Match Preview | Canadian Championship: Ottawa Fury FC v Toronto FC
July 17, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
OTTAWA - This is the battle Ottawa Fury FC have been priming themselves for this year. Ever since the start of the season the possible Canadian Championship semi-final against Toronto FC has been a major talking point. And now the time has finally arrived for Fury FC to test their mettle against their famed MLS opponents. The first leg of the semi-final will be played this Wednesday at TD Place.
Right from the onset, the Canadian Championship has been identified as the most important competition by Fury FC. The Ottawa side is at the forefront on promoting Canadian talent and this tournament provides a great platform for the club to showcase their potential. Fury FC's roster has 65 per cent Canadian players (17 of 26). In their last USL game, seven of the starting eleven were Canadian.
It's with this focus that Fury FC will take on Toronto FC. All the Fury FC players are geared up for this crucial game. They produced two clinical wins over AS Blainville in the preliminary rounds to get to the semi-final. The dressing room will be in buoyant mood right now after their 2-1 win over Penn FC in their USL campaign. It was the first time this season that they have come from a goal down to register a victory.
Fury FC players have been raring to face their MLS opponents ever since the Canadian Championship fixtures were announced and last weekend's win will further boost their confidence. Having come close to upsetting MLS components on two previous occasions, Fury FC will be keen to do one better this year.
This is the fifth time that Fury FC will be taking part in the Canadian Championship. For the past two consecutive times, they have reached the semi-finals. In both of those semi-finals, they won the first leg at home but couldn't sustain the momentum in the second and ended their run. During last season's semi-final, Fury FC had come from a goal down to defeat Toronto FC 2-1 in the first leg, but lost the return leg 4-0 at BMO Field.
This year's semi-final gives Fury FC another shot at upsetting an MLS club. Toronto FC won the domestic treble in 2017 and reached the final of the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League but their 2018 MLS season isn't going that well. They have managed to win just four games out of the 19 they have played this season. That might be an indication of there being a few chinks in their armour but Fury FC will still have to be their very best to conquer on this quest.
Fury FC will look to have a strong home crowd behind them for this 'Battle of the North' matchup. Tickets for this Wednesday's match, as well as all upcoming home matches, are available at OttawaFuryFC.com/tickets, by calling 613.232.6767 X1 or in person at The Box Office at TD Place.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
Head Coach, Nikola Popovic
"This is a very important competition for us. As you know, with our Project and trying to be the reference of Canadian football, this Canadian Championship is very important for us. It will be a very difficult game for us. This is perhaps one of the best teams, not only in North America but in CONCACAF, so we expect a very difficult game, but I think there is a small chance for us, but there is a chance."
Defender Nana Attakora
"This is a big competition - the best teams in Canada, all the professional teams in Canada - and this is a competition I've been a part of since an early age with Toronto, I had some success there and now I hope I can bring some success to Ottawa."
"This game gives us a chance to play against the best. In order to be able to consider yourself a good team, you have to beat and compete against the best. It doesn't get bigger than Toronto FC, MLS Champions, finalist in the CONCACAF Champions League... they've done everything. This will be a great contest for us and hopefully we can prove ourselves."
Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau
"The Canadian Championship represents the best teams in Canada, it's important. Toronto FC will come here and try to beat us, but we're ready. It's important for us to get a good result at home and then go to BMO Field with a good result and try to finish it off."
"It's ok to be the underdogs sometimes. The pressure is on their shoulders, not ours, because we are the underdogs and we have nothing to lose."
On the statement a win would send... "It would send a message that the Ottawa Fury FC is there and we're here to take care of business. If we go through Toronto we want to win it all, and we know there is no room for mistakes at this level. We have to give a good 180 minutes performance, and we're really positive about the fact we're ready to play well. The guys are motivated, we're all together, we know we have to stick to the game plan and everything will go well."
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