USL Ottawa Fury FC

Fury FC Delights Home Fans with 3-2 Come from Behind Win

June 26, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release


OTTAWA - Not long after a splendid showing in Nashville that pushed its unbeaten streak to nine straight, and on goalkeeper Callum Irving's 50th match played for the club, Ottawa Fury FC was facing a tough, but familiar opponent in Charleston Battery on Wednesday evening at TD Place. The skies cleared up in time for fans to witness a resilient 3-2 come from behind win from Fury FC.

The visiting team got things going in the 19th minute on a headed goal by midfielder Candela. Fury FC captain Carl Haworth made sure to level the playing field again not too long after when he expertly curled in a free kick from just outside the left corner of the box. Haworth would add one more on a beautiful combination between Fall, Oliveira, and François setting up the goal in the 74th minute. Charleston levelled the score back to 2-all with a little more than 5 minutes to play. But it would be Fury FC that would get the final goal of the night, claiming a convincing 3-2 win in the final minutes of the game.

STORYLINES

Wednesday's Fury FC match marked the 50th played with Ottawa for goalkeeper Callum Irving.

The 26 yo Canadian had had a stellar 2017 season in Ottawa, recording 7 clean sheets in 32 league games. After featuring in only two USL Championship games in 2018, he has been back at the helm for Fury FC this season, starting the past 12 games, earning 4 clean sheets and maintaining a success rate of 70% on saves.

Fury FC's captain Carl Haworth contributed two goals on two shots on target and one assist on the night. He now has 4 goals, 4 assists on the season, surpassing his 2018 totals not quite halfway through the calendar year. In 2018, in 30 games played, he had 3 goals and 3 assists.

Facing a direct football driven team, Ottawa managed to control the game through passing (521 passes) and possession (59%). Three Fury FC players maintained a passing accuracy of over 90% (Charlie Ward 96%, Mour Samb 93% and Jamar Dixon 100%) while 8 more were above 80%.

Wednesday's match also marked the return to the field of international midfielder Thiago de Freitas who had been sidelined with injuries since playing the first two games of 2019.

Fury FC is now unbeaten in 10 consecutive matches, sitting in 6th place in the Eastern Conference, only 3 points out of a top 4 spot.

POST-GAME COMMENTS

Head Coach Nikola Popovic

"We were better after 20 minutes. And then we corrected in the second half. In the second half, we corrected some situations, and we became much more aggressive, much more focused, resembling much more what we are."

"Today, again, we showed very good character. We're very proud of our players."

Captain Carl Haworth

"When you get a group of guys like this all together, we're all on the same page, and not just good players but good people as well, on and off the field, it's easy. You look forward to coming in, you look forward to working hard every single day. And the results take care of themselves."

"We're confident. We're going into every game knowing that we're going to get something out of it. Hopefully, we can keep this run going - I think it was 12 games we had in the past, in 2015 - so I guess we'll aim to beat that."

MATCH REPORT

Download match photos (credit: Matt Zambonin / Freestyle Photography)

Watch match highlights | Review match statistics

Starting XI

Ottawa Fury FC (4-3-3): Irving; Gagnon-Laparé, Barnathan, Meilleur-Giguère, Haworth ©; Fall (87' Dixon), Ward, Mannella (69' de Freitas); Oliveira (78' Mutambala), Samb, François

Charleston Battery (4-2-3-1): Kuzminsky; Paterson, van Schalk, Mueller ©, Nelson (75' Cox); Anunga, Kelly-Rosales; Rittmeyer, Candela (78' Lewis), Marini; Bosua (60' Higashi)

Scoring Summary

19' - CHS Candela (Rittmeyer)

29' - OTT Haworth

74' - OTT Haworth (François)

84' - CHS Lewis (Kelly-Rosales)

86' - OTT Samb (Haworth)

Caution Summary

60' - OTT Fall

Attendance

3,094

Next match: Saturday, June 29 @ Tampa Bay Rowdies

Next home match: Sunday, July 14 v Louisville City FC (Dog Day Afternoon)



United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 26, 2019


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