Match Preview | Ottawa Fury FC V Indy Eleven
August 17, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
OTTAWA - With only four regular season home matches left to make a strong statement, Ottawa Fury FC will jump on the field on Saturday looking to secure more points and continue their collective effort towards securing a USL playoff position. In their way will be Eastern Conference rival Indy Eleven.
Coming off an uplifting 2-0 win over Richmond on Wednesday, Fury FC will look to build on their dynamic movement on attack and solid defending - which has already led the club and goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau to 11 clean sheets this season - in order to grab three more crucial points before heading out on the road for most of September and October. With forwards finding their form - the likes of Tony Taylor having now scored four times in five games - and the added depth across the lineup, Ottawa goes into the final stretch of the season as confident as ever.
On the opposite side of the pitch, Indy Eleven, currently sitting in 5th place thanks to a last-minute win over North Carolina FC on Wednesday night, will also be coming to TD Place with a taste for vengeance. When the two clubs last met, Ottawa grabbed the win at Lucas Oil Stadium in a hard-fought battle that was decided by an own-goal by Indy's defender Carlyle Mitchell. Despite not finding the net themselves that night, Fury FC had established themselves as pace-setter throughout the match.
Entering the final stretch of the season, Fury FC will also be looking for a strong showing by the #FuryFamily on Saturday afternoon to help bolster them to victory. Tickets for the pivotal matchup are available on OttawaFuryFC.com/tickets.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
Head Coach Nikola Popovic
On the key to the team's success... "The organisation. I think the good performance was related to a very strict game plan, the player followed [it to a T] and we were able to make a good game, creating some good chances and bringing the three points home."
"The organisation [is key]. How they are able to connect. Of course, as time progress, the players are getting more chemistry between them and they are staying organised. When you are organised, you can always win that split second that can make all the difference in a soccer game."
On game against Indy... "It's a very difficult game. For me it's one of the best teams in the league, one of the best rosters, so it's a very difficult game for us. It's difficult to have the same approach because we don't have the same players, and we're playing a lot of games, so there must be some adaptations because the players are getting a lot of games in their feet. It's an important game for us, we have to focus to do a very good performance again; only like that we can win the three points."
On Kinumbe's first start... "I'm very happy that we brought another Canadian talent, that we give him a chance. With 'The Project' we're trying to not let this [Canadian] talent that is sometimes very good get wasted because they don't get a chance, they don't have space to show themselves. I'm very happy and I think he has a bright future ahead of him."
Defender Onua Obasi
On the team's recent form... "I think earlier on this season we kind of switched our game plan a bit to focus on defense and feels like we really solidify things back there, team defense right from the start until the end. And you can't underestimate Maxime Crépeau, he's been fantastic for us, he's made some huge saves in some really tight games."
On the Indy game... "We understand this team is a good team. When we went there it was a very tight game, we beat them 1-0 on an own goal for us, so we understand that when they will be coming here they'll be looking for a win. It's a six points game at this point of the season for us. So maybe us beating them there helps us get a psychological edge but it's a brand new night."
Defender/Midfielder Daniel Kinumbe
On his first start... "A lot of excitement. I just came here on my first professional contract, and that was my first professional start. So it came very fast I think but it's very exciting and I try to just grab the moment."
What he can bring... "Last game was ok. I still have to work on a few things, the tactics and my fitness, but I think I did ok. I think I can bring a little something to the team with my pace and my understanding of the game."
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Yusri RUDOLF
Assistants: Lyes ARFA & Peter PENDLI
Fourth Official: Myriam MARCOTTE
MATCH DAY INFO
Ottawa Fury FC v Indy Eleven
Kickoff: Saturday, August 18 - 2:00 p.m. - TD Place
USL Standings: Click Here
BROADCAST INFO
LIVE STREAM: OttawaFuryFC.com/Fury-Live | USL Match Centre
RADIO: TSN 1200 or TSN1200.ca (EN) | fm1047.ca (FR)
TWITTER: Follow @OTTAWAFURYFC for LIVE updates
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