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Ottawa Fury FC

Match Preview | Ottawa Fury FC at Charleston Battery

May 18, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release


OTTAWA - Ottawa Fury FC travel to South Carolina this weekend looking to ride the momentum from their recent performances; it will be a tough outing for Fury FC as they take on Charleston Battery this Saturday. They will be facing a Charleston side who has been defeated just once at home this season and is also on a six-game undefeated run.

Despite the stature of their opponents, the Fury FC dressing room has an air of confidence about it at the moment. The Ottawa side has won two consecutive games, is undefeated in its last three games, in which they have also kept clean sheets.

They produced a clinical performance in their last game against Atlanta United 2. Despite having just 32.8% of the possession, they had more shots on target than their opponents. The defence produced another solid performance restricting the opposition to just two shots on target and goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau had no trouble dealing with those. It was the third clean sheet for Crépeau who is proving to be a reassuring presence between the posts for the Ottawa side.

Fury FC strikers Steevan Dos Santos and Carl Haworth have given a further boost to the confidence by getting on the scoreboard in the previous game. Up until then, the scoring had been taken care of by midfielders and even defenders, which lead to a bit of banter in the dressing room. Ottawa forwards have now joined in on the party.

This game will be a big opportunity for Fury FC to showcase the improvement in their performance. They will be put to the test in this match. Charleston Battery have won their last four games and have had a strong start to the season with just two losses in their nine games so far. They have won four out of their five home games as well. This performance puts them second in the Eastern Conference with 17 points.

The Fury FC defence will have to closely mark Charleston striker Ataulla Guerra, who has scored five goals this season and is tied second in the USL charts. The Trinidad & Tobago striker has also scored in three of the last four games.

Each time the two sides met in 2017, neither could get the last word with both matches concluding in draws. This game will be a good opportunity for Fury FC players to show their mettle and get a positive result before they return to the comfort of TD Place for another testing run of three home games in ten days.

Fans can watch this Saturday's match from Charleston live on OttawaFuryFC.com/Fury-Live or via the USL Match Centre.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

Head Coach Nikola Popovic

"Charleston are a very good team. They have five wins in a row. This shows something; that they are a very experienced team. It'll be a very important test for us to see where we are at this moment. A good performance against a team like this can mean a lot to us. Right now, as this team is being built, it's more important to have a good performance against teams like Charleston."

On pieces of the team puzzle falling into place... "Yes. As the team has more time to learn the model and adapt to the new culture, we will have more and more of such performances. It's the natural course of progression. However, we know that we are going to play against a very difficult team this weekend. But if we stay consistent, and we don't have any reason not to be, I think we can have a good performance there."

On the opposition... "The way they play, they're difficult to break down. They're a compact team that doesn't risk a lot. They have players with speed and experience. They are perhaps the team that is performing the best (in the league) at this moment and that's why they have so many consecutive wins. A few teams have broken them down but that was a very long time ago. But I really expect that we can do something there."

Forward Carl Haworth

On the forwards scoring... "It was just a matter of time. We knew we had the quality. We wanted to make sure we tightened things up defensively first, made sure we stopped giving up goals and stopped other teams from creating chances. Once we got that sorted out, it was up to us to work extra-hard in training, create more chances and hopefully translate that into the games. Luckily enough we have been able to create more chances in the last couple of games and capitalise on some of those scoring chances."

On if there is a better understanding between the players... "It was only a matter of time. We believed in the system, we believed in the players that Nikola (Popovic) and (Julian) de Guzman brought in. We believed in the style of play. So we knew that it was going to come together and that it was just a matter of time. It's difficult when you keep asking the fans and the team to stay patient because we knew that the final product was going to be there. But luckily enough it's come together in the last couple of games and we hope to keep that going into the weekend."

On the opposition... "They're a good team and an experienced one. And they're in a good run of form. We have to respect that but at the same time we can be confident in ourselves. We're in a good run of form as well. We're difficult to break down at the moment and we're creating chances on the offensive side as well. The whole team is working for one another. We have to respect them and be a little wary of them on the counterattack because they have a lot of quality there as well. But we have to be confident in our abilities as well."

Defender Colin Falvey

"The mood has definitely improved. To be honest, the boys didn't get too down on themselves because we knew it was going to be difficult, that it would take some time. We obviously would've wanted to pull some points back from the road trips early in the season, but we stuck to the game plan and now it's nice that we're actually picking up the points. The little things, the way they have come together, are crucial, we're going to need to lean on moments like that down the stretch."

"Boys are confident. I think this weekend is going to be a different challenge, a different beast. They are very established, experienced, I know them, I know the coach, so this is a new test for us. It's not going to be easy, but it's one that the boys are looking forward to, and I think it's going to be a good gauge to see where we are at."

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Kevin BROADLEY

Assistants: Ryan GRAVES and Brian MARSHALL

Fourth Official: Wayne PAVLISCHEK

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