-0 lead in the late stages of the game.
"We dropped some points today that I think we deserved to drop, so we have to really be honest about how we are going to get better," said Manny Lagos, head coach of Minnesota United FC.
Fury FC play FC Edmonton in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship's preliminary round on Wednesday, April 22 at TD Place. The club is back in NASL action on Saturday, April 25, hosting the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Tickets available at OttawaFuryFC.com.
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 Ottawa Fury FC Fans |
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North American Soccer League Stories from April 18, 2015
- Home Opener Sees Cosmos Cruise to 2-0 Win - New York Cosmos
- Silverbacks Strike Twice to Stay Unbeaten - Atlanta Silverbacks
- Carolina RailHawks Suffer First Loss - North Carolina FC
- Fury FC Score Big Win in Home Opener - Ottawa Fury FC
- Minnesota United Falls 1-0 to Ottawa Fury in Second Match of the Season - Minnesota United FC
- Silverbacks Travel for Clash of Unbeatens - Atlanta Silverbacks
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