Fury FC Advance to Canadian Championship Semifinals; Host Vancouver Whitecaps June 1
Published on May 18, 2016 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
Ottawa Fury FC Forward Paulo Junior Unleashes a Shot
(Ottawa Fury FC, Credit: Steve Kingsman/Fury FC)
OTTAWA, ON - For the first time in club history, Ottawa Fury FC will face MLS opposition after advancing to the semifinals of the Canadian Championship pitting the NASL side against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Fury FC will host the Whitecaps June 1 at 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Place. Tickets go on-sale Friday morning at 10 a.m.
Fury FC claimed a 3-2 aggregate win over NASL rivals FC Edmonton in the preliminary round of the Amway Canadian Championship - marking the first time that Fury FC have advanced to the semifinal stage.
Going into the second leg, Fury met a determined Edmonton side that wasn't going to go down without a fight. In the end, the 2-0 win for the Eddies wasn't enough to overtake Fury after Ottawa scored an emphatic 3-0 road win last week to take a stranglehold on the series.
Despite going down 2-0 in the first half after controlling the play through the opening 25 minutes, Fury was at the top of their defensive game in the second half, which included a fantastic sliding tackle by Ottawa defender Timbo to knock away a dangerous chance in the 70th minute.
"Edmonton were fantastic in the first half, absolutely magnificient and showed a real passion and desire and a real belief that they could get a victory here," said Fury coach Paul Dalglish. "But I thought second half we came out and we matched them and we just about deserved it in the end."
After a strong start to the game, Edmonton took the lead in the 26th minute when Edmonton midfielder Dustin Corea rifled a 20 yard strike past a diving Marcel DeBellis. The goal breathed some belief into the Eddies who came close to scoring their second of the night when striker Tomi Ameobi tapped a cross just wide of the goal. Ottawa looked set to carry a two goal aggregate lead into half but Edmonton struck again in the 45th minute. A long free kick by Adam Eckersley sailed over every player in the box and in.
"You never want to lose any games but we made our objective and we're moving onto the next round," said DeBellis. "The first half didn't go the way I wanted it to but we kind of settled down in the second and were able to get the job. We showed a lot of fight."
After hosting the Whitecaps in the first leg of the semifinals June 1 at TD Place, Ottawa will travel to Vancouver for the second leg, June 8 at BC Place.
Tickets will be available as of 10 a.m. Friday morning at OttawaFuryFC.com, by calling 613.599.FANS or at the TD Place Box Office. Sign-up to become at TD Place Insider to get exclusive ticketing offers.
Fury FC returns to NASL action at TD Place on Sunday afternoon when they host expansion side Jacksonville Armada at 2 p.m.
Images from this story
 Ottawa Fury FC Forward Paulo Junior Unleashes a Shot (Steve Kingsman/Fury FC) |
North American Soccer League Stories from May 18, 2016
- Inspired Effort Comes up Short as Eddies Bow out of Amway Canadian Championship - FC Edmonton
- Armada FC Will Host the Villages SC on June 1 in U.S. Open Cup Third Round - Jacksonville Armada FC
- Fury FC Advance to Canadian Championship Semifinals; Host Vancouver Whitecaps June 1 - Ottawa Fury FC
- Indy Eleven NPSL Bows out of U.S. Open Cup with 1-2 Defeat at FC Cincinnati - Indy Eleven
- Fury FC Advance to Canadian Championship Semifinals; Host Vancouver Whitecaps June 1 - Ottawa Fury FC
- Forward Wojciech Wojcik Loaned to USL's OKC Energy FC - Indy Eleven
- Corea, Diakite Named to NASL Team of the Week - FC Edmonton
- Strikers U-19s to Participate in 2016 Weifang Cup in China - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
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