Match Preview | Ottawa Fury FC V HFX Wanderers FC
July 23, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Qualifying Round 3, Leg 2
Ottawa Fury FC v HFX Wanderers
Kickoff: Wednesday, July 24 - 7:30 p.m. ET
TD Place, Ottawa, ON
OTTAWA - Ottawa Fury FC was the only team to win their first-leg match 3-2 in the Canadian Championship's Qualifying Round Three, with Montreal Impact drawing 2-2 against York9 FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps drawing 0-0 against Cavalry FC. Now, the second-leg matches are set, and Fury FC is ready to welcome HFX Wanderers FC this Wednesday night (KO 7:30 p.m., tickets at OttawaFuryFC.com) on its home turf and in front of its fans.
Ottawa Fury FC of USL Championship and HFX Wanderers FC of the Canadian Premier League combined for five back-to-back goals in the first-leg match played in Halifax on July 10. With Fury FC scoring three away goals and getting the win, Ottawa is looking for another stellar performance to wrap up this portion of the battle and advance to face Toronto FC in the semi-finals. The winner of the tournament will hoist the Voyageurs Cup after the second leg of the Final Round scheduled for 25 September and earn a berth to the 2020 Concacaf Champions League.
STORYLINES
Fury FC won the first leg of this qualifying round 3 match 3-2 in Halifax on July 10.
Midfielder Thiago De Freitas scored twice while Maxim Tissot, who made his return to play following an injury, scored in the 67th minute, only a few minutes after coming on as a substitute.
Ottawa dominated the stats line across most categories, including possession (77%), shots (14) including 6 on target, and 10 corners. Fury FC also won the passing battle with 434, 243 of which came in the first half when they had almost double their opponent's number.
This will be Fury FC's sixth participation in the Canadian Championship.
All-time record for Ottawa in the competition is 7W-1D-8L, reaching the next round of play in the last 3 of its 5 attempts.
Highlights for Fury FC were in 2016 with a big 2-0 win over the MLS Vancouver Whitecaps at home, and in 2017 with the 2-1 win against Toronto FC at TD Place.
Ottawa has faced opposition from three different leagues in its previous 5 appearances in the competition: NASL (FC Edmonton), PLSQ (AS Blainville), and MLS (Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC).
The winner of this 3rd round of qualification between Ottawa and Halifax will face Toronto FC, reigning champion, in the semi-final round.
No strangers to Canadian talent, Fury FC will count on the 18 Canadians on its roster, including some with great Canadian Championship experience.
All 4 goalkeepers are Canadians, and both Callum Irving and David Monsalve have previous experience in the Championship.
Ottawa has 7 Canadian defenders on the roster, including Nana Attakora, Carl Haworth and Maxim Tissot who each played in 10 Canadian Championship games before this year.
Fury FC 6 Canadian midfielders are a mix of experience and youth, with Chris Mannella and Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé having played for the Voyageurs Cup before, and Antoine Coupland, Protais Mutambala, Luca Ricci and Cameron Shaw all looking for a first kick in the competition.
HFX manager Stephen Hart and Fury FC GM Julian de Guzman have some history. De Guzman featured in 23 Men's National Team camps under Hart between 2006 and 2012, including 2007, 2009 & 2011 Gold Cup and FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 2011 & 2012.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
Head Coach Nikola Popovic
"We are very focused on this match. Everyone has to understand that if we look at this (qualifying) round as one game, we've only really played one half. And you don't win anything in life by only winning the first half. We have to play the second half. We have to be very serious, very responsible. We'll have to be the best version of ourselves, knowing that we have an advantage (with the 3-2 lead) but still having to play the second part of that game."
Defender Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé
"This is very important for us. We're taking this game very seriously. It's our objective to go through to the next round. We know it's not over, that we still have to play this game and be at our best. They (Halifax) have some quality, so this game is definitely something we're taking seriously."
Goalkeeper Callum Irving
"It's massive that we stay organized defensively. Obviously, we have an advantage right now (with the 3-2 lead) so we know that if we do our job defensively we'll make it through. We're all focused on that. We'll play our game and try to keep it tight at the back."
HOW TO WATCH
LIVE STREAM: OneSoccer.ca or OneSoccer mobile app
LISTEN: TSN 1200
TWITTER: Follow @OTTAWAFURYFC for LIVE updates #FuryFC #ForTheFury #canChamp
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