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USL Ottawa Fury FC

Match Preview | Ottawa Fury FC V Bethlehem Steel FC

May 24, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release


OTTAWA - Tide has turned and Ottawa Fury FC is coming home this Friday night at the helm of a ship ready for battle. And battle it will be on the pitch at TD Place when Bethlehem Steel FC, coming off two convincing wins, will face a confident Fury FC squad that has shown tremendous progress over the past month. Add a dash of superpowers brought on by fans on the Pop Culture Night and Fury FC could find itself flipping the table by the end of the night.

Indeed, Fury FC's growth is noticeable, and it has only solidified the belief amongst players that this system, and this club could achieve success. With only 5 points currently separating them from a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Friday night's match could be the key to unlocking such success.

A week ago in Charleston, Ottawa muzzled a strong Battery team that had not lost in their last six, and scored in nine of their 10 games so far this season. Putting out a complete team performance once more, the Fury FC lads found another piece of their identity and sent the message, with that nil-nil draw in enemy territory, that they were not to be taken lightly. They now come home to TD Place, for the first of three home games in eight day, with a definite taste for blood, a drive to continue the shutout streak and a will to win etched in their hearts.

Fury FC will face a Bethlehem Steel FC team that is also in fine form, coming in to this Friday's match with nine goals in their last four matches, and a couple impressive victories over the past week that vaulted them up the rankings. And while both clubs may be at opposing ends of the standings before the match, Bethlehem (4W-2D-4L) sitting in 5th position and Ottawa (2W-3D-4L) in 14th, they both sport a similar record, and it wouldn't be hard to see things changing drastically should Fury FC secure the win on Friday. Particularly since Steel FC has had a harder time on the road with only one win and three losses.

Ottawa will still have to be weary of the creative attacking style Bethlehem brings forth, with 10 different goal-scorers having found their way to the score card this season, five of them in the past week alone. Fury FC's goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau will look to break that trend as he continues to add minutes to his shutout streak, now standing at 373 minutes.

If the first cut is the deepest, Fury FC will want to earn a big win on Friday night at TD Place against Bethlehem Steel and chop off some of the space that separates them from playoff contention. They will have to first take care of Steel FC before they can even look forward to the next two home games and the potential of altering their path completely.

Friday night's match marks Pop Culture Night at TD Place and fans are encouraged to dress up as their favourite superhero or movie character for chances to win prizes. Various other activities will be on deck as Fury FC celebrate the opening of the new Star Wars movie, Solo, hitting theaters that night. Tickets for the match are available at OttawaFuryFC.com/tickets and by calling or visiting the Box Office at TD Place.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

Head Coach Nikola Popovic

On the fourth consecutive shutout... "It's not only the work of the final defence, the midfielders and the forwards, it is about how the team has grown collectively in the defensive organisation. Of course, Maxime has been fantastic, everybody can see this. But we cannot forget that this is also about the four in the back line, the three midfielders and the three forwards all speaking the same language collectively."

"If we look at the four last games, the opponents are having trouble breaking us down and are not getting chances, and I think this is a huge part of our team's growth. How we have worked collectively in how we defend is a big step forward."

"At the end of the day, the most important thing is the win and the three points. But not conceding goals is very important because it gives you the confidence every defence and every team has to have. Forgetting the second half of the match against Cincinnati, it is now five, six games where we have been very consistent and this is the thing we need to focus on. It's about the performance."

Defender Onua Obasi

On the Team of the Week selection... "It's nice! It's always nice to have an accolade. Sometimes I'm unsure of how these get awarded but I was happy to get it - I guess I had a solid game, I know I can play better than that and not get on the team of the week, but I'll take it that's for sure!"

"Coach gives us a game plan every game, and it's our job to go out there and execute it. The last four-five games we've been solid and consistent in doing that. Our foundation has been defence, and we've got four clean sheets on the balance, so if we build off that I feel like we'll always have a chance. We'll carry that into the coming weeks."

"It's been a stop-start season for me but when I'm in there I bring aggression, I feel as though I still have a lot to offer going forward, but I just make sure that in those one-on-one battles I can stop my opposing player. I bring that stability, that aggression to our backline."

Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau

"It's about that winning mentality, that fighting spirit and getting the three points at home. We're not in a position where we can slow down right now. We need to keep going, get ourselves in a good position in the first 15-20 minutes of this game, dictate the rhythm of this game and everything will go well."

"At the beginning of the season, we talked a lot about patience, about the system and our positioning. We can now see that players are understanding the system and it's paying off, the results are coming. The rhythm is in our favour right now so we just want to keep going."

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Pierre-Luc LAUZIÈRE

Assistants: Andre PICKLER and Philippe BETTEZ QUESSY

Fourth Official: Matt SOUARÉ



United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 24, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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