Match Preview | Ottawa Fury FC v. Penn FC
August 24, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Ottawa Fury FC News Release
OTTAWA - With only three home matches left in their USL calendar this season, Ottawa Fury FC will host Penn FC on Saturday night at TD Place with three valuable points on the line. In addition to a strong fan support, Fury FC will undoubtedly come into the match buoyed by the fact they have already beaten Penn FC twice this season, including a spirit-lifting, come-from-behind win at TD Place in July.
Their opponent Penn FC suffered its third consecutive defeat and saw its winless streak reach six games overall as it fell 3-2 to the Richmond Kickers last Saturday night at City Stadium. Penn scored twice from the penalty spot through Lucky Mkosana and Walter Ramirez but conceded a late winner and now enters the week nine points out of the playoff places with 11 games to go in the regular season.
On the Fury FC side, confidence is high despite conceding a 2-0 result to Bethlehem on Wednesday night. Having lost two consecutive games only twice this season since turning the ship around, and building consistent strong team defensive efforts that resulted in 12 shutouts already, Fury FC continue their battle for a spot in the series with the same resilience they have shown all season. Now that most of his squad is healthy and had a chance to get some recovery time, Head Coach Nikola Popovic has a full complement of players and abilities to play with down the stretch.
Saturday night will also mark the annual Fury FC Pride Game, which will see Ottawa players sporting the rainbow coloured numbers on their game kits in a show of support to the LGBTQ+ community. Fans will get the chance to bid on a select number of these jerseys - game-worn and autographed - in an online auction that will run from August 25th to September 9th.
Come celebrate Pride Week with Fury FC on Saturday night as we show the rainbow community support and enjoy an exciting soccer match under the lights of TD Place; tickets to the match are still available at OttawaFuryFC.com.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
Head Coach Nikola Popovic
On having flexibility with his formation... "The team was able to switch the shape and be able to give us a very good performance. So like for every coach, to be able to switch things like this and get a good performance is very important. Of course, these kinds of switches are always related to what we have at that moment [in player availability and opponent]."
Message to the team as you battle around the playoff line... "I think when you behave like this, when your attitude is to the final whistle like we were today then I think we have to have hope that we can achieve the playoffs. We knew since the beginning of the season that it was going to be very, very tight. There are six, seven and if you push tight even eight teams that are looking for four places so it's going to be a tough run until the last week."
Forward Carl Haworth
On having control over the club's push for the playoffs..."We got ourselves in a very good situation right now, we're in a good position, with games that are in and around us in the standings. It is definitely in our hands. We've done really well to get here, but now it's about taking care of business and going on the road in sometimes tough situations coming up and hopefully get some points to at least maybe create a bigger gap between ourselves and the ninth, tenth, eleventh place teams just to give us some comfort for the last few games."
On the upcoming Pride Game... "[Ottawa] is a great city for that. We strive for equality in all walks of life, and we're glad to be in a sport where it's fully accepted. We're glad to be part of this as an organisation and looking forward to the game."
Midfielder Chris Mannella
On the club's destiny being in their hands... "We don't have to worry about anyone else but ourselves: we win our matches, we're in the playoffs. With the few games coming up, we're in a great position to push for the playoffs."
On the upcoming Pride Game..."It's very important. We need athletes all over the world to sort of step up and be leaders and show support for the LGBTQ community. I think Ottawa, and this club, has done a great thing, and coming up this weekend is such an important match: soccer is for everyone, it doesn't matter race, religion, sexuality, it doesn't matter. I think this match coming up is a testament to show that Ottawa is supportive."
Midfielder Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé
On the importance of their strong defending... "Defensive aspect is something we've put a lot of emphasis on in training, and whenever we get that shutout is a big plus for all the players, goalkeeper but also the forwards, because it really is a team effort. I think this is something we can bring into the end of the season. We need to take every game as they come, not look too much ahead, just focus on the one that's coming, and if we keep playing well we'll get good results."
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Pierre-Luc LAUZIERE
Assistants: Daniel BELLEAU & Sean HORNSBY
Fourth Official: Matt SOUARE
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