Fury FC Score Big Win in Front of Big Crowd at TD Place
June 1, 2016 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
OTTAWA, ON - Ottawa Fury FC wowed the biggest crowd of the season at TD Place on Wednesday night as 9,057 pushed their side to a convincing 2-0 victory in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semi-final.
Thanks to an early highlight reel goal from Jonny Steele and a second from Paulo Junior before halftime, Fury FC became just the second NASL team ever to beat an MLS side in this tournament - the first being FC Edmonton in a 2-1 decision over Montreal Impact in 2014 - and will take a commanding lead into the second leg of the series next Wednesday in Vancouver.
The crowd was loud and full of energy and the players fed off that from the moment the game started. It didn't take long for that energy to pay off when Steele converted the feed from Carl Haworth as the veteran Irishman curled a powerful strike with the outside of his left boot and past the diving Vancouver goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi.
That early start was critical, said Fury goalkeeper Romuald Peiser, who made several big saves to preserve the clean sheet.
"We just said we're going to give everything and try our best," Peiser said of what was said in the locker room pre-game. "They had a really good second half but we scored on our opportunities. Last Saturday (a 2-1 loss to Fort Lauderdale) we struggled to score but today the first shot goes in and that made a big difference.
"No matter what happens after this, this win is an accomplishment. Now we have to be ambitious, there's a very tough 90 minutes coming up in Vancouver and a big match Saturday as well."
After Ottawa took the early lead, a stunned Vancouver team pushed to get back in the game only to be thwarted time and again by Peiser and the stingy defence in front of him. Fury would double their lead before halftime when Paulo Junior converted a big rebound when Tornaghi was forced to make a difficult save on Haworth's initial header.
After finishing the first half leading in possession (53%), shots (8 total, 4 on target) and crosses (7), Fury turned away everything Vancouver could muster in the second half. Vancouver came closest to clawing a goal back in the 54th minute, but a decisive save by Peiser, jumping to knock a dangerous strike by midfielder Nicolas Mezquida over the crossbar, kept things scoreless. Peiser would come up huge again in second-half stoppage time when he turned away Octavio Rivero on a point blank shot from in tight.
Despite playing a team from the league above them, Fury FC coach Paul Dalglish said anything can happen in a soccer game.
"Football is a game where the underdog can always win, as you saw tonight," said Dalglish, who also commended the fans for coming out in numbers.
"It was a fantastic occasion but for me the more important thing for Fury as a relatively new franchise is that we had 9,000-plus people here who all came and saw a local team beat an MLS team. We have got to grow this game in this country and games like that are going to make people want to come back."
Before heading to Vancouver for the away leg of the Canadian Championship Semi-Final on Wednesday, June 8, Fury FC will visit the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday, June 4 for Ottawa's penultimate game of the NASL Spring Season.
Single game tickets are available now, calling 613-232-6767 x1 or in person at the TD Place Box Office. Interested in more than just single game tickets? Fans can buy their 2016 Fury FC season tickets here and become part of a growing legion of fans that has helped make TD Place a fortress.
North American Soccer League Stories from June 1, 2016
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- Minnesota United Advances to U.S.Open Cup Fourth Round with 2-0 Win over Saint Louis FC - Minnesota United FC
- RailHawks Down Charlotte Independence 5-0 - North Carolina FC
- Fury FC Score Big Win in Front of Big Crowd at TD Place - Ottawa Fury FC
- Miami FC Edged By Wilmington 2-1 - Miami FC
- Strong Second Half Sees Indy Eleven Post 2-1 Win over Louisville City FC in U.S. Open Cup Third Roun - Indy Eleven
- Rowdies Advance to U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round with 1-0 Win over FC Cincinnati - Tampa Bay Rowdies
- Armada Triumphs in 2-1 Open Cup Extra Time Thriller over Battery - Jacksonville Armada FC
- Strikers Advance in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup to Face D.C. United - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- NY Cosmos Academy Recruiting - New York Cosmos
- Toronto Trip a Success for FC Edmonton Academy - FC Edmonton
- Minnesota United Begin U.S. Open Cup Play in Saint Louis - Minnesota United FC
- Nine NASL Clubs Enter U.S. Open Cup Fold on Wednesday - NASL
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