Fury FC Celebrates May-Long Weekend with 3-0 Win in Bethlehem
May 19, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
OTTAWA - With four points from two games against top opponents this past week, Fury FC was trending in the right direction heading into its Week 11 matchup against Bethlehem Steel FC in Chester, PA on Sunday. Fury FC celebrated the long weekend with a convincing 3-0 win, pushing its unbeaten streak to four.
Even when facing what was described as the strongest Bethlehem lineup of the season, Ottawa was the one to open the score on the night, for their fourth match in a row. Through only four perfectly executed passes covering the length of the field, Fury FC's transitional play gave them the lead after Haworth found Christiano François making the cut in the centre of the box. A quick one-touch right-footed shot was enough for François to put it in the back of the net and give Ottawa a 1-0 advantage going into the half. Fury FC added another one quickly in the second half when building off the long ball from Attakora, François found the trailing run from Fall who expertly put the ball past Carlos in the back of Bethlehem's net. It was all Ottawa from the 75th minute on, Fury FC adding another decisive goal in the 82nd when a clearance from Haworth found the speedster François on the right wing, beating the Steel's defence only to find his teammate Mour Samb ready to punch it in. Ottawa would close out the match, securing a fourth clean sheet this season and a well-deserved 3-0 win.
STORYLINES
Ottawa scored the first goal of the match for the fourth game in a row, which usually bodes well for Fury FC. The Ottawa club is now 5W-2D when scoring first.
Fury FC dominated possession throughout the match, reaching a total of 594 passes in the 90-minute match and maintaining 84% passing accuracy.
Christiano François put on a show on Sunday night, collecting three points with one goal and two assists. He had two decisive passes and two shots on target.
Montreal Impact loanee Amar Sejdic made his Fury FC debut on Sunday, substituting in the 63rd minute.
Fury FC is unbeaten in its last four matches, with 3 wins and 1 draw in the past month. Ottawa now sits in 6th position in the Eastern Conference with one game in hand.
POST-GAME COMMENTS
Head Coach Nikola Popovic
"It was a really fantastic performance. The team is growing every game. With every game we are getting better. These last performances showed a team that is very organized, who understands what to do at every moment of the game."
"It's not about transition. I think we are able to show that we are capable in every moment of the game, transition is one of them of course, but we possessed the ball around 60% of the time, so we totally controlled the game. In some moments we still have to get better, and we have only played nine games, so we ambition to do more and get much better. However, our performance today was the reflection of a complete team."
MATCH REPORT
Download match photos (credit: Bethlehem Steel FC / USL Championship)
Watch match highlights | Review match statistics
Starting XI
Ottawa Fury FC (4-3-3): Irving; Gagnon-Laparé, Meilleur-Giguère, Attakora, Haworth ©; Fall (79' Obasi), Ward, Mannella; Oliveira (63' Sejdic), Samb, François (83' Daniels)
Bethlehem Steel FC (4-4-2): Carlos; Fabinho ©, Ofeimu, Topey, Mbaizo; Willis, Chambers, Cortés (71' Bohui), Fontana (64' Borgelin); Ngalina, Moumbagna
Scoring Summary
32' - François (Haworth)
57' - Fall (François)
82' - Samb (François)
Caution Summary
14' - BTS Fabinho
Attendance
436
Next match: Saturday, May 25 @ Hartford Athletic
Next home match: Sunday, June 2 v Charlotte Independence
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